Parliamentary questions
Mr David Davidson
1,095 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
23 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to ensure regular checks for diabetes for patients (a) in psychiatric units and (b) on antipsychotic drug treatment in the community, in light of recent warnings from the USA.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Patients can respond betterand perhaps faster to treatment if their mental health needs are addressedalongside their physical needs. A Scottish Needs Assessment Programme 2002report <i>Liaison Psychiatry and Psychology</i> underlined the importance weattach t…
22 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met officials of the other three UK health departments to discuss the new GP contract and which sections of the contract apply to the UK as a whole.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As part of theimplementation process for the new GMS contract, meetings between the NHSConfederation, UK General Practitioners Committee and officials from the fourUK Health Departments are held on a regular basis. The meeting took place on 17and 18 November.…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to NHS boards and trusts regarding the use of incentives, such as “golden hellos”, to attract and retain key staff to the NHS.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Guidance to all NHSemployers on all staffing issues is promulgated to the health service in avariety of ways by the Health Department as and when this information isrequired. NHS circulars, Health Department letters (HDLs), and health weekly bulletinsare sent…
16 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to local authorities, NHS boards and other agencies with regard to the joint funding of projects to support carers, such as the CA(I)RE project at the Eric Liddle Centre.
Answer · Tom McCabe: In April 2000 guidance (CCD3/2000)was issued to local authorities, NHS boards and the voluntary sector on localauthority expenditure under the Carers Strategy. The guidance stressed theimportant role of the NHS in supporting carers and advised that health boa…
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding will be awarded to NHS boards to fund their new responsibilities for an out of hours service once the new GP contract is introduced and from which budget any such funds will be allocated.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Under the terms of the newUK GMS contract, by 31 December 2004 the vast majority of GP practices will be able toapply to have the responsibility for providing out of hours servicestransferred to the NHS Board. Local NHS boards will have in place alternativear…
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many administrative staff posts will be affected by the merger of NHS boards and trusts and what savings the NHS expects to make in each of the next three years as a result of this amalgamation.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We explained in the white paper<i>A Partnership for Care</i>, published in February 2003, that the move tosingle system working through dissolving NHS trusts is intended to createsingle NHS organisations at local level with a common set of aims and valuesand …
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will adopt the Royal National Institute of the Deaf and Her Majesty's Government's Department of Health's initiative that utili'es high street hearing aid practitioners to assess suitability for, and the fitting of, digital hearing aids to reduce current waiting times as a resu…
Answer · Tom McCabe: We are aware of theinitiative and its impact on audiology services in England andunderstand that it is only appropriate at sites where the audiology service hasalready been modernised. There are currently no plans to adopt this approach inScotland but the sit…
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list in order of priority the health action points referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As I explained when I appearedbefore the Health Committee on 30 September, we have already published our 12national health priorities. Our approach is to have a limited number ofpriorities and targets, rather than overburden the service.</p><p>Service redesig…
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much will be spent on each of the 59 headings referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland (a) in the current year and (b) in each of the next three years.
Answer · Andy Kerr: Theinformation is not held in a form which can be allocated among the 59 headings.The Executive’s <i>2004-05 Draft Budget</i> was published on 11 September 2003.This provides information on the Executive’s expenditure for the current yearand the next two year…
15 Oct 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what urgent action it will take to encourage the donation of blood at a time of shortage in the NHS.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The recruitment andretention of blood donors is managed by the Scottish National Blood TransfusionService (SNBTS). Using an integrated strategy of advertising and publicrelations, SNBTS continually strive to encourage and recruit new blood donors.Three main p…
17 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are for a reservoir facility to reduce dependence on water extraction from the River Dee in Aberdeenshire in order to feed homes and industry planned for future development and to take account of low water levels that may threaten the survival of spawning salmon in the ri…
Answer · Ross Finnie: Scottish Water does not at presenthave plans for a reservoir facility in the area. Water abstraction from the RiverDee is regulated by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and there has beenno indication from them which suggests Scottish Water’s abstr…
17 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the #60 million announced by Scottish Water to be spent in Aberdeenshire will be invested in repairing broken pipes and other restorative measures downriver to ensure that low water levels do not endanger salmon stocks on the River Dee.
Answer · Ross Finnie: Scottish Water is investing £2.7million to renew or repair 40 kilometres of water mains within Aberdeen andAberdeenshire. This work is prioritised to ensure those pipes which are in the worstcondition are fixed first and that the funds invested will produce t…
12 Sep 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make information on the legal standing, constitution and articles of association for the Scottish Independent Hospitals Association available, in light of the National Care Commission having made it a requirement of registration that independent hospitals in Scotland are m…
Answer · Tom McCabe: Independent hospitals in Scotlandhave been regulated by the Care Commission under the Regulation of Care (Scotland)Act 2001 since 1 April 2002. The Care Commission has confirmed that membership of the Scottish Independent Hospital Association is not a require…
25 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce a published grading scheme for hospital cleanliness and hospital-acquired infections.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland hasissued standards on Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Infection Control andon Cleaning Services for NHSScotland. Audit Scotland has also undertaken workon the performance of NHS cleaning services. Reviews of performance…
25 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will include patients, visitors and staff in any surveillance programmes to minimise the risk of hospital-acquired infections.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Reducing the risk of HealthcareAssociated Infection (HAI) is very important for the well-being of patients andstaff, and is one of NHS Scotland’s national priorities.</p><p>The Clinical Standards Boardfor Scotland (now NHS Quality Improvement Scotland) publis…
25 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will copy the NHS trial to be introduced in England of having hospital pharmacists monitor and control the use of antibiotics as part of a scheme to reduce the development of antibiotic resistant infections such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has no such plansat present. The actions being taken by the Executive and health professionals inNHSScotland to monitor and control the use of antibiotics are set out in <i>The Right Medicine: </i><i>A Strategy for Pharmaceutical Care in Scotlan…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the percentage of non-attendance at hospital and GP appointments was for each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on patients whodid not attend their NHS appointment is available for first out-patientappointments only. Information about non-attendance for GP appointments is notcollected centrally. The percentage of patients who did not attend their firstout-p…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which schemes operated by NHS boards to reduce the number of non-attendances at hospital and GP appointments have been effective.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-2159 today. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for whichcan be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_w…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what pilot studies it will promote to reduce the number of non-attendances at hospital and GP appointments.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive believes thatthe best way to reduce the number of patients who fail to attend NHSappointments is through more effective and timely communications with patientsand more streamlined access to services. The white paper <i>Partnership forCare </i>se…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of radiologists working in the NHS.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There has been a 9% increase<b></b>in consultant radiologist staff in post between 1997 and 2002. The Scottish Executive are committed to improving the feeder route to the consultantradiologist grade. There was an increase of 24 training places from April 200…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in including pre-hospital treatment assessment of height, weight and blood pressure by community pharmacists in the proposed contract revision for community pharmacy.
Answer · Tom McCabe: Discussions on the newcontract are currently on-going with the Scottish Pharmaceutical GeneralCouncil. Decisions on the content and range of services to be provided have yetto be made.</p>
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase NHS provision by independent contractors such as GPs and pharmacists.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The new General Medical Services(GMS) contract will help to increase NHS provision by GPs. The contract offers incentivesfor GP practices to provide a wider range of services than at present and also introducesa quality and outcomes framework, which for the f…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it has given to NHS boards to ensure that they share service provision with neighbouring boards where appropriate.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Health Department issuedguidance to NHS boards on regional planning in March 2002. The guidanceincluded advice on joint planning and provision of services. A copy can befound at:<a name="_Hlt49594600"></a></p><p><ahref="http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/me…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued to NHS boards on the provision of support for those suffering from trauma and their carers; how many staff currently provide post-trauma support to sufferers and their families, broken down by NHS board, and whether it plans to provide a level of support equi…
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Guidance on the provision ofmental health services is contained in the <i>Framework for Mental HealthServices in Scotland </i>which we published in 1997. It is for NHS boards,working within the framework<i>, </i>to determine their own service needs forpost-tr…
22 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has commissioned into the potential effect of the use of the Terrestrial Trunked Radio telephone system on the health of police officers who use the system and people in close proximity to such officers; what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government on resear…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Scottish ministers have a commoninterest with the UK Government in the introduction of the new police radio communicationssystem Airwave which uses Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) technology. ScottishPolice Forces are part of the Home Office-led research pr…
12 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what input its Health Department is making to the initiative to improve access to sporting facilities for all; whether any part of the department's budget will be allocated to that initiative, and when there will be a reduction in demand on the NHS as a result of the initiative.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Health ImprovementChallenge recognises physical inactivity as a major risk factor affectinghealth and is focussing efforts through the implementation of the PhysicalActivity Strategy to improving access for everyone to all forms of activity,including spor…
12 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet local health councils to discuss setting up the new Scottish Health Council as an independent organisation working with, but external to, the NHS.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I am meeting the Convener of the Scottish Association of Health Councils to discuss future publicinvolvement structures and the new Scottish Health Council on 12 September andaddressing the association's annual conference on 26 September.</p>
12 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the availability of prescribing courses for registered pharmacists.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Education for Scotland hascommissioned the two Scottish Schools of Pharmacy to develop a training coursefor pharmacists to train as supplementary prescribers. The first cohort of 40registered pharmacists began training in August 2003 at the Robert Gordon …
12 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend the current NHS dentists' "golden hello" scheme to include EU registered dentists who are willing to work in Scotland.
Answer · Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive continues to evaluate the impact of this scheme. There are no plans toinclude EU dentists at this time, but we will continue to keep all optionsunder review.</p>
12 Aug 2003 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet representatives of rural GPs to discuss issues of concern about the roll-out of the new GP contract.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As is the case for all groupswith an interest in the new General Medical Services contract, the Executive isinvolving a wide range of staff from across the service, including those with aremote and rural interest, in discussing implementation.</p><p>As part o…