Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05574 on 20 January 2022. 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

This information is not held centrally.

The information requested on how many staff there are in each NHS Board who are on long-term sick leave is not centrally available.

Sickness absence rates by NHS Board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at:

NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The information requested on what the total cost is for each NHS board of staff who are on long-term sick leave is not centrally available.

NHS Education for Scotland publish annual data on bank and agency spend for Medical & Dental and Nursing & Midwifery staff. It should be noted that there are a variety of reasons Boards may choose to deploy bank and agency staff and this does not directly represent spending associated with sickness absence.

The data can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The Scottish Government recognises the severe impact the necessary measures to protect public health during this pandemic has had on businesses, particularly those in the travel sector.

The easing of some international travel restrictions has renewed confidence in international travel and we continue to work with the industry on what further steps the Government can take to further support the recovery of the sector.

On 10 February 2022, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy announced £3.5 million for outbound travel agents as part of a package of further support for businesses impacted by the measures introduced to control the spread of Omicron.

As Covid-19 case numbers fall, the Scottish Government is fully focused on supporting the remobilisation of orthopaedic services impacted by the challenges of the pandemic. We understand how difficult it is for those waiting for treatment. Orthopaedic services are recommencing, with NHS Boards undertaking clinically-prioritised urgent cases at present.

The National Treatment Centre Programme, which represents an investment of over £400 million in a network of new, elective and diagnostic treatment centres, will add extra capacity for hip and knee replacements across Scotland and support the recovery and resilience of orthopaedic services in the future.

The consultation report and response to last year’s consultation on changes to energy standards and associated topics will be published in March 2022. This will report on the standards for new buildings to be implemented later this year.

The exact data requested is not held. The Cancer Waiting Times data does not report on average waits, however median waits are reported. The information below is for urological cancers and is provided both for 62-day and 31-day standard. The 62-day standard refers to ‘urgent’ referrals only and waiting times are from ‘urgent’ referral to the start of their first treatment for a newly diagnosed cancer. The 31-day standard is for ‘all’ referrals and waiting times are from the decision to treat to the start of their first treatment for a newly diagnosed cancer. Please note: the waiting times for 62-day and 31-day standards are not comparable as both standards refer to different cohorts of patients.

The Median length of wait between referral to first treatment (62-day standard) for urology cancers in 2017 was 49 days, 47 days in 2018, 45 days in 2019, 39 days in 2020 and 44 days in 2021.

The Median length of wait between decision to treat and first treatment (31-day standard) for urology cancers in 2017 was 12 days, 13 days in 2018, 11 days in 2019, 8 days in 2020 and 11 in 2021.

To note the median values for the year 2021 are based on the data that has already been published i.e. data for the months of January- September 2021.

The mobile theatre unit, which opened at Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland in January 2022, is supporting access to treatment for cataract and orthopaedic patients, who have faced delays in receiving care due to the pandemic and may have otherwise had to travel to the mainland for their procedure. The mobile theatre unit will also allow normal levels of theatre activity to continue through Phase 2 of the NHS Shetland Ambulatory Care capital project which starts in April 2022, preventing waiting lists from increasing significantly during these essential building works.

Throughout the pandemic, health boards across Scotland have been working hard to ensure that vital care remains in place. Any pausing of non-urgent activity has regrettably but inevitably led to a build-up of numbers waiting for Outpatient appointment and/or Inpatient/Day Case treatment. We will continue to work with Boards to recover our NHS through a range of targeted actions to maximise capacity and efficiency, including through the use of mobile theatre units where appropriate.

Scottish Government officials met with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on the 10 February 2022 to discuss the outcome of the roundtable meeting with experts in the clinical field, including from NHS Scotland, held on 19 January 2022 on the use of pulse oximeters.

The outcome is that after considering current available evidence, it is agreed that pulse oximetry continues to be a vital diagnostic device to support remote monitoring of oxygen saturations in the blood and is a useful part of an assessment and monitoring protocol in patients of all skin tones.

The scientific and clinical expert advice is that any loss of confidence in oximeters, leading to a reduced use of devices poses a significant health risk of subsequent harm from undetected deterioration in vulnerable ethnic groups and therefore the continued use of pulse oximeters should continue to be strongly endorsed to patients and clinicians.

Although it was noted that to date there has been no report of patient harm linked to measurement inaccuracies in the UK, it is recognised that further research is required and this is being conducted through an ongoing National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commission on the diagnostic accuracy of pulse oximeters and how this varies with darker pigmentation and skin tones.

In Scotland, Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Scotland has adopted a conservative approach to the interpretation of pulse oximeter readings to take into account potential discrepancies when used on people with darker pigmentation and skin tones. The NHS Scotland COVID-19 Remote Monitoring Pathway, developed by clinicians and underpinned by digital support, continues to provides additional clinical guidance in the use of pulse oximeters in Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the DHSC to ensure that medical devices are safe and effective for all and consider any recommendations coming out of this work that are relevant to the NHS in Scotland.