Questions · Jackie Baillie

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) revenue and (b) capital allocation is for each NHS board for 2011-12.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-39569 on 11 February 2011. 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/Apps2/Busine…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-39516 by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 March 2011, in light of Lord MacLean not yet being advised that a delay in publishing the report would be acceptable, for what reason further witness evidence sessions of the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry have been post…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry is an independent Inquiry. The procedure and the conduct of an Inquiry is determined by the Inquiry''s Chairman in accordance with his/her duties under the Inquiries Act 2005. For further information, please contact the Secr…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-39516 by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 March 2011, whether it has informally indicated to Lord MacLean that a delay in publishing the final report on the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry would be acceptable.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40541 on 17 March 2011. 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/Apps2/…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-39516 by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 March 2011, when it will reply to the letter from Lord Maclean of 10 December 2010.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40541 on 17 March 2011. 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/Apps2/…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have used external public relations companies in the last year; who provided these services, and what the cost was of each contract.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on which NHS boards have used public relations companies in the last year is not held centrally.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry is paying the BIG Partnership for public relations services.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry is an independent Inquiry. The procedure and the conduct of an Inquiry is determined by the Inquiry''s Chairman in accordance with his/her duties under the Inquiries Act 2005. For further information please contact the Secre…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS24 does not use its inhouse media team for the NHS Inform website.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40442 on 17 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Scottish Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS24 uses an external public relations company for the NHS Inform website.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40442 on 17 March 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Scottish Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at: <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much NHS24 is paying the BIG Partnership for public relations services for the NHS Inform website.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS24 has not employed the BIG Partnership specifically for public relations services for the NHS inform website. However, they have been used by NHS24 to support national campaigns and the development of social media channels. NHS24''s own communic…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37318 by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 November 2010, when it will provide the distribution of appraisal scores for the NHS Executive Managers Cohort for 2009-10.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Further to the answer to question S3W-37318, the following table now includes the percentage distribution for both the Executive and Senior Management cohorts across each of the performance ratings for the 2009-10 performance year. <table border=1 cells…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37317 by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 November 2010 and given the need to ensure that the principles of diversity and equality policies are followed, for what reason the National Performance Management Committee does not collate information on the sex and e…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: It is the responsibility of health boards as employers to ensure compliance with their obligations on all aspects of equality and diversity and to conduct impact assessments as required The National Performance Management Committee collates and ana…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37313 by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 November 2010, whether it will suspend the National Performance Management Committee.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40438 on 18 March 2011. The National Performance Management Committee has an important function to perform in ensuring that NHSScotland has a fit for purpose performance management system in place for its m…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37313 by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 November 2010, whether there is a continuing need for the National Performance Management Committee if there is no performance-related pay for the next two years.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Yes, there is a continuing need for the National Performance Management Committee. The specific responsibilities for the committee, as set out in HDL 2006(54) and its formal Terms of Reference “ a copy has been placed in SPICe (Bib. number 52071) - require it…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37312 by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 November 2010, on what basis the chair and members of the National Performance Management Committee are paid.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38130 on 13 December 2010 which explained the basis on which the Chair of the National Performance Management Committee is paid. The other members of the committee are not remunerated for their membership of th…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37314 by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 November 2010, for what reason the National Performance Management Committee has met on average 33% more times in the last three years than the largest NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The number and timing of meetings of the National Performance Management Committee are determined by the business of that Committee and its formal Terms of Reference “ a copy has been placed in SPICe under Bib number 52071. There is no connection between that…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37690 by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 November 2010, what progress has been made in achieving a 25% reduction in senior manager posts in the NHS, expressed as a (a) number and (b) percentage.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer to the member to the answer to question S3W-37689 on 9 December 2010. The guidance referred to in that answer, which had been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52181) made clear that progress against the target will be …

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-37843 and S3W-37844 by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 December 2010, what funding is being provided to the 14 NHS boards to (a) create new chronic pain clinics and (b) improve existing clinics and to what extent boards have been expected to finance improveme…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS boards are funded to provide services such as chronic pain clinics that are required by their resident populations. In the longer term, the issue of the range and pattern of pain management services in Scotland will be determined by the furth…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants are employed by its health directorate, broken down by pay scale.

Answer · John Swinney: The following table lists the number of civil servants employed within the Health and Social Care DG area: <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <thead> <tr > <td valign=top > Pay Range </td> <td valign=to…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed by each Special Health Board, broken down by pay scale.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on numbers broken down by pay scales is not available centrally for all employed staff groups. Numbers according to pay band are available in relation to Agenda for Change staff and these can be found on the Information Services Division website a…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what flexibility there is to enable ambulance staff to attend emergency calls during breaks.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-40430 on 16 March 2011. 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/Apps2/Business…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether ambulance staff are expected to be available to attend emergencies while on scheduled breaks.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Under the terms of the UK Agenda for Change NHS pay modernisation programme staff, including ambulance crews, are entitled to a break during their shift and should not be disturbed during that period. However, in an agreement reached in partnersh…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints about the Scottish Ambulance Service there have been in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Data collected on complaints about the NHS in Scotland is published annually by the Information Services Division and is available at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4424.html.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated level of demand for the Life Begins at 40 pilot was for 2010-11.

Answer · Shona Robison: The pilot for Life Begins at 40 ran in the NHS Grampian area from May to September 2010. The anticipated level of demand was expected to be around 10% of those invited to participate. This is in line with on-line surveys of a similar nature. …

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have participated in the Life Begins at 40 pilot in 2010-11.

Answer · Shona Robison: The pilot for Life Begins at 40 ran in the NHS Grampian area from May to September 2010. Two hundred and thirteen of the 2,211 people invited, took part in the survey. Life Begins at 40 had a national launch in February 2011.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason data categorised by NHS24 as P3 are not available.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All calls to NHS24 that are categorised as P3 have been through a rigorous process of assessment. As such, these calls are not considered to have an clinical urgency associated with them and will be most likely to require advice on self management. …

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls have been categorised by NHS24 as (a) P1, (b) P2 and (c) P3 in 2010-11.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: For the period April 2010 to February 2011 (inclusive): 3% (35,540) of total calls dealt with by NHS24 were categorised as P1. 7.8% (90,878) of total calls dealt with by NHS24 were categorised as P2. Information about category P3…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the maximum waiting time for a category P3 call to NHS24 has been in 2010-11.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information about category P3 calls to NHS24 is not held centrally by the Scottish Government, however these calls are monitored internally by NHS24.

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it receives all data from NHS24 regarding (a) P1, (b) P2 and (c) P3 category calls.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government receives weekly, monthly and annual performance information from NHS24 in relation to performance against P1 and P2 calls to the service. As agreed in their 2010-11 Local Delivery Plan, target responses are as follows: Commen…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what a (a) P1, (b) P2 and (c) P3 category call is as defined by NHS24.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS24 receives around 1.5 million calls a year, and around 75% are dealt with on an inbound basis. Of these, it is important to recognise that all calls identified as serious or immediately life threatening are dealt with immediately by NHS24 on an inbound ba…

8 Mar 2011 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it measures the performance of NHS24.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The performance of NHS 24 is measured continuously and in a range of ways. The Scottish Government agrees annually a local delivery plan (LDP) with NHS 24. This sets out the key performance targets for that year and performance against these is r…