Whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy has been advised by NHS Lothian of reports of a shortage of junior …

Patient safety is a top priority for the Scottish Government and NHS Lothian is committed to ensuring the continued provision of safe, effective and person-centred healthcare for children across Lothian. The Scottish Government is being kept informed of the situation at St John’s, as are key stakeholders. I have asked that Scottish Government officials work closely with NHS Lothian to support them in maintaining and sustaining paediatric and neonatal services at St John’s Hospital and to support the maternity service at the hospital that delivers 2,800 babies every year.
As publicly stated by NHS Lothian, in January 2012, the Dean of Postgraduate Medicine for South East Scotland advised NHS Lothian of the decision to withdraw paediatric trainees (with the exception of one community health trainee) from St John’s Hospital from April 2012. The Postgraduate Dean has been working closely with the NHS boards in the South East of Scotland for some time to maintain safe staffing levels for senior trainees in all paediatric units in the region. While the services provided by St John’s Hospital are a priority for all stakeholders, unprecedented gaps (outwith the Deanery’s or health boards’ control) have resulted in the remaining senior trainees being redistributed to other units in the region, in order to both maintain rotas and services in those other units, and to maintain safe and high quality training for the trainees. This decision followed consultation between the South East Postgraduate Dean and the General Medical Council (GMC), Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), and clinicians from the boards in the south east region.
NHS Lothian has made a considerable investment in childrens’ services at St John’s Hospital to ensure that they can maintain a high standard of patient care and they are now assessing all of the options available, with their key partners, to sustain this important service. In particular, the board are vigorously pursuing all staffing options in the short and long-term; including both the recruitment to additional consultant posts and supplementary medical and nursing staff. This facilitates a move towards a trained doctor delivered service (in line with national policy) to compensate for the gaps left by trainees. It is important to make clear that the issues being experienced by St John’s Hospital are not as a result of insufficient funding but of gaps in senior trainee rotas.
At a national level to help increase the clinical team available to work in paediatrics, the Scottish Government is currently reviewing a number of specialties and specialty specific educational programmes that may be provided to other clinical professionals to facilitate continuity of care. Paediatric and neonatal nurse practitioners are one area where staff numbers may need to be increased to ensure a safe environment in the event of continuing medical staffing issues. The Scottish Government will shortly be approaching NHS boards to seek information on the numbers of advanced nurse practitioners in paediatrics and neonatology in post together with the numbers required to ensure that safe operating rotas can be maintained.