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Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 18 posts were advertised in Clinical Oncology at ST3 level and 5 (or 27.78%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. It should be noted that recent uplifts in Clinical Oncology (4 posts in 2022 and 2023) led to a greater number of posts being advertised. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities. Examples in Clinical Oncology include:

• We are funding uplifts in Internal Medicine Training (IMT) with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Clinical Oncology (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.
• NHS Education for Scotland (NES) colleagues have been promoting Clinical Oncology at undergraduate level and at various careers events across the country. The West of Scotland Oncology Team, for example, is hosting a careers event at the Beatson Cancer Centre in January 2024 for IMT trainees.
• A national oncology teaching programme has also been signposted to IMT trainees which is accessible via monthly MS Teams sessions.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). 81.25% is still a high fill rate for Paediatrics ST1in rounds 1 and 2 of 2023 recruitment. Within that context there will always be a small number of posts that will not fill. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery ST3 is a small specialty with only 2 posts advertised in 2023, therefore, as only 1 post has filled, the fill rate appears as 50%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology ST3 is a small specialty with only 1 post advertised in 2023, therefore, as this post has not filled, the fill rate appears as 0%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

NHS 24 call handlers are not medically trained, they are classed as healthcare support workers.

Callers to NHS 24 will initially have their symptoms triaged by a call handler before being passed on to a clinician within the Service or to another area of the health service best placed to meet their needs as appropriate.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-24197 on 19 January 2024. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 8 posts were advertised in Palliative Medicine at ST4 level and 4 (or 50%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; NHS England will publish full recruitment data for all UK nations in January (date TBC).

Palliative Medicine recently became what is known as a group 2 specialty (formerly group 1), meaning that trainees must complete 3 years of Internal Medicine Training (IMT) rather than 2. We are working with NES to determine what impact this is having on the attractiveness of the programme. We are also funding uplifts in IMT with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Palliative Medicine (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.

In addition to expanding numbers, the mandatory education programme in the first year of IMT now includes aspects of Palliative Medicine training which should increase the visibility of the specialty for trainees who are considering their future career options. Various careers events have also been showcasing opportunities in Palliative Medicine.

(a) For Local Authorities there were 140 separate lines in the funding formula being used in the consultation process for the 2024-25 revenue settlement. Twenty-six lines specifically use rurality-related indicators, though about 120 of the lines attract extra funding for island communities .

(b) Formula allocations to territorial NHS boards are informed by the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula. The NRAC formula captures the variation in both the relative need for health services across small area populations and the relative unit costs of delivering services across different geographies. The formula models 6 care programmes separately: Acute (with 7 discrete diagnostic groups), Care of the Elderly, Maternity, Mental Health and Learning Difficulties, Community and Prescribing. An adjustment to take account of the difference in relative unit costs across urban, rural and remote areas is applied to all of the care programmes except GP prescribing (because prescriptions are reimbursed at national prices).

The increase in operational budgets of overseas offices in 2024-25 predominantly reflects how running costs for Scotland House London are attributed from a budgeting perspective as well as a minor amendment to IFRS 16 adjustments, and does not reflect an increase in the costs of its activities. Aside from these, there are adjustments across all offices to reflect a smaller increase in staff costs for the pay award announced by the Scottish Government in June 2023.

The Scottish Government collates data by job family rather than by position, and as such, does not hold the information on recruitment to positions. As the employer, Health Boards hold individual responsibility for recruitment to ensure appropriate staffing levels to deliver services.