Question reference: S5W-34279
- 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 29 January 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making toward its ambition that everyone who needs a Key Information Summary will have one, as set out in the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan.
Answer
Research work undertaken by the University of Edinburgh and Marie Curie in 2019 found that on average 69% of people had a KIS in place at time of death. The study reported that this was an encouraging improvement on previous years but that more work was needed.
For people to get the care that is right for them, it is important that medical professionals have early and sensitive conversations about their care wishes should the worst happen. That is why from the outset of the pandemic, we encouraged GPs to contact those registered with their practice who may be vulnerable and required to shield to help ensure that appropriate care planning was in place and recorded. Our guidance emphasised the importance of completing a KIS following such discussions to help ensure people get the care that is right for them.
We have also produced further resources and guidance on having Anticipatory Care Planning conversations which we believe will be helpful to GPs in having successful discussions with patients for whom this is appropriate, and allowing them to record the outcome in their KIS.