Parliamentary questions

Jackie Baillie

9,397 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist hospital provision is available for people with Asperger syndrome, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Fair for All agenda looks to ensure that whatever the individuals'' circumstances, they have access to the right health services for their needs. Guidance entitled Achieving Fair Access was issued to the NHS in April 2007 and is available at <a h…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took to improve service provision in the NHS in response to the report, Psychiatric services for adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome and other autistic-spectrum disorders, published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in April 2006.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not routinely respond to reports produced by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, although we remain interested in and take account of their findings. This report overlapped with work that the Scottish Government took forward in re…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to the recommendations in the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s report, Investigation into the care and treatment of Mr Q.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Ministers accept the recommendation directed at the Scottish Government relating to the use of the care programme approach (CPA). Guidance was issued on the use of CPA in CEL 13 (2007) and CEL 19 (2008). The guidance indicated that whilst CPA is …

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many alcohol liaison nurses are employed in the NHS, broken down by (a) NHS board, (b) hospital and (c) primary care setting.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not centrally available. The data on the number of nurses employed by the NHS as at 30 September each year is published by National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland and is available from the website …

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses are employed in the NHS and how many are (a) registered and (b) not registered.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Figures for (a) registered and (b) not registered nurses are not held centrally. However, an approximation for registered nurses would be Agenda for Change band 5 and above and bands 1-4 for nurses not registered. NHSScotland workforce data is published by Na…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the review of the role of a senior charge nurse is now complete and, if so, what key changes have arisen from the review.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The review of the role of the senior charge nurse (SCN) was completed in 2008, with the key aim of creating a modern role which maximised the SCNs contribution to delivering safe and effective care. Leading Better Care, launched in June 2008, establis…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend the age range for automatic screening for breast cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28600 on 12 November 2009. 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/App…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to facilitate the early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All women aged between 50-70 years of age are invited for breast screening every three years. Women aged 70 and over are able to request breast screening by contacting their local breast screening centre. The Scottish Cancer Taskforce has discussed h…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the estimated survival rates for female breast cancer patients can be found at: <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=cancer_female_breast_surv.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline">http://www.isdscotland.org/…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Data on the incidence of breast cancer are available by calendar year at: <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=i_cancer_breast.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline">http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?n…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of women from deprived areas eligible for the Scottish Breast Screening Programme takes up the service.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28602 on 12 November 2009. All answers to 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/Busin…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of women eligible for the Scottish Breast Screening Programme takes up the service.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on uptake rates for the Scottish Breast Screening Programme is publicly available and published by the Information Services Division at: <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1622.html">http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1622.html</a>.…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what age group is targeted in the Scottish Breast Screening Programme.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All women between 50 to 70 years of age are invited for breast screening every three years. Women aged 70 and over who have any concerns about breast cancer are encouraged to request breast screening by contacting their local Breast Screening Centre.

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what wards were closed or had visitor access restricted due to infection during the period (a) December 2007 to December 2008 and (b) December 2008 to December 2009, broken down by hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the numbers of wards closed to admissions or visitors due to infection control measures in general is not available centrally. Health Protection Scotland monitors ward closures due to norovirus outbreaks via management information deri…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were infected with norovirus during the period (a) December 2007 to December 2008 and (b) December 2008 to December 2009.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of laboratory confirmed cases of norovirus infection are presented in the following table. These data are based on voluntary reporting by clinical laboratories in Scotland to HPS on a weekly basis and include cases originating in both hea…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individual fatalities from Clostridium difficile there were during the period (a) December 2007 to December 2008 and (b) December 2008 to December 2009, broken down by hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-24275 on 25 June 2009, which indicated that official data on the number of Clostridium difficile-related deaths, by NHS board and by hospital, is published by the General Register for Scotland (GROS) on an annu…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many individuals were infected with Clostridium difficile during the period (a) December 2007 to December 2008 and (b) December 2008 to December 2009, broken down by hospital.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information is not held centrally. Health Protection Scotland (HPS) collate and publish Clostridium difficile surveillance statistics by NHS board on a quarterly basis. HPS data for 2009 is available up to and including September 2009. The HPS report for …

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the real-time data on infection rates on the NHS web portal is on average two months old.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The guidance on completing the HAI (healthcare associated infection) reporting template requires NHS boards to ensure that reports are considered as part of bi-monthly public board meetings. The reports on NHS board websites are updated to coincide with these…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the real-time data on infection rates by specialty is not available on the NHS web portal and whether it will list those specialties by hospital for which no data has been supplied.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: As acknowledged in the answer to the question S3W-29773 on 7 January 2010, the content and substance of each report held on NHS board websites has varied and has led to inconsistencies in the range of data being reported across NHS Scotland. The review of the…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the real-time data on infection rates is not provided by every NHS board and whether it will list those boards for which no data has been supplied.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All NHS boards publish reports on their websites using the HAI reporting template introduced in January 2009. The content and substance of each report varies by board but, as a minimum, all NHS boards publish Clostridium difficile and Staphylococcus aureaus B…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the real-time data on infection rates by hospital is not available on the NHS web portal and whether it will list the hospitals for which no data has been supplied.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The purpose of the HAI (healthcare associated infection) task force web portal is to provide the public with quick and easy access to the relevant NHS board website pages where all local information is contained and updated. The chief executive of N…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where light-induced fluorescence endoscopy systems are available in the NHS

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Whilst research has been undertaken into light-induced fluorescence endoscopy, no such systems are currently available to patients in NHS Scotland.

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the five-year survival rates are for people diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, broken down by gender, and how this compares with other cancers.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The most recently available data show that between 2000 and 2004, the five year survival rate for oesophageal cancer was 11% for men and 7.7% for women. Further information on survival rates for oesophageal cancer is available on the NHS Information …

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the number of endoscopy clinics in primary care settings.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Each NHS board has responsibility for the planning and provision of health services in its area, based on an assessment of need and in accordance with local and national priorities.

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many endoscopy clinics are located in primary care settings.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information provided by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland advises there are 12 endoscopy clinics in primary care settings. <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > NHS Dumfries and Galloway </td> <td valign=…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue clear guidance to GPs on the diagnosis of oesophageal cancer to encourage quicker referral of symptomatic patients for testing.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Action has been taken to ensure doctors across the country have up-to-date referral guidelines to ensure patients presenting with possible symptoms of oesophageal cancer are quickly and efficiently referred for further investigation. A Health Depart…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable is for the regulations on banning tobacco displays for (a) small and (b) large retailers and what time will be provided for consultation.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government announced at the introduction of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill that the display ban of tobacco products in shops will be introduced for small shops in 2013 and larger retailers in 2011. The Scottish Governmen…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the revised estimate is of the cost for (a) small and (b) large retailers of compliance with the ban on the display of tobacco as contained in the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Shona Robison: There is no single estimate of the cost to a retailer of complying with the tobacco display ban, as the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill and the relevant draft regulations do not stipulate how tobacco should be stored to comply with the di…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether every senior charge nurse has a budget and direct responsibility for deploying it.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Leading Better Care sets out the senior charge nurse''s (SCNs) role and responsibilities with regard to managing the practice setting including the effective use of resources and contributing to the management of the ward/department budget. The SCNs r…

7 Dec 2009 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether every senior charge nurse has direct responsibility for the deployment of cleaning staff.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Leading Better Care identifies the senior charge nurse''s (SCN) role and responsibilities to promote a clean and safe environment for staff, patients and visitors by ensuring compliance with legislation, policies and protocols, including health and sa…