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We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Through the Women’s Health Plan we are taking steps to support both women and health professionals to learn more about endometriosis, the symptoms and treatment options to improve the diagnostic process. Our Women’s Health Plan 2021 - 2024 Final Report on progress provides further details of our work to date.

When developing the next phase of the Plan we will build on this progress and seek to ensure that all women receive a timely diagnosis for endometriosis together with access to the care and support that they need.

For patients on a waiting list to see a healthcare specialist there is information available on NHS Inform with advice on health and wellbeing whilst they await their appointment. More information can be found at: Waiting well | NHS inform.

The priorities of the ILG will flex and take account of changing economic and policy circumstances, but will continue to develop actions in the Retail Strategy on:

(a) Fair Work -The Industry Leadership Group will take forward the action on Fair Work, working with members to produce a Fair Work document which will showcase good examples of Fair Work in the sector and contain useful resources for organisations, using the valuable insight gained from the Fair Work Working Group (FWWG).

(b) Just Transition - The ILG will work across industry to share expertise and promote best practice.

(c) Retail skills - An audit has been completed, and an action plan has been drafted, with priority areas identified. Discussions are currently taking place with Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Government Employability Division and other stakeholders, including Local Employability Partnerships, to implement and evaluate a pilot approach to developing a pipeline of trained, informed and motivated individuals to compete for available jobs in the retail sector.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advise flu vaccination for those aged 65 years and over. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scotland expanded the programme to protect individuals, public services and the NHS. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scottish Government made a policy decision to expanded the programme to protect individuals, public services and the NHS.

Eligibility criteria for the last three years are set out below.

2024-25:

• Residents in long-stay care homes / facilities
• Those aged 65+
• Those aged 18 to 64 at risk including:
  • clinical at-risk groups as per Green Book Chapter 19 (GBC19)
  • the homeless
  • those experiencing substance misuse
  • asylum seekers in Home Office hotel accommodation
  • prisoners
  • pregnant women
• Frontline health and social care workers
• Non-frontline NHS workers
• Poultry workers & bird keepers
• Unpaid carers and young carers
• Household contacts of the immunosuppressed
• Those aged 6 months to 2 years at clinical risk
• Those aged 2-5 years not yet at school
• Primary & secondary school children

2023-24:

• Residents in long-stay care homes / facilities
• Those aged 50 +
• Those aged 18 to 49 at risk including:
  • clinical at-risk groups as per GBC19
  • the homeless
  • those experiencing substance misuse
  • prisoners
  • pregnant women
• Frontline health and social care workers
• Non-frontline NHS workers
• Poultry workers
• Teachers
• Prison staff
• Unpaid carers and young carers
• Household contacts of the immunosuppressed
• Those aged 6 months to 2 years at clinical risk
• Those aged 2-5 years not yet at school
• Primary & secondary school children

2022-23:

• Residents in long-stay care homes / facilities
• Those aged 50 +
• Those aged 18 to 49 at risk including:
  • clinical at-risk groups as per GBC19
  • the homeless
  • those experiencing substance misuse
  • prisoners
  • pregnant women
• Frontline health and social care workers
• Non-frontline NHS workers
• Teachers
• Prison staff
• Unpaid carers and young carers
• Household contacts of the immunosuppressed
• Those aged 6 months to 2 years at clinical risk
• Those aged 2-5 years not yet at school
• Primary & secondary school children

Since April 2023, the Scottish Government has published the median time from offence date to verdict date by court type. The most recent data covering 2023-24 reported in the Journey times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System: 2023-24 bulletin, shows the median offence to verdict times figures in supplementary table 4. Further information including median police known to verdict times can be found in the Journey times in the Scottish Criminal Justice System interactive dashboard.

The Scottish Government is aware of concerns that have been raised around online alcohol sales in Scotland. Officials are engaging with industry and business stakeholders to better understand these concerns and continue to keep the potential impact of this developing market under review.

Public Health Scotland holds alcohol retail sales data for both the on-trade and off-trade, which includes all electronic point of sale data for the main supermarkets and a representative sample of smaller retailers and independent stores. This data includes alcohol purchased online from larger national supermarkets which is processed on premises. Detailed information on cross-border online alcohol sales is not available and such information is likely to be commercially confidential and would require businesses to supply this on a voluntary basis.

The Best Start (2017) recommended that all neonatal facilities should provide emergency overnight accommodation on the unit for parents, with accommodation available nearby for parents of less critically ill babies. We have no plans to introduce guidance on the number of parent beds that should be available in each unit.

We are currently working with Regional Chief Executives and Regional Planners who are leading on development of plans for implementation of the new model of neonatal care, with the expectation that a phased transition to the new model will begin later this year. Accommodation is part of Board’s planning under the new model of neonatal care implementation.

Data on the amount local authorities spend on reading books is not collected centrally. The delivery of education is devolved to local authorities and funding is provided to local authorities via the “block grant”. Each local authority will have their own approaches to funding school reading materials, which will vary according to local needs and resources.

We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Through the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan we have worked to ensure that women have access to comprehensive information on endometriosis – including options for treatment.

We have; launched a Women’s Health Platform on NHS Inform which includes an endometriosis page with consistent, reliable and accessible information, including a short lived experience film, empowering women to make informed decisions about their health; worked with organisations such as the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, Young Scot and Endometriosis UK to raise awareness about the condition and deliver accurate and supportive information to the public; funded Endometriosis UK to produce a booklet and two webinars on treatments and self-management tips for managing endometriosis pain.

More information can be found in the Women’s Health Plan Final Report.

This data is not routinely collected.

We are committed to ensuring those living with endometriosis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

That is why endometriosis is one of the key priorities in the Women’s Health Plan and will continue to be so.

Timely access to gynaecology services will remain a priority as we continue to develop our Women’s Health Plan

The Budget we set out on 4 December 2024 will throw the weight of the government behind performance improvements with almost £200 million to reduce waiting lists and help support reduction of delayed discharge. By March 2026, we expect no one to be waiting longer than 12 months for a new outpatient, inpatient treatment or day case treatment.

We have already invested £30 million to reduce waiting lists that built up throughout the pandemic. This funding is being targeted at a series of national and local plans to reduce backlogs by maximising the use of local and national resources across Scotland. As part of this, we have allocated additional funding to Gynaecology services which we expect to deliver around 3,500 new outpatient appointments.

NHS Scotland’s Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) is also playing a central role in identifying new ways to increase capacity, and to respond to demand through service innovation and redesign. CfSD programmes have developed strong clinically-led Specialty Delivery Groups (SDG), including one for Gynaecology, which promote multidisciplinary team working, and support local adoption of service improvement programmes.

Our actions will further enable NHS Scotland to maximise capacity, build greater resilience and deliver reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for treatment.