This information is not held centrally. Further information may be sought directly from individual health boards. NHS Scotland health boards have devolved responsibilities in relation to the recruitment, retention and deployment of staff.

Funding is provided to Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) by Local Authorities and Health Boards. Levels of funding are set out in the annual accounts for IJBs and published on each IJB’s website. Funding is allocated on the basis of the IJB’s strategic plan for delivery of delegated services, and is not allocated solely on the basis of population levels.

The information on waiting times for hearing aid maintenance is not held centrally. However individual Health Boards will be able to provide the member with this information.

Information on the number of self-funders residing in a Care Home in Scotland is not held centrally.

Information on Care Homes in Scotland is collected via the Scottish Care Home Census for adults which takes place annually on 31 March and covers all adult care homes in Scotland registered with the Care Inspectorate. The Scottish Care Home Census collects information on the numbers of residents who are fully or partially funded but this information is only available for long-stay residents. Information on the source of funding for short-stay residents is not collected.

The care home census is incomplete as it is not a mandatory data collection. Approximately 80% of all long stay residents' records were submitted by Care Homes to the census over the time period and information on the source of funding was submitted for approximately 86% of these records in 2017. ISD and the Scottish Government work with the Care Inspectorate on an annual basis in order to improve data quality in this non-mandatory data return.

The number of mainly or wholly self-funding long stay residents in adult care homes for whom information is available is presented in a table available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (BIB. number 60065). Figures are presented as a snapshot on the census date of 31 March each year since 2007, and are presented by the Local Authority in which the Care Homes are located.

The information requested is not held centrally. Mesh used in a transvaginal setting is procured directly by Health Boards and ‘transvaginal mesh kits’ have never been procured through national contracts. The amount of mesh procured cannot be accurately established, given that there are a range of suppliers and varying units and systems within Health Boards to procure small volume medical devices, such as mesh, as required.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-18974 on 2 October 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The timing of financial reporting by individual Integration Authorities is aligned to the local release of information in to the public domain and associated with Board Meetings which generally take place every few months. For practical reasons there is currently no intention to increase the frequency of reporting from quarterly to monthly.

The Scottish Government reports to the Health and Sport
Committee on the financial position for all Integration
Authorities on a quarterly basis and the reports are publicly
available on the Scottish Parliament’s website:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Current
Committees/108233.aspx

The first two quarterly reports are available at:

http://www.parliament.scot/S5_HealthandSportCommittee/
Inquiries/20180502_NHS_Finance_letter_from_Cab_Sec.pdf

http://www.parliament.scot/S5_HealthandSportCommittee/
Inquiries/20180822_Letter_IN_from_Paul_Gray_-_Budget_
Scrutiny.pdf

The Scottish Government expects all Integration Authorities
to continue to develop their plans and work towards delivering
a balanced financial position and for the consolidated overspend
to reduce throughout the year as savings plans continue to be
developed, expenditure patterns become clearer and use of
reserves and additional financial support from partners is
confirmed. Additional funding from Health Boards to address
the overspend is factored in to the overall Health and Sport
Portfolio budget, which remains on track to deliver a balanced
outturn position.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Where a claim for compensation is made and settlement is agreed the information held under the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) does not distinguish as to whether liability had been admitted or not.

The CNORIS annual report provides summary details of the number and value of claims made during the financial year, along with historical values. The annual reports are published online at: https://clo.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/cnoris/frequently-asked-questions.aspx

Information on local breastfeeding services is not held centrally. It is for each NHS Board to plan services to meet the needs of its population including how best to utilise funding, facilities and staff to deliver these services.

Maternity and Community services across NHSScotland are now fully accredited by Unicef UK as Baby Friendly. All Midwives, Health Visitors, Family Nurses and support staff have been trained and are competent to provide high quality feeding and relationship building care for mothers and babies in all their infant feeding decisions.

In Scotland. the proportion of babies being fed any breast milk at their first visit has increased slightly over the last 10 years.

Delayed discharges are on an annual downward trend, with the latest annual report showing a 7% reduction on 2016-17, builds on a 3% reduction the year before and a 9% reduction 2015-16.

This is good progress which we recognise. None the less, more needs to be done and officials are currently working with Health and Social Care Partnerships to explore ongoing challenges and drive long-term, sustainable improvements.