Jackie Baillie

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17129 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2023, whether it will now provide the information requested regarding what percentage of applications to the Young Patients Family Fund has resulted in the award being granted in 2022-23.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not yet have complete data for the Young Patients Family Fund for the period 2022-23 and are committed to working with Health Boards to achieve this. For the latest data I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17130 on ?…

5 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17128 by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2023, whether it will now provide the information requested regarding what the average amount claimed was through the Young Patients Family Fund in 2022-23.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government does not yet have complete data for the Young Patients Family Fund for period 2022-23 and are committed to working with Health Boards to achieve this.

2 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider establishing a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund, in light of the charity Young Lives vs Cancer’s #RunningOnEmpty campaign, to ensure that young people and their families who are facing cancer treatment do not face any financial disadvantage.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has no plans to establish a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund. Financial support for travel to hospital is available for patients and authorised escorts, in line with eligibility criteria and medical requirements under the Patient Tra…

1 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the number of clinical nurse specialists to ensure that chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients on active monitoring have access to appropriate support.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and have people at the …

1 Jun 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the communication that chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients receive about the watch and wait approach, also known as active monitoring.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is categorised into 3 stages. Generally, if a patient has stage A, the condition is monitored and treatment is not recommended. This is because there is no benefit in receiving treatment at this stage, and it can cause significan…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has met its national targets, announced on 6 July 2022, to treat patients waiting longer than (a) two years for outpatient appointments in most specialities by the end of August 2022, (b) 18 months for outpatient appointments in most specialities by the end of December 2022, (…

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has seen a substantive reduction in new outpatient, as well as inpatient and day case waits over two years since the targets were announced last year. As of 31 March 2023, for outpatient appointments, 33 out of 41 specialties (80%) ha…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it invested £170 million in 2022-23 through the Primary Care Improvement Fund, as outlined in its National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Scotland.

Answer · Michael Matheson: To support the ongoing delivery of Multi-Disciplinary Teams in 2022-23, including pharmacists, mental health workers and physiotherapists, we made available £170 million through the Primary Care Improvement Fund for Health and Social Care Partnerships. This w…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many breast cancer patients have attended additional follow-up clinics, as committed to in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18750 on 15 June 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional clinics it has provided to date for the most challenged pathways including urological, colorectal and breast cancers, as set out in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Answer · Michael Matheson: £10 million of funding was directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2021-22, with a further £10m made available to Boards in 2022-23 to continue to support Cancer Waiting Times. Health Boards across NHS Scotland direct spend tow…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional advanced nurse practitioners, which were announced in April 2018, have been trained to date.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government’s commitment to train 500 Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) by 2021 was met by August 2021. A total of 734 nurses have completed their Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Nursing Practice (PG Dip ANP).

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its international recruitment target for the NHS is in 2023-24, broken down by profession.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has previously advised that International Recruitment is a short term solution to build our workforce capacity and a target for 2023-24 has yet to be announced. However to continue to support Boards, based on current budget we have adv…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many staff have completed the National Endoscopy Training Programme to date.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The National Endoscopy Training Programme (NETP) offers a range of training packages to improve the quality of endoscopy care for patients in Scotland, helping to provide the clinical capacity needed to reduce Endoscopy and Cancer waiting times. This includes…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 1,500 new staff for National Treatment Centres have been recruited as of 1 April 2023.

Answer · Michael Matheson: NTCs require an appropriate mix of new and experienced staff to operate safely and efficiently. Management information provided by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) shows that at 31 March 2023, 502 people were employed in an NTC. This figure excludes those sta…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what targets have been set to recruit (a) nurses and (b) medics to meet its commitment of 1,500 new staff for National Treatment Centres, in the period up to and including 2027.

Answer · Michael Matheson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13464 on 24 January 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13473 by Humza Yousaf on 24 January 2023, how many funded places for (a) nursing and (b) midwifery will be available in 2023.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The controlled target intake for funded places for Academic Year 23-24 has been maintained at 4,837 overall, comprising 4,536 nursing places and 301 midwifery places. However these figures are subject to annual review with key stakeholders as previously agree…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many paramedic training places were available in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.

Answer · Michael Matheson: For the Academic Year 2022-23, the Scottish-Government recommended intake target to paramedic education programmes was 335 students. Similarly, for the Academic Year 2023-24, the Scottish-Government recommended intake target to paramedic education programmes …

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13489 by Clare Haughey on 19 January 2023, whether it will provide an update on the development of a Graduate Apprenticeship in Social Work.

Answer · Natalie Don: The Scottish Government remain committed to investing in the professional development of our valued social services workforce. A Graduate Apprenticeship for the profession is part of a range of options in consideration to widen access into social work. Offici…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 78,000 additional diagnostic procedures in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for outpatients. We are seeing improvements in diagnostic waiting times, and we continue to prioritise those referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer for scope-based diagnostic …

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 58,000 additional outpatient activity in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for outpatients. We have seen an increase in the level of activity for new outpatients in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was at the highest level of activity in any quarter s…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it met its target of 27,500 additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-23, as outlined in its NHS Recovery Plan.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for inpatient and day case procedures. We have seen an increase in the level of activity for inpatient / day-cases in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was the highest level of …

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £3 million investment for accelerated treatment in lung cancer diagnostic services has been allocated to date, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has made available £3 million of funding to the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), hosted in NHS Golden Jubilee, to support implementation of the optimal lung cancer diagnostic pathway. CfSD is responsible for supporting the desig…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been treated through the redesigned lung cancer diagnostic services, which were announced in December 2022, to date.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The National Optimal Lung Cancer Diagnostic Pathway provides boards with best practice examples to improve lung cancer diagnostic pathway efficiency. Adoption of the optimal diagnostic pathway will take time as boards begin to redesign their services, funding…

31 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have self-referred for breast cancer screening in each of the last three years.

Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Breast Screening programme was temporarily paused between March 2020 – August 2020 in order to reduce the risk of participants becoming infected with Covid-19, to enable physical distancing, and to minimise the impact on essential NHS services as…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it reportedly informed the Drug Research Network Scotland that its funding would be halved at a time when drug-related deaths remain high in Scotland.

Answer · Elena Whitham: In establishing the Drug Research Network Scotland (DRNS) in 2017 the intention was to provide seed funding through the Scottish Funding Council to allow the network to develop and become self-sufficient through developing other income streams with associated…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its assessment is of the value of research carried out by the Drug Research Network Scotland.

Answer · Elena Whitham: The aims of the DRNS are not to carry out research but to to develop a Scottish drugs research strategy to build capacity, maximise research investment and deliver robust, high-quality research evidence to inform policy and practice relevant to problem drug u…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what steps it is taking to reduce the high numbers of drug-related deaths across Scotland.

Answer · Elena Whitham: We’re taking a wide range of actions to tackle the drug deaths crisis. Through the National Mission on drugs we have:Continued to expand Residential Rehab, more particularly over the course of this parliament, we are working to increase overall residential re…

30 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to tackle any growing use of nitazenes and new psychoactive substances in Scotland, in light of reports that such drugs are already causing deaths.

Answer · Elena Whitham: Following reports at the end of 2022 that nitazenes, a new form of synthetic opioid, had been detected in a drug related death in Scotland, Scottish Government officials have worked closely with Public Health Scotland (PHS) colleagues to monitor and better un…

23 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time equivalent (a) primary and (b) secondary school teachers have been employed in Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The number of full-time equivalent primary and secondary school teachers employed in publicly funded schools in Scotland in each of the last 10 years is available from Table 1.1d in the published Teacher census supplementary statistics, Teacher census supple…

19 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how long it estimates that the phase between environmental impact assessments being carried out and procurement will take for works on the A83 for the Rest and Be Thankful.  

Answer · Mairi McAllan: The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route. The identifica…

19 May 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the updated estimated cost is for works on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful long-term solution.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to an infrastructure solution to address the landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. I share the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, wh…