Parliamentary questions
Mary Scanlon
4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
23 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in response to the recommendations in the Limited Review of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.
Answer · Shona Robison: A public consultation seeking views on the recommendations contained in the review group''s report was carried out by the Scottish Government over August/November 2009. A Scottish Government report on summary of responses was published in March 2010.</p> <p …
15 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Orkney has to find efficiency savings of 8.6% in 2010-11.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All NHS boards are required to deliver 2% efficient government savings in 2010-11. These savings are retained locally by boards for reinvestment in frontline services. The majority of boards, including NHS Orkney, have set local targets in excess of the effic…
15 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the 18-week referral-to-treatment target will not apply for psychological therapies until December 2014.
Answer · Shona Robison: The target to reduce the time from referral to treatment for a psychological therapy to 18 weeks will be included in the HEAT targets for the first time from April 2011, to be achieved by December 2014. While NHS boards have made good progress in improving ac…
15 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what changes have been made to its HEAT targets since they were introduced.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The details of HEAT targets can be found on the Scottish Government website at the following link www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/17273/targets.</p>
14 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will achieve its target of 6,317 completed child healthy weight interventions by the end of the three year programme, given that no more than 1,584 were achieved in the first two years.
Answer · Shona Robison: HEAT 3 was a development target which required NHS boards to set up what were, in the majority of cases, entirely new services. It was therefore expected that much of the delivery would be in the second half of the three-year target period. This has proved to…
14 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason no more than six of the 36 hospital inspections carried out by the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate in 2009-10 were unannounced.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate operates independently and determines the inspections it will undertake. The rationale for the approach adopted during the first year of operation and future plans are set out in the <i >Chief Inspector''s Annual Report…
14 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the per capita spending was in each NHS board in each of the last three years.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The following table shows net operating expenditure per head for each NHS board from 2007-08 to 2009-10.</b></p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > <p align=center >Boards</p> </td> <td valign=top > <p align=c…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to achieve the HEAT target of reducing emergency bed days for people over 65.
Answer · Shona Robison: The HEAT target is framed to encourage the development of proactive community support; planning ahead to manage anticipated crises; earlier access to specialist assessment and treatment at home, in the accident and emergency unit or within hospital, and bette…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the reduction in psychiatric admissions is being achieved in accordance with best quality care and treatment standards.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards continue to make every effort to ensure any admission to hospital is clinically appropriate and in the best interests of the patient. Care and treatment for all those with a mental health problem is delivered in accordance with national clinical gu…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether each NHS board is expected to operate within the HEAT financial targets.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: All NHS boards are expected to operate within the following HEAT financial targets:</b></p> <p >Revenue resource limit;</p> <p >Capital resource limit;</p> <p >Meet their cash requirement, and</p> <p >Achieve their efficiency savings targets, currently se…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the waiting time target will be introduced for psychological therapies.
Answer · Shona Robison: The HEAT targets for 2011-12 were published in the <i >Local Delivery Plan Guidance</i> on 1 December 2010. This included a HEAT target to improve access to mental health services by delivering 18-week referral-to-treatment for psychological therapies from De…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when support measures for the local community and businesses in Moray will be announced.
Answer · Jim Mather: An initial £300,000 package of skills and training support was announced on 22 December 2010. This investment will help ensure that people across Moray have the opportunity to re-train and develop the new skills that can help them find sustained, productive e…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the target for HEAT 3: The Child Healthy Weight Programme has been achieved by each NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Data relating to HEAT target H3 are collected quarterly and published annually. The next data publication is due in May 2011.</p>
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons have been learned as a result of not achieving the target, HEAT 3: The Child Healthy Weight Programme.
Answer · Shona Robison: All boards have plans in place to deliver their targets. Many are now on, or ahead of, trajectory. One board has already met its target, ahead of schedule. We anticipate that the national target will be met by end March 2011.</p> <p >This was a development t…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been a reduction in the national HEAT 3 target of 19,493 children aged 5 to 15 to complete a healthy weight programme and, if so, for what reason and what the new target is.
Answer · Shona Robison: The HEAT 3 child healthy weight target was a development target. Final target numbers were agreed with boards as part of the 2010-11 local delivery plan sign-off process. The final target agreed in March 2010 was 6,317 completed interventions with the majorit…
10 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all NHS boards are expected to achieve the HEAT target for dementia services by March 2011.
Answer · Shona Robison: We anticipate that across Scotland we will exceed the HEAT target to increase the number of people with a diagnosis of dementia by March 2011. Some NHS boards have already met their target and all are working hard towards meeting them by March 2011.</p> <p >…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive where the resources of the NHS can be allocated in order to maximise health quality and outcomes at Scottish Government and NHS board level
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The majority of the resources of the NHS in Scotland are allocated using the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula. This shows the target allocations to the territorial NHS boards in order to help deliver equal access to high quality health…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the weekly consumption of alcohol and the average millilitres of alcohol per person per week are both higher in England than in Scotland yet alcohol-related deaths for males are more than twice as high in Scotland and for females almost twice as high according to Centre fo…
Answer · Shona Robison: The World Health Organization advises that the volume of alcohol use in a country is best estimated from national sales, production and/or taxation data since population surveys invariably underestimate total alcohol consumption. Moreover, Scottish data from …
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to address the high death rate caused by mental and behavioural issues, which is treble the rate in England and double the rate in Wales and Northern Ireland according to UK health statistics
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is engaged with its partners in advancing an ambitious programme to further improve the mental health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland by ensuring good quality mental health services are available for everyone that needs them at…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the gap between the average salary and someone working in the NHS increased from £4,343 to £7,223 between 2004 and 2009
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS staff, ranging from cleaners to highly paid consultants, have benefitted financially from a sustained period of pay modernisation that includes the introduction of Agenda for Change for non-medical staff in 2004, the new consultant contract in 2004 and th…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how health inequalities are (a) measured and (b) monitored and what progress has been made in reducing such inequalities since 2007.
Answer · Shona Robison: <i>Equally Well, </i>the report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities, set out arrangements for the long-term monitoring of health inequalities. The headline indicators of inequalities in health outcomes, recommended to the task force by a tech…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis has been done to identify (a) efficiency savings and (b) productivity gains in the NHS.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The main resource available to the NHS is the Better Quality, Better Value (BQBV) Indicators and toolkit that allow identification of productive opportunities for both efficiency savings and productivity gains within NHSScotland. The indicators compare variat…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce whether it will call in the decision by Moray Council to close Cabrach Primary School.
Answer · Michael Russell: Moray Council voted to close Cabrach Primary School on 8 December 2010 and the formal process under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 commences from that date. Any individual who wishes to make representation to Scottish ministers may do so until…
9 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce whether it will call in the decision by Shetland Islands Council to close the secondary department of Scalloway Junior High School.
Answer · Michael Russell: Shetland Islands Council voted to close the secondary department of Scalloway Junior High School on 8 December 2010 and the formal process under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 commences from that date. Any individual who wishes to make represe…
6 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set up services and support for male victims of domestic violence.
Answer · Alex Neil: It is not the role of the Scottish Government to set up services for victims. However, we are fully supportive of appropriate services being available to support male victims of domestic abuse.</p> <p >Since April this year, we have been providing funding to…
2 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current (a) policy is and (b) recommendations are for the use of the shingles vaccine
Answer · Shona Robison: Vaccination policy in Scotland is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee that provides advice to the four UK administrations.</p> <p >On 29 March 2010, the JCVI published its…
2 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients admitted to hospital for major trauma, major surgery or acute medical illness have been individually assessed for risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) as outlined in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guideline 62 on prophylaxis of VTE and guidelin…
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally.</p> <p >Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 62 on prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been replaced by SIGN Guideline 122 on the prevention and treatment of VTE, which was …
2 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether risk factors that predispose women to postnatal mental health issues are identified following the birth of a child
Answer · Shona Robison: Care and treatment for women at risk of postnatal mental ill-health, including depression, will be delivered in line with national clinical guidelines, the implementation of which is the responsibility of individual NHS boards as an essential part of clinical…
2 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all new mothers are given a personalised postnatal plan
Answer · Shona Robison: As part of our Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic (KCND) programme, we introduced national pathways for maternity care that outline the minimum standard of postnatal care we expect all NHS boards to offer. These national pathways will assist NHS boards to…
2 Dec 2010 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether all maternity units are implementing the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) clinical guideline on postnatal care
Answer · Shona Robison: As part of our Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic (KCND) programme, we introduced national pathways for maternity care that outline the minimum standard of postnatal care we expect all NHS boards to offer.</p> <p >This is based on the best available evid…