Question reference: S5W-34257
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 23 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken since 23 March 2020 to develop its ability to meet the duties imposed on it by the Health and Care (Staffing) Scotland Act 2019.
Answer
The actions that the Scottish Government has taken to develop its duties which correspond to the Health and Care (Staffing) Scotland Act 2019 (the Act) have, as with most aspects of health and social care policy, been significantly affected by our need to respond to the global pandemic emergency.
While the implementation of the Act has been paused, Boards have continued to use workload tools where there has been capacity to do so. Therefore, since the initial lockdown we have focused on supporting Boards with necessary workload and workforce planning as part of their response.
Scottish Government has been funding and overseeing the development of a range of resources in recognition that Covid-19 has required changes to staffing resulting from increased demand, reduced availability of staff and implementation of social distancing in clinical areas, including the development of:
- staffing models for intensive care units and the Louisa Jordan Hospital;
- professional judgement templates with associated specialty specific guidance for adult acute wards, maternity and neonatal services, mental health and learning disability services, community nursing and AHP services;
- a care management safety huddle tool and professional judgement template for use in care homes.
Additionally, Scottish Government has continued to provide funding for workforce lead posts in each Board to provide local leadership and expertise, in recognition of the importance of support being available to NHS Boards for staff at this time. The use of workload tools are not currently mandated in recognition that Boards may not have capacity, though they remain available to Boards should they wish to use them. Scottish Government also continues to fund the Healthcare Staffing Programme (HSP) within Health Improvement Scotland (HIS), which is responsible for work to support implementation of the Act, although understandably the focus this year has been on supporting workforce planning required as a result of the pandemic.