Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
3 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29995 by Shona Robison on 18 January 2010, whether a decision has been made on the future funding of the two muscular dystrophy care advisors.
Answer · Shona Robison: I understand that the longer-term funding of these posts will now be provided by the NHS.</p>
3 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29949 by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 January 2010, whether the influenza A (H1N1) vaccination programme has now been offered to all children aged over six months and under six years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS health boards have indicated that all children aged over six months and under five years have now been offered vaccination against influenza A (H1N1). Health boards have been encouraged to continue to vaccinate any eligible children who come forward for v…
3 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of funding difficulties faced by voluntary organisations, whether the East of Scotland European Partnership can be instructed to introduce new funding arrangements whereby organisations that make claims against grant are paid within a 10-day timescale.
Answer · Jim Mather: ESEP Ltd has a target of 10 working days to provide correct claims to the Scottish Government for payment. An extension to ESEP''s contract has recently been agreed which will ensure additional resources are put in place to help ensure claims are processed in…
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the development of a common dataset for neurological health services.
Answer · Shona Robison: Standard 1 of the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland clinical standards for neurological health services highlights the importance of consistent and ongoing data collection to allow NHS boards to monitor and review service provision on an ongoing basis for the …
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been budgeted to meet the targets in Better Cancer Care, An Action Plan in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Commitments set out in <i >Better Cancer Care, An Action Plan </i>are funded directly and indirectly through a number of different Scottish Government channels.</p> <p ><i >Better Cancer Care </i>included a commitment to support the ongoing development of Ma…
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been budgeted by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to support the implementation of its (a) Clinical Standards - Neurological Health Services and (b) forthcoming clinical standards for (i) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and (ii) prevention and treatment of coronary hear…
Answer · Shona Robison: In addition to the salary costs associated with the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) staff supporting the implementation of the clinical standards for neurological health services, NHS QIS has identified a budget of just over £142,000 for the first …
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it expects to be users of secondary services for neurological conditions other than stroke by (a) 2015, (b) 2020 and (c) 2025.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.</p> <p >The introduction to the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland clinical standards for neurological health services notes that neurological conditions currently account for one in five emergency hospital admissions an…
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) total and (b) each NHS board area received treatment for heart disease in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Shona Robison: Data on the range of treatments for heart disease are provided in the Coronary Heart Disease section of the Information Services Division Website: </p> <p ><a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5780.html">http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5780.html</a>. </p> …
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) total and (b) each NHS board area received treatment for cancer in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The most recent year for which figures are available is 2007. Information on the number of patients treated for cancer in Scotland in 2007, by NHS Board of Residence, is shown in the following table:</p> <p >Treatment<sup>1,2</sup> for Patients Diagnosed wit…
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) total and (b) each NHS board area received treatment for neurological conditions other than stroke in the last year for which figures are available.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not available centrally.</p> <p >Obtaining better data on neurological conditions in order to improve service planning and quality is central to the Implementation and Improvement Support Plan which NHS Quality Improvement Scotla…
1 Mar 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have (a) a neurological condition other than stroke, (b) epilepsy, (c) motor neurone disease and (d) Parkinson’s disease.
Answer · Shona Robison: Precise figures are not available.</p> <p >NHS Quality Improvement Scotland in the introduction to its clinical standards for neurological health services refers to estimates that 10 million people in the UK live with some form of neurological condition tha…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30744 by Nicola Sturgeon on 26 January 2010, how much will be spent by NHS Health Scotland on corporate communications activity.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government can confirm that NHS Health Scotland''s corporate communications activity for external audiences is central to their role in disseminating and explaining public health improvement and health inequalities evidence, learning and good pra…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30494 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 January 2010, (a) how many and (b) what percentage of senior charge nurses have responsibility for the deployment of cleaning staff.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not routinely collected or held centrally. It is for NHS boards to establish arrangements for the management and deployment of cleaning staff which best suit their needs. However, the Leading Better Care programme is key to ensuring that t…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30493 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 January 2010, by what process a senior charge nurse accesses the budget for urgent repairs and replacement equipment.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The process to be followed is an operational matter for each NHS board concerned.</p>
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30493 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 January 2010, what level of budget for urgent repairs and replacement equipment is available to senior charge nurses, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) hospital.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally. The level of budget for urgent repairs and replacement equipment in each hospital, and the proportion to be utilised by the senior charge nurses each year, is a matter for the NHS board concerned.</p>
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much capital that has not been committed is available in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government plans to utilise the full value of the capital budget in the current financial year. For the next financial year the capital budget has been fully allocated in accordance with the 2010-11 Budget approved by Parliament. Capital budgets …
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what health capital projects have been agreed by individual NHS boards but await approval from the Scottish Government and what the total value is of such projects.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Currently there are three health capital projects with a capital value of circa £51.2 million which have been agreed by individual NHS boards, considered by the Capital Investment Group, but await formal Scottish Government approval as there are outstanding i…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what health capital projects have been approved for which funding has been committed up to May 2011.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The vast majority of capital resources are allocated by formula directly to NHS boards. NHS boards receive a capital resource limit within which they identify and prioritise their capital spending requirements. Boards are only obliged to bring capital project…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30932 by Shona Robison on 1 February 2010, whether it is yet in a position to announce the chair and membership of the expert group examining infertility services.
Answer · Shona Robison: We have recently identified a chair for the new National Group on Infertility. Final membership of the group will be agreed with the chair, and we will shortly announce details publicly.</p> <p >The first meeting will take place in April.</p>
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific actions are recommended to prevent the spread of norovirus and when these actions were last reviewed.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Good hygiene can help limit the spread of the norovirus infection, and to ensure best practice in the prevention and treatment of norovirus outbreaks in health boards Health Protection Scotland (HPS) published, on 1 December 2009, revised guidance on norovir…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people had norovirus listed as a contributory cause of mortality on death certificates in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is shown in the following table.</p> <p >Table 1. Deaths in Scotland for which norovirus or an equivalent term<sup>1</sup> was mentioned on the death certificate in calendar years 2007 and 2008:</p> <p >Year of Registration of Deat…
23 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died as a result of contracting norovirus in each year since 2007-08, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information which is available is given in the following table.</p> <p >Deaths in Scotland for which the underlying cause was allocated to norovirus, calendar years 2007 and 2008.</p> <p >Year of Registration of Death</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0…
17 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the impact on social care providers of local authority commissioning practices and the charge of £250 per visit in some local authority areas.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Local authorities have a duty to provide or commission community care services in line with their local commissioning strategy. Updated draft guidance on social care procurement has been developed in consultation with service providers and promotes collaborat…
15 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it is spending to have the University of Sheffield redo its modelling study on minimum unit pricing of alcohol using updated consumption figures from 2008.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The cost of updating the University of Sheffield minimum price model is £36,272.25 (inclusive of VAT). The cost reflects the considerable amount of work required to integrate consumption data from the Scottish Health Survey 2008 and the Scottish Schools Adole…
15 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent on commissioning modelling from the University of Sheffield on the impact of minimum unit pricing of alcohol.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As indicated in the Financial Memorandum accompanying the Alcohol etc. (Scotland) Bill, the cost of the modelling work undertaken by the University of Sheffield was £63,876.75 (inclusive of VAT).</p>
15 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it did not commission modelling from the University of Sheffield on the impact of minimum unit pricing of alcohol on low-income households when offered this at a cost of £7,400.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The University of Sheffield''s minimum price research proposal provided an option to attempt to model the impact of minimum pricing on low income groups. The Sheffield proposal acknowledged that the small Scottish sample sizes meant that Scottish consumption …
11 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30936 by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 January 2010, whether the proportionate funding will be based on the number of people affected by thalidomide in Scotland or an amount calculated under the Barnett Formula.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Following discussions with the Thalidomide Trust the Scottish Government has committed £3.4 million to assist the survivors of Thalidomide. This funding is proportionate to the funding committed by the UK, Welsh and Irish Governments, and is based on the 55 t…
10 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reason is for the variation in hourly rates applied to direct payments for social care across local authorities.
Answer · Shona Robison: In determining a direct payment rate, local authorities take into account local conditions and workforce considerations. This inevitably leads to variation in direct payment rates across local authorities.</p>
10 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued guidance to local authorities on the hourly rates to be used in determining the level of direct payments for social care packages.
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government''s National Guidance on Self-directed Support advises that direct payment packages should meet the cost of providing a service which is of an equivalent standard to that which the local authority would provide. This means that a direct pay…
10 Feb 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what hourly rates are used by each local authority when determining direct payments for social care.
Answer · Shona Robison: We do not collect this information centrally. In line with our guidance, it is for local authorities to determine the direct payment rate. This ensures that local authorities can take into account local conditions and workforce considerations. </p>