Dorothy-Grace Elder

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to address violence against refugee children as highlighted in the recent report by Save the Children and the Scottish Refugee Council.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: Action on specific allegations of violence is for the police in the first instance and some of the young people interviewed reported positive support in these circumstances. Similarly the report acknowledges measures taken by schools to combat racism or anti-…

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many places in geriatric care establishments and wards are not filled, broken down by health board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Figures on unfilled places are not available. The following tables detail the latest available figures on occupancy rates in geriatric medicine, in private nursing homes and in residential care homes for older people. The figures in table 1 represent averages…

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether are any plans to introduce new legislation in order that local authorities can carry out notification of neighbours in relation to planning applications.

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to change the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 to require planning applicants to use recorded delivery mail for notification of neighbours.

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate any shortage of trained nurses.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive assesses the supply and demand for qualified nurses and midwives every year through the Student Nurse Intake Planning (SNIP) process, which informs the intakes to Executive-funded pre-registration nursing and midwifery education.<P ALIG…

22 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how health boards inform patients in their area about specific drugs and treatments when the health board has rejected the advice of the Health Technology Board for Scotland regarding these drugs and treatments.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Health boards make decisions about drugs and treatments that take account of local priorities. If a board does not accept the advice of the Health Technology Board for Scotland, the rationale for that decision will need to be clearly explained, under the prov…

21 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which organisations who work with chronic pain sufferers it currently funds; how much funding it has made available to each organisation in the current financial year, and what plans it has to provide additional funding to these or other organisations in the future.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Chronic pain is unfortunately a symptom which may be present over a wide range of diseases and conditions, for example, arthritis, cancers, back disorders, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and myalgic encephalomyelitis. It c…

21 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals have died during or as a result of dental treatment in each of the last five years, broken down by age and health board.

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

17 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress the Health Technology Board for Scotland has made in tackling "postcode prescribing" in relation to Rilutek.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11316.

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit of the Health Technology Board for Scotland is in determining advice for drugs and treatments in the NHSiS.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Health Technology Board for Scotland was established to provide a single source of evidence-based advice to the NHSiS on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new and existing health technologies (drugs, devices, clinical procedures and settings).

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether Greater Glasgow Health Board will be seeking advice from the Health Technology Board for Scotland in respect of Rilutek or will be awaiting the decision of the National Institute of Clinical Excellence.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Greater Glasgow Health Board have not asked the Health Technology Board for advice on Rilutek.

16 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Health Technology Board for Scotland will be consulted with regard to the drug Rilutek being assessed for use within the NHSiS or whether decisions on Rilutek's use will be based solely on the assessment by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence who are reviewing the d…

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Health Technology Board are finalising arrangements to provide the NHS in Scotland with advice on the Scottish implications of all Final Appraisal Determinations from NICE. This will be available in early 2001. Until then, the NHS in Scotland would be exp…

15 Nov 2000 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the "Quango Watchdog" envisaged by the First Minister, as referred to in his Scotsman article on 15 November 2000, will include cross-party representatives.

Answer · Angus MacKay: Our overriding objective is to ensure value for public money for the people of Scotland. That is why our starting point will be to ask the fundamental "why" question of every public body. Each body will need to demonstrate that it should continue to exist and…

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is being made available for research into polycystic disorder, particularly autosmal recessive polycystic disease which causes kidney failure in children.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The Chief Scientist Office within the Scottish Executive Health Department is largely a response mode funder of research and this role is well advertised throughout the medical and academic community. CSO has received no research proposals of a sufficiently h…

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why patients who suffer from polycystic kidney disorder, of which a major side effect is high blood pressure, have to pay for their prescriptions of blood pressure control drugs such as Carace, which need to be taken every day for the rest of their lives.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Unless otherwise exempt from prescription charges sufferers of polycystic kidney disorder have to pay charges because the illness is not on the list of medical conditions which confer exemption from prescription charges. We have no plans to add to the list.

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive how many haemo dialysis machines there are, broken down by health board; where they are located, and how many years each machine has been in operation.

Answer · Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally. It is for health boards and Trusts to ensure that they have sufficient haemo dialysis machines to meet the needs of the communities they serve.

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions are being made to assist those patients who live in the Forth Valley Health Board area, who currently attend the Western Renal Unit in Glasgow for the duration of their kidney disorders, who have been advised that, should they commence Hemo dialysis, they will now attend …

Answer · Susan Deacon: The physical and practical demands of haemodialysis are significant and so the convenience of the patient is taken into account wherever possible. NHS Scotland aims, with renal as with other services, to provide these as close to the patient's home as is poss…

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring system is used to ensure that patients performing Continual Ambulatory Peritonial Dialysis in their homes are able to adequately maintain the dialysis environment to the correct hygienic standards.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11032.

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is available to individuals performing Continual Ambulatory Peritonial Dialysis in their homes to allow them to employ a cleaner to ensure maintenance of a hygienic environment.

Answer · Susan Deacon: The normal home environment is usually sufficiently hygienic, as the emphasis is on the cleanliness of the procedure itself. Where a patient on peritoneal dialysis is unable to maintain a sufficient standard of cleanliness within the home, the social worker a…

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is being given to individuals who are performing Continual Ambulatory Peritonial Dialysis at home to ensure a sanitary and hygienic environment in their home.

Answer · Susan Deacon: Each renal unit advises its patients on issues of hygiene and infection control related to Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD). Patients and employers frequently invite CAPD staff to comment on the facilities required to perform hygienic peritone…

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died from kidney failure or related factors while waiting for a kidney transplant in each of the last five years, broken down by age group and health board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the actual cause of death of patients who die on the active kidney transplant waiting list is not available. Information on the number of patients who died after joining the waiting list but before being transplanted is available from the Scott…

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many kidney transplants have been carried out in each of the past five years, broken down by age group and health board, and how many of these transplants have been successful.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is not possible to provide the information in the form requested for reasons of patient confidentiality.

8 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting period is for a kidney transplant, broken down by age group and health board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested cannot be broken by health board for reasons of patient confidentiality. The average waiting time broken down by age group is set out in the table. It is based on registrations rather than patients i.e. a patient who is registered a …

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances in (a) Scotland and (b) Glasgow do not carry the appropriate masks to administer oxygen to severely injured patients; in particular, how many ambulances in each of these areas do not carry (i) nasopharyngeal airways to deliver oxygen to patients with facial spasms and…

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10826.

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of Scottish ambulance services do not authorise their staff to decompress tension pneumothorax.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10826.

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances in (a) Scotland and (b) Glasgow rely on inflatable splints rather than traction splints.

Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10826.

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the range of medical equipment considered to be standard equipment in Scottish ambulances, and how many ambulances in Scotland do not carry the full range of such equipment.

Answer · Susan Deacon: All ambulance procurement is carried out to a clear specification of vehicle and equipment needs. Arrangements are in place for maintaining and replacing equipment when necessary. Standing operating procedures determine who may use what equipment and in what …

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to help doctors prescribe Zyban to smokers in areas of deprivation where smoking rates, particularly among women, are high.

Answer · Susan Deacon: All GPs can prescribe Zyban but it is most effective with the support of specialist services or counselling. Following the launch of <I>Smoking Kills</I> in December 1998, £3 million was allocated over three years to health boards for smoking cessation servic…

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will answer question S1W-9625 lodged on 5 September 2000.

Answer · Susan Deacon: PQ S1W-9625 was answered today.

1 Nov 2000 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to investigate any environmental and health and safety implications of the Royal Navy's statement on 8 September 2000 that the nuclear submarines Sovereign and Superb have been declared non-operational and are now in dock.

Answer · Sam Galbraith: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10807.