Parliamentary questions

Dr Richard Simpson

2,702 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what savings will be made by NHS Dumfries and Galloway as a result of the closure of dental clinics in (a) Newton Stewart, (b) Lochmaben and (c) Dumfries and what the justification is for these closures in light of the Scottish Government's policy to protect vulnerable patients and addre…

Answer · Michael Matheson: With access to NHS dental services improving it is appropriate for NHS Dumfries and Galloway to review their service provision in order to ensure routine dental care is provided by independent contractors where possible. The proposed changes are about migra…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients will be deregistered from their existing dentists and transferred to independent general dental practitioners if the NHS Dumfries and Galloway board passes proposals to close salaried dental practices in Dumfries, Lochmaben and Sanquhar.

Answer · Michael Matheson: As at 30 April 2014 the estimated number of patients at Dumfries Dental Centre, Lochmaben, and Sanquhar, in receipt of routine general dental services, was as follows: Dumfries Dental Centre 689 Lochmaben 2,510 Sanqhuar 2,136 Registration with a NHS de…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the proposed closures of salaried dental practices in (a) Lochmaben, (b) Newton Stewart and (c) the Dumfries Dental Centre, and what additional costs will be incurred by social work services in Dumfries and Galloway arising from the need to transport patients from…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on the programme that is studying screening for hearing loss in adults that is jointly funded by the Medical Research Council and the Chief Scientist's Office.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There is no programme on studying screening for hearing loss jointly funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Chief Scientist Office (CSO). The MRC and CSO jointly fund the Scottish Section of the Institute of Hearing Research which is located at…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given since December 2007 to whether areas of the GP contract do not reflect the additional needs of GP practices in disadvantaged communities; whether it has identified such areas and, if so, what action has been taken.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21438 on 5 June 2014. 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/parliamentarybus…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources it has made available since December 2007 to (a) the primary care sector and (b) GP practices in disadvantaged areas to tackle health inequalities.

Answer · Alex Neil: Whilst statutory responsibility for the provision of healthcare services rests with health boards and it is for each board to put in place those services that best meet the needs of their patient populations. There is a strong alignment between practices in a…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to substantially eliminate the admission of children and young people to adult mental health units.

Answer · Michael Matheson: We are working with NHS boards to deliver commitment 12 of the Mental Health Strategy to reduce admissions of under 18s to adult wards, with a new commitment to reduce figures across Scotland to a figure linked to current performance in the South of Scotland …

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many dedicated inpatient beds are available for child and adolescent mental health services and how many more are planned.

Answer · Michael Matheson: There are three regional CAMHS inpatient units in Scotland which provide inpatient facilities for a total of 42 children. The South East of Scotland is served by 12 beds in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and provides inpatient facilities for Lothian, Fife and …

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of failing to treat a person with hepatitis C in the last seven years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In the course of developing the Hepatitis C Phase 1 Action Plan, Health Protection Scotland estimated the costs of the current and future burden of chronic hepatitis C disease on the NHS in Scotland. This work was completed in February 2007. Health Protectio…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of prisoners (i) have received a hepatitis C test and (ii) were diagnosed with hepatitis C in each year since 2007 and what percentage of these (A) started treatment, (B) completed treatment and (C) were cured of the virus.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Data on the number of people in the prison setting who have received a test for hepatitis C and who were diagnosed is provided in Table 1 below, along with the annual total number of diagnoses in prison. The test data represent tests undertaken in NHS Greater…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve prisoners' awareness of hepatitis C.

Answer · Michael Matheson: A study led by the University of the West of Scotland and published in 2012 (Hepatitis C Prevalence and Incidence among Scottish Prisoners and Staff Views of its Management, Taylor et al), included an assessment of awareness raising activities within Scottish…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the annual cost of hepatitis C-related outcomes.

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of people (a) infected and (b) diagnosed with viral hepatitis in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Table 1 and 2 provides the available data for hepatitis C and hepatitis B. Table 1: Number of individuals estimated to be infected with chronic hepatitis C and the estimated number diagnosed and living with chronic hepatitis C, by year 2007-2013* 2007 20…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of people diagnosed with (a) liver disease and (b) hepatitis C in each of the last seven years.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Public Health Observatory publishes available information and data on chronic liver disease on its website: http://www.scotpho.org.uk/health-wellbeing-and-disease/chronic-liver-disease/key-points). Health Protection Scotland data for new hepati…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been admitted to hospital with a (a) primary and (b) secondary diagnosis of hepatitis C in each year since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Data on the number of people diagnosed with hepatitis C and admitted to hospital for the first time with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) between 2007 and 2012 are detailed in Table 1. Data for 2012 are provisional as they are …

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps (a) NHS boards and (b) alcohol and drug partnerships are taking to (i) identify and (ii) treat people with hepatitis C in the (A) general population and (B) custody of the Scottish Prison Service.

Answer · Michael Matheson: In relation to the NHS, the testing, diagnosis and treatment of people with hepatitis C has been a Government priority since the publication of the Hepatitis C Phase 2 Action Plan in 2008. This priority is maintained in the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish its plans for dealing with hepatitis C after the expiry of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework in 2015.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government will publish an updated framework in 2015, as a successor to the current framework. The new framework will retain the current high level outcomes, but will reflect relevant major developments, including changes in the hepatitis C treat…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish an evaluation of the impact of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework sets out five high level outcomes the government wishes to see delivered. To support monitoring of progress against these outcomes the frameworks includes a range of detailed data indicators. When the current …

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) deaths and (b) age-standardised deaths from hepatitis C there have been in (i) Scotland and (ii) each parliamentary constituency in each year since 2007.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Table 1 and 2 provide available data for liver-related deaths among those diagnosed with hepatitis C in Scotland, and by age group, for the period 2007 to 2012. Data on age-standardised deaths from hepatitis C, and by parliamentary constituency is not availab…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners admitted in (i) 2012-13 and (ii) 2013-14 (A) were assessed for, (B) were found to have, (C) were enrolled in any course related to and (D) completed any course in which they had been enrolled that was related to alcohol problems and how many wer…

Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally.

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment of a person's brain injury history is carried out on admission to prison.

Answer · Alex Neil: All prisoners receive a health check and can also self-refer to the GP at the health centre in prison, as in the community. A prisoner would not receive any specific assessment, as with the general population.

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it (a) has taken and (b) will take to provide education and training on head injuries for (i) NHS services in prisons and (ii) prisoners.

Answer · Alex Neil: While policies, frameworks and resources are provided by the Scottish Government, individual NHS boards are responsible for planning and funding services in their area and for securing the staff to deliver them. It is for NHS boards to determine their workfor…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, as part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, it will require NHS boards to incorporate Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines into publicly available local protocols or the equivalent within a set timescale.

Answer · Alex Neil: Delivering safe and effective care remains a priority for the Scottish Government. SIGN develops guidelines for effective practice, based on current evidence. We expect all health boards to ensure robust systems are in place to support the reliable delivery o…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will make it a requirement of any new GP contract that every practice has to respond to surveys from the Information Services Division in relation to NHS primary care.

Answer · Alex Neil: One of the key achievements this year with the GP contract was to reduce the workload associated with bureaucracy, and that will continue to be a priority for the Scottish Government, whilst any proposed changes to the existing GP contract will continue to be…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, as part of any new GP contract, it will consider collecting information on the presence of GPs with a postgraduate qualification in child health in each community health and social care partnership.

Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21407 on 11 June 2014. 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/parliamentarybu…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, as part of any new GP contract, it will consider collecting information on the presence of GPs in each practice who have had training in paediatrics of at least six months at a postgraduate level.

Answer · Alex Neil: There are several reasons why I do not consider that collecting such information as part of the GP contract requirements would be sensible or useful. At present, much GP training is vocational, and involves practitioners gaining experiences in a variety of c…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices have at least one GP who has had supervised training in a paediatric department for a minimum of six months.

Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not available in the format requested.

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all transfers of funds between NHS boards in 2012-13, including funds transferred to the Golden Jubilee Hospital.

Answer · Alex Neil: In 2012-13, there was intra-NHS board trading of approximately £1.2 billion, the majority of which related to service level agreements agreed between NHS boards. The Scottish Government does not hold any details centrally on these agreements, although NHS boa…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what savings have been delivered by the State Hospital (a) in each year and (b) cumulatively since 2006 in response to the recommendation at paragraph 6.5.54 of the Budget Review Group report, Choices for a Purpose: Review of Scottish Executive Budgets, and what the non-capital budget wa…

Answer · Alex Neil: It is not possible to indicate how directly connected the savings generated by the State Hospital relate to the Choices for a Purpose report. a) Total savings delivered in each of the years are as follows: 2006-07 £0.3 million 2007-08 £0.9 million 2008-…

29 May 2014 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken in response to the recommendation at paragraph 6.5.49 of the Budget Review Group report, Choices for a Purpose: Review of Scottish Executive Budgets, on savings to be made by consolidating the Special Health Boards into a "beefed up" National Services Scotla…

Answer · Alex Neil: The approach of this government has been to focus on delivering savings through existing structures rather than going through extensive reorganisation. Since 2011-12, a differential efficiency target has been set for special boards budgets which do not delive…