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Information on the number of full-time equivalent stoma care clinical specialist nurses currently employed by NHS Scotland is not centrally held.

Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) data by NHS Board from 2009 to the most recent data published in September 2018, can be found at:

Given data quality concerns all historical data, whilst published, should be treated with caution. NES will continue to work with the Scottish Government and NHS Boards to ensure improved recording going forward.

A national review into the Clinical Nurse Specialist role and its definition is currently under way. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) will work with NHS Boards to improve the quality of CNS data once this is complete.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people who require stoma care services are able to receive the best possible care and support wherever possible and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care.

A range of nurses and support workers with mixed responsibilities can support patients who have stomas across health and social care. There are many nurses within differing units and specialities within NHS Boards and social care, including in the community, who are able to support stoma patients alongside stoma clinical nurse specialists.

The requested information is not centrally held. NHS Education for Scotland publishes annual data on joiners/leavers, but this information does not specify start date or professional background of joiners. Information on joiners/leavers by staff group for each financial year can be found on the following link:

In October 2021, SG officials wrote to those remaining on the COVID-19 temporary registers with advice on how to view and access NHS Board vacancies, encouraging them to consider returning to the service. Prospective candidates were directed to vacancies hosted by individual NHS Boards, who are fully responsible for local recruitment.

Our overall assessment, from the numbers that remained on the registers and feedback from boards, is that a reasonable return rate would have been in the region of 5-10%; or around 200 doctors, nurses and midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists (headcount) nationally. However, as candidates were directed to NHS Board vacancies, the Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of returners joining as a result of this measure.

A decision was taken, in discussion with Boards, that monitoring the rate of applicants in autumn and winter who had applied from emergency registers would be a burdensome task for already pressured Health Board recruitment teams.

Since May 2020, the Scottish Government has invested over £48 million in our Connecting Scotland programme, which provides people on low incomes with a device, connection with unlimited data for two years, as well as training and support. Since programme launch 60,000 digitally excluded people in total have been brought online. We are now working to scope out an extension to the programme to reach 300,000 people by the end of this Parliament.

The programme is part of our wider package of support to help everyone in Scotland benefit fully from the advantages of the digital world – from broadband connectivity to digital skills training and support for schools and business.

The Scottish Government is keen to see all health and social care partnerships maximise their potential to recycle and reuse their community equipment, and benefit from the efficiencies and savings this can result in. For example, EquipU, the joint equipment store covering 6 local authorities and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, reported that during 2021 £4.2 million worth of equipment was recycled, with a reuse cost of only £410,000. The service has also reported a 17% increase in recycling to date this Financial Year. Other areas are reporting similar increases and have also increased initiatives, and public communication to ensure the swift return of unwanted equipment to store services.

Scottish Government officials are currently carrying out a review of the Guidance on Providing Community Equipment and Adaptations, with a consultation planned for March 2022.

Each year since 2010-11, and as demonstrated through the Budget publications, the Scottish Government has delivered its commitment to pass on frontline health consequentials to the Health Portfolio. This refers to resource consequentials arising from increases in funding allocated by HM Treasury to the Department of Health and Social Care.

As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy has made clear in Parliament, there are some areas of required spend where Covid consequentials have fallen short of expectation. In addition, there are some timing differences between spend in England and equivalent spend in Scotland .

In this context, the Scottish Government has taken steps to align funding from the UK Government with actual spending profiles in Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy highlighted in her letter to the convenor of the Finance and Public Administration Committee, Covid 19 Financial support Scottish Government update | Scottish Parliament Website , that the Scottish Government has required to repurpose some health consequentials to specifically support wider public health measures. Further detail will be provided in the Spring Budget Revision.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05487 on 21 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

For more detail on data relating to echocardiograms, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05550 on 21 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at /chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Information on outpatient referrals can be found here ( . Waiting times information is not broken down by diagnosis code.

In April 2021, we commissioned Public Health Scotland to develop the Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme, this includes the collection of data on Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implant, and Adult Cardiac Surgery in Scotland, both of which are relevant to the management and treatment of heart valve disease.

Further development of this audit programme and decisions around any future data to be collected will be undertaken in collaboration with clinicians and people with lived experience of heart disease in Scotland.

Impact Assessments have been part of the decision making process in our use of emergency Covid-19 powers. Policy continues to be developed with regard to the need to protect human rights, equality considerations, the impact on business and the particular needs of island communities. Appropriate impact assessments are carried out and reported to the Scottish Parliament.

All decisions made in the development of measures under the Covid-19 emergency powers have included careful assessment of the necessity and potential impacts of the powers and their compatibility with the Convention rights set out in the Human Rights Act 1998.

Appropriate impact assessments are carried out as part of this process and are reported to the Scottish Parliament.