Parliamentary questions
Helen Eadie
919 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals have been placed on red alert over the 2007-08 winter months.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Most of our hospitals, at some point, need to restrict or stop admissions in order to manage emerging issues. These can range from a surge in emergency activity such as a serious accident requiring the treatment of a number of casualties, through to internal …
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on NHS boards’ budgets of new biologic drugs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS board general revenue allocations include provision for the cost of prescribed drugs and are set to allow for the introduction of new drugs.</p> <p >If treatments such as new biologic drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are approved for use i…
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to examine all people over the age of 55 for arthritic conditions.
Answer · Shona Robison: Population screening for any health condition is implemented on the advice of the National Screening Committee following examination of the available evidence of the effectiveness of such an intervention. No recommendations have been made regarding screening …
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement to the Parliament indicating what progress has been made in providing training posts for junior doctors under the Modernising Medical Careers recruitment and selection process and indicating any areas where problems remain.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Good progress is being made and the Scottish Government has no plans to make a statement to the Parliament.</p> <p >Selection and recruitment is well advanced in Scotland and the process closed to applications on 18 January. There were around 7,000 applicati…
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of all the diagnostic equipment in each major hospital and whether any report of such assessment will be published and, if so, when.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The requirement for diagnostic equipment in hospitals is an operational matter for NHS boards.</p> <p >With regard to safety of such equipment, the Incident Reporting and Investigation Centre, of Scottish Healthcare Supplies (SHS) manage a system for the rep…
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the capability of the IT infrastructure of the NHS and all NHS boards to deal effectively with the developing demands of the newest technologies.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Assessment and continued review of the capability of the IT infrastructure of the NHS is part of the remit of the eHealth Architecture and Design Division, recently established within Scottish Government Health Directorates.</p>
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that there is an appropriate balance of specialties in the new junior doctor training posts.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Training numbers for junior doctors are set through a process that takes account of multiple factors. NHS board workforce plans set out their future requirement for consultants for each specialty. Specialty boards of NES advise on current numbers and also pro…
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) management and (b) other consultants have been employed by the NHS since May 2007.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on how many management consultants have been employed by NHSScotland is not centrally available.</p> <p >Information available centrally is only for medical and dental consultants employed in NHSScotland. This information is published on the Scot…
26 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many computers were lost or stolen in the NHS in 2007 and what the value was of those items.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHSScotland does not centrally collect details on the loss of hardware and the associated costs. It is the responsibility of individual health boards to report and investigate in line with their own local policies and procedures.</p>
22 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage the use of telecare systems and in-home monitors to help patients with (a) arthritis, (b) asthma, (c) diabetes, (d) heart disease and (e) other long-term conditions.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Telecare services support the independence and well-being of an increasingly large number of potential users. Links are already being made with Telehealth to support the use of Telecare in extending preventative and anticipatory care. A key challenge for the …
21 Feb 2008 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met NHS Fife and what issues were discussed.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I meet monthly with all NHS board chairs. I chaired the Annual Review of NHS Fife on 13 August last year and have also met managers and front line staff during visits to health care facilities in Fife “ for example when I opened the new haematology unit at Qu…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for physiotherapists.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on vacancies for physiotherapists is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce">www.isdscotland.org/workforce</a>. The vacancies table in the Allied health profe…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address shortages of skilled personnel in the NHS.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Workforce planning arrangements are in place at national, regional and local level to ensure that there are the right staff in the right place at the right time. NHS boards publish their workforce plans in April of each year subject to affordability of the pl…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what skills shortages there are in the NHS, broken down by speciality or profession.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on skills shortages broken down by speciality or profession is not held centrally.</p> <p >Work to implement the Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) in NHS Scotland is on-going and will give NHSScotland boards a clearer understanding of the ski…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that disabled people and elderly people have more access to hydrotherapy pools.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards and their local partners are responsible for the provision of facilities such as hydrotherapy pools, based on their assessment of local needs.</p>
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that more swimming pools are built across Scotland.
Answer · Stewart Maxwell: It is for individual local authorities to determine the level of provision of swimming pools in their areas based on local needs and priorities.</p>
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that postcode prescribing is not a feature of health provision in Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The planning and provision of services is a matter for NHS boards. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) was established to reduce the incidence of so called postcode prescribing in Scotland. Its remit is to provide advice to all NHS boards and their Area D…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital beds at the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline (a) are in place, (b) are planned for each of the next five years and (c) were in place in each of the last five years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Information requested is available for the years 2004-2012 and is outlined in the table below. Figures for 2004-08 are actual and those for 2009-12 (shown in italics) are projected. The figures relate to in-patient beds only.</p> <p >Queen Margaret Hospi…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to upgrade the Queen Margaret Hospital as promised in the 2007 SNP election campaign in the Dunfermline area.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Fife is responsible for planning and providing service changes to hospitals in Fife. It is currently reconfiguring services in the Queen Margaret Hospital as part of a range of wider service changes which stemmed from its Right for Fife review and service…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what review of progress of NHS Fife’s Right for Fife strategy it has undertaken to ensure that the proposed community medical facilities are in place or in the process of being delivered.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Fife is responsible for implementing the service developments emerging from Right for Fife, including those relating to community-based facilities and services. Scottish Government officials discuss progress regularly with the NHS board.</p> <p >Various …
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received from Fife Council a list of schools that need to be replaced, rebuilt or expanded and, if so, which schools have been identified.
Answer · Maureen Watt: There is no requirement for authorities to submit lists of this kind. Fife Council has the statutory responsibility for the provision and maintenance of school buildings in its area. Consequently, the identification and prioritisation of building projects is …
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate why the leadership of Fife Council will not meet the Rosyth Waterfront Liaison Group to consider the proposed £500 million development for Rosyth.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: This is a matter for Fife Council.</p>
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what agreements in connection with its financial settlement agreed with COSLA have not been published online.
Answer · John Swinney: The relevant key documents, including the concordat, and the Finance Circulars have been published on-line. Together, these documents constitute a summary of all the agreements reached between the Scottish Government and COSLA.</p>
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish all its agreements with COSLA that are not already available online.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is in regular contact with COSLA about a range of matters and agreements on specific issues are reached on a continuous basis. While some agreements are published on the Scottish Government website, it would be impractical to publish a…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guarantee it can provide that baby Ryan Turner will be protected from hospital acquired infections as a consequence of remaining in hospital after he has been declared fit to leave.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The vast majority of patients, young and old, leave our hospitals without suffering from any form of infection. Our hospitals are now far cleaner and safer environments and through our hand hygiene campaign we are continuing to make staff, patients and visito…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the cost of buying and equipping a suitable property for rent to enable baby Ryan Turner to return home would be approximately half of the estimated cost of keeping the baby in hospital after he has been declared fit to leave.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.</p>
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers an estimated total cost to NHS Fife of £333,000 for baby Ryan Turner to remain in hospital after he was declared fit to go home to be an efficient use of public resources.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10069 on 3 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of an estimated cost to NHS Fife of £178,000 for baby Ryan Turner to remain in hospital until Christmas 2009 if suitable alternative accommodation is not provided for him and his family.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10069 on 3 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the estimated cost to NHS Fife of £155,000 for baby Ryan Turner to remain in hospital 10 months after clinicians considered him fit to return home because suitable alternative accommodation has not been provided for him and his family.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Ryan''s welfare must take precedence over any other consideration. I expect NHS Fife and Fife Council to work together to ensure that he receives the most appropriate care in the most appropriate setting, making the most efficient and effective use of resourc…
20 Feb 2008 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) hip replacements, (b) knee replacements, (c) angioplasties and (d) cataract operations have been carried out in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The number of procedures undertaken as inpatients and day cases is published on the Information Services Division website (ISD) of NHS Scotland at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/files/Annual_trends_in_surgical_procedures_hbt_February2008.xls">http://…