Nanette Milne

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards will take part in the pilots of the peer approved clinical system and when these will begin.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government intends to take a targeted approach that recognises clinical demand in particular disease areas.

7 Aug 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when guidance on the introduction of the peer approved clinical system will be published.

Answer · Shona Robison: Guidance will be published following careful piloting and assessment.

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is enabling (a) patient organisations and (b) people living with health conditions to be involved in the review of specialist nursing provision.

Answer · Shona Robison: As part of the review of specialist nursing services, NHS territorial boards have been asked to work with third sector, social care partners and people with motor neurone disease and other specialist conditions in designing and delivering specialist nursing s…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the timeline is for (a) completing and (b) publishing its review of specialist nursing provision.

Answer · Shona Robison: The review of specialist nursing will be completed by spring 2016 and will be published by summer 2016. The recommendations from the review will be considered by the Scottish Government’s transforming nursing roles group.

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued to NHS boards about working collaboratively with third sector organisations when deciding how to invest their share of the (a) £0.7 million investment to support motor neurone disease nurse specialists and (b) £1.8 million investment in other specialist nursin…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland wrote to NHS board territorial directors of nursing on 7 May 2015 to request that they work collaboratively with third sector, social care partners and people with motor neurone disease and other specialist conditions in…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how each NHS board has invested its share of the (a) £0.7 million investment to support motor neurone disease nurse specialists and (b) £1.8 million investment in other specialist nursing and care.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS territorial boards are expected to deliver the following outcomes from the Scottish Government’s £2.5 million investment in specialist nursing and care from 1 April 2015: Motor neurone disease clinical specialists to be paid centrally and their number d…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has received as a share of the (a) £0.7 million investment to support motor neurone disease nurse specialists and (b) £1.8 million investment in other specialist nursing and care.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is shown in the following table: NHS territorial board 2015-16 Investment in motor neurone disease as at 11.8.15 (£) 2015-16 Investment in specialist nursing and care (£) NHS Ayrshire and Arran 0 119,304 NHS Borders 0 72,970…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the additional £2.5 million per year to support specialist nursing and care is being used to support increasing access to clinical nurse specialists.

Answer · Shona Robison: As part of the specialist nursing and care funding arrangements, NHS territorial boards have been asked to report regularly on how funds have been invested. In addition, NHS territorial board have also been asked to increase the number of clinical specialists…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects that the east coast line between Aberdeen and Edinburgh will be electrified.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Work on an electrification strategy that sets out our assessment of priorities for a continuation of the rolling programme of electrification from 2019 and beyond is currently on-going. The outcome of this work, including details of plans to electrify the rou…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on delivering a Scottish national travel card.

Answer · Derek Mackay: Transport Scotland’s Smart and Integrated Ticketing strategy was launched in 2012 and its long term vision statement is: “That all journeys on Scotland’s bus, rail, ferry, subway and tram networks can be accessed using some form of smart ticketing or payment”…

24 Jul 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when work will start on the new flyover at Laurencekirk.

Answer · Derek Mackay: The final report on the Access to Laurencekirk study commissioned by Nestrans was recently sent to Transport Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council for consideration. Discussions are now underway with our partners on the next steps for this project, including mat…

15 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Scotland's Schools for the Future programme.

Answer · Alasdair Allan: The government ensures regular assessments are made by Scottish Futures Trust across all aspects of the Schools for the Future programme to ensure it is delivering high quality, well designed, sustainable schools that deliver value of money for the people of …

11 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of reports that women with learning difficulties are 45% less likely to be screened for cervical cancer.

Answer · Maureen Watt: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26096 on 23 June 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…

11 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has made of the effectiveness of self-sampling for human papilloma virus (HPV) testing as an alternative to the screening for people over 50.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is currently working with colleagues in NHS Dumfries and Galloway on their exciting, world leading research in to self-sampling for the HPV virus. That research will be published soon and will form part of our analysis of introducing H…

11 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve cervical screening rates among women with learning difficulties.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Responsibility for uptake within the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme rests with individual health boards. However, the Scottish Government encourages all boards to utilise the information materials available to them in discussing cervical screening with…

5 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made a submission to the Law Commission's consultation regarding the enforcement of family financial orders and, if so, whether it will publish this.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: This consultation is by the Law Commission for England and Wales and relates to the law in England and Wales. As a result, the Scottish Government has not made a submission to the consultation. The Scottish Government will write to the Law Commission for Engl…

5 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the regulations regarding the enforcement of family financial orders.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: The Scottish Government is not aware of any particular difficulties regarding the enforcement of orders in Scotland in relation to areas such as financial provision on divorce or dissolution or financial provision after cohabitation comes to an end. If the me…

5 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) support and (b) information it provides to parents regarding the enforcement of family financial orders.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Legal aid may be available if a person needs to raise a court action on enforcement. The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers provides information on the enforcement of civil orders on its website: http://www.smaso.org/images/Information_leaflet…

5 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to implement the enforcement of family financial orders.

Answer · Paul Wheelhouse: Court actions in areas such as financial provision on divorce or dissolution or financial provision after cohabitation comes to an end are private actions between the parties. It is not for the Scottish Government to enforce orders in these areas.

1 Jun 2015 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to support the estimated 850,000 people in Scotland who are deaf or have a hearing loss.

1 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) GP and (b) nurse visits have resulted from a call to NHS24 in the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS24 reports 134,553 instances of patient records included reference to a home visit during 2014-15. Details of whether a GP or nurse visit was specified are not recorded.

1 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many ambulances have been dispatched following an NHS24 call in the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS 24 reports that 72,898 patient records included reference to an ambulance response for the reporting year 2014-15.

1 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many calls have been made to NHS24 in the last year.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS 24 has reported that 1,561,540 calls were made to its unscheduled care service during 2014-15.

1 Jun 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of medical cover for rural communities across Aberdeenshire.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is fully committed to providing the people of Scotland with the NHS Services which meet their needs and maintain high standards of care. It expects all NHS Scotland boards to have the right person in place at the right time to ensure t…

27 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what date it will publish the revised Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The updated Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework will be published in late summer 2015. No specific date has been set.

27 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to NHS boards to assist them in making new hepatitis C treatments widely available.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Since the launch of the Hepatitis C Action Plan in 2008 the Scottish Government has provided NHS boards with funding specifically to support hepatitis C treatment and care. This has led to a more than doubling of the number of people commencing hepatitis C tr…

27 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-23624 by Maureen Watt on 18 December 2014, whether a decision on opt-out testing and screening of prisoners on commencement of their custodial sentences has been taken.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The updated Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework, to be published later this summer, will set out the Scottish Government’s position on opt-out testing and screening of prisoners for blood borne viruses. Throughout the Hepatitis C Action Plan, and th…

27 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of what steps would be required to eliminate hepatitis C as a serious public health concern.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Elimination of hepatitis C as a public health concern will require good quality prevention services to minimise the transmission of hepatitis C, an increase in testing and diagnosis of hepatitis C, and ready access to good quality treatment, care and support …

27 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on including a commitment to eliminating hepatitis C as a serious public health concern in the revised Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is committed to eliminating hepatitis C as a public health concern and the updated Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework will reflect this.

27 May 2015 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-19597 by Keith Brown on 20 February 2014, whether it will provide an update on when it expects Kintore railway station to reopen.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I can confirm that Network Rail have been working with promoters, Nestrans (the north east regional transport partnership) and Aberdeenshire council on the design of Kintore station, which includes car parking and road access. Transport Scotland will be meeti…