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The FNP programme is delivered to the mother. Therefore, the ‘households’ are the number we capture as the nurses have capacity to deliver the programme to up to 25 clients at any one time. There may be more than one eligible child per household, due to multiple births, but it is the number of clients on the programme that we count, in terms of capacity.

Provided the expansion continues at the expected rate, we should have the capacity to reach (i) 1,970 households in 2013-14 (ii) 3,420 in 2014-15 and (iii) 5,470 in 2015-16. We are committed to expanding the programme to all NHS boards who meet the criteria to deliver the programme, by the end of 2015. We are also committed to looking at expansion within existing NHS boards, during that timeframe.

This information is not collated centrally.

The number and rate of singletons born with neural tube defects are available in the Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report 2011 (tables A22 and A23a). The congenital anomaly tables from the SPIMMR report are currently only available up to 2010 as all infants are followed up from birth for a period of one year to allow detection of anomalies from hospital inpatient records or NRS death registrations. This information is available on ISD’s website via the following link:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Maternity-and-Births/Stillbirth-and-Infant-Deaths.

Due to the sensitivity of abortion data and disclosure issues around this topic the only data available for terminations following a diagnosis of neural tube abnormality are the suppressed figures from the Abortion Act Statistics 2012 (Table 1). The three groups which make up neural tube defects are Anencephaly, Encephalocele and Spina Bifida. This information is available on ISD’s website via the following link:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Sexual-Health/Abortions.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a function of advising Ministers on matters relating to the composition of foods. The FSA has recommended the mandatory fortification of bread or flour with folic acid in order to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in foetuses, along with provisos including, controls on voluntary fortification (e.g. breakfast cereals and fat spreads) and limits on the amount of folic acid in food supplements. The Scottish Government is considering the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid with the other UK administrations.

The FSA has not provided advice to the Scottish Government on monitoring the incidence of neural tube defects as this is not within its remit.

Health Protection Scotland has not provided advice to the Scottish Government on either monitoring the incidence of neural tube abnormalities or on fortifying flour with folic acid as this does not fall within its remit.

Neural tube defects are recorded in the Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report. The latest version of this report is available online at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Maternity-and-Births/Publications/2013-03-26/2013-03-26-SPIMMR2011-report.pdf?57358950377.

Prescribing may be under taken by appropriately qualified practitioners, on the NHS Boards list, within their area of competency and are accountable for all aspects of their prescribing decision.

The information requested is not centrally held.

The Scottish Stoma Forum audited patient opinion back in August 2010 to inform the development of a national audit system. Further work to establish a national group is to be taken forward and will be tasked with developing a national audit system building on patient opinion.

NHSScotland Boards are responsible for ensuring that they have an appropriately skilled workforce within their area to provide person-centred, safe and effective care. Individual Boards are supported and facilitated to meet training and continuous professional development needs by NHS Education for Scotland(NES).

With regard to stoma care, and new stoma care appliances, relevant healthcare staff are required to acquire and keep up to date their knowledge and skills to address the needs of their patients and to deliver high quality care, through medical journals, training and information from the Royal Colleges, GP magazines, national and local guidelines (e.g. British National Formulary and local formularies), NHS Knowledge Network, and others.

In addition to facilitating access to relevant information sources, NES also provides specific online stoma care presentations and webcasts that enable staff to gain greater insight into caring for the stoma patient, prescribing and common pharmaceutical care issues, and a ‘trouble-shooting’ workshop based upon case scenarios. These resources are reviewed regularly, and adapted as required.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15356 on 13 June 2013. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15356 on 13 June 2013. 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.