Nursing staff for relatives
Vale of Leven Inquiry · The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report · Issued 24 November 2014 · Addressed to: NHS Health Boards (Scotland)
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Health Boards should ensure that a member of nursing staff is available to deal with questions from relatives during visiting periods.
Vale of Leven Inquiry, The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report · 24 Nov 2014 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- 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.
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
Section 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.
Scottish Government · 18 Jun 2015 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Jun 2022 · Scottish Government 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 source → Good Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.