Parliamentary questions
Nicola Sturgeon
676 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
20 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding applications submitted to the Chief Scientist Office can only propose using researchers who are based in Scotland.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Funding applications submitted to the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) can propose using researchers based outside Scotland but the principal research grant holder must be a permanent salaried member of staff in a Scottish Institution and the administering body m…
18 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research projects on child and adolescent mental health are currently under way in the NHS in Scotland and how much funding it is providing to each project.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care within the NHS in Scotland. <P>CSO directly funds three projects on child and ado…
18 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact any reduction in staffed bed rates in (a) all acute specialities and (b) acute specialities in Lothian Health Board hospitals arising from the move to the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh will have on (i) the number of in-patient admissions from the accident and emergency dep…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Lothian successfully commissioned the first phase of the new Royal Infirmary on 27 January, and phase 2 will follow in early 2003. The new hospital will offer first class surroundings and state of the art equipment to match the excellent clinical care alr…
18 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether in 1999 staffed bed rates in (a) all acute specialities and (b) acute surgical specialities in Lothian Health Board hospitals were below the national averages and, if so, by how much expressed as a percentage.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows the number of beds per 1,000 population in each health board area in 1999. It is not meaningful to make comparisons between individual boards, because these figures do not take account of differences in the underlying healthcare need…
18 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what role the downsi'ing of acute bed capacity in the NHS currently plays in its health care delivery strategy.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Acute bed numbers must reflect patients' health care needs. Over time, patterns of care in acute hospitals have changed, with shorter lengths of stay and much greater use of day surgery. As a result, fewer acute beds have been necessary to support treatment o…
11 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty's Government about improving the warning of side effects on the label carried by the acne drug Isotretinoin for the benefit of GPs and patients and, if it has not, whether it will make such representations
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has not made any such representations and has no plans to do so.<P>The Medicines Control Agency continuously monitors the safety of all medicines. If new side effects are detected, the product information is updated to ensure it contains all of …
5 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to recommend that independent research be carried out to establish how Isotretinoin functions in the human body and to determine what chemically-induced changes in the brain and in other parts of the body arise from ingesting the drug.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care within the NHS in Scotland. <P>The CSO has no plans for research into Isotretinoi…
5 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients who have been prescribed Isotretinoin since 1999 suffer from mild or moderate acne.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available.
5 Dec 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome of the review of the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health being undertaken by two NHS managers was and, in particular, what staff movements the review has resulted in.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The review of Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) was conducted on behalf of the Common Services Agency. The review of the structure of SCIEH is on-going and is the subject of consultation with staff. Interim management arrangements…
8 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that prevention of, and rehabilitation from, major injury receives a high profile in the interests of public health.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: <I>Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change</I> confirmed the Executive's commitment to working with others to move the focus of health policy and health services from treatment to prevention. <P>While occupational health and safety is a rese…
8 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to encourage and support the establishment of a nurse education programme in trauma rehabilitation.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Education Institutions do not provide specific trauma rehabilitation programmes in Scotland. However, they provide programmes that relate to rehabilitation. Post-registration education and training is the responsibility of NHS trusts as employers. They work d…
8 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make the monitoring of accidental and non-accidental major injury statistics a responsibility of (a) NHS Trusts or (b) the proposed unified NHS Boards.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19814.
8 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what explicit responsibility it or any of its non-departmental public bodies or executive agencies have for monitoring accidental and non-accidental major injury statistics and, if no body has this responsibility, what plans it has to start monitoring such statistics.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive Health Department has this responsibility in the context of monitoring statistical returns from the NHS generally in order to detect major trends. Other departments and bodies also have an interest, for example, the Health and Safety Ex…
2 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reclassify the categories of nurse used in NHS statistical returns so as to make the published statistics more informative.
Answer · Susan Deacon: There are no plans to fundamentally change the classification of nurses into categories in the ISD Scotland statistical returns. However, minor adjustments to the classification are made by ISD to respond to demands from the service.
2 Nov 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why there has been a rise from 273.4 in 1998 to 802.9 whole-time equivalents in 1999 in the number of NHS nurses whose specialty is classified as "other" as opposed to a more specific specialty according to SKIPPER (3) published by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Se…
Answer · Susan Deacon: The number of nursing staff whose specialty was classified as "other" at 30 September 1999 and 30 September 2000 was incorrectly recorded in the latest release of SKIPPER. The following table shows the correct data for nursing staff by specialty and…
23 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive (a) when the report of the Health Economics Research Unit on its economic evaluation of the recently completed NHS in Scotland pilot studies on liquid-based cytology for cervical screening programmes will be published and (b) whether the report will be considered by the Health Technology…
Answer · Susan Deacon: Liquid-based cytology (LBC) is an alternative method of taking cervical smears. Pilot studies in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK are examining the practicalities and cost-effectiveness of this method.<P>The National Advisory Group on Cervical Screening will …
15 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance will be issued to local authorities about considering the impact on TV reception of applications for planning permission before planning consent is granted.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: <I>Planning Advice Note 62: Radio Telecommunications</I> (Bib. number 16043) contains advice on development proposals causing interference with radio telecommunications services, which includes television signals.
11 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Health Technology Board for Scotland will reach a decision on the introduction of liquid-based cytology for cervical screening programmes and, if not, whose decision it will be.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Any advice on the introduction of liquid based cytology into the cervical screening programme from either the Health Technology Board for Scotland or the National Institute of Clinical Excellence or the national Advisory Group on Cervical Screening, will be c…
11 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the Health Technology Board for Scotland has not carried out a Health Technology Assessment on the cost effectiveness of introducing liquid-based cytology for cervical screening programmes throughout Scotland.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19038.
11 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why the Health Technology Board for Scotland has not carried out a Health Technology Assessment on the results of the recently completed NHS pilot studies on liquid-based cytology for cervical screening programmes.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19038.
11 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to authorise prescribing nurses to use practice computer systems for producing prescriptions and, if so, when this will be introduced.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has made a substantial investment in GP systems and in community nurse access to IT.<P>The Scottish Executive has set up a steering group to take forward the extension of nurse prescribing. Infrastructure to support the extension of nur…
11 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is monitoring any effect of prescribing by nurses on the maintenance of comprehensive patient records.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The guidance issued to all nurse prescribers states very clearly the requirement to enter nurse prescribing information into the GP patient record and that the timescales for doing this need to be agreed with the GP. The detailed content of the patient record…
11 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given to general practitioners regarding systems of documentation to support prescribing by nurses.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The guidance issued to all nurse prescribers states very clearly the requirement to enter nurse prescribing information into the GP patient record, and that the timescales for doing this need to be agreed with the GP.<P>The Scottish Executive has set up a ste…
5 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS Trusts have brought cleaning and catering services back in-house since the publication of Our National Health, a plan for action a plan for change.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: <I>Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change</I> made clear that NHSScotland must achieve the best value in domestic services and that contracting out, while often appropriate, should no longer be seen as the norm.<P>The vast majority of NHS T…
3 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in partnership with South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust to reduce waiting times for hip replacement operations in the Trust's area.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive set out in <I>Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for</I> <I>change</I> our commitment to work with NHSScotland to reduce waiting through increased investment and improved working practices. Reductions in waiting times are a …
3 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include a specific nursing voice on the new unified NHS boards in line with the provision of the Munich Declaration on nurses and midwives which urges that relevant authorities ensure that there is a nursing and midwifery contribution to the decision-making process at all…
Answer · Susan Deacon: Our policy is to ensure that all staff have the opportunity to contribute appropriately to the decision-making process in NHSScotland, without favouring one profession over another. <P>Specifically, all 15 new NHS Boards include - as a full member - the Staff…
2 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether single drug sedation only may be used in general dental practice and, if so, whether such use is in accordance with the proposals outlined in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) draft guideline on the safe sedation of children.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Yes. Since 13 August 2001 only single drug use is allowed for sedation in general dental practice in Scotland. This is in line with the SIGN document, but as this document is only in a draft format, any direct comparisons are currently inappropriate.
2 Oct 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is a signatory to the Munich Declaration on nurses and midwives.
Answer · Susan Deacon: I confirm that all Ministers of Health of member states in the European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO), including the United Kingdom, are signatories to the <I>Munich Declaration: Nurses and Midwives - a Force for Health</I>, which was issued b…
25 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses currently employed by the NHS also undertake work for nursing agencies.
Answer · Susan Deacon: The information is not held centrally. Individual NHS Trusts may, however, have this data as part of the information they need to comply with the Working Time Regulations.
5 Sep 2001 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether batches of blood and blood products produced before heat treatment was introduced in 1987 continued to be used to treat patients in the NHS after heat treated blood products were available and, if so, when they ceased being used.
Answer · Susan Deacon: Factor VIII concentrates issued by SNBTS since December 1984 have been heat-treated. Initially this heat treatment was to 68ºC but SNBTS subsequently developed a new product able to withstand a more severe heat treatment to 80ºC.<P>This new product first beca…