Audiology Services is included in the Scottish Government’s target that no patient should wait more than 18 weeks from a GP referral to start of treatment since the end of 2011.

Information on the average waiting time to receive a hearing aid is not collected centrally. However we have provided information on the median wait for the fitting of a hearing in each quarter from March 2010 (first published data) to March 2016 (latest available published data) by NHS board in the following table.

Median waiting time (weeks) for the fitting of hearing aids by board

Source: Information Services Division Scotland

a - denotes no patients were seen that month.

b 0 denotes that the 50% of patients were seen in less than seven days.

The Scottish Government fully supports the safe use of pet therapy in appropriate circumstances. It is for individual NHS boards to decide what therapies they make available based on the needs of their resident populations. We expect NHS boards to ensure that people receive the appropriate care that meets the totality of their needs and that this care is person-centred, safe and effective.

This information is not held centrally. Provision of continuous glucose monitoring is a matter for NHS boards in consultation with individual patients taking into consideration national clinical guidelines.

Information Services Division (ISD) does not hold this information centrally. Data for IVF waiting times are available from the quarter ending July to September 2014 onwards. Information collected by ISD to measure progress towards the waiting time standard is for the first IVF cycle only. Further information on the first IVF cycle can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/IVF-Waiting-Times/Publications/2016-05-31/.

The information is not held centrally.

Individual clinicians are responsible for the assessment and diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and for arranging services and support which respond appropriately to the needs of the individual.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish annually the statistics of drug-related deaths which were registered in Scotland over the period from 1996. The number of deaths since 1999, broken down by NHS board, can be found on the NRS website - http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/deaths/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland/2014.

Since its launch on 2 April 2013 to 31 March 2016 (the latest date for which figures are available), a total of 276 cases have been raised with the NHSScotland Confidential Alert Line. This figure includes both public (whistleblowing) and private (contractual) cases.

Due to the independent and confidential nature of the service, the Scottish Government does not hold a breakdown of the total number of cases by NHS board.

The number of calls along with evaluation reports are published on the Scottish Government website at:http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/NHS-Workforce/Employee-Experience/NHS-staff-alert-line

We have committed to considering how best to address the charging issue for people with dementia under 65 raised in Amanda Kopel's petition and the ‘Frank’s Law’ campaign, but remain of the view that any changes to the charges to service users for the care they receive at home must be fair to all users, irrespective of their illness or long-term condition.

For 2016-17 the Scottish Government provided additional funding of a quarter of a billion pounds for social care. This offer included £6 million to cover the changes in the charging thresholds to local authorities as a first step towards making charging fairer. We are taking an anti-poverty approach by prioritising support for those on low incomes first.

It is for each NHS board to ensure that they provide care that is safe, effective and person centred, taking into account local service needs, national guidance and clinical standards. There are Respiratory Managed Clinical Networks in place to ensure a co-ordinated approach to improving respiratory services locally.

NHS National Services Scotland commission services such as Respiratory Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and the home oxygen service on behalf of all NHS boards in Scotland. NSS has a role in ensuring that the services provided are of the highest quality and can be accessed by patients from all parts of Scotland.