Parliamentary questions
Mary Scanlon
4,514 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
13 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the reduction in CO2 emissions as a result of the increased use of wind farm-generated energy.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The actual reductions in CO<sub>2</sub>emissions will depend on which fuels are displaced and how much wind energycapacity is developed. We estimate that were coal to be displaced, CO<sub>2 </sub>savingscould be up to 16 million tonnes by 2020 if our renewabl…
8 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether free oral examination for people aged over 60 is available in all NHS board areas and how people who are eligible for such examination will be made aware of all local practitioners offering the service.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: Free oral health assessments for those aged 60 or over have not yet been introduced. The introduction of such checks will be supplemented by a publicity programme.</p>
8 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists currently practising in the private sector are intending to supply an NHS dental service in light of the recent announcements on oral health.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The majority of dentists who provide NHS general dental services are private contractors. Only a small number of dentists provide wholly private treatment and it will be for them to decide if they will join an NHS board’s dental list in order to provide NHS g…
8 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether dental screening takes place for all children in Primary 1 and Primary 7 and which NHS board areas provide dental screening for all children in Primary 1 and Primary 7.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: A dental inspection is offered to all children in Scotland at 2 key stages, primary 1 and primary 7. This is achieved through participation in the National Dental Inspection Programme. The extent of involvement in the programme varies across boards for both P…
8 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what categories of dental check-up will be provided free to patients.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The intention is that, in addition to current dental examinations, patients will be able to receive a more comprehensive oral health assessment free of charge.</p>
8 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists in each NHS health board area have agreed to provide dental check-ups free to patients.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: All dentists on NHS board lists are expected to undertake a full range of NHS treatments including check-ups.</p>
8 Apr 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much dentists will be paid to provide dental check-ups free to patients.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: This is being discussed with representatives of the dental profession.</p>
6 Apr 2005 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Highland Council regarding the funding of the Inverness Southern Distributor Road connecting the A96 and the A9 to the A82.
Answer · Nicol Stephen: There have been discussions between the Executive and Highland Council about this road project but, as the route is the responsibility of the local authority, no direct approach for funding.</p>
23 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-15107 by Mr Andy Kerr on 17 March 2005, which hospitals have a pain management team.
Answer · Andy Kerr: This information is not heldcentrally.</p>
23 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why 13% of children aged six to 14 years in Fife are being prescribed Ritalin, compared with 3% in Greater Glasgow.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The data available centrallyrelate to the number and cost of items dispensed by community pharmacists and dispensingdoctors. These data are not patient-specific and cannot be used as a proxy for thenumber of patients receiving any particular drug treatment. <…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people receive direct payments for the provision of care and support, broken down by (a) category of care and support and (b) local authority area.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The information requested is given in table number 8 of the statistics release <i>Direct Payments Scotland 2004</i>, published in October 2004, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34873). The publication is also ava…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much additional money has been granted to each local authority to provide support for people affected by antisocial behaviour.
Answer · Hugh Henry: The following table providesinformation on how much funding the Scottish Executive has made available to each localauthority over 2004-08 to tackle antisocial behaviour. The funding made availablein 2004-05 and 2005-06 was allocated for community wardens and …
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the difference in toxicity is between naturally-occurring fluoride and the type of fluoride which would be added to the public water supply.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Generally there is no difference in toxicity but there can be some minor variation in the naturally occurring fluoride depending on the chemical make up of its source.</p> <p>There is no indication of toxicological concern for either the concentrations of flu…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that any further food additives or colourants should be banned from food produced or sold in Scotland.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: Responsibility for food law in Scotland lies with the Food Standards Agency, including the legislation on food additives and colours.</p> <p>The agency has advised me that the use of additives in all foods is strictly regulated at European level and kept unde…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve access in NHS 24 call centres to geographical knowledge.
Answer · Andy Kerr: As NHS 24 was introduced into each NHS board area, a significant programme of work was carried out by NHS 24 and the NHS board to capture a wealth of local data regarding services. This information is held on NHS 24’s national database and helps to support th…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to employ Gaelic speakers in NHS 24 call centres.
Answer · Andy Kerr: NHS 24 currently provides access to 120 different languages through British Telecom’s Language Line, which allows safe, quality-controlled access to an immediate translation service for the Scottish public. There are no plans to recruit Gaelic-speaking nurse …
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many specialist nurses for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease there are in each NHS board.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Respiratory nurse specialists work with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other respiratory conditions.</p> <p>As at 30<sup> </sup>September 2004, there were 48 Respiratory Nurse Specialists across NHSScotland. The numbers in each NHS bo…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that all nurses are entitled to protected study leave to access courses such as the nurse prescribing course.
Answer · Andy Kerr: I refer you to my reply to questionS2W-15461 on 18 April 2005, and the Executives Health Department’s White Paper <i>Partnershipfor Care </i>sets out our commitment to the training and development of qualifiedstaff to Continued Professional Development (CPD) …
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that nursing training is fully funded by NHS boards.
Answer · Andy Kerr: The Executives Health Department’sWhite Paper <i>Partnership for Care </i>sets out our commitment to the trainingand development of qualified staff to Continued Professional Development (CPD) andthe entitlement for training for all other health service staff …
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursing vacancies there are in the NHS.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Details on nursing vacanciescan be accessed on the attached ISD website link in tables E7 to E10.</p><p><ahref="http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=1350&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&">http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14392 by Rhona Brankin on 4 March 2005, what provision there is for elderly people currently in residential homes whose conditions merit nursing intervention.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: Care homes can be registered with the Care Commission to provide personal care, personal support or nursing care. The type of care a care home service is registered to provide is determined by what is set out in its statement of aims and objectives provided a…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive on what grounds it considers that it is reasonable to deny infertility treatment to a woman who has no biological children of her own but is in a relationship where there is a child, or children.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: In 2000, the Chief Medical Officer issued advice to NHS boards on national criteria for access to NHS-funded assisted conception treatment, based on the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS). The criteria in…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards do not currently provide three cycles of IVF treatment to couples with an established clinical need.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: We do not hold up to date information on how many NHS boards do not provide three cycles of IVF. However, we are currently reviewing compliance with the national criteria that NHS boards have been asked to work towards adopting.</p>
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it plans to allocate to each NHS board for investment in infertility services in each of the next five years.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive has no plans to allocate additional funding specifically for investment in infertility services at the present time. NHS boards are expected to fund these services within their existing resource allocation, taking into account the needs…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to the NHS has been of providing infertility treatment to patients in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: This information is not routinely collected.</p>
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to assist NHS boards in applying uniform eligibility criteria for couples seeking infertility treatment.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: In 2000, the Chief Medical Officer issued advice to NHS boards on national criteria for accessing assisted conception treatments, based on the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland. We will be seeking views on revise…
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the differences in eligibility criteria applied by NHS boards to couples seeking infertility treatment.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: In 2004 the Executive reviewed adoption of eligibility criteria by NHS boards which revealed variability in the criteria actually being applied. We will take this into consideration when issuing revised guidance to NHS boards later in 2005.</p>
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to complete the forthcoming consultation on infertility services and to make a final announcement on the future structure of these services.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: We will be seeking views on revised criteria for access to NHS Funded Assisted Conception Services over summer 2005 and will issue advice to NHS boards in autumn 2005.</p>
21 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current position is on waiting times for tertiary infertility treatment.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: Information on infertility waiting times is not routinely recorded.</p>
11 Mar 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take in response to any NHS boards that do not offer fertility treatment in line with the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland's (EAGISS) guidelines.
Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Executive is currently reviewing the criteria for infertility treatment set out in EAGISS and its implementation in NHS boards across Scotland. The Executive will work closely with boards to support implementation of any revised criteria.</p>