Parliamentary questions
Mary Scanlon
4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what mechanism is in place to ensure that dentists receiving financial assistance to deliver NHS dental services deliver the required level of NHS provision.
Answer · Maureen Watt: NHS boards are responsible for monitoring grant-aided projects throughout the grant period, including visiting the practice annually to ensure that the grant conditions are being complied with, preparing an annual report, confirming the number of patient regi…
29 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether any general dental practitioner has (a) failed to deliver the required level of NHS dental services and (b) repaid financial assistance to an NHS board.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish Dental Access Initiative grants have been repaid due to the conditions of grant not being met. For example, for those grants issued by NHS boards since 2007, seven grants have been repaid, in full or in part, to the Scottish Government. NHS boards m…
29 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for how long the Scottish Dental Access Initiative provides financial assistance for dentists to deliver a level of NHS services and what obligation dentists have to provide services thereafter.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Grants are normally paid in two tranches within a 12 month period. The conditions of grant last for seven years following the payment of the first tranche of grant but can be extended in certain circumstances. Once the grant conditions period has expired the …
27 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it monitors proceedings at the European Parliament.
23 Apr 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-25107 by Jamie Hepburn on 21 April 2015, when the review of national care standards will be published and its recommendations implemented.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The analysis of the review of the consultation on the national care standards has been published on the Scottish Government website: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/Recent . Further to my response of 21 April 2015, I can confirm that the project board establ…
20 Apr 2015 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to ensure early diagnosis and appropriate ongoing support for mental health patients.
30 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24760 by Shona Robison on 17 March 2015, whether GPs can complete their training with no input or experience in mental health.
Answer · Shona Robison: No. The training pathway which enables a GP to be entered on the GMC’s list of registered general practitioners is through the accumulation of awareness and competencies across very broad training curricula. In terms of mental health, three essential require…
26 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to address obesity.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Our commitment to tackling obesity is set out in our prevention of obesity route map, one of a coherent group of policy frameworks and guidance which includes: Improving Maternal and Infant Nutrition: A Framework for Action; Better Eating, Better Learning – A…
26 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS psychologists specialise in weight loss behavioural therapies.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Guidance issued by the government to accompany its funding of NHS weight management programmes recommends these programmes should include physical activity, dietary change and behaviour change components. Health boards decide what approach to take locally acr…
26 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways obese people have received psychological services or counselling as part of their treatment process in each of the last five years.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Guidance issued by the government to accompany its funding of NHS weight management programmes recommends these programmes should include physical activity, dietary change and behaviour change components. Health boards decide what approach to take locally and…
26 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps is it taking to encourage the use of psychological therapies as a regular component of obesity treatment.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The government provides £3.5 million for NHS weight management programmes. These programmes must follow the evidence based recommendations of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network national clinical guideline 115 on the management of obesity. Guidanc…
26 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the use of psychological therapies in treating obesity, in light of the recommendation in SIGN guideline 115 on managing obesity.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-25137 on 21 April 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentary…
25 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) youngest and (b) oldest age is at which a person will be considered for bariatric surgery.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: There are no specific upper or lower age limits for bariatric surgery. It is not generally recommended in children or adolescents, but may be considered in exceptional circumstances. Decisions to treat will be jointly made between clinicians and patients, tak…
25 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce guidelines on the use of antipsychotics for older people with dementia.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Clinical guidelines on the appropriate use of antipsychotics to help manage stress and distress symptoms exhibited by all people with dementia are contained in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network national clinical guideline for the management of p…
25 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to raise awareness of the risks associated with giving antipsychotic drugs to older patients with dementia.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Practitioners’ awareness of the risks associated with giving antipsychotics to all people with dementia is supported by the clinical advice contained in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network national clinical guideline for the management of people w…
25 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to revise the (a) Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 and (b) Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 in terms of issues relating to force, restraint and covert medication.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is currently considering its response to the Scottish Law Commission’s Report on Adults with Incapacity, which was published in October 2014 and relates to deprivation of liberty, and will be consulting on it in due course. Scottish Mi…
25 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to revise the Code of Practice for Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government currently has no plans to revise the Code of Practice for Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
25 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to revise the National Care Standards for Care Homes for Older People.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Following consultation on a review of the national care standards, all of the national care standards will be revised.
24 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24516 by Jamie Hepburn on 26 February 2015, how it will ensure that the review will take into account reports that patients from the Highlands and Islands are experiencing difficulty in travelling to the single site in Edinburgh to access the Scotti…
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: NHS Lothian, who host the service, will undertake a review to assess performance, service delivery and patient experience, taking into account patient transport.
24 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24516 by Jamie Hepburn on 26 February 2015, whether it considers it appropriate for (a) stroke patients and (b) others in the Highlands and Islands to have to travel to a single site in Edinburgh to access the Scottish Driving Assessment Service.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: This is a matter for local clinical decision. NHS boards have the discretion to help with the travel costs of patients who have been referred for a driving assessment who do not otherwise qualify for help under the patient travel scheme, but where those costs…
24 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Scottish Driving Assessment Service for (a) stroke patients and (b) others is based at a single site in Edinburgh.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-25080 on 28 April 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentaryb…
24 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-24516 by Jamie Hepburn on 26 February 2015, what consideration was given to (a) stroke patients and (b) others in the Highlands and Islands when the decision was made to base the Scottish Driving Assessment Service at a single site in Edinburgh.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The decision to rationalise the driving assessment service was agreed by all Scottish NHS board chief executives, as recommended by the NHS Board Directors of Planning who had looked at options to reduce the growing list and waiting times for this service. N…
19 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done through socio-psychological early evidence-based assessment to address persistent non-attendance at school.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 provides the framework for individual support which underpins young people’s access to educational opportunities in Scotland. This framework enables authorities to provide support for learnin…
19 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes are being made at NHS 24 to deal with calls more effectively.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS 24 delivers safe and effective services to more than 1.5 million people a year. Its performance is measured against an access service level which aims to achieve 90% of calls answered within 30 seconds. NHS 24 achieved 97% in 2013/14 and consistently exce…
19 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what changes have been made to the eligibility criteria for free personal care since its inception.
Answer · Shona Robison: The need for a national eligibility framework was originally identified in 2008 in reports on Free Personal Care published by Audit Scotland and subsequently by Lord Sutherland’s Independent Review of Free Personal and Nursing Care in Scotland. The Free Pers…
19 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that all local authorities adequately fund early years education, given the reported variation in funding across Scotland.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government has committed £329 million over the next two years to fully fund a significant expansion in early learning and childcare. The allocation and distribution of this funded has been agreed with COSLA. Funding is distributed to local autho…
17 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what baseline date has been used to measure progress and performance against the recommendations made in the 2009 report, The Long and Winding Road: A Roadmap to British Sign Language and Linguistic Access in Scotland.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Council on Deafness (SCOD), which chairs the British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group has recently completed a report setting out progress in key areas and concludes that “since 2009, many of the desired outcomes in the roadmap h…
17 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all public services are deaf and deafblind aware, as recommended in the 2009 report, The Long and Winding Road: A Roadmap to British Sign Language & Linguistic Access in Scotland.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The roadmap, developed by the British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group, was designed as a resource for central and local government and other public bodies, to enable them to make informed judgements about linguistic access in a policy contex…
17 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether pupils can study BSL and deaf culture as a curriculum subject from primary school through to university as recommended in the report, The Long and Winding Road: A Roadmap to British Sign Language and Linguistic Access in Scotland.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: Yes but currently only a few schools offer pupils continuous British Sign Language (BSL) learning of this kind. However the 1+2 policy will offer opportunities as local authorities introduce wider language learning in schools and BSL will be part of this land…
17 Mar 2015 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to support families with deaf babies to meet the linguistic needs of their child at the appropriate age, as outlined in the 2009 report, The Long and Winding Road: A Roadmap to British Sign Language & Linguistic Access in Scotland.
Answer · Alasdair Allan: The Scottish Government has provided over £0.5 million to the National Deaf Children’s Society (2011-16) to support families with a deaf baby. The first phase of the project developed resources to help parents understand how to communicate with their deaf bab…