Parliamentary questions
Andrew Welsh
539 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with regard to increasing NHS dental provision in Arbroath.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in an area rests with the relevant NHS board or Primary Care NHS Trust. Tayside Primary Care NHS trust recently received approval to appoint a joint CDS/GDS dentist, i.e. a community dental offic…
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average response time is of the paramedic-led community thrombolysis service rapid response unit in Angus.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29008. All answers to written PQs are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa">http://www.scottish.…
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average ambulance response time is for heart attack victims in Angus that do not receive paramedic-led thrombolysis from the rapid response unit.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Paramedic-led thrombolysis is not only provided by the rapid/cardiac response unit, which covers the whole of the Angus area, but also by frontline paramedics based at Montrose and Brechin ambulance stations, who cover their respective areas.<P>During the per…
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many heart attack victims in Angus have been sent to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in each of the last 12 months.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Accident and emergency at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) say that one patient who is domiciled near to Aberdeen but had a heart attack while in Montrose was admitted to ARI at the discretion of Scottish Ambulance Service.
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it would be considered appropriate to send heart attack victims in Angus to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: For patients domiciled in Angus and encountering chest pain while in Angus the default position is for patients to be admitted to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring takes place of the community thrombolysis service in Angus.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There is an active audit study in place looking at all call outs of the service and outcomes of patients receiving thrombolysis.
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what parts of Angus are served by the community thrombolysis service.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The community thrombolysis service in Angus covers the area of North Angus from north of Forfar, Brechin and Montrose.
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the 30-day survival rates are for patients in Angus receiving paramedic-led thrombolysis from the rapid response unit.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Patients who receive paramedic-led thrombolysis from the rapid response unit are transferred by the specialist paramedic crew to the CCU at Ninewells for further specialist supervision and care. At present, information on the 30-day survival rate for these pa…
5 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the 30-day survival rates are for patients with addresses in Angus being admitted directly to the Coronary Care Unit at Ninewells Hospital.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The 30-day survival rate for patients resident in the Angus council area who were admitted directly to the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee is presented in the following table.<P>These figures illustrate the latest figures held by ISD. At…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the health effects are of an excess of salt in the diet of (a) men, (b) women and (c) children.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Scientific evidence suggests the main health risk associated with high salt intakes relates to elevated blood pressure or hypertension, which is an important contributory factor to coronary heart disease and stroke. The majority of evidence is derived from st…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information is available on the average adult intake of salt.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on salt intake is available from the National Diet and Nutrition Surveys, the National Food Survey and the Scottish Health Survey.
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the daily recommended intake of salt is for (a) men, (b) women and (c) children in order to maintain a healthy diet.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The relationship between salt and blood pressure was considered by the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) in its 1994 report, <I>Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease, </I>which recommended a reduction in the average intake of salt…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to alter the labelling of foodstuffs to provide information on the level of salt contained in the product.
Answer · Mary Mulligan: I have been advised that the Food Standards Agency will be pressing in Europe for nutrition labelling to be made compulsory on all packaged foods, this will include a declaration of salt content. Current European rules require information about the level of s…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to improve nutrition by reducing the consumption of salt.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We are actively pursuing the recommendations from the Scottish Diet Action Plan aimed at reducing salt intake by more than a third by 2005. Guidelines have been produced for the improvement of nutritional standards in schools, hospitals and catering establish…
4 Sep 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many objections (a) were lodged and (b) remain unresolved regarding the A90 improvement between Longforgan and the Swallow Hotel.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Four objections were lodged against the draft orders published in 1997. Three remain unresolved.
22 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to introduce a levy on plastic shopping bags.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The introduction of a levy on plastic shopping bags would be a reserved matter for HM Treasury.
22 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a levy on plastic shopping bags.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The introduction of a levy on plastic shopping bags would be a reserved matter for Her Majesty's Treasury.
22 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of domestic waste is estimated to be made up of plastics.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The information requested is not held centrally. <P>Figures for the composition of household waste can be found in tables 2 and 3, page 4 of <I>Waste Data Digest 2001</I>, published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, a copy of which is available i…
22 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what facilities are available to the public for the recycling of plastic.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally. However, the organisation RECOUP carried out a study into plastics recycling which showed that 12 of the 32 local authorities in Scotland had a plastics collection in 200…
22 Aug 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to give concessions to companions of blind people travelling on public transport.
Answer · Lewis Macdonald: This is a matter for local authorities who are responsible for making concessionary travel schemes under the Transport Act 1985. There are currently 16 single and joint concessionary travel schemes operating in Scotland and many of these schemes provide some …
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on paragraph 44 of the fourth report of the House of Commons select committee on environment, food and rural affairs, Disposal of Refrigerators.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive has noted this report, which was carried out by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of the House of Commons as a part of its remit to scrutinise the work of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The UK Government …
24 Jul 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the implementation of EC Regulation 2037/2000, where financial responsibility for the disposal of refrigerators will lie once the current backlog of refrigerators has been cleared.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Financial responsibility for the disposal of all household waste, including domestic refrigerators and freezers, currently lies with local authorities. That will continue to be the case until the manufacturers and distributors of such equipment become liable …
19 Jul 2002 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to protect Scottish agricultural interests in Europe.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Executive represents Scottish agricultural interests in a variety of ways, including ministerial attendance at Agriculture Councils, official representation on working groups and direct discussions with the Commission. I am also closely involved in formul…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances operated in Angus and where they were stationed in each year since 1996-97.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The table shows the number of ambulances - both accident and emergency and patient transport vehicles - operating in the Angus area since 1996-97 and where they were stationed (there were no changes to the figures in 1999-2000 or 2000-01).<TABLE BORDER CELLSP…
14 Jun 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26241 by Malcolm Chisholm on 6 June 2002, what the average percentage of patients in Angus requiring ambulance transfer within one or two hours who were not transported within this timeframe was in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The average percentage of patients in Angus requiring ambulance transfer within one or two hours, who were transported within this timeframe in 2000-01, was 83.4% for those within one hour and 91.3% for those within two hours.<P>In the years prior to 2000-01,…
29 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24559 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 April 2001, what audits have been carried out into orthopaedic services at Stracathro Hospital.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Audit of particular services within individual hospitals is the responsibility of the Trust Management Team with responsibility for that hospital. No central audit data is captured for orthopaedic services at Stracathro Hospital. The member's inquiries should…
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is with regard to the prevention of hepatitis B.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Immunisation against hepatitis B has been recommended for people at increased risk of infection since 1988. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which provides expert advice on issues relating to vaccination and immunisation to all UK health d…
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what procedure is used by the Scottish Ambulance Service in circumstances when it cannot meet time requests for ambulances made by GPs.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Where it becomes clear that the timeframe requested is unlikely to be achieved, then the service will contact the GP to check on the continued well-being of the patient. If the GP feels that the patient's condition has changed and requires an immediate respon…
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25216 by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 May 2002, whether the figure of 90.7% can be specifically broken down into requests from GPs for ambulances within (a) one hour and (b) two hours.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The figure of 90.7% within the response time target covers all requests from GP's in the Angus area to the Scottish Ambulance Service in 2001-02. The breakdown of that figure to illustrate performance against a one hour, two hour, three hour and four hour or …
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether ambulance response times from GP requests have increased in Angus since the withdrawal of acute services from Stracathro Hospital.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Ambulance Service's response to GPs urgent calls in Angus continues to improve when measured against the national response time target for such calls. The service aim to transfer 95% of these requests to hospital within 15 minutes of the time agr…