Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 25 June 2013
25 Jun 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Specialist Heart Failure Nurse Services
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-06245, in the name of Dave Thompson, on review of specialist heart failure nurse services. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Review of Specialist Heart Failure Nurse Services by the Scottish Heart Failure Nurse Forum supported by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and the British Heart Foundation Scotland; understands that heart failure is a life-limiting condition for which there is no cure, that, unlike other cardiac conditions, its prevalence is rising and that it is estimated to affect up to 100,000 people in Scotland; considers that specialist heart failure nursing services reduce unnecessary hospitalisation for people with heart failure by around 35%, resulting in savings of around £1,826 per patient to the NHS; understands that NHS Highland meets the minimum Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines ratio of 1:100,000 specialist nurses per head of population and provides specialist support to nearly 300 patients per year, but, given that NHS Highland covers 41% of NHS Scotland’s geographical area, travel times inevitably reduce the capacity of the service; considers that these pressures mean that there is limited capacity to deliver education and share skills and expertise with community staff to ensure that heart failure patients receive the support that they need; is concerned that, despite the strength of the evidence base, only four out of 14 NHS boards meet the minimum ratio of specialist heart failure nurses to population level laid out in SIGN guidelines from 2007, that the overall number of whole-time-equivalent posts in Scotland has fallen since 2008 despite the rising prevalence and that one board has no specialist heart failure nursing service in place at all, and notes calls for all NHS boards to ensure that, as a minimum, they meet the SIGN guidelines on whole-time-equivalent posts for what it sees as these crucial services.
17:42
Motion debated,
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Review of Specialist Heart Failure Nurse Services by the Scottish Heart Failure Nurse Forum supported by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and the British Heart Foundation Scotland; understands that heart failure is a life-limiting condition for which there is no cure, that, unlike other cardiac conditions, its prevalence is rising and that it is estimated to affect up to 100,000 people in Scotland; considers that specialist heart failure nursing services reduce unnecessary hospitalisation for people with heart failure by around 35%, resulting in savings of around £1,826 per patient to the NHS; understands that NHS Highland meets the minimum Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines ratio of 1:100,000 specialist nurses per head of population and provides specialist support to nearly 300 patients per year, but, given that NHS Highland covers 41% of NHS Scotland’s geographical area, travel times inevitably reduce the capacity of the service; considers that these pressures mean that there is limited capacity to deliver education and share skills and expertise with community staff to ensure that heart failure patients receive the support that they need; is concerned that, despite the strength of the evidence base, only four out of 14 NHS boards meet the minimum ratio of specialist heart failure nurses to population level laid out in SIGN guidelines from 2007, that the overall number of whole-time-equivalent posts in Scotland has fallen since 2008 despite the rising prevalence and that one board has no specialist heart failure nursing service in place at all, and notes calls for all NHS boards to ensure that, as a minimum, they meet the SIGN guidelines on whole-time-equivalent posts for what it sees as these crucial services.
17:42
References in this contribution
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-06245, in the name of Dave Thompson, on review of specialist heart failure nurse servi...
Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP)
SNP
The motion was stimulated by a discussion at the cross-party group on heart disease and stroke, of which I am a vice-convener, in March. At that meeting, we ...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
I pay tribute to Dave Thompson for securing this debate and I commend the British Heart Foundation, the Scottish heart failure nurse forum and Chest Heart & ...
Dave Thompson
SNP
It has just occurred to me that it was remiss of me not to mention that NHS Highland in my area is one of the four health boards that are meeting the target.
The Deputy Presiding Officer (John Scott)
Con
Better late than never.
Jackie Baillie
Lab
That is truly wonderful. We are nothing if not parochial.We have established that heart failure is rising, we agree that we need to try to ensure that servic...
Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I am pleased that Dave Thompson has drawn our attention to the recent “Review of Specialist Heart Failure Nurse Services” and that he has secured the require...
Dennis Robertson (Aberdeenshire West) (SNP)
SNP
I, too, congratulate Dave Thompson on securing a debate on this important subject and bringing it to the chamber. I also thank the organisations, particularl...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
I, too, congratulate Dave Thompson on his motion and on securing the debate. I also add my thanks to Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, to the British Heart Foun...
The Minister for Public Health (Michael Matheson)
SNP
I congratulate Dave Thompson on securing time for this important debate on what remains a clinical priority for NHS Scotland.I am sure that all members recog...
Dennis Robertson
SNP
Will the minister take an intervention?
Liam McArthur
LD
Will the minister take an intervention?
Michael Matheson
SNP
I will give way to Mr McArthur.
Liam McArthur
LD
I am grateful to the minister for giving way. I appreciate what he said in relation to ratios but, as he will have heard, there is no ratio at all in the cas...
Michael Matheson
SNP
I am going to come to Orkney in a minute, when I hope that I can address that point.I am more than happy to give way to Mr Robertson, too.
Dennis Robertson
SNP
I thank the minister for giving way. With regard to the ratios, does the minister share my concern that in Aberdeen there is only one specialist nurse with a...
Michael Matheson
SNP
I will turn to those points on Orkney and Grampian after making a little progress on the wider issue.It is important to recognise that some progress has been...