Sandesh Gulhane

22 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are currently receiving cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator treatments, broken down by the number that are receiving (a) Kaftrio, (b) Symkevi and (c) Orkambi.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.  

22 Nov 2023 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life regarding the future provision of public services and facilities in the region, including the Glasgow National Hockey Centre.

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much money has been spent on its Sperm and Egg Donation Campaign.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The cost of the most recent national donor gamete campaign delivered in partnership with NHS Scotland is £50,519.60 inclusive of VAT.

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its Sperm and Egg Donation Campaign, what consideration was given to any potential risk that women who have had a negative experience of egg donation or fertility treatment may be affected by the campaign adverts.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government consider the impact of messaging on those who may have had a negative experience in relation to the relevant health topic when developing all health related campaigns. This is done in a number of ways including through creative testing…

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its Sperm and Egg Donation Campaign, what impact assessment it carried out in advance to assess the potential risks to vulnerable women.

Answer · Jenni Minto: All licensed Assisted Conception Units (ACU’s) are required by law to offer gamete donors counselling, this is mandatory and is free of charge within NHS Scotland. ACU’s must also give prospective donors sufficient, accessible and up to date information to e…

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its Sperm and Egg Donation Campaign, whether it has considered from which social and economic backgrounds the women who donate their eggs will be drawn.

Answer · Jenni Minto: All NHS Scotland gamete donations are altruistic, no compensation payments are provided and donations are made through a desire to help those people in Scotland who need help becoming parents. There is nothing to suggest women from particular social and econ…

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has launched an advertising campaign appealing for sperm and egg donations.

Answer · Jenni Minto: There is a shortage of egg and sperm donors across the UK. The Scottish Government in partnership with NHS Scotland launched the national donor gamete campaign to help alleviate this shortage.

16 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether funding for the hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic pathway pilot project will be extended for 12 months to March 2025, in order to overcome reported initial delays in the roll-out and to provide a mature source of data and patient experie…

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government awarded the Scottish HepatoPancreatoBiliary Network funding of £653,000 over two years to redesign the pancreatic and liver cancer pathways. This pilot is the first of its kind across the UK. It aims to provide a nationally more effic…

15 Nov 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government from which part of its Budget the additional £300 million pledged for the National Health Service will be allocated.

9 Nov 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how locum GPs can access the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme.

Answer · Graeme Dey: The General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans’ Recognition Scheme has been developed to be relevant for all staff, including locum GPs, who may come into contact with an armed forces family or veteran patient. It is hosted on Turas, which is an online traini…

19 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what impact the proposed Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways programme is likely to have on dispensing appliance contractors (DACs) contracted to the NHS to dispense stoma and incontinence care appliances against prescriptions issued by GPs and spec…

Answer · Jenni Minto: When launched, the initial iteration of the solution will replace the paper prescription with a digital solution. We will achieve this by developing an end-to-end digital solution for in-hours prescribing from general practices through to community pharmacy d…

19 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it is planning to have with the British Healthcare Trades Association, on behalf of its dispensing appliance contractor members, regarding the design and development of the proposed Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways programme.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Governance for the programme is provided by the Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Programme Board which met for the first time in November 2021. The Board has met regularly since then and stakeholder representation includes:NHS Board Primary Care LeadsNHS Bo…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to tackle the reported rising number of cases of sexually transmitted infections.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s forthcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan will set out priority areas for action over the next three years. Ensuring that people have access to the information and services they need to make informed choices and tak…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its new palliative care strategy, in light of it initially being due in 2021.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21186 on 22 September 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commi…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 46 recommendations in the 2018 report, An Investigative Review into the process of establishing, managing and supporting Independent Reviews in Scotland, have been implemented.

Answer · Siobhian Brown: Professor Britton’s 2018 Investigative Review gave 46 recommendations regarding the process of establishing, managing and supporting Independent Reviews in Scotland. We accepted and agreed with the vast majority of her conclusions and recommendations. The re…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed explanation of what the process will be for selecting the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is unable to provide a detailed explanation of the selection process. As a Parliamentary Commissioner, the selection of the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament. Part 2 of Schedule 1 of…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide full details of its digital prescribing and dispensing programme for pharmacy, including implementation dates and any consultation with stakeholders.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Full details of the digital prescribing and dispensing programme are publicly available on NHS National Services Scotland website. See https://www.nss.nhs.scot/national-programmes/digital-prescribing-and-dispensing-pathways/about-the-digital-prescribing-and-…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its plans to consult on proposals to restrict the promotion of less healthy food.

Answer · Jenni Minto: As I set out in my statement to Parliament in May, I will begin to take forward a more focused consultation in the autumn on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict the promotion of less healthy food and drink where those are sold to the public. We hav…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its Diet and healthy weight: monitoring report 2023 update.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Diet and Healthy Weight Monitoring report was not published in 2022 and, as set out at the time, we have engaged with users to decide on the future of this publication. An announcement will be made shortly informed by the outcome of user engagement. Most …

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish all correspondence that it had with the British Dental Association Scotland between 1 October 2022 and 5 October 2023 regarding reform of the dental payment system.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Summary notes of the meetings between Scottish Government officials and BDA Scotland are available on Scottish Dental. A link to this resource is attached https://www.scottishdental.org/news/ .

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its implementation of the short-term recommendations from the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: There are a number of recommendations that have been made through the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland, many of which are targeted specifically at Health Boards and other partners, as well as the Scottish Government. The Scottish Governme…

9 Oct 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government’s proposal to hold a free vote in Parliament on phasing out smoking in England, whether it will replicate such a proposal for Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to doing everything in its power to reduce smoking prevalence in Scotland, lowering smoking rates in our communities to 5% or less by 2034. We are taking part in a UK-wide consultation on creating a smoke-free generation …

21 Sep 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether patients in Scotland can now view their bloodwork online, and, if so, for what reason there was reportedly a significant delay to this happening compared with England and Wales.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In Scotland, we have some instances where test results are available for patients already, including for those remote managing a condition through My Diabetes My Way and Patients Know Best (Renal). Learning from these digital tools will inform the development…

20 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken any evaluation of the relative economic benefits of small modular nuclear reactors compared with other forms of energy provision.

12 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of significant issues in transporting prisoners from custody to court.

6 Sep 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported plans by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to reduce the number of community link workers embedded in GP practices in deprived areas of Glasgow by one third, due to Scottish Government funding cuts. 

29 Aug 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis of how many deaths on the A9 could have been prevented if it had been fully dualled.

22 Aug 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported announcement by the UK Government in June 2023 of funding for the national roll-out of a targeted lung cancer screening programme across England, what plans it has in place for the roll-out of a national lung cancer screening programme in Scotland.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has welcomed the recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) that the UK nations should move towards implementing a programme of lung screening for those between 55-74 with a history of smoking. However, careful conside…

11 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons it has reportedly not allocated new money from its £19 billion health and care budget to NHS boards to treat the estimated 800,000 people in Scotland experiencing chronic pain.

Answer · Jenni Minto: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19557 on 26 July 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…

11 Jul 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the impact of any lack of investment in tackling any staff shortages, in chronic pain services in secondary care, on GP practices and the number of GP referrals to secondary care.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The latest data published by Public Health Scotland (13 June 2023) suggests that referrals to a chronic pain clinic are now back to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the quarter ending 31 March 2023, 5,049 patients were referred, an increas…