Tess White

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the delays to the two new hospital buildings in Aberdeen that have resulted in an increase in the overall budget costs for these projects, how much additional capital it has had to provide in total to NHS infrastructure projects, due to delays to the operational date, in eac…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government publishes an update on progress on all major capital investment projects every 6 months in its Infrastructure Investment Plan and includes information on the following the projects:  NHS Grampian - Aberdeen Baird Family Hospital and A…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the funding made available to subsidise coach education through sportscotland in each of the last five years, including the number of coaches who have received support.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. sport scotland will write directly to Tess White MSP to provide the information requested.

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made along with NHS Grampian of the potential for further slippage in the delivery of The Baird Family Hospital and The ANCHOR Centre Project regarding any redesign that is needed following the issues raised in the latest Key Stage Assurance Review.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government work closely with NHS Grampian and NHS Scotland Assure on all capital investment projects. The priority is ensuring that a safe, high quality healthcare facility is delivered and the Key Stage Assurance Review (KSAR) process has been r…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to support women at risk of osteoporosis around the time of menopause.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Women’s Health Plan includes a medium-term action to “ensure women are properly supported around the time of menopause to assess their future risk of osteoporosis and fractures and given appropriate lifestyle advice” and action is being taken to progres…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its assessment of current supplies of hormone replacement therapy medication.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government are aware that there have been continuing shortages across the UK due to a number of factors. The supply of medicines, including HRT products and the associated legislation, is a reserved matter for the UK Government. We continue to en…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking with suppliers to address the reported shortage of radionuclide that is causing delays to scans for prostate patients in NHS boards, including NHS Tayside.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has received no reports of shortages or problems with production of radionuclide leading to delays in scans for prostate patients.

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an assessment has made been of the distance women have to travel to access obstetrics and gynaecology services in rural and remote areas in Scotland, and, if so, what the median travel distance is, and how many consultant obstetrician and gynaecologists have been recruited across…

Answer · Jenni Minto: We recognise the challenges facing remote and rural NHS Boards in balancing paramount safety considerations with the delivery of care as close to home as practicable. Work is ongoing to ensure that services are developed in a flexible way, recognising local p…

6 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the findings of the literature review, The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and its relevance in judicial contexts, which was submitted to the Scottish Sentencing Council in January 2020, in relation to policy areas that …

Answer · Angela Constance: The literature review 'The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and its relevance in judicial contexts' was commissioned by the independent Scottish Sentencing Council to inform its work in developing a sentencing guideline on young …

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many places have been available on the National Clinical Skills for Pharmacists Programme in each year since it was established.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Time period covered Clinical skills places offered November 2020 – October 2021 551 places November 2021 – December 2021 126 places January 2022 – December 2022 1457 places January 2023 – March 2023 433 places April 2023 – December 2023 1364 plac…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards increasing the number of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance service arrive from 8% to 20%, as outlined in Scotland's Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy 2021-2026.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is a key partner in Save a Life for Scotland (SALFS), a partnership including the emergency services, third sector organisations and academic researchers. SALFS is responsible for the delivery of the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest: St…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours per week the Women's Health Champion is contracted to work in her role, and when her tenure is expected to end.

Answer · Jenni Minto: Professor Anna Glasier OBE was appointed as the first Women’s Health Champion for Scotland on 26 January 2023.Professor Glasier has been contracted to work four days a month, with her tenure coming to an end in June 2024.Professor Glasier recently pub…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to improve data collection among women with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer, in order to assess the outcome of primary cancer treatments.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government is considering the options in relation to collecting data on secondary breast cancer in Scotland, taking consideration of clinical time required and how it can be used to improve services. The National Cancer Quality Steering group ha…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its aim to eliminate hepatitis C in Scotland by 2024.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government remains fully committed to achieving the elimination of Hepatitis C in Scotland by the end of the 2024/25 financial year. Scotland already has a renowned approach for tackling Hepatitis C, with NHS Tayside eliminating it within the he…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of its employees have been offered mental health first aid training in each of the last five years.

Answer · Maree Todd: The following table illustrating the number of staff trained to become qualified in delivering support for Mental Health First Aid and the year this was completed. Year Number mental health first aiders trained 2022 2 2021 2 2020 1 2019 31 2018 109

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care made official visits to NHS hospitals in each year since his appointment in May 2021.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Ministerial engagements (including official visits), overseas travel, car journeys, domestic travel and gifts received are published on the Scottish Government website at: www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ in line with the t…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its commitment in the Women's Health Plan 2021-24 to improve access to "speedy diagnosis" for endometriosis, in light of reports that the current average diagnosis time is eight and a half years from the onset of symptoms.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We are committed to delivering on the priority in the Women's Health Plan (WHP) to improve access for women to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis. There has been substantial progress since the publication of the Wom…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the report, Women’s Health Plan: A Report on Progress, whether it will provide an update on Action 32 of the Women's Health Plan, which is to commission research on the cause of endometriosis.

Answer · Jenni Minto: We are jointly funding a £250,000 endometriosis research project with the charity Wellbeing of Women. The research project, which will primarily be run by researchers at The University of Edinburgh, will look at the drug dichloroacetate in the management of e…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the median gender pay gap was for its employees in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: The mean and median gender pay gaps in Core Scottish Government is detailed in the following table: Date Median Pay Gap Mean Pay Gap 1 April 2022 0.0% 1.5% 1 April 2021 2.8% 1.4% 1 April 2020 8.8% 2.6% 1 April 2019 0.0% 2.2% 1 April 2018 0.0%…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to implement Anne's Law as soon as possible, in light of the delay to the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering Anne’s Law which will support the rights of people living in adult care homes to connect with their loved ones. At Stage 1 of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, evidence was heard from seven com…

5 Apr 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a full breakdown of the implementation of Medication Assistant Treatment (MAT) standards since their introduction, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Elena Whitham: The Scottish Government has committed to providing a full breakdown of the implementation of Medication Assistant Treatment (MAT) standards in June 2023. The Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy will update Parliament on progress in June and this will coinc…

8 Mar 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support local authorities to ensure that the provision of local services, including swimming pools and leisure centres, meets the needs of local communities.

6 Mar 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the Scottish Government's progress towards reducing the number of people on hospital waiting lists and ending long waits for NHS treatment.

20 Feb 2023 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to research by the Royal College of General Practitioners reportedly showing that a third of Scotland's GP staff who were surveyed said their practice was at risk of closing in the next few months.

15 Feb 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what discussions it has had with COSLA about the delivery of local services over the next financial year.

1 Feb 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to address coastal erosion in the North East Scotland region.

17 Jan 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the avian flu outbreak in north east Scotland.

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many claims have been made to the Mother and Baby Unit Family Fund since its introduction in 2020, broken down by month, and, of those, how many were made by individuals residing in the North East Scotland region.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: From the establishment of the Fund in April 2020, until the latest reporting in June 2022, there were 88 successful claims to the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) Family Fund. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian who administer the Fund on behalf of Scotti…

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the consultation analysis on the options to increase mother and baby unit capacity, which was published in August 2022, what consideration it has given to increasing the £500 cap on claims to the Mother and Baby Unit Family Fund for those individuals travelling long distance…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The cap on claims for the Mother and Baby Unit Family Fund is currently being reviewed, in line with feedback received from the consultation analysis. Both Scottish Mother and Baby Units are aware of this and until the review is complete, the £500 cap can be …

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-11581 by Kevin Stewart on 28 October 2022, whether a decision has been made regarding replacing the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board in its current format when it is disbanded in March 2023, and what role organisations representing…

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Perinatal and infant mental health is a key priority for the Scottish Government and the continued development and implementation of perinatal and infant mental health services across all sectors will continue to be supported. A Delivery/Implementation Group …

14 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on work to establish a mother and baby unit in the North East Scotland region, in light of the consultation analysis on the options to increase mother and baby unit capacity, which was published in August 2022.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The consultation analysis report for the Mother and Baby Unit Capacity in Scotland consultation was published in August 2022. This report and other resources are being fed into an options appraisal which is setting out the next steps in improving specialist p…