Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scottish mental health and incapacity legislation is based on rights and principles. Our legislation is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and has never been found, in part or in whole, by the European Court of Human Rights to be incompatible with the Convention.

Public authorities, including NHS boards, are required by the Human Rights Act 1998 to act in a way that is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and will need to satisfy themselves that they do so, taking into account any relevant judgements of the ECHR.

Scottish mental health and incapacity legislation sets clear safeguards which apply to ensure that any treatment given to patients subject to compulsory measures is compatible with Convention rights.

Mental health law in Scotland is based on rights and principles and offers patients significant safeguards where compulsory treatment is necessary. Safeguards include a right to independent advocacy and an efficient and independent Mental Health Tribunal which grants and reviews orders for compulsory treatment.

For example, a short-term detention certificate (STDC) should be the usual route into hospital for someone who needs compulsory treatment. The STDC offers several safeguards for the person. Before granting the certificate, the doctor must consult a mental health officer (MHO) and get her or his agreement. In deciding whether to agree to the certificate, the MHO should speak to the patient in person, unless there is a good reason why they cannot do this.

The patient or the patient’s named person can appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal to have the STDC revoked. Additionally, the patient has a right to support from an independent advocate. The independent body, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland monitors the use of Scottish mental health law, including compulsory treatment. The Commission also has the power to intervene in particular cases if there is evidence of improper care, treatment or practices.

(a) Shingles uptake 2016-17

Further to S5W-06124, vaccination uptake rates for the 2016-17 shingles vaccination programme are not yet available, however provisional uptake rates until the end of March 2017 can be found at: http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/immvax/shinglesvaccination.aspx. Publication of the annual report for the 2016-17 programme, including final uptake rates, will be made available in November 2017.

(b) Flu uptake 2016-17

Further to S5W-06124, influenza vaccine uptake for 2016-17 is provided in table 1.

Table 1: Influenza vaccine uptake in Scotland by eligible group in 2016-17

This information has been provided by ISD. ‘NHS support’ has been defined as the number of acute and mental health inpatients with a diagnosis of eating disorder recorded within data returns to ISD. This information is shown in the following table for the financial years 1999-2000 to 2015-2016, broken down by NHS board of treatment. Please note that the figures for the financial year 2016-17 have not yet been published.

Most people who use mental health services receive treatment without being subject to an order or certificate under the Mental Health (Scotland) (Care and Treatment) Act 2003. For some individuals however, compulsory treatment is used to provide the person with medical treatment to alleviate suffering and for the protection of both the person and others. Compulsory treatment is only allowed under mental health legislation in Scotland in very strict circumstances.

Firstly, certain criteria must be met before an order or certificate can be granted. For a 28 day short-term detention certificate (STDC), this includes that an approved medical practitioner considers it likely that the patient has a mental disorder (as defined by the 2003 Act) and that the patient’s decision making ability is significantly impaired by their disorder and without treatment the patient could be of significant risk to their own health, safety and welfare, or to the safety of others. The patient can appeal the granting of an STDC to the independent Mental Health Tribunal. A longer term order can only be granted by the Tribunal, and the application must have the support of two doctors who agree that the criteria for the order are met.

Secondly, treatment under the 2003 Act is governed by a range of safeguards. For certain treatments, including medication given for more than two months, a Designated Medical Practitioner, an experienced psychiatrist appointed by the Mental Welfare Commission, must agree to the treatment.

In addition to this, the 2003 Act is based in rights and principles and contains tools to support patients in expressing their will and preferences. The principles include that any function should be carried out for the maximum benefit of the patient, with the minimum necessary restriction on the freedom of the patient and having regard to the views of the patient and of any carer. Under the 2003 Act, any service user has the right to support from an independent advocate, the right to appoint a named person to represent their interests and the right to make an advance statement setting out how what treatment they would and would not like to receive when unwell. We have made changes to ensure that people with a mental disorder can access effective treatment quickly and improved legislation through the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015 to strengthen support for decision making and promote rights.

This information is not held centrally. Information Services Division routinely publish statistics on the three national cancer screening programmes: Breast Cancer Screening, Bowel Cancer Screening and Cervical Cancer Screening. This information can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp

A short-term detention certificate (STDC) should be the usual route into hospital for someone who needs compulsory treatment. The STDC offers several safeguards for the person. Before granting the certificate, the doctor must consult a mental health officer (MHO) and get her or his agreement. In deciding whether to agree to the certificate, the MHO should speak to the patient in person, unless there is a good reason why they cannot do this. Where possible, the doctor should also consult the patient’s named person, and most recent data shows that named persons are consulted in around half of cases where an STDC is made.

Once an STDC is granted, it can be revoked at any time by the patient’s responsible medical officer if they think it is no longer needed. The patient or the patient’s named person can appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal to have the STDC revoked. Additionally, the patient has a right to support from an independent advocate.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to plan their Mental Health Officer (MHO) workforce, ensuring they have the appropriate levels of staff in place to provide services for their residents. The Scottish Government recognises the invaluable contribution made by this workforce to improving the lives of mental health patients and their friends and families.

As disclosed in response to parliamentary question S5W-09441 on 23 June 2017, health resource consequentials received and allocated between 2011-12 and 2016-17 are set out in the following table.

This shows that the Scottish Government has delivered its commitment made in 2010-11 to pass on health resource consequentials in full, with further investment over and above consequentials made by the Scottish Government in 2015-16.

Figures prior to the period outlined above are not available on a basis which is directly comparable between the Department of Health and the Scottish Government health portfolio. An example of this is the inclusion of spending on adult social care within figures for the Department of Health.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Scotland's approach continues to be to promote best clinical practice based on current evidence as outlined by Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines. SIGN No. 148 Acute Coronary Syndrome makes recommendations on the use of appropriate diagnostic tests for cardiac events.

The cMyC test is currently the subject of research that will contribute to the emerging evidence base, which is in its early stages. Consideration of the introduction of new diagnostic tests is informed by advice and evidence-based recommendations made by the Diagnostic Steering Group, working in partnership with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, the Scottish Health Technology Group and Scottish Medicines Consortium.