Parliamentary questions
Kay Ullrich
157 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
31 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown, by health board area, of waiting times for hip replacement operations.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on the median waiting time for routine primary total hip replacement, by health board of residence, for the year ending 31 December 1999, is provided in the table.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NHS in Scotland: Median Waiting Times For Primary Total Hip Repla…
31 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to provide a breakdown by health board area of waiting times for (a) orthopaedic outpatient appointments and (b) orthopaedic surgery.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on the median waiting time for a first outpatient orthopaedic appointment following a General Medical Practitioner referral, and for orthopaedic surgery, by health board of residence, for the year ending 31 December 1999, is provided in the table.…
22 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ask the Scottish Health Technology Assessment Centre to review the effectiveness of combination therapy treatment for hepatitis C.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence in England (NICE) is currently considering Ribavirin/alfa interferon therapy for hepatitis C. The Health Technology Board for Scotland (formerly the Scottish Health Technology Assessment Centre), which was establ…
21 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice has been given to health boards in terms of the prevention and treatment of hepatitis C virus.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I would refer to the answer to question S1W-5478 which highlights the work, commissioned by The Scottish Office from the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme (SNAP), into all aspects of hepatitis C, including prevention and treatment. The report's conclusions …
21 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the prevalence of the hepatitis C virus in Scotland.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Preliminary analyses of existing data held by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) suggest that around 35,000 persons alive in Scotland have been infected with hepatitis C as at March 2000 and that the great majority of these wil…
21 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the recommendations of the organisation C Change with regard to pre- and post-test counselling in relation to hepatitis C.
Answer · Susan Deacon: In 1999, The Scottish Office commissioned the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme to establish a working group to consider all aspects of hepatitis C including epidemiology, prevention, investigations, and treatment, and to estimate future implications for th…
15 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for a public campaign to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of prostate cancer.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is determined to address the challenges presented by cancer in <U>all</U> its forms. <I>Towards a Healthier Scotland </I>includes a commitment to reduce cancer mortality by 20% by 2010. <P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">There are currently no plans fo…
15 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when brachytherapy facilities for the treatment of prostate cancer will be set up in Scotland.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Improving the care of people with prostate cancer presents many challenges, not least of which is the lack of clinical consensus as to the most appropriate treatment.<P ALIG…
9 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4525 by Ross Finnie on 2 March 2000, whether it will detail the actions taken and timescale involved in relation to preparation for the implementation of the PETS Passport Pilot Scheme, prior to Ross Finnie's letter to MSPs on the subject.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Professor Kennedy's Group (known as the Advisory Group on Quarantine) was set up to look at whether the existing system of quarantine for entry into the UK should be modernised. The group reported in September 1998 recommending radical changes. This report wa…
7 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to implement a central strategy to improve detection and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to my answer to question S1W-5084.
7 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why there are proportionately fewer genito-urinary medicine specialists in Scotland compared to England and Wales.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The numbers of consultants employed in any specialty is a matter for the health boards. Health boards have a knowledge of the health needs of their local populations and are expected to develop their services accordingly.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">However, the Scotti…
7 Mar 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address inequalities in access to sexual health services, both within Scotland and compared to England and Wales.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The White Paper, <I>Towards a Healthier Scotland</I>, identified sexual health as a priority health topic and set out proposals for improving sexual health, acknowledging that health services have found it hard to tackle the issue in the past. The proposals i…
22 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is the average waiting time for cancer patients to receive radiotherapy treatment, following diagnosis, broken down by health board area for 1998-99 and to date in 1999-2000.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of the top clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">One aspect of this strategic priority is to improve information about cancer and its treatment within the NHS in Scotland. Therefore, since 1 January 1997 the Scottish Can…
17 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to implement a pilot scheme along the lines of the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) Passport Pilot Scheme which will be implemented in England from 28 February 2000, and what plans it has to implement a full PETS Passport Scheme as is scheduled to be implemented in Englan…
Answer · Ross Finnie: I have written individually to all MSPs advising them of the introduction of the pilot scheme and that legislation will be introduced to enable the full scheme to operate in Scotland in 2001.
15 Feb 2000 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many physiotherapists currently working in the NHS in Scotland are trained in the management of hypermobility syndrome.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The information requested is not available centrally.
22 Dec 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist patients and families of patients with travel expenses incurred attending the National Cochlea Implant Centre.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Assistance is available for eligible patients and families of patients who incur travelling expenses for cochlear implantation services at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock and the City Hospital in Edinburgh. A non-means tested scheme is available to patients…
22 Dec 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish outreach centres around Scotland in order that the services provided by the National Cochlea Implant Centre at Crosshouse Hospital in Ayrshire can be more easily accessed by patients from outwith the immediate area of the hospital.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer Ms Ullrich to my answer of 9 February 2000 to Mrs Margaret Jamieson (S1W-737) announcing additional funding of £150,000 to support outreach cochlear implantation services across Scotland. There are no plans at present to establish outreach centres.
17 Dec 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2718 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 1999, how that answer can be reconciled with section 25 the Land Registers (Scotland) Act 1868, as amended by the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979.
Answer · Jim Wallace: My answer of 7 December confirmed that the Land Reform Bill will not exempt voluntary groups, community groups and charities from paying fees for accessing information on land ownership.<FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=2><P>Section 25 of the 1868 Act, as amended, prov…
17 Dec 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2718 by Mr Jim Wallace on 7 December 1999, in relation to the figure of #34 million quoted as the operating expenses in 1998-99 of the Register of Scotland Executive Agency, what is the level of revenue raised from the charges levied against voluntar…
Answer · Jim Wallace: It is not possible to identify without disproportionate effort how much of the fee revenue received by the Registers of Scotland derives specifically from charges levied against such groups and organisations for access to information on land ownership.
16 Dec 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2766 by Susan Deacon on 8 December 1999, whether it will specify a maximum time period in days, weeks or months which it considers acceptable for a person to wait, following a GP referral, for a clinic appointment for the fitting of a hearing aid.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I announced on 16 December 1999 that, over the coming months, the Scottish Executive will be working with the NHS in Scotland to establish national maximum waiting times, to be met by March 2001, in the key clinical priorities of heart disease, cancer, and fo…
26 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to implement a self-help initiative similar to the NHS Direct service in time to reduce the number of people attending accident and emergency units over the winter and Millennium period.
Answer · Susan Deacon: A "freephone" NHS Helpline provides advice on health and local health services. Callers can be given information on how to stay healthy and warm during the winter months. This service will be available over the Millennium holiday period.<FONT FACE="…
24 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that hearing aid equipment supplied to patients through the NHS is of comparable quality and modernity to that supplied to patients being treated privately.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Yes. Scottish Healthcare Supplies, the Division of the Common Services Agency responsible for arranging central contracts for the NHS in Scotland, closely monitors developments in this rapidly advancing area. This ensures that the range of hearing aids availa…
24 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be an acceptable period for a person with a hearing problem to wait, after referral by their GP, for a clinic appointment and fitting of a hearing aid.
Answer · Susan Deacon: There are many clinical reasons why a person may experience hearing difficulties. The timing of an outpatient appointment is a matter for the clinical judgement of the individual consultant based on the information provided in the General Practitioner's refer…
24 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase funding for the treatment of cancer patients in order to address the concerns recently highlighted by Professor Gordon McVie, Director General of the Cancer Research Campaign.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">A great deal of work is already underway to meet the aims set out in <I>Towards a Healthier Scotland</I> and <I>Designed to Care. </I>This includes targeted health promotion…
24 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions breaches of a civil non-harassment order have led to a prosecution.
Answer · Colin Boyd: The 1998 recorded crime figures compiled by the Scottish Executive Justice Department reveal that the police recorded eight occasions on which they reported to the Procurator Fiscal an alleged breach of a civil non-harassment order for consideration of crimin…
24 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil non-harassment orders have been granted in Scotland since they were introduced in 1997.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The table below sets out the information which is recorded on civil non-harassment orders. Information is available from January 1998.<P>Protection from Harassment Act Applications<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=616><TR><TD WIDTH="33%" VALIGN=…
23 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its proposed Land Reform Bill will include provisions exempting voluntary groups, community groups and charities from paying any fee in return for accessing information on land ownership and whether it will clarify the current effect of, and future effect this Bill may have on, se…
Answer · Jim Wallace: The Land Reform Bill will not exempt voluntary groups, community groups and charities from paying fees for accessing information on land ownership from the Register of Sasines or the Land Register of Scotland, nor will it affect the legislative basis for char…
16 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to specify, for each year over the period 1988 to 1998, the level of government expenditure in Scotland on health and within that on the treatment of (i) cancer (ii) coronary heart disease and (iii) cerebrovascular disease.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The total net expenditure on the NHS in Scotland over the last 10 years is as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=234><TR><TD WIDTH="52%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>Year</TD><TD WIDTH="48%" VALIGN="TOP"><P ALIGN="CENTER">£000</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="…
16 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive to provide details of the incidence, mortality and survival rates in Scotland for each year over the period 1988 to 1998 for (a) males and (b) females in relation to (i) cancer (ii) coronary heart disease and (iii) cerebrovascular disease.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Information on the incidence, mortality and survival rates in Scotland for each year over the period 1988 to 1998 for a) males and b) females in relation to (i) cancer, (ii) ischaemic heart disease and (iii) cerebrovascular disease is set out in the tables be…
11 Nov 1999 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the official bodies and committees involved in formulating, monitoring and auditing cancer care policies and strategies and provide a brief outline of the specific responsibilities of each organisation.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Cancer Group (SCG) is the overarching advisory body responsible for the development of Scotland's cancer strategy. There are SCG sub-groups for Quality Assurance, Chemotherapy and Cancer Genetics.<P ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The Scottish Executive Health D…