Parliamentary questions
Mary Scanlon
4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27547 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 8 August 2002, whether all six- and seven-year-old children registered in deprivation categories 5, 6 and 7 are listed as receiving dental care under the new scheme.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: With reference to my earlier reply, all six and seven year old children registered with a general dental practitioner in deprivation categories 5, 6, and 7 are eligible for dental care under the caries prevention scheme.
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27544 by Malcolm Chisholm on 8 August 2002, what action will be taken to ensure that clients seeking help with drug problems do not have to wait several months.
Answer · Richard Simpson: The Executive is providing annual funding to NHS boards for drug treatment services of £15 million in 2001-02, £16 million in 2002-03 and over £17.4 million in 2003-04. NHS boards are also free to invest resources from their general hospital and community car…
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27508 by Malcolm Chisholm on 7 August 2002, how many NHS trusts are adhering to the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network guidelines on epilepsy.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The SIGN guideline on diagnosis and management of epilepsy in adults (SIGN Guideline No. 21) was published in November 1997. The guideline is currently under review. An overall survey of progress by NHSScotland in implementing SIGN guidelines was carried out …
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any research findings are available to link increased smoking of tobacco with drugs prescribed for people with mental health problems.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Research funded by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) in the Scottish Executive Health Department has confirmed the high rates of smoking among people with severe mental illness. These are a matter of concern, as they would be in any population group. The CSO i…
30 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of GPs and hospital-based doctors use the yellow card reporting system for adverse reactions in relation to medication for mental health problems.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Yellow Card Scheme underpins drug safety monitoring in the UK. Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions are submitted to the Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), jointly responsible for running the scheme.<P>The MCA …
28 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether The Highland Council's annual capital allocation for transport is sufficient to ensure that the structural condition of its road network, including the strengthening of bridges and other road structures, is maintained to an acceptable level.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Highland Council's proposed single allocation for non-housing capital will rise to £23.2million in financial year 2003-04, a cumulative increase over three years of 34.3%. Given that Highland Council is responsible for the local roads within its area, it is e…
26 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all NHS boards are funding the limited use of anti-TNF drugs for rheumatoid arthritis to assess their cost effectiveness given that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and Health Technology Board for Scotland have already issued their evaluation and guidance.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from the HTBS and ensure that recommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need. Any evidence that emerged either from complaints or through monitoring which suggested that …
26 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS trusts do not have sufficient funding to support the implementation of Health Technology Board for Scotland guidance on new drugs.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In determining NHS boards' unified budgets each year, the Scottish Executive Health Department takes account of the expected costs of implementing likely recommendations from the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS). I expect NHSScotland to take accoun…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether thiomersal is still used for child vaccinations; which current vaccinations contain thiomersal, and whether thiomersal is considered safe to use.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The regulation and control of medicines is reserved.<P>The Medicines Control Agency has advised that the only vaccines in the routine UK childhood immunisation programme which contain thiomersal as an excipient in the final product are diphtheria, tetanus, wh…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific treatment is offered to people who self-harm.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Treatment will divide between the physical, which will vary from case to case and the psychological which will involve engaging the patient with exploring and addressing the root cause of their self harm actions.<P>We have already issued guidance to the care …
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what services are currently available for those involved with all aspects of deliberate self-harm, including professional and frontline carers.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is for NHS boards and local authorities to arrange appropriate support and services, having assessed the needs of their areas. The Framework for the Reduction of Suicide, which will be issued later this year, will provide advice to local agencies in develo…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in the light of the report by the National Children's Home (NCH), Look beyond the scars.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The NCH report, which recognises that self-harm is often a way of coping with depression and emotional distress, is a helpful contribution to the Executive's drive to improve the well-being of young people in Scotland, and its findings will be taken into acco…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26852 by Allan Wilson on 16 July 2002, why there are no Scottish Environment Protection Agency board members in the Highlands and Islands.
Answer · Allan Wilson: In selecting new members for the board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), we seek to produce a balance of backgrounds and experience to bring together a board which covers all aspects of the agency's work and the various groups it deals wit…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23849 by Dr Richard Simpson on 3 April 2002, whether information from prescription data is now available through the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency to collate the number of people who are prescribed methadone on a r…
Answer · Richard Simpson: The Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency aim to have the information available by the end of this month.
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently affected by rheumatoid arthritis, broken down by NHS trust area.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The information sought is not held in the form requested. Information derived from the Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR) system operated by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency estimates that approximately 16,500 individual…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken against any NHS trust which refuses to prescribe the anti-TNF drugs Etanercept and Infliximab to aid people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Prescription of drugs to individual patients is a matter for the professional judgement of the clinicians involved. The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) has recently recommended Etanercept and Infliximab for use in certain circumstances in the trea…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how Levonelle is being monitored to ensure that it is used in line with prescription recommendations.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It is not possible to monitor the use of Levonelle from data collected centrally. These data relate to numbers and costs of prescribed items dispensed in the community and are not patient-specific. <P>Guidance on the use of Levonelle is available to prescribe…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to evaluate prisoners considered eligible for the Retox Programme prior to release.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>All drug misusing prisoners are offered a comprehensive multi-disciplinary assessment while in custody, which includes planning for their relea…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what studies have been done and used as baseline evidence to underpin the decision to implement the Retox Programme for prisoners prior to release.
Answer · Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:<P>Retoxification of opiate addicts prior to release occurs only in a very small number of prisoners who have lost their tolerance to opiates whil…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that resources earmarked for local authority provision of mental health services, children's services, care of the elderly and those with learning disabilities are fully utilised for the purpose for which they were intended.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Resources for certain services are provided through ring-fenced specific grants, for example through the Mental Illness Specific Grant. However, the vast majority of grant funding provided to local authorities is not earmarked for specific purposes. It is for…
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an adequate number of Care Commission Inspectors are now trained and in place to ensure full inspection and monitoring of standards in accordance with the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The employment and training of adequate inspection staff are operational matters for the Care Commission itself.
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether appropriate audit tools are now being applied to assess and monitor care standards across Scotland.
Answer · Frank McAveety: This is an operational matter for the Care Commission.
20 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with mental health problems are currently in receipt of direct payments, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Provisional information, collected at end March 2002, shows that, in 2001-02, there were five people with mental health problems in receipt of direct payments - one in Fife, two in Highland, one in South Ayrshire and one in West Lothian.
6 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to advise any patients with mental illness of the increase in the risk of psychosis and suicide through the use of cannabis.
Answer · Richard Simpson: The Executive has recently published a Know the Score booklet on cannabis, which includes a description of the risks to mental health posed by this drug. The booklet has been widely distributed; for example to GP practices, NHS boards and drug agencies throug…
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided for advocacy for people with learning disabilities since the publication of The Same as You?; what service provision this has secured, and how the quality and scope of service provision are being monitored.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The amount of funding spent on advocacy services for people with a learning disability was £970,000 in 2001-02 rising to £1.25 million in 2002-03. It is not possible to define how much of this funding was drawn down from the Change Fund or other sources. Serv…
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with learning disablities have had more than two moves since leaving hospital since the publication of The Same as You?.
Answer · Frank McAveety: This information requested is not held centrally.
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the nature of end accommodation provision has been for the people with learning difficulties who have moved out of hospital since the publication of The Same as You?.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Individuals leaving hospital have gone to different settings depending on their assessed needs, the wishes of the individual concerned, and the policies of the local authority. These include sheltered housing and supported accommodation, care homes, own tenan…
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people with learning disabilities have moved out of hospital since the publication of The Same as You?.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The number of average occupied beds in the learning disability speciality reduced from 1,832 at end-March 2000 (the nearest available date to when <I>The same as you?</I> was published in May 2000) to 1,521 at end-March 2001 (the latest date for which figures…
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much resources have been transferred from the NHS to local authorities in respect of learning disability provision in each year from 1996-97 to date, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Information about resource transfer for adults with learning disabilities is contained in Table 7.5 of <I>Scottish Community Care Statistics 2001</I>, published by the Scottish Executive in August 2002. A copy of this document is being made available to the P…
19 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether women who have had mastectomy surgery on the understanding that reconstructive cosmetic surgery would be available after an appropriate healing time will have access to this surgery and whether any patients awaiting such surgery have been placed on deferred waiting lists or have b…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Yes, such patients will have access to breast reconstruction surgery. Decisions on the nature and timing of hospital treatment, including breast reconstruction surgery, are matters for the clinical judgement of the relevant consultant, in discussion with the …