Parliamentary questions

Helen Eadie

919 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to organise a conference on osteoporosis, bringing together all stakeholders to discuss future developments on the issue.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has no such plans. We do not manage services for osteoporosis or any other chronic condition directly. NHS boards are expected to provide services for people with osteoporosis, taking into account good practice clinical guidelines.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what links it has with the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The International Osteoporosis Foundation is an organisation which brings together voluntary sector support and lobbying groups from 84 countries. The Executive has no direct contact with it. The Executive does not manage or issue advice on the management of …

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for a DEXA scan is in each NHS board area.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether an assessment has been made of NHS boards across Scotland in respect of what each board's understanding is of the definition of an integrated falls service.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We have not asked each health board to explain their understanding of the definition of an integrated falls service.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been undertaken of integrated falls services across Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-19112 on 21 September 2005. 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/web…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons can be learned from Osteoporosis in the European Union: Member States Policy Progress Report for people with osteoporosis in Scotland.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive does not manage services for osteoporosis, or any other chronic condition, directly. Good practice clinical guidelines on the management of osteoporosis were published by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, which is part of NHS Qual…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has met the EU Osteoporosis Consultation Panel since the publication of Osteoporosis in the European Union: Member States Policy Progress Report in 2004.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has had no meetings with the EU Osteoporosis Consultation Panel. The panel is a sub-group of the International Osteoporosis Foundation, a voluntary sector lobbying organisation which brings together osteoporosis support groups from 84 countries.…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the combined social care and hospital costs of treating hip fractures have been in each year since 1999.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost is of treating hip fractures per patient in the (a) first and (b) second year after the fracture has occurred.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women suffer from osteoporosis.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Exact information is not held centrally. An estimate derived from information collected under NHS National Services’ Information and Statistics Division’s Practice Team Information system suggests that over the whole of Scotland in the 12 months ended in Dece…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether a named individual has been designated in each NHS board to lead the development of an integrated falls service.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: We do not collect information from NHS boards about designated named individuals leading the development of integrated falls services.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether osteoporosis has been included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework of the General Medical Services contract.

Answer · Andy Kerr: Osteoporosis has not previously been included in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF). There is currently a review of the QOF which is being carried out as part of the UK wide review of the General Medical Services contract. The outcome of this rev…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether an audit of the local delivery plans of NHS boards has been undertaken to identify whether an integrated falls service has been established in each board's area.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The Executive carried out an audit of falls prevention services in the autumn of 2002. This resulted in the holding of a falls prevention conference in November 2002, and a conference report which was issued widely by NHS Health Scotland in March 2003.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether hospitals notify GPs of fracture patients who receive preventive treatment for osteoporosis in hospital of patients' requirement for ongoing treatment.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: It is standard practice for a patient who is leaving hospital to be given a letter to his or her GP detailing the treatment given and any continuing care required. The involvement of GPs in the aftercare of elderly people with hip fracture, whether or not the…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether staff in hospitals are prompted to investigate the likelihood of osteoporosis in patients who present themselves with fractures.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The diagnosis of osteoporosis is a matter for clinical judgement. However, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, which is a part of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, has issued good practice clinical guidelines on the Prevention and Management of H…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Quality Improvement Scotland has published guidance on delivering an integrated falls and osteoporosis service.

Answer · Andy Kerr: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) has not published specific guidance on delivering an integrated falls and osteoporosis service. The issues were referred to in the National Overview Older People in Acute Care, published in February 2004 (Bib.…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many leaflets providing preventive advice and advice on treatment of osteoporosis are produced annually for patients and the public.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Full information is not available. In the year of April 2004/March 2005 NHS Health Scotland supplied 10,820 copies of their leaflet on osteoporosis prevention and treatment, and from April 2005 to the present they have supplied 3,998. However, the Executive d…

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much NHS Scotland has spent on treating osteoporotic fractures in each year since 1999.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not held centrally.

8 Sep 2005 · Written Question

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: The number of patients admitted to hospitals in Scotland with a principal diagnosis of hip fracture in these years is shown in the following table. Comprehensive information on hip fractures is available through the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit pages on Scotla…

29 Jun 2005 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being put in place to ensure availability of NHS dental services in the Dunfermline East constituency.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: NHS Fife are implementing a range of measures at improving access to NHS dental services in all areas of Fife. Examples of this are the appointment of salaried dentists and the completion of a three surgery dental centre, due to open in Dunfermline soon when …

1 Jun 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place with port authorities across Scotland regarding the environmental impact of ship-to-ship oil transfers.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Port Authorities across Scotland requireoil spill contingency plans to be approved by the Maritime and Coastguard Agencybefore ship-to-ship transfers can take place. Decisions on such proposals are forthe Secretary of State for Transport in the UK Government …

11 May 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on increasing the awareness of the public to the dangers of too much exposure to the sun and of unregulated use of sunbeds.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: A number of agencies in the UK run awareness-raising campaigns aimed at highlighting the health risks from exposure to ultraviolet radiation. These include the SunSmart campaign, funded by the four UK Health Departments and co-ordinated by Cancer Research UK,…

13 Apr 2005 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the adult/pupil ratio is in schools and how this compares with 1999.

Answer · Peter Peacock: In 2003 local authorities reported the pupil:adult ratio in primary schools as 13.1, a reduction from 15.9 in 1999. Pupil adult ratios were not collected in secondary or special schools until 2003, and no comparison can therefore be made at this time.

15 Dec 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to introduce a postal citation system for witnesses due to attend court.

Answer · Colin Boyd: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) introduced a national system of postal citation and countermand for civilian witnesses in summary trials in the District Court and the Sheriff Court in September 2003.In the 12 months to August 200…

22 Sep 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive why, under Scots law, the spouse of a person accused of abusing their own child cannot be compelled to give evidence.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The general law is that a spouse can be compelled to give evidence for the defence.A spouse is a compellable witness for the prosecution only where an accused spouse is charged with an offence against the other spouse. In all other circumstances, a spo…

7 Sep 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with train operating companies regarding the provision of no-smoking carriages on all trains.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: GNER is the only train operating company operating in Scotland which permits smoking in limited areas of its trains. All other operating companies operate a no-smoking policy. I understand that GNER is currently reviewing its smoking policy and will be respon…

4 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended student nurse and midwife intake figures are for 2004-05.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Informed by the Student Nurse Intake Planning recommendations, the agreed commissioning numbers for 2004-05 for each of the nursing and midwifery categories are shown in the table below.Nurse Category<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <th…

14 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in each NHS board area receive Forsteo (teriparatide).

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is notavailable centrally. Forsteo (teriparatide) should be restricted to initiationby specialists experienced in the treatment of osteoporosis. Prescription datacollected centrally relate to prescribed items dispensed in the community bycomm…

14 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding is available in each NHS board to support clinicians who wish to use Forsteo (teriparatide) to treat patients with severe osteoporosis.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Funding to implement theadvice and recommendations of the Scottish Medicines Consortium is notseparately identified in NHS board allocations.NHS board general revenueallocations already include provision for the cost of prescribed drugs and areset to a…

14 May 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether each NHS board has a Scottish Medicines Consortium implementation plan in place to ensure that patients with severe osteoporosis have access to Forsteo (teriparatide).

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: All NHS boards are required to follow national implementation plans for drugs deemed by the Scottish Medicines Consortium to be unique. Local NHS boards will agree implementation plans for drugs where alternative drug treatments already exist. Implementation …