Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-12116

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that a large number of junior doctors are considering leaving NHS Scotland due to poor pay and conditions, what steps it is taking to avoid any such situation arising.

Junior Doctors are a valuable part of the NHS Scotland workforce. The Scottish Government has implemented a 4.5% pay uplift this year which is in line with the independent DDRB recommendations. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is aware of Junior Doctors concerns in relation to this pay award and wishes to ensure fairness across the NHS pay system.

The Scottish Government has been working with BMA and NHS Employers to take forward the Expert Working Group recommendation and key priorities within the BMA Wellbeing report. A Joint Statement on Junior Doctor Health and Wellbeing was agreed between all parties on 1 June 2022 and work is now underway to implement this important work.

Question reference: S6W-12107

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how the £15.1 million investment for NHS 24, as committed to in the winter resilience plan, will be spent.

NHS 24 has received £15.1 million to support improvements that lead to sustainable delivery across the Redesign of Urgent Care pathway and contribute to the wider ambition to reduce attendances at acute care.

This funding is largely committed to the recruitment of additional workforce to support the NHS 24 -111 service which includes increasing their call handler and clinical supervisor capacity which will support improvements in call answering times.

Funding will also be used to further develop public information through NHS Inform, develop public messaging about access to services and improve data sharing and digital support to optimise the continuity and co-ordination of care.

Question reference: S6W-12099

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the current (a) operating costs, (b) total number of staff and (c) reserves, both earmarked and unearmarked, for (i) NHS Golden Jubilee, (ii) Healthcare Improvement Scotland, (iii) NHS 24, (iv) NHS Education for Scotland, (v) National Services Scotland, (vi) Public Health Scotland, (vii) the Scottish Ambulance Service and (viii) the State Hospitals Board for Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-12191

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many adults with incapacity have been subject to a delayed discharge from hospital that was recorded as a code 9 reason in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government is committed to safely reducing delayed discharge and is actively working with partners. People who no longer require hospital treatment benefit from being at home or in a community setting. Decisions about care and treatment should always be clinically based, in the best interests of the patient and taken in consultation with the patient, their families or representatives.

Information is available from July 2016. Due to a change in data definitions and reporting requirements data prior to this point are not directly comparable.

Figures from July 2016 to September 2022 (inclusive) are shown in Table 1. (Source Public Health Scotland)

Table 1: Number of patients aged 18 & over, categorised as Adults with Incapacity (AWI) under the AWI (Scotland) Act 2000, who were delayed in their discharge from hospital by Financial Year.

Financial Year	Number of Individuals
2016-17 (from1July 2016 onwards)	868
2017-18	1,042
2018-19	1,033
2019-20	1,110
2020-21	1,135
2021-22	1,503
2022-23 (to 30 September 2022)	1,086

1. The data relate to individuals aged 18 years and over recorded as delayed in their discharge from hospital, categorised as AWI, who were clinically ready for discharge from hospital and experienced one or more delayed bed days within the financial year.

2. An individual is counted once per financial year although they may have more than one delay in that financial year.

3. If an individual was delayed in multiple financial years, they will be counted once in each financial year they were delayed.

4. Further information on Delayed Discharges can be found on the Public Health Scotland (PHS) website: https://beta.isdscotland.org/topics/delayed-discharges/

5. The collection and reporting of delayed discharge information was revised from 1 July 2016. As such, data is not directly comparable prior and post July 2016. Further information is published on the website: Delayed discharges definitional changes in NHSScotland (isdscotland.org)

Question reference: S6W-12065

Asked by: Sue Webber, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of patients that have participated in clinical trials in each year since 2015, broken down by (a) clinical speciality and (b) gender.

The total number of participants in clinical studies carried out between 2015-16 and 2021-22 ranged between 32,443 and 45,394 per year. Figures broken down per study type and clinical specialty are outlined in the table. Data broken down by gender is not available centrally.

Table 1. Number of participants by study type and portfolio area per year.

Studies & Portfolio Areas	FY15-16	FY16-17	FY17-18	FY18-19	FY19-20	FY20-21	FY21-22	Total
Audit/Evaluation	5		10	41				56
Cancer	5							5
Cardiovascular			10	41				51
Basic science	3219	3478	4696	6535	6198	17836	6894	48856
Ageing				42	33			75
Anaesthesia			5	39	149	121	13	327
Cancer	1090	834	465	523	482	170	747	4311
Cardiovascular	330	367	471	571	723	723	401	3586
Children	47	160	637	1297	1138	30	41	3350
Critical Care	299	76	29	73	52	767	574	1870
Dermatology		10	61	53	31	12	42	209
Diabetes	132	534	542	454	365	19	99	2145
Gastroenterology			89	396	482	290	486	1743
Genetics	53	41	550	520	117	33	189	1503
Haematology	6	3	8	15	407	1	2	442
Hepatology	140	145		14	0	9	13	321
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	237	9		0	236	14316	2804	17602
Mental Health	160	86	99	83	63	42	48	581
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	272	88	115	243	108	19	30	875
Musculoskeletal	4	27	80	161	202	32	69	575
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	51	203	208	511	273	150	152	1548
Ophthalmology	3	1	32	97	44	0	10	187
Oral and Dental Health		31	133	35	43			242
Primary Care	25	26						51
Renal Disorders	116	21	41	37	83	26	42	366
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	46	363	287	220	49	20	12	997
Respiratory disorders	78	344	497	247	155	320	374	2015
Stroke	130	94	311	661	644	379	313	2532
Surgery		15	19	30	44	16	11	135
Trauma and Emergencies			17	213	193	340	405	1168
Uncategorised					82	1	17	100
Combined	3	18	3			0	20	44
Cancer	3							3
Cardiovascular		18				0	20	38
Hepatology		0	3					3
Respiratory disorders							0	0
CTIMP	3669	3854	3629	6168	5220	7665	5677	35882
Ageing	10	44	85	33				172
Anaesthesia	3			0	3			6
Cancer	863	945	1072	1121	965	474	779	6219
Cardiovascular	630	706	919	1833	1778	674	862	7402
Children	43	465	181	639	81	40	76	1525
Critical Care	2	13	14	24	78	231	165	527
Dermatology	41	42	35	29	50	12	1	210
Diabetes	247	96	111	768	877	85	36	2220
Ear, Nose and Throat	18	33	3	51	33	0	8	146
Gastroenterology	14	9	26	42	29	13	2	135
Genetics	58	14	13	24				109
Haematology	3	6	14	21	5	3	3	55
Hepatology	67	99	99	140	106	22	36	569
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	4	6	49	5	40	5083	2379	7566
Mental Health	20	2	0	7	6	25	27	87
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	12	0	7	22		0	0	41
Musculoskeletal	97	143	59	98	40	303	566	1306
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	256	163	118	130	94	128	146	1035
Ophthalmology	14	16	4	5	10	24	14	87
Oral and Dental Health				358	170		5	533
Pain				0	40	15	16	71
Primary Care	44	20	18	0				82
Renal Disorders	195	65	31	51	183	64	37	626
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	360	347	223	148	93	16	91	1278
Respiratory disorders	232	149	185	292	255	284	131	1528
Stroke	321	335	248	252	219	145	189	1709
Surgery		54	38	53	65	23	23	256
Trauma and Emergencies	115	82	62	22	0	0	82	363
Uncategorised			15			1	3	19
Data	336	260	678	628	321	1214	495	3932
Anaesthesia		101			18			119
Cancer	21	16	48	24	23	71	136	339
Cardiovascular	78	33	14	0	7	34	17	183
Children	0	2	0	0	16	0	128	146
Critical Care	1	24			4			29
Dermatology						0	6	6
Diabetes			257	78				335
Ear, Nose and Throat						0	3	3
Gastroenterology		13				4	10	27
Haematology	50	22	25	231			1	329
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	3		2	23	62		144	234
Mental Health					0	0		0
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders			9					9
Musculoskeletal	11							11
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	33	49	175	7	8	45	5	322
Ophthalmology							0	0
Primary Care	0							0
Renal Disorders	8		110	49	17	7	14	205
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	131					247	21	399
Respiratory disorders			4	199	156	0	3	362
Surgery				2	10	10	7	29
Trauma and Emergencies			34	15	0	796		845
Device	3099	4958	5943	3344	8275	2324	6617	34560
Cancer	116	153	63	341	102	4	0	779
Cardiovascular	514	1151	2016	901	4252	1939	4096	14869
Children	9				1		8	18
Critical Care		174	299	11	4	1	3	492
Dermatology	43	20	7	4			0	74
Diabetes	1693	1753	578	46	2473	340	2077	8960
Haematology	236	920	1827	1543	1229	0		5755
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	44	41	87	44				216
Mental Health	4		22	33	0	6	45	110
Musculoskeletal	162	127	229	161	38	3	22	742
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	52	5	5	23	16	0	6	107
Ophthalmology	25	78	89	32	11	0	3	238
Oral and Dental Health		135	44	7	12			198
Renal Disorders	34	134	125	51	3	0	61	408
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	42	74	74	83	45	0	3	321
Respiratory disorders		44	65	32	45	0	1	187
Stroke	125	114	124	13	21	29	34	460
Surgery			8	19	19	2	36	84
Trauma and Emergencies		35	281		4	0	222	542
Other	3065	3211	2228	2093	1139	314	1191	13241
Ageing				32	33			65
Cancer	46	26	17	46	104	13	29	281
Cardiovascular	52	49		53	27	1	46	228
Children	74	80	77	34	30	6	6	307
Critical Care			79	49	7	9	13	157
Dermatology	51	96	28	22	20	0	57	274
Diabetes				6	14	14	21	55
Ear, Nose and Throat	772	372	28					1172
Gastroenterology	265	220	650	457	303	0		1895
Genetics	139	21	2	0	0	0	0	162
Haematology	8	22	6	4	0	0	309	349
Hepatology	7	31	62	30	66	5	24	225
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology						35		35
Mental Health	434	650	469	375	57			1985
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	184	107						291
Musculoskeletal	204	250	93	158	143	0	139	987
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	252	407	263	263	41	2	46	1274
Primary Care	188	67	15	22	1			293
Renal Disorders	17	0						17
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	293	750	414	471	218	133	407	2686
Respiratory disorders				17				17
Stroke	79	63	25	54	75	96	94	486
Trauma and Emergencies							0	0
Other/randomised CT	8921	5903	4632	5812	4374	1875	4771	36288
Ageing	437	474	410	317	5		172	1815
Anaesthesia		76	141	181	51	26	39	514
Cancer	2906	392	777	840	943	222	276	6356
Cardiovascular	201	311	729	605	861	964	2516	6187
Children	101	9	72	135	286	89	267	959
Critical Care	217	233	79	60	79	31	91	790
Dermatology			93	84	17	14	1	209
Diabetes	42	18	29	54	92	7	5	247
Ear, Nose and Throat	46	60	68	8	0			182
Gastroenterology	20	3		1	10	7	27	68
Genetics	72	14	1	5	2	0	6	100
Haematology	1	1		0	10	2	2	16
Hepatology	71	48	281	26	56	37		519
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	222	2	8	104	53	78	1	468
Mental Health	280	212	265	127	239	7	48	1178
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	1		9	0	26	39	140	215
Musculoskeletal	106	107	145	264	176	53	63	914
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	172	151	57	60	189	49	42	720
Ophthalmology	42	51	19		0	3	3	118
Oral and Dental Health			356	1092	6		48	1502
Pain							0	0
Primary Care	2493	2277	35	221	99	0	159	5284
Renal Disorders	178	144	132	217	85	35	139	930
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	512	422	527	1060	454	107	122	3204
Respiratory disorders	28	96	118	156	140	20	145	703
Stroke	109	111	63	81	193	41	141	739
Surgery	102	139	130	38	50	35	203	697
Trauma and Emergencies	562	552	88	76	252	9	115	1654
Qualitative	1125	347	603	470	512	794	395	4246
Ageing		20	104		18	0		142
Anaesthesia		2	192	0	0			194
Cancer	134	12	41	74	64	14	84	423
Cardiovascular	34	10					3	47
Children	3	24	0	72	36	57	9	201
Critical Care	20	15		9				44
Dermatology				0	15	0	0	15
Diabetes	33				26	0	19	78
Genetics		1	1	0	0	0	0	2
Hepatology					11	3	0	14
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	141	16	34	118	149	96	20	574
Mental Health	19	14	105	5		502	108	753
Musculoskeletal				0	42	15	74	131
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	259	56	41	13			7	376
Ophthalmology		7					6	13
Oral and Dental Health	16							16
Primary Care	445	42	20	35	59	69	39	709
Renal Disorders	1	13	28	2	2			46
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	5				70	21	10	106
Respiratory disorders	1	111		20		17	2	151
Stroke	14	4	37	82	3			140
Surgery					17			17
Uncategorised				40			14	54
Questionnaires	5517	14109	13875	11428	2562	1776	7177	56444
Anaesthesia		2322		1622			620	4564
Cancer	442	1392	199	310	173	60	375	2951
Cardiovascular	32	95	448	2	1	37	141	756
Children	67	224	42	17	3	62	118	533
Critical Care		43	133	179	188	292	443	1278
Dermatology	20	15	25	2	15	5	14	96
Diabetes	41	75	80	11	47	1000	4	1258
Gastroenterology	53	71	208	54	8	0	43	437
Genetics			15	10	0	0	0	25
Haematology	137	60	19	15	18		4	253
Hepatology	5	9	0	20	108	23	4	169
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	23	4	6	25	18	1	9	86
Mental Health	1675	298	514	756	437	34	94	3808
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	21	18					0	39
Musculoskeletal	94	86	197	44	161	5	37	624
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	183	8385	1058	336	67	1	37	10067
Ophthalmology	3	18	53	29	8	0		111
Oral and Dental Health	1				0	66	343	410
Pain						4	49	53
Primary Care	673	341	4621	3831	54	19	299	9838
Renal Disorders	24	82	38	9	8	7	7	175
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	1655	85	264	13	37	78	4244	6376
Respiratory disorders	11	4	3108	48	27	13	68	3279
Stroke	356	340	564	154	82	19	30	1545
Surgery				0	39	37	68	144
Trauma and Emergencies	1	142	2283	3888	428	13	126	6881
Uncategorised				53	635		0	688
Tissue Samples	3624	3505	2492	2177	3842	11596	3180	30416
Cancer	983	1321	731	509	762	216	269	4791
Cardiovascular	25	49	54	118	177	80	283	786
Children	170	178	73	31	12	0	1	465
Critical Care			3	22	0	63	48	136
Dermatology	171	122	182	143	131	50	56	855
Ear, Nose and Throat	25	11	4		0			40
Gastroenterology	225	116	25	12	14	436	19	847
Genetics	242	181	90	82	55	25	32	707
Haematology	24	19	14	15	8	0	1	81
Hepatology	19	113	66	12	11	2	9	232
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology	46	65	21	10	1161	10390	1570	13263
Mental Health	123	113	25	9	1			271
Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders	1			5	3	6	17	32
Musculoskeletal	670	644	507	377	348	131	324	3001
Neuroprogressive and Dementia	7	80	102	110	100	14	21	434
Ophthalmology			10	8		0	14	32
Oral and Dental Health	53	0	78	0	83		6	220
Renal Disorders	100	45	26	107	13	2	0	293
Reproductive Health and Childbirth	658	380	306	159	269	102	347	2221
Respiratory disorders	60	4	29	32	32	14	37	208
Surgery		12	19	60	115			206
Trauma and Emergencies	22	52	127	356	524	45	96	1222
Uncategorised					23	20	30	73
Total	32,583	39,643	38,789	38,696	32,443	45,394	36,417	263,965

Question reference: S6W-12112

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reported reduction in GP Practice Sustainability Payments will have on primary care.

The Scottish Government recognised in 2021 that partial implementation of the pharmacotherapy and community treatment and care services, on a national level, meant that general practice was facing a difficult winter without all of the support Scottish Government and the BMA had agreed it should have in 2018.

GP practices will receive £10 million in Sustainability Payments this year in addition to their regular funding (Global Sum and Income & Expenses Guarantees) of £696,549,007, to which an uplift will be applied backdated to April 2022.

We also now have more than 3,220 healthcare professionals recruited to support general practice since 2018 and are committed to investing at least £170 million a year on growing primary care multi-disciplinary teams.

Question reference: S6W-12118

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-05371 and S6W-05373 by Humza Yousaf on 10 January 2022, and the reference to a "regular tripartite forum" that has a focus on junior doctors, what progress has been made in addressing the concerns raised in the BMA Scotland report, Supporting Junior Doctor Wellbeing – Now and for the Future.

Question reference: S6W-12705

Asked by: Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 28 November 2022
Current Status: Initiated by the Scottish Government. Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has reached a decision on the future location of the Registrar of Independent Schools.

The Scottish Government has taken the decision to locate the Registrar of Independent Schools within the new national agency for Scottish Education.

We have considered a range of options, including Professor Muir’s recommendation to locate the Registrar within the Scottish Government, and have undertaken further consultation with a range of stakeholders.

On balance, it is clear that there are significant benefits to locating the Registrar within the new national agency. For example, the Registrar’s location in the Scottish educational landscape is now well understood by those involved with independent schools, and this has worked extremely well in terms of knowledge and resource sharing, developing relationships and building trust. This includes the sharing of expertise and enhanced knowledge of the sector for all involved.

This decision will also ensure that the functional and organisational separation between the Registrar and the Scottish Government will continue to inspire trust and confidence within the sector as a whole.

Question reference: S6W-12141

Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 11 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices are run by partners who are also a partner at one or more other GP practices where the combined total is of more than 12,500 registered patients.

Question reference: S6W-12008

Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 November 2022
Current Status: Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 28 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason fewer than 10% of faults on the public electric vehicle (EV) charger network reportedly identified in a recent BBC investigation appeared in official logs.

The recent BBC investigation was heavily reliant on data sourced from third party websites and limited anecdotal evidence from a very small proportion of the network as opposed to comprehensive, consistent, verified data directly from the CPS operator. The third party website utilised in their investigation does not present accurate up-to-date information and should be treated with caution when used to form the basis of overarching claims about reliability.

CPS network reliability has consistently improved in the last year, with the entire network now up and running at around 95% of the time each month. Furthermore, the vast majority of faults are being closed swiftly and with minimal impact on driver experience with approximately 90% closed within 24-48 hours.

The CPS website now provides the public with ready access to detailed information on the performance of the public charging network, showing each charge point’s reliability levels, fault history and usage. CPS is also working closely with third party EV charging websites to ensure they have access to more up-to-date information.

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