Nursing staff for relatives
Health Boards should ensure that a member of nursing staff is available to deal with questions from relatives during visiting periods.
- The Scottish Government's response highlighted the Participation Standard, used by the Scottish Health Council to monitor how people are involved in their care, and the person-centred care initiatives including the 'What Matters to You?' approach.
- The Health and Social Care Standards (published June 2017) include Standard 2: 'I am fully involved in all decisions about my care and support,' which encompasses the right to access staff who can answer questions about care (Health and Social Care Standards (https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-social-care-standards-support-life/)).
- The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 requires NHS boards to ensure staffing levels are appropriate for the care needs of patients, which includes having sufficient nursing staff available to communicate with patients and families (Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2019/6)).
- The Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities (revised June 2022) sets out patients' right to be involved in their care and to have their views and those of their families heard.
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedSection 4.2 of the Scottish Government's response addresses this by highlighting the Participation Standard, which the Scottish Health Council uses to monitor and drive improvement in how people are involved in the NHS, including communication. This standard enables the collection of good practice and measures how well NHS boards focus on the patient and involve the public. Furthermore, the Person-centred Health and Care Collaborative aims for 90% of service users to have a positive experience, with 'personalised contact' being a key element to improve communication.
Published Evidence
Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Duty of Candour (2018) and Patient Rights Charter (revised 2022) strengthen requirements for communication with relatives. Excellence in Care framework has Communication as one of four foundational requirements identified by Vale of Leven families.
View detailed findings
Duty of Candour Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2018 require organisations to inform affected persons including family members. Patient Advice and Support Service provides independent support.