Parliamentary questions
Jackie Baillie
9,393 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) parents of children starting P1 and (b) all parents will be allowed to take their children into school on the first day of the new term.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As we see children return to school after summer I understand how important it is for families to feel involved, especially where children are attending school for the first time. However, as we monitor the impact of important changes to self-isolation polici…
9 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information is recorded by NHS boards on patients (a) loaning and (b) ineligible for short-term mobility aids.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20139 on ? 26 August 2021. 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-commit…
9 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it plans to carry out of the roll-out of short-term mobility aids.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: Guidance on the provision of wheelchairs on short-term loan was published five months ago, on 23 March 2021 ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/guidance-provision-wheelchairs-short-term-loan/ ). Officials are meeting with the Red Cross in September to disc…
9 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been provided with a short-term mobility aid since the roll-out of guidance on the provision of these earlier in 2021, broken down by health and social care partnership.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: This information is not currently collected centrally. However, local health and social care partnerships, and their store services, will collect data on the number of loans, and returns, of mobility equipment, including short-term wheelchair loans. As part o…
6 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01536 by Humza Yousaf on 6 August 2021, how many calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service have been responded to (a) within (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 29, (iii) 30 to 59 and (iv) 60 to 120 and (b) over 120 minutes in each month of 2021-22 to date, brok…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Please find the requested information set out in the following table. Emergency Incidents Attended, 01-04-2021 - 31-07-2021 2021 - 2022 2021 - 2022 2021 - 2022 2021 - 2022 April May June July Purple 1027 1203 1162 1130 Purple 10-29…
4 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-01291 by Maree Todd on 26 July 2021, what date has been decided for the restarting of the over-70's self-referral breast cancer scheme, and, if no decision has been reached, whether it can confirm if the scheme will be expected to restart by the end…
Answer · Maree Todd: The timing for restarting the over-70’s self-referral scheme is regularly reviewed. The Breast Screening Programme Board (BSPB) agreed criteria to resume the option for women over 70 to self-refer in line with the programme’s recovery route map. The option fo…
2 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have attended a breast cancer screening programme appointment in each month since January 2019 to date.
Answer · Maree Todd: The following table shows the number of people who attended a breast screening appointment from January 2019 to July 2021. 2018-2019 data is provided as a baseline; as the programme operates on a 3 year basis, and as in some years the locations are further aw…
2 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many breast cancer screening appointments have been cancelled in each month since January 2020 to date, and how many patients are currently awaiting an appointment following a cancellation.
Answer · Maree Todd: The following table shows office-cancelled breast screening appointments, broken down by month from January 2020 until July 2021. It is important to note, however, that all of these office-cancelled appointments are reappointed as a matter of course and an in…
2 Aug 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-00894 by Humza Yousaf on 29 July 2021, what incidences of hospital acquired infections at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital have ministers been notified of since 1 March 2020, broken down by (a) infection and (b) date of notification.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is not able to provide the information requested due to this level of data not being publically available. In particular, individual patients may be identifiable should such hospital level information be published. Quarterly reports o…
27 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any patient had been identified as being wrongfully excluded from the cervical screening programme due to incorrect recording of subtotal hysterectomies prior to December 2020.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01898 on ? 23 August 2021. 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-commit…
27 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on what date errors were first identified in the data in the Scottish Cervical Call Recall System (SCCRS) in relation to (a) incorrect recording of subtotal hysterectomies and (b) wrongful exclusions from the screening programme.
Answer · Maree Todd: As I noted in my statement to Parliament on 24 June, a single NHS Board first discovered in December 2020 that a small number of women who had subtotal hysterectomies had been wrongly excluded. In 2016, a review was carried out of all individual records on t…
26 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to reduce the cost of COVID-19 PCR tests for travellers arriving in Scotland.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Covid-19 test kits are home PCR kits provided by NHS Test & Trace. The cost of the kits is set by the UK Government and the process managed through its contract with the travel management company CTM. Currently, the Scottish Government does not allow use…
26 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether COVID-19 PCR tests cost more for travellers arriving in Scotland than they do for travellers arriving in other parts of the UK, and, if so, for what reason.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government currently only allows travellers returning from green and amber list countries to use NHS tests, arranged through the CTM booking portal, as they are the highest quality with established data flows into NHS boards and samples are seque…
26 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who is contracted to provide the COVID-19 PCR tests that travellers arriving in Scotland are required to purchase.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government currently only allows travellers returning from green and amber list countries to use NHS tests, delivered through the UK Government’s contract with the travel management company CTM. These tests are the highest quality with establishe…
21 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) treatment for multiple sclerosis will be available to NHS patients.
Answer · Maree Todd: In October 2019 the Scottish Health Technology Group (SHTG) recommended that: “Where patients understand and are willing to accept the demands, risks and uncertainties of treatment, autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) should be considered a…
21 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis is not currently provided by any NHS boards, despite it having been approved for use by NHS Scotland.
Answer · Maree Todd: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01751 on 6 August 2021. 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-committee…
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a metastatic breast cancer audit, and, if so, when.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: There are no plans to undertake a metastatic breast cancer audit. Officials continue to closely monitor all patients referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer in NHS Scotland to ensure they are seen and treated as timely as possible.
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it collects data on secondary breast cancer, and, if so, whether it will publish this.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01706 on ? 24 August 2021. 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-commit…
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist secondary breast cancer nurses are currently employed by each NHS board.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: NHS Scotland’s staffing levels are at a record high and the nursing and midwifery staff group is the largest, accounting for just under 64,000 Whole Time Equivalent (42%) of the workforce, an increase of 5% from the previous year. Information on the number of…
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many clinical trials there currently are for cancer, and whether these have recommenced.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The latest data cut of 22.07.2021 showed 262 active Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland. On that date there were 22 Covid-19 suspended Cancer Clinical Trials.
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in each of the last five years, also broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Cancer Registry, hosted by Public Health Scotland, collects information on registrations for primary cancers. It does not hold information on secondary cancers. There is work ongoing to develop systems for the routine collection of secondary ca…
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to increase diagnostic capacity for breast cancer services.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Cancer continues to be a top priority for this Government. On 28 June I announced £10 million of funding to support cancer waiting times improvements during 2021-22. This funding will support targeted diagnostic activity, including for breast cancer. We have …
20 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many breast cancer radiologists are currently employed by each NHS board.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: This government has seen a 54.2% increase in the consultant radiologist workforce (from 223.5 WTE in September 2006 to 344.6 WTE in March 2021). While information on numbers of radiologists according to specialist cancer fields is not centrally held, the numb…
16 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it plans to start the roll-out of the 2021-22 flu-immunisation programme, and how many people will be eligible for a free flu vaccination, broken down by eligible groups.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: We are currently working with Public Health Scotland and Health Boards to plan and deliver the 2021-22 Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme for the autumn. We welcome the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation who have indicated that w…
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people aged (a) under 18, (b) 18 to 29, (c) 30 to 39, (d) 40 to 49, (e) 50 to 59, (f) 60 to 69, (g) 70 to 79 and (h) 80 and over have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in each week since 3 May 2021, also broken down by how many had been given a (i) first and (ii) second va…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Detailed information on hospitalisations by age group and vaccine status of hospitalised patients is available in Public Health Scotland's Weekly Statistical reports. These are accessible here : Publications - Public Health Scotland COVID-19 Statistical Re…
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of COVID-19 vaccine doses have been wasted each month since December 2020.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Wastage data is not currently published by Public Health Scotland. However we can confirm for NHS board operated vaccination clinics, wastage is well below our planning assumption of 5%, which is a precautionary approach for worst case scenario planning.
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are on the waiting list for a colposcopy, also broken down by how many have been waiting (a) eight to 16, (b) 17 to 32, (c) 33 to 52 and (d) over 52 weeks.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government or by Public Health Scotland. Information relating to the number of patients awaiting a colposcopy and their length of wait would be held by individual Health Boards.
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the target waiting time is for a colposcopy.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Following the publication of the review of the Cervical screening standards in March 2019 NHS Boards should ensure that individuals referred to the colposcopy service with an abnormal screening test are seen within the nationally agreed time frames:no later t…
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-33254 by Joe FitzPatrick on 2 December 2020, how many patients who had their routine cervical screening test delayed have (a) now received a test, (b) been referred for further investigation and (c) not yet received an invite for an appointment.
Answer · Maree Todd: Initial estimates suggest that 5,786 invitations have not yet issued to people affected by the pause, but it should be stressed that this will be for a range of reasons, including participants being excluded from the programme after it restarted, or taking th…
15 Jul 2021 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many applications have been made to the £1 million mesh support fund, also broken down by how many have (a) been rejected and (b) yet to be processed.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: The mesh fund is being administered by NHS National Services Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government. The following table illustrates, as at 26 July 2021, the number of applications approved, declined and pending: Received 587 Approved 532 Declined…