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The terms of service for contractors providing NHS pharmaceutical services are set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, as amended. The principal Regulations can be found at:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2009/183/contents/made

The action which NHS boards can take against contractors who fail to comply with their terms of service are set out in the NHS (Discipline Committees) (Scotland) Regulations 2006, as amended. The principal Regulations can be found at:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2006/330/contents/made

Complaints against NHS contractors can be made through the NHS complaints procedure. Further information, and details of the Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities, can be found on the Health Rights Information Scotland website at:

www.hris.org.uk/index.aspx?o=1025

Applications relating to community pharmacies are considered by NHS boards’ Pharmacy Practices Committees (PPCs) under provisions set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, as amended. PPCs will consider each application on an individual basis in accordance with the terms of the Regulations, taking into account the specific factors and local circumstances relating to that application.

Further amendments to the Regulations came into force on 28 June 2014 and explicitly require PPCs to consider the likely long-term sustainability of any proposed pharmacy in their deliberations. The Scottish Statutory Instrument can be found at:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2014/148/contents/made

In addition, the Scottish Government issued guidance to NHS boards alongside the amendments on 30 June 2014, which can be found at:

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/pca/PCA2014(P)15.pdf

Before issuing a notice to cease all or most of its dispensing, NHS boards must consider whether or not their decision would lead to patients having difficulty in obtaining drugs from a pharmacist or another dispensing practice in the local area because of distance, inadequacy of means of communication or other exceptional circumstances.

If this doesn’t apply, paragraph 44(3)(b) of Schedule 5 to The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 obliges health boards to give the dispensing practice reasonable notice that the supply of drugs, medicines and appliances is to be discontinued.

The new approach by the Scottish Medicines Consortium, including an additional opportunity to offer a patient access scheme, was put in place for submissions received after noon on 7 April 2014. The first decisions made under this new approach were published in October 2014. A review of the operation of the new process, as recommended in the Task and Finish Group Report, will be undertaken in 2015.

NHS boards’ reporting arrangements are described in the answers to S4W-23317 and S4W-23318 on 3 December 2014.

NHS National Services Scotland’s Information Services Division publishes an annual report on NHS complaints statistics, which is available online at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Quality-Indicators/NHS-Complaints-Statistics/

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) lays investigation reports before Parliament, in some cases that meet their public interest criteria. They also publish an annual report on SPSO’s performance, and a health sector specific report.

The Scottish Government has no additional plans to report to Parliament on the operation of sections 14 and 15 of the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Policy and guidance on NHS continuing healthcare is different between Scotland and England and the data is not therefore comparable.

<>NHS Scotland uses the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines to inform clinical practice. In the area of antibiotic prophylaxis this would be SIGN guideline 104: Antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery which was first published in 2008 and recently revised in April 2014. Please see the following link: http://www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/sign104.pdf

Healthcare Improvement Scotland has a strategic relationship with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and is the lead health board for NICE outputs in NHS Scotland. While Healthcare Improvement Scotland does provide advice for NHS Scotland on NICE single technology appraisals and NICE multiple technology appraisals, no advice is provided on NICE clinical guidelines and quality standards and these have no status in Scotland.

The Patient Rights (Complaints Procedure and Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 continues to apply to all health services, including those within the integration scheme. The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Integration Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2014 require health boards and local authorities to agree a process for complaints in relation to integrated services.

Each health board and local authority must include within their integration scheme a description of how they will manage complaints, and the process by which a service user may make a complaint, in relation to service delivery under integration. The integration scheme is subject to ministerial approval. The model integration scheme provides guidance on the completion of the integration scheme.

The Scottish Government meets regularly with the office of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) and the Scottish Human Rights Commissioner to discuss areas of mutual interest. The most recent meeting with SPSO was held on 21 November 2014, to discuss the recommendations from the Scottish Health Council’s Listening and Learning report. There have been no specific meetings with the SHRC to discuss sections 14 and 15 of the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011.