Jackie Baillie

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been admitted to hospital due to deliberate self-poisoning in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not available at national level.

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether there is a correlation between the price and availability of painkillers and the reported rise in the number of deliberate self-poisonings.

Answer · Alex Neil: Latest published data available from the General Register Office for Scotland indicate that there has been a slight reduction in the number of deaths by self poisoning in Scotland in recent years. There is no information available centrally on whether there i…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many oncologists have resigned for reasons other than retirement in the last 12 months.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHSScotland staff data are held in the Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS). The “Reason for Leaving” field is not mandatory and therefore is not reliably populated. Information on how many oncologists have resigned for reasons other than r…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve follow-up care for cancer patients.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government is launching the “Transforming Care after Treatment Programme” soon. The overall aim is to ensure that people diagnosed with cancer are prepared for and supported to live with the consequences of the diagnosis and its treatment.

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on cancer patients going elsewhere in the UK for treatment.

Answer · Alex Neil: Centrally National Services Division (NSD), a Division of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), manages the funding of cross border specialist healthcare services on behalf of NHS Scotland. The number of cancer referrals going elsewhere in the UK to access t…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many measles cases there are and how many cases have been recorded in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The following tables provide data on laboratory confirmed measles cases recorded in Scotland each year from 2007 to date, broken down by NHS board area. NHS Board 2007 2008 Laboratory confirmed cases Probable cases Laboratory confirmed cases Probable c…

9 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact funding for a neuromuscular care advisor post in the north of Scotland will have on direct care and support for people affected by neuromuscular conditions.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In 2011, Ministers made a public commitment to neuromuscular diseases by issuing a joint statement in response to a report published by the Scottish Muscle Network (SMN), (commissioned by the Scottish Government), and the Mackie Report (compiled by the Muscul…

8 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the forthcoming clinical services review with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Answer · Alex Neil: Both Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly discuss matters of local importance, including the forthcoming clinical services review, with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

8 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the annual running cost is for each hospital in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is available on the NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) Information Services Division (ISD) website. The most up to date figures available are for the financial year 2011-12. These are reproduced in the following table: NHS Greater Glasgow …

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on neurorehabilitation services in the last year for which information is available, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: Information is not recorded for specific conditions and services. The Scottish Health Service Costs (the Costs Book) is the only source of published cost information for NHSScotland. This provides a detailed analysis of how board operating costs reported in …

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans there are to increase the number of NHS neurorehabilitation services.

Answer · Alex Neil: While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual NHS boards are responsible for planning services in their area and for securing the staff (including specialisms) to deliver them. It is for NHS boards to determine t…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what neurorehabilitation services are available, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: Data on neurorehabilitation services broken down by individual NHS board is not held centrally. Information for condition specific services is not recorded. While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual boards a…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what has been done to publicise the National Confidential Alert Line to NHS staff.

Answer · Alex Neil: 5,000 posters and 158,000 credit card flyers promoting the National Confidential Alert Line were issued to all Health Boards in Scotland in March 2013. This followed a letter from Derek Feeley, Director General for Health and Social Care and Chief Executive o…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many calls have been received by the National Confidential Alert Line and, of these, how many have had substantive action taken.

Answer · Alex Neil: The National Confidential Alert Line has received 53 calls in its first month since launching on 2 April 2013. 34 of these calls were from individuals who identified themselves as working for NHSScotland and 19 were from NHS workers from other parts of the UK…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what strategy the NHS has for the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of radiographers and training people in radiography.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS boards are required annually to provide workforce projections for all staff groups including radiographers. The workforce projections are used to identify supply and demand requirements across NHSScotland and also to inform education needs. NHS boards are…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people are expected to complete training in radiography in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Higher Education Statistics Authority produces statistics for students in higher education institutions. The latest information for Scotland is for the academic year 2011-12. Data for academic year 2012-13 will be available in 2014. In 2011-12, 120 stude…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) radiographers and (b) vacancies for radiographers there are in each NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested on how many (a) radiographers and (b) vacancies for radiographers there are in each NHS board can be found through the following web links: Number of radiographers by NHS board: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/pu…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that there is a sufficient number of radiographers available to each NHS board.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-14689 on 20 May 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybus…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to eradicate the preventable cases of diabetes-related amputation.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Through the work of the Scottish Diabetes Group, we have supported the introduction of a foot risk stratification system. This allows clinicians to assess the major risk factors which may lead to foot ulceration, record them appropriately to calculate a foot…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on foot ulcer- and diabetes-related amputations in each year since 2008-09.

Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally. NHS boards are expected to plan, fund and deliver services to meet the needs of their local populations and the totality of a person’s healthcare needs rather than on an individual condition basis. Accurate estimates f…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a compulsory foot check for people with diabetes.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We expect clinicians to adhere to relevant clinical standards and guidelines when planning an individual’s diabetes care. SIGN Guideline 116: Management of Diabetes makes it clear that all patients with diabetes should be screened in a timely manner to asses…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have experienced foot complications as a result of diabetes in each year since 2008-09.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Diabetes Survey collates data submitted by all 14 NHS Scotland Boards on the number of people with diabetes. The 2011 report can be found at: http://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/Publications/SDS%202011.pdf Information in the report (Table 69) …

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is making people with diabetes aware of the risks of foot ulcers and leg amputation.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Our Scottish Diabetes Foot Action Group (SDFAG) is working closely with Diabetes UK to raise public awareness of foot complications for people with diabetes through the “Put Feet First” campaign. During the foot screening process, clinicians are expected to …

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS has standards in place for the prevention of complications linked to diabetes.

Answer · Michael Matheson: SIGN Guideline 116: Management of Diabetes makes it clear that all people with diabetes should be encouraged to work towards optimising their glycaemic control to reduce the risk of diabetes related complications. We expect all people with diabetes to have t…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the expected demand for qualified nurses in the NHS is for (a) 2013 to 2018 and (b) 2019 to 2023, also broken down by specialism.

Answer · Alex Neil: NHS boards are asked to provide workforce projections on an annual basis, therefore, projected demands for qualified nurses in the NHS for (a) 2013 to 2018 and (b) 2019 to 2023 are not available. Projections for 2013-14 should be submitted to the Scottish Go…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the skills mix of nursing teams is appropriate to providing high standards of quality patient care.

Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has worked with NHS Scotland to develop a suite of workload measurement tools which help ensure the most efficient and effective use of the nursing and midwifery resource. As of April 2013, all NHS boards are expected to use the workl…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how will it ensure that staff reductions in the NHS do not lead to higher mortality rates.

Answer · Alex Neil: There are now 5,829 more people working in the NHS (excluding GPs and GDPs) than when the SNP came to Government. This represents an increase of 3.9%. The Scottish Patient Safety Programme was launched in January 2008 and now has an aim to reduce hospital mo…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether reductions in the number of NHS staff since 2007-08 have had an impact on levels of bullying and harassment.

Answer · Alex Neil: Since 2007-08 there has been an increase in the number of NHS Scotland staff. In September 2007 there were 131,094.8 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) staff (154,180 headcount) working in NHS Scotland, which has risen to 132,541.5 WTE (155,781 headcount) staff in …

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much compensation the NHS has paid to claimants in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Alex Neil: The total amount spent by NHSScotland on clinical negligence claims since 2007-08 is detailed in the following table: 2007-08 £m 2008-09 £m 2009-10 £m 2010-11 £m 2011-12 £m 2012-13 £m NHSScotland 18.9 28.4 31.1 60.7 29.2 35.0 Fluctuation…

3 May 2013 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the nurse-to-patient ratio is.

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not centrally held.