Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government Equality Evidence Strategy, published on 18 July 2017, identifies evidence gaps across policy areas for all protected characteristics and sets out its general approach to filling these.

Over the four year period of the strategy, the Scottish Government will carry out further engagement with stakeholders to prioritise these gaps and define projects aimed at improving the equality evidence base.

Equality Evidence Strategy: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/07/9574/1

NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division (ISD) has recently published its Equality Evidence Finder, which summarises information about the availability and use of equality data from key national administrative health datasets. A companion report, Measuring use of health services by equality group, sets out a number of steps that ISD aims to take forward in order to build upon the work presented in the report and through the Equality Evidence Finder.

ISD Equality Evidence Finder: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Equality-and-Diversity/Equality-Evidence-Finder/

Measuring use of health services by equality group: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Equality-and-Diversity/Publications/2017-06-27/2017-06-27-Measuring-Use-of-Health-Services-by-Equality-Group-Report.pdf

Since 2012, the Scottish Government has included a core set of questions in each of the three major household surveys it conducts. This has been done specifically to allow responses to be combined across the surveys. This large sample enables the analysis of key health indicators with reference to sexual orientation, religious belief, and disability (as measured through the presence of long-term conditions and limiting long-term conditions). This data was used earlier this year to inform a report on sexual orientation in Scotland.

Scottish Survey Core Questions: www.gov.scot/SSCQ

Sexual Orientation in Scotland 2017: A Summary of the Evidence Base: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/01/4911/0

Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan, published on 28 June 2017, reflects Audit Scotland’s recommendation and is clear on the need to develop capacity to project future supply and demand. Further work is proceeding at local, regional and national levels via NHS Education for Scotland and other NHSScotland bodies to develop a scenario planning model which can be implemented nationally, regionally and locally.

The Scottish Government already requires NHS Boards to undertake an annual workforce planning and projections process, and factors the information provided by NHS Boards into its financial plans.

The national performance standard for cancer is 95 per cent of patients referred urgently with a suspicion of cancer are to begin treatment within 62 days of receipt of referral.

We know further work is needed to shorten waits for diagnostics and in September 2017 we formed a Ministerial Cancer Performance Delivery Group to drive forward service redesign and improvement, backed by £1 million investment on top of
£4.85 million already allocated to boards.

Among a series of actions the group will audit processes for managing patients with a suspected cancer, implement new scrutiny and monitoring processes for health boards struggling to meet the 62 day standard, and invest in the roll-out of new technology to assist with pressures on diagnostic services.

The Health and Social Care Delivery Plan, published 19 December 2016, affirms that there will be a shift in the balance of care from hospital to community care settings, and to individual homes when that is the best thing to do. By 2021-22 more than half of frontline NHS spending will be in community health services.

As part of this shift, in every year of this Parliament there will be an increase in the share of the frontline NHS budget dedicated to mental health and to primary, community, and social care. This will be supported by an increase in health resource funding of £2 billion over the life of this Parliament.

Statistics published by Information and Statistics Division (ISD) Scotland on 21 February 2017 show that the mortality rate for heart disease had fallen 37.6% per cent between 2006 and 2015. ISD statistics for cancer mortality, published on 31 October 2017 also show a fall in mortality rates of 11% between 2006 and 2015. Whilst we know that Scotland is behind other UK countries, it encouraging to see that mortality rates for heart disease and cancer have decreased over the last decade.

We know more needs to be done to tackle the risk factors associated with heart disease and cancer. Healthier eating, being more active, stopping smoking and drinking sensibly can all play their part in reducing the risk of heart disease and cancer, and we are taking firm action in all these areas to support people across Scotland to live healthier lives. This includes our Heart disease plan published in 2014, our £100 million Cancer Strategy published in 2016 and our upcoming Obesity Strategy, which is currently out for consultation.

These plans emphasise the Scottish Government’s commitment to tacking heart disease and cancer and outline key ambitions and actions to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of heart disease and cancer for all people in Scotland.

Unlike local authorities and integration authorities, NHS Boards do not publish draft accounts. NHS Boards publish their annual accounts once the accounts have been audited and laid before the Scottish Parliament.

All NHS Boards received an unqualified audit opinion for their 2016-17 accounts.

Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan published on 28 June 2017 is clear on the need to project the future supply and demand of the NHSScotland workforce, using scenario planning to factor in future population demand and workforce supply changes such as retirals.

With strategic oversight from the National Workforce Planning Group set up under Part 1, the Scottish Government is working closely with stakeholders in NHSScotland and NHS Education Scotland to develop the workforce data and scenario planning capacity required to build an accurate picture of the workforce needed to deliver safe, high quality NHSScotland services in future.

Within our Health and Social Care Delivery Plan we aim to reduce occupied bed days by 10 percent (around 400,000 bed days) by reducing avoidable admissions, delays and inappropriate long stay delays in hospital.

The Scottish Government has funded NHS National Services Scotland Information Services Division to provide data intelligence and support for Integration Authorities to allow them to continuously monitor, evaluate and report progress locally. Integration Authorities are also required to publically report on progress against nationally agreed integration indicators in their annual performance reports.

Scottish Government is working closely with health boards through the Modern Outpatient Programme to transform services. This programme aims to reduce the demand for outpatient services and deliver care closer to patients’ homes. The Scottish Access Collaborative, which will be launched on 22 November, is based on a set of key principles and will help transform scheduled care and put services on a sustainable footing. This builds on extra investment of £50 million to cut waiting times this year.

Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan published on 28 June 2017 made specific recommendations on strengthening available NHSScotland workforce data; The Plan commits to increasing training places for nurses and midwives by a further 1,600. That is 2,600 additional nursing and midwifery training places over this Parliament The Plan goes further and increases the number of medical training places by up to a further 100 over the lifetime of this Parliament.

On the need to respond more proactively to changing service and demographic demand, for example by using scenario planning; and on working with NHS Boards to reduce the overall use of agency staff through use of Regional and National Staff Banks.

These recommendations are being taken forward with NHS partners and stakeholders, with strategic oversight from the National Workforce Planning Group.