Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10385 on 20 September 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

The consequentials form part of the savings package of over £500 million set out to the Finance and Public Administration Committee on September 7 th . As stated in the letter, savings have been utilised to meet increased costs as a result of inflationary pressures, increase help for those hit hardest by the cost of living crisis and to fund enhanced pay settlements.

The Lyme disease vaccine candidate VLA15 was developed in Austria and, as such, is not directly supported by Scottish funding. The Scottish Government is however regarded as preferred customers for Valneva, and should the decision be taken to procure Lyme Disease vaccines from Valneva, the Scottish Government will receive preferential access and pricing. This is in recognition of the support provided to Valneva by Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise have supported Valneva Livingston with funding packages for the following vaccines, all of which have received grant support:

• Japanese Encephalitis
• Zika
• Chikungya
• Covid-19

Non-NHS provider figures relate to patients treated in non-NHS locations such as private hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and care homes. Patients who receive treatment at a private (independent) hospital which is paid for by the NHS board should be recorded within the SMR by the relevant NHS board.

The following table presents the procedure information that has been supplied to Public Health Scotland (PHS).

Table 1: The number of procedures performed by Non-NHS Providers.

I have a weekly portfolio meeting, usually held on a Monday, with officials and clinical advisers, including the Chief Medical Officer, during which any updates regarding the monkeypox outbreak in Scotland have been, and will continue to be, discussed.

As outlined in the answer to S6W-10089, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care attends regular meetings with his counterparts in the UK and other Devolved Administrations to ensure that the Scottish Government is represented in relation to public health incidents which require a coordinated 4 Nations response. The last meeting of the UK Health Ministers Forum was on 16 June 2022. The UK Health Ministers Forum has now been replaced by an Inter-Ministerial Group meeting which is expected to meet for the first time in mid-October.

The contract notice with Corporate Travel Management (North) Ltd, was published on 9 August 2022. The contract is to source and provide travel-related services for displaced people from Ukraine including accommodation in hotels and on the M/S Victoria I and M/S Ambition.

The full contract has a value of up to £100 million with a start date of 8 July 2022 and an end date of 12 December 2024. Both the M/S Victoria and the M/S Ambition have been initially chartered for a period of 6 months.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Advice Direct Scotland to deliver telephone and digital advice services including debt and consumer advice. Spend on external consultants is an operational matter and I direct the member to Advice Direct Scotland’s website or to their Chief Executive Officer for this information.

Throughout the pandemic, NHS Boards have ensured that urgent, maternity and vital cancer services continue as usual.

Any arrangements for NHS patients to be treated at an Independent Sector hospital would need to be made between the patient and the NHS Board prior to the treatment being carried out.

Project Neptune was published on 8 September 2022 and can be accessed:

https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/

Over the last two and a half years, our NHS has suffered the biggest shock of its 74-year existence. Caring for large numbers of patients seriously unwell with COVID-19 has inevitably meant that planned care procedures have had to be delayed, and while we are working hard to recover and remobilise our NHS, this will not be done in a few weeks or even months. Throughout the pandemic, NHS Boards have ensured that urgent, maternity and vital cancer services continue as usual. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, remains a priority for this Government.

We recognise the impact long waiting times can have on patients. That is why we have introduced a new set of ambitious targets for NHS Scotland to address the backlog of planned care. Key targets are to eliminate:

• Two-year waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of August 2022
• 18-month waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of December 2022
• One-year waits for outpatients in most specialities by the end of March 2023
• Two-year waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2022
• 18-month waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2023
• One-year waits for inpatient / daycases in most specialities by the end of September 2024

We are working with NHS Boards to maximise capacity to meet these targets and have increased the flexibility Health Boards and clinicians have to manage waiting lists, with a focus on eliminating long waits, as well as continuing to treat the most clinically urgent patients.

The latest Private Healthcare Information Network figures show Scotland has lower rates of self-pay admissions per head of population than England and Wales