National Health Service (NHS) Recovery Plan: FOI Review

Information requested

NHS RECOVERY PLAN 2021-2026

There is absence of core detail in this NHS recovery plan, including omissions of baseline numbers. I therefore seek core details for all the below items, including the baseline numbers and the baseline years, for the data projections that are anticipated over the years to 2026. 

1 "provide an increase of 78,000 diagnostic procedures and have identified means to increase these procedures by 90,000 by the end of this plan" What is the number of procedures that will increase by 90,000? What is this 90,000 as a percentage increase?

2  "it will recruit 1,500 new clinical and non-clinical staff for National Treatment Centres by 2026" What is the number of clinical and non clinical FTE staff to which 1,500 FTE staff will be added? How many of the 1,500 new staff will be clinical staff?  What is the proposed breakdown between different job titles for the 1,500 staff?

3  "Provide 1,000 additional staff in Primary care mental health" What is the number of FTE staff to which 1,000 additional FTE will be added?

4  "Increase the number of medical undergraduate places by 100 per annum and double the number of widening access places"  Increase undergraduate places by 100 per annum from what baseline number? What is the  number of widening access places that will be doubled?

5  "we will provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in CAMHS over the next 5 years, with the potential to increase capacity for CAMHS cases by over 10,000" What is the number of current FTE CAMHS staff that will increase by 320? What is the current CAMHS case capacity that will increase by 10,000?

6 "This Plan commits to ensuring that at least 10% of frontline health spending will be dedicated to mental health" What is the frontline health spend in 2020/21 (assuming this is your baseline year) and how much spending was dedicated in your baseline year to mental health? 

7 "expanding the physiotherapy workforce to increase the number of advanced Musculo-skeletal (MSK) practitioners in primary care by 225 by 24/25" What is the number of Musculo-skeletal (MSK) practitioners in primary care  that will increase by 225 in primary care?

8  "Create 30 new reporting radiographer training places over the next 3 years" What is the number of training places that will increase by 30? By what date will the 30 new places be in place?

9  "Create 30 training places in cardiac physiology" What is the number of cardiac physiology training places that will increase by 30? By what date will these places be established?

10  "800 new mental health workers by 2022"  What was the number of FTE mental health workers that is being increased by 800 FTE workers? By what month in 2022 will these workers be in post?

11 "500 additional advanced nurse practitioners" What was the number of FTE advanced nurse practitioners that is being increased by 500  FTE staff?  By what date will this increase be in place?

12   "increasing the GP workforce by 800 by 2026/27" What was the number of FTE GPs that is being increased by 800  FTE additional GPs? 

Response

I have now completed my review of our failure to respond to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) for additional details on various points made in the NHS Recovery Plan.

In accordance with section 21(4) of FOISA, I have also reached a decision on your request.

I apologise for the delay in responding to you. At the time of receiving the original request and request for review, the team were dealing with a high volume of work and, due to pressures from other core business work, it has unfortunately taken longer than expected to finalise a response.

I can now provide our response to your original request. The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. "provide an increase of 78,000 diagnostic procedures and have identified means to increase these procedures by 90,000 by the end of this plan" What is the number of procedures that will increase by 90,000? What is this 90,000 as a percentage increase?

Information on the number of diagnostic procedures performed in NHS Scotland is available on the Public Health Scotland website and can be found through the following link:

• https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/9294/table-7-procedures.xlsx
• https://beta.isdscotland.org/media/7690/costs_r120_2020.xlsm.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

2. "it will recruit 1,500 new clinical and non-clinical staff for National Treatment Centres by 2026" What is the number of clinical and non clinical FTE staff to which 1,500 FTE staff will be added? How many of the 1,500 new staff will be clinical staff? What is the proposed breakdown between different job titles for the 1,500 staff?

The 1,500 staff figure is based on workforce planning which will be continually refined. As it currently stands we expect approximately 51% to be clinical (having direct contact with patients) and 49% nonclinical.

Specific job titles will vary by specialism and NTC, depending on the clinical activities that will be delivered. Across the NTCs this will include staff at every grade ranging from medical and nursing staff, radiographers and occupational therapists, to housekeeping and portering.

3 "Provide 1,000 additional staff in Primary care mental health" What is the number of FTE staff to which 1,000 additional FTE will be added?

The commitment in the NHS Recovery plan sets out that ‘By 2026, every GP Practice will have access to a mental health and wellbeing service, creating 1,000 additional dedicated staff who can help grow community mental health resilience and help direct social prescribing’. This will build on progress already made to build mental health capacity in primary care settings through action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy, the Primary Care Improvement Fund. It will also build on the Community Link Worker Programme.

4 "Increase the number of medical undergraduate places by 100 per annum and double the number of widening access places" Increase undergraduate places by 100 per annum from what baseline number? What is the number of widening access places that will be doubled?

The target for Medical Undergraduate intake set for Academic year 2021/22 earlier this year was 1,117 inclusive of 60 widening access places.

More information on the current Undergraduate Medical Intake, including the numbers stated above, is available from Scottish Funding Council, https://www.sfc.ac.uk/publicationsstatistics/announcements/2021/SFCAN152021.aspx.

5 "we will provide sufficient funding for around 320 additional staff in CAMHS over the next 5 years, with the potential to increase capacity for CAMHS cases by over 10,000" What is the number of current FTE CAMHS staff that will increase by 320? What is the current CAMHS case capacity that will increase by 10,000?

A breakdown of CAMHS workforce is published on a quarterly basis through the NHS Education for Scotland (NES) CAMHS Workforce publication. This data can be found on the NES Turas Data Intelligence platform and provides a breakdown of staffing per NHS Board in CAMHS, including breakdown of professional role.

Public Health Scotland’s CAMHS Waiting Time Statistics reported, in September 2021, a total of 28,988 current open cases across Scotland as at June 2021, including a breakdown of cases per NHS Board.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

6 "This Plan commits to ensuring that at least 10% of frontline health spending will be dedicated to mental health" What is the frontline health spend in 2020/21 (assuming this is your baseline year) and how much spending was dedicated in your baseline year to mental health?

Baseline year is 2021-22, as the first year of the current parliamentary term.

The information you have requested is available in the 2021-22 Scottish Budget, which sets out anticipated spend and is available on the Scottish Government's website and can be accessed here: Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).The Budget document sets out the overall health budget as well as providing breakdowns for NHS boards and for direct investment in mental health services.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

In addition to the direct funding of £259 million set out in the Budget and subsequent update, Health Boards also allocate funding for mental health services from the overall funds allocated to them by the Scottish Government. Total anticipated investment in mental health will exceed £1.2 billion in the 2021- 2022 financial year. Scottish Health Service Costs is published annually by Public Health Scotland (PHS), covering the 14 territorial health boards, the Golden Jubilee and the State Hospital, and provides analysis
of where NHS resources are spent. Further information is available on the PHS website: Costs - Finance - Data & intelligence from PHS (isdscotland.org)’.

7 "expanding the physiotherapy workforce to increase the number of advanced Musculoskeletal (MSK) practitioners in primary care by 225 by 24/25" What is the number of Musculo-skeletal (MSK) practitioners in primary care that will increase by 225 in primary care?

Specific numbers in the commitment were based on best evidence at the time of the publication. Health and Social Care Integrated Workforce Plan.

This available evidence identified a collective intention from PCIPs to increase MSk Physiotherapy workforce to approximately 280 WTE. With 57.5 WTE staff in post as of the time of publication an additional 225 WTE Advanced MSK Practitioners would be required. Illustrative scenarios p20

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

8 "Create 30 new reporting radiographer training places over the next 3 years" What is the number of training places that will increase by 30? By what date will the 30 new places be in place?

Specific numbers in the commitment were based on best evidence at the time of the publication. Health and Social Care Integrated Workforce Plan

As at 2018, statistics show that there are 30.5 WTE reporting radiographers employed by NHS Boards in Scotland. Illustrative scenarios p 47

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

9 "Create 30 training places in cardiac physiology" What is the number of cardiac physiology training places that will increase by 30? By what date will these places be established?

Specific numbers in the commitment were based on best evidence at the time of the publication. Health and Spcial Care Integrated Workforce Plan

As at 2018, the cardiac physiology workforce in NHSScotland consisted of 374.89 WTE staff covering Agenda for Change Bands 2-8b. 70% of boards in Scotland indicated they have at least one vacant post and the overall vacancy rate is estimated at 25 WTE. The establishment for cardiac physiology is therefore estimated to be 399.89 WTE. Illustrative scenarios p49

There are currently 17 places filled on a cardiac physiology programme. The Scottish Government is exploring opportunities to fund the remaining places and to fulfil this commitment. 2025/2026 will be the programme’s final year.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

10 "800 new mental health workers by 2022" What was the number of FTE mental health workers that is being increased by 800 FTE workers? By what month in 2022 will these workers be in post?

Quarterly figures have been published since the beginning of the commitment, and can be accessed at Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Since 2018/19, 654.3 WTE posts have been recruited (as at 1 July 2021), representing nearly 82% of the overall target. The next quarterly publication will include recruitment totals as at 1 October 2021.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

11 "500 additional advanced nurse practitioners" What was the number of FTE advanced nurse practitioners that is being increased by 500 FTE staff? By what date will this increase be in place?

A total of 536 additional advanced nurse practitioners have now completed their training. The commitment of 500 additional ANPs has been delivered and this commitment has now completed.

12 "increasing the GP workforce by 800 by 2026/27" What was the number of FTE GPs that is being increased by 800 FTE additional GPs?

Please see the annually updated figures published by Public Health Scotland, usually in December:
General Practice - GP Workforce and practice list sizes 2010 - 2020 - General Practice - GP workforce and practice list sizes - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Table 1 provides the annual time series. The GP numbers relate to 30 September each year. The commitment relates to the period 2017 to 2027.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.