Parliamentary questions
Adam Ingram
1,244 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
14 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to (a) cancer and (b) heart and stroke research in each of the last three years.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Cancer, heart and stroke are Scottish Executive health research priorities. Over the last three financial years, the Scottish Executive has spent the following on: <P>(a) Cancer Research. <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=604><TR><TD WIDTH="59%"…
14 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has funded or plans to fund research into possible cures for mental illnesses and, if so, whether a copy of any such research will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28420.
14 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when research was last commissioned into mental illness and possible cures and whether it will place a copy of any such research in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is primarily a response mode funder of research and this role is well known and advertised throughout the health care and academic community. Mental health is a research priority and given the number of high quality applicatio…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are (a) planned and (b) in place regarding advocacy for deaf and hard of hearing people.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: <I>Our National Health</I>: <I>A plan for action, a plan for change </I>requires NHS boards, working with their planning partners, to prepare and implement plans for ensuring independent advocacy is available to all who need it, from 1 January this year. This…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are in place to encourage sign language training and interpreting.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: Good practice guidelines for public authorities were published by the Scottish Translation Interpreting and Communication Forum in March 2002. The guidelines consider BSL as well as other community language issues. The Scottish Executive is funding a developm…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what institutions offer training in sign language and interpreting for deaf and hard of hearing people; how many training places are currently available, and what the total cost is of training an interpreter.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: Heriot Watt University offers training in interpretation between British Sign Language (BSL) and English. Eight places are available annually at a cost of £1,600 per place.<P>Further education colleges also offer a number of BSL courses at levels 1 and 2. Inf…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many trained interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing people there currently are.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: There are 40 fully trained interpreters in Scotland and a further 13 trainees who are associate members of the Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters.
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21338 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 March 2002, what measures it will take in following up any non-adherence by NHS boards to advice issued by the Health Technology Board for Scotland.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHSBoards should ensure that drugs or treatments recommended by the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) are made available to meet clinical need. Any non-adherence to this advice would be dealt with through normal performance management arrangements.<…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21338 by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 March 2002, when it will publish details of NHS boards' adherence to advice issued by the Health Technology Board for Scotland.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are no proposals to publish details of NHSBoards adherence to advice issued by the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS). NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from the HTBS and ensure that recommended drugs or treatments …
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the establishment of the Quality and Standards Board for Scotland will affect the timescale within which the Health Technology Board for Scotland gives advice or comments on recommendations by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Health Technology Board for Scotland proactively seeks to ensures that its comments are timeous, factually accurate and useful to NHSScotland. It seeks the views of Scottish "experts", including patient representatives, on the applicability of t…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Health Technology Board for Scotland will comment on the recommendations to the NHS in England and Wales from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence regarding atypical antipsychotics and whether or not these should be considered as well as the existing traditional medicin…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) will Comment on any implications for NHSScotland arising from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidance by late July 2002. Until the HTBS Comment is issued, clinicians should use all the ava…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are in place to recruit and train mental health officers.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are over 900 mental health officers working in Scottish local authorities, an increase of 300 since 1997. In addition, approximately 75 social workers are presently undertaking training to become mental health officers.<P>The Adult with Incapacity (Scot…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many community psychiatric nurses are currently in place, broken down by health board area and the amount of hours worked per week.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The latest available information on the number of Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPNs) can be found on ISD's online publication <I>Workforce Statistics</I>, which can be accessed from the following link:<P><A HREF="http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/NHSiS_resourc…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a code of practice will be compiled in conjunction with the proposed new mental health legislation and what protection any such code will give both to patients and staff.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As our policy statement <I>Renewing Mental Health Law</I> made clear, we will produce a Code of Practice for the proposed new legislation. Its purpose will be to promote the effective operation of all parts of the legislation, including those which provide ri…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what training provision will be made available to staff employed within the field of mental health as a result of the proposed new legislation.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As our policy statement <I>Renewing Mental Health Law</I> recognised, comprehensive training for all professions who operate mental health law will be a crucial part of the preparation for the introduction of the proposed new legislation. We are currently ini…
30 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether existing NHS budgets will be required to accommodate any financial implications arising from the introduction of the proposed new mental health legislation.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive's assessment of the financial implications of the proposed new mental health legislation will be set out in the Financial Memorandum, which will accompany the bill, and is being taken into account in the current Spending Review, which will deter…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist training is in place for (a) general practitioners, (b) community nurses, (c) teachers, (d) social workers and (e) psychiatrists in identifying, diagnosing and treating anorexia nervosa.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Each of the professions listed will have varying degrees of contact with those who suffer from anorexia nervosa and therefore varying needs in the area of specialist training.<P>General Practitioners (GPs)<P>GPs are encouraged to look at their own personal le…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what specialist eating disorder units have closed in each year since 1999 and for what reason.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There is no definition of "specialist eating disorder units" within the NHS. Information is not held centrally on services provided outside the NHS. An eating disorder service was provided by a consultant psychiatrist based at the Murray Royal Hospital in Per…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what community support facilities are available in each NHS board area for those discharged from hospital.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Each person has their needs assessed prior to discharge. The single shared assessment process, which will be in place for all care groups by April 2003, enhances the joint approach to providing support in the community, with appropriate health and/or social c…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many in-patient beds are available in each NHS board area for the treatment of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: National information on NHS beds is primarily held at Consultant Specialty level, and does not provide the detail requested.
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) NHS board area, (b) age and (c) gender.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information from a sample of general practices, selected as representative of Scotland as a whole, provides national estimates of patients seen by GPs. Using information from this national sample, the following table shows the estimated number of patients see…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which psychiatric illness currently has the highest death rate.
Answer · Richard Simpson: Deaths in Scotland are coded using the Tenth Revision of the World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases (ICD10). In 2000, some 2,300 deaths were coded to the "Mental and Behavioural Disorders" chapter of ICD10. The largest …
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are being implemented nationally to address the number of people suffering from anorexia nervosa.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In terms of national initiatives, we have published guidance on the best organisation of eating disorder services, including specifically services and support for those with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.<P>Wider national initiatives on mental health w…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people died as a result of anorexia nervosa in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Richard Simpson: The information requested is presented in the following table.<P>Deaths from Anorexia Nervosa<SUP>1</SUP>, Scotland<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=446><TR><TD WIDTH="9%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>1991</TD><TD WIDTH="9%" V…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what recommendations regarding eating disorders from the Framework for Mental Health Services have been implemented in each NHS board area since the framework's publication.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: No specific recommendations are made in the published guidance. The aim is to provide agencies with a workable planning and audit tool to use in assessing the level and type of provision appropriate for their area.<P>A view on local progress made with eating …
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost to the NHS has been for each of the most common diagnostic groups in each year from 1996 to date, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information regarding activity and costs is not currently collated across sectors in a disease programme manner. Existing acute activity can be translated into Healthcare Resource Groups by the Information and Statistics Division, which allows activity groupi…
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total costs to the NHS for the treatment of schi'ophrenia have been in each year from 1999 to date, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The information held centrally is not detailed enough to identify all the costs in the treatment of schizophrenia.
22 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will give the power to Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) to head up the Larkhall to Milngavie project in the light of the comments by Councillor David McLachan, Vice-Convener of SPT as reported in the Hamilton Advertiser of 16 May 2002, and how such transfer of power would be…
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26181.
22 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive why no work has begun on the Larkhall to Milngavie rail link and when work will begin on this line.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26181.
22 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the Larkhall to Milngavie rail link.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: A joint funding package totalling £23 million was agreed last year between the Scottish Executive and Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE). However, Railtrack's announcement in December 2001 to withdraw its support from the Larkhall to Milngavie p…