Seòmar agus comataidhean

We identified that women need more information about menstrual health symptoms and associated conditions which is why our Women’s Health Platform on NHS Inform helps women to access the information they need on a range of issues relating to their health, including conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome.

There is comprehensive information on the condition itself as well as help and advice on diagnosis, treatment and self-management options. In addition, there is signposting to organisations such as Verity and PCOS Relief for additional help and support.

As part of their work supporting the delivery of the Women’s Health Plan, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has continued to support the provision of comprehensive information and resources to dispel myths and stigma around menstrual health. This has included several webinars exploring periods and menstrual health related conditions. On 27 July 2023 The ALLIANCE hosted a webinar specifically focussing on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) . These webinars are available to view on line and are supported by additional written resources which include signposting to other sources of information and advice.

The ALLIANCE has also produced a toolkit for delivering Conversation Cafes on women’s health . The toolkit brings together resources and guidance to set up supportive conversation spaces, facilitate informed discussion with women and build peer support networks. Alongside the toolkit is a resource hub , which provides additional resources to support discussion: ensuring that Café participants are provided with accurate information and can be signposted appropriately.

Scotland’s first Women’s Health Champion, Professor Anna Glasier, has identified PCOS as one of her priorities and publishes a quarterly blog highlighting her progress.

The Scottish Government’s universal Baby Box programme, the only one in the UK, opened for registration on 15 June 2017. Nationwide delivery of Baby Boxes began on 15 August 2017 for all babies born and resident in Scotland.

We are unable to give the number of Baby Boxes delivered by local authority or other local area breakdown area as we only record numbers of Baby Boxes distributed by Health Board area.

The following table shows the number of Baby Boxes distributed by NHS Board area since the Scheme began up to 25 th August 2023.

NHS Inform is Scotland’s national health information service. Its aim is to provide the people of Scotland with accurate and relevant information to help them make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.

NHS Inform has a dedicated long COVID microsite for people with ongoing symptoms after Coronavirus, setting out key information and sources of support for people impacted by long COVID.

This information is publicly accessible at www.nhsinform.scot/long-covid and comes in a variety of different languages and accessible formats to provide clear and accessible guidance to people living with long COVID on managing their symptoms.

The Scottish Government’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to promote fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland. We are committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence.

The action to consider including the use of reliefs and licensing powers is an investigatory action, and not a definitive position on if and how these can be used. Officials will explore the scope of this action in due course and following the principles of the New Deal for Business. In the meantime we will continue to monitor implementation of Fair Work conditions to ensure the approach remains fair and proportionate.

Although Pupil Equity Funding is allocated directly to schools on the basis of the estimated number of children and young people in P1-S3 registered for free school meals, headteachers can use their professional judgement to identify any children in their school who may benefit from the targeted interventions and approaches, with the aim of closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Pupils who speak English as a second language are therefore already eligible to benefit from Pupil Equity Funding under the existing allocation criteria, with headteachers having discretion to make decisions about which children and young people would benefit most from any particular intervention or approach, whilst keeping a clear focus on delivering equity through improving outcomes for learners impacted by poverty.

I wrote to NHS National Services Scotland on 16 June 2023 to request that an evaluation of post COVID services (including long COVID clinics) in comparison to pathways in Scotland was added to the long COVID Strategic Network’s workplan for 2023-24. Consequently, the Strategic Network has contracted the University of Leeds to support the initial evaluation of long COVID services in Scotland.

The University of Leeds is currently the only institution in the UK evaluating long COVID services under the LOCOMOTION study, which includes NHS Highland as a pilot site. The University of Leeds also collaborates with ELAROS which has produced the C19-YRS digital tool which has been procured for use within NHS Scotland to monitor long COVID services. This partnership will also enable Scotland to benefit from the lessons already being learned from NHS England’s long COVID services.

As part of the evaluation, the University of Leeds will provide an: analysis of demand and capacity within Scotland’s long COVID services; analysis of longer-term outcomes for long COVID patients assessed within NHS Health Board services; and where possible, compare differences in service models.

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing NHS dental payment reform on 1 November 2023 which will retain independent dental practices as the mainstay of NHS provision. Payment reform will also continue to comprise fee-per-item, capitation and allowance payments within a blended model.

In bringing forward payment reform, Scottish Government is seeking to address how best to maximise patient care and access to NHS dental services within a challenging financial position, and ensure value-for-money to the public sector. It is our view this can only be done by maintaining the blended system of payment, and our engagement with the sector during the development of reform has shown that dentists prefer being able to determine their own income and workload through the fee-per-item model.

The Scottish Government is currently responding to the committee’s letter in full, and this response will be published in due course.

All NHS Scotland Boards are providing support for children and young people with long COVID.

Assessment and initial investigation is being provided by local primary care teams, who can give advice and guidance about the management of symptoms and any potential treatment options for these in the first instance. Primary care clinicians can refer to occupational therapy and physiotherapy for further support where appropriate. In cases where referral to secondary care is required, children and young people may be referred to general paediatric services for investigation and management.

The Scottish Government is making available funding of £3 million over this financial year to support NHS Boards to increase the capacity of existing services providing support to people with long COVID, develop these in to more clearly defined pathways and to provide a more co-ordinated experience for those accessing support.

The individual delivery models being utilised and progressed by NHS Boards will vary, as they are tailored to local circumstances and needs. For example, some NHS Boards have developed single points of access for assessment and co-ordinated support from services including physiotherapy and occupational therapy. In other areas, the co-ordination role will be fulfilled by the primary care team based in the person’s local GP surgery.

The deployment, working conditions and health and wellbeing of officers are matters for the Chief Constable. There are processes and mechanisms in place for the Scottish Police Federation to raise any concerns or suggestions for change with Police Scotland through the Joint Negotiating Consultative Committee (JNCC), whose membership includes staff associations and trade unions.

I have three scheduled meetings per year and met with the Scottish Police Federation on 21 December 2022, 10 May 2023 and is scheduled to meet them on 21 September 2023. The Federation also meet regularly with senior Scottish Government officials. During these meetings matters of interest and concern to federation members are discussed.