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 were (a) planned and (b) achieved in response to the recommendation at paragraph 6.5.44 of the Budget Review Group report, Choices for a Purpose: Review of Scottish Executive Budgets, on Scottish Ambulance Service patient transport.
Answer · Alex Neil: It is not possible to directly attribute either a) the planned savings or b) achieved savings to the recommendations in the Choices for a Purpose report. It should however be noted that during 2009-10, the Scottish Ambulance Service completed a review of sch…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the NHS in England regarding how much an independent Scotland would pay it for patients' access to specialist (a) hospitals and (b) services.
Answer · Alex Neil: There are already a range of service level agreements in place between NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Division (NSD) and NHS England Specialised Commissioning and NHS Trusts in England, covering a wide range of specialist services not rout…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has paid to allow female patients to be treated in secure units or hospitals in England in each year since the State Hospital ceased to provide such services.
Answer · Michael Matheson: NHS National Services Scotland manages the contract for high secure services in Scotland on behalf of NHS Scotland. The State Hospital, Carstairs stopped admitting female patients in 2008. The costs for female patients treated in high secure services in Engl…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost per patient has been at the State Hospital in each of the last five years.
Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally. Operating costs for health boards are published annually by ISD, and can be found in ISD publication R100T–expenditure and activity figures for the last five years, for Scotland and each health board: http://www.isdsc…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether an independent Scotland would be treated differently than the Republic of Ireland with regard to funding from UK (a) research councils and (b) medical charities, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Alex Neil: After independence, this government will seek to continue the current arrangements for a common research area and funding through established research councils, as we believe that this would benefit both Scotland and the rest of the UK in supporting collabora…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it contributes annually to (a) the Medical Research Council, (b) the National Institute for Health Research and (c) other similar bodies.
Answer · Alex Neil: In 2013-14 the Scottish Government, through the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), contributed £8.09 million to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This allows Scottish-based researchers to bid competitively for funding available through a number of…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the professional bodies that regulate (a) doctors, (b) dentists, (c) nurses, (d) midwifes and (e) other health professionals about whether they would maintain their role in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has confirmed in meetings and engagements with all the professional healthcare regulatory bodies that it is committed to continued four country working on healthcare regulation and it will seek to work in cooperation with Westminster a…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether (a) doctors, (b) dentists, (c) nurses, (d) midwifes and (e) other health professionals would be regulated by their current UK professional bodies if Scotland became an independent country.
Answer · Alex Neil: The regulation of all health professionals will become the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament on independence. The Scottish Government will seek to work in continued cooperation with Westminster and the devolved administrations, to ensure that health p…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) civil service and (b) government agency jobs have been dispersed from Edinburgh and to where in each year since 1999.
Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally. The policy on location of public sector jobs is driven by strategic estate management and focussed on making the best and most efficient use of space wherever that is available across the country.
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what job losses it estimates there would be at the Royal Mail Philatelic Bureau in the event of independence.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Operation of the Royal Mail Philatelic Bureau is a matter for Royal Mail.
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has sought on the subsidy needed to maintain a six day a week universal mail service in an independent Scotland without an increase in stamp charges.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21391 on 27 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 what estimate it has made of the cost of running a mail service six days per week in an independent Scotland to include a universal service to remote and rural areas unsubsidised by other areas of the rest of the UK and what the cost would be of (a) first and second class stamps and (b) …
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Part 5 of Scotland’s Future sets out the answers to 650 questions about independence that have been asked of the Scottish Government. I refer the member to the answer to question 496 on page 537 which asks, “Will the price for stamps be higher in an independe…
29 May 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost of renationalising the Royal Mail in an independent Scotland.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to pages 326 and 327 of Scotland’s Future.
14 May 2014 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the level of gender segregation in certain industries.
30 Apr 2014 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what health-related programmes it is supporting in Malawi.
23 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that its BCG vaccination programme follows each of the guidelines set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) undertook a review of the BCG vaccination programme in 2005 and recommended an improved targeted programme directed towards those most at risk of tuberculosis. The Scottish Government’s TB Action Pla…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether each of the four proposed trauma centres will have air ambulance access.
Answer · Alex Neil: Trauma is the leading cause of death for people under 40. Each year in Scotland, around 5000 people are seriously injured, with around 1100-1200 cases being defined as ‘major trauma’. The four specialist major trauma centres, which will be operational from 20…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to (a) ensure and (b) monitor the delivery by midwives of (i) pertussis vaccine during pregnancy and (ii) MMR vaccine immediately after pregnancy.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Midwives are recognised as a key group in promoting the benefits of pertussis vaccination and rubella screening. The pertussis immunisation programme for pregnant women was introduced in October 2012 in response to a UK wide outbreak of pertussis. The progra…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement each of the recommendations set out in the 2011 report, A TB Action Plan for Scotland.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government published the first annual report of the TB Action Plan for Scotland in November 2013. The report sets out the progress made towards implementation of the action plan’s 42 recommendations and includes key recommendations following on f…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome is of the Scottish Microbiology Forum's work to consider the centralisation of Scottish mycobacterial diagnostic services into a smaller number of laboratories.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Published in 2011, the TB Action Plan for Scotland contains a recommendation for the Scottish Microbiology and Virology Network (SMVN, formerly the Scottish Microbiology Forum) to consider the centralisation of mycobacterial diagnostic services into a small n…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to amend the guidance for the management of influenza pandemics, in light of the recent review by the Cochrane Collaboration on the effectiveness of Tamiflu and Relenza.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20794 on 6 May 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/parliamentarybusi…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what managed care networks there are that deal with ophthalmic conditions.
Answer · Michael Matheson: It is for NHS boards to determine, based on local priorities and clinical need, the level of local ophthalmic service they provide in order to meet the needs of their population. The Visual Impairment Network for Children and Young People (VINCYP) was design…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to ensure that falls coordinators in each NHS board encourage people at risk of falls to take an eye test.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The importance of including vision assessment in a multifactorial approach to falls prevention is highlighted in two national documents produced by the National Falls Programme. Both documents aim to support the local development of co-ordinated, integrated a…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what financial incentives in addition to universal fees it offers to optometrists to improve uptake of eye tests by people (a) with learning difficulties, (b) with impaired capacity, (c) from deprived households, (d) whose first language is not English and (e) from ethnic minority commun…
Answer · Michael Matheson: There are no financial incentives in addition to the present fees that optometrists may claim for carrying out free NHS eye examinations in their practices. Free NHS eye examinations are universal and available to the whole population which is reflected in t…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the uptake of eye tests by people (a) with learning difficulties, (b) with impaired capacity, (c) from deprived households, (d) whose first language is not English and (e) from ethnic minority communities.
Answer · Michael Matheson: In recognition of the additional needs of some groups optometrists can visit certain approved day centres to provide NHS eye examinations for patients who would have difficulty in obtaining services from practice premises because of their particular needs. Th…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it costs to administer the continuing limited eligibility registration process for the minor ailments scheme.
Answer · Alex Neil: The costs of administering the registration process for the minor ailment service is approximately £96,000 per annum.
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have registered for the minor ailments scheme since the abolition of prescription charges.
Answer · Alex Neil: Some 1,559,000 patients have been registered at some point for the minor ailment service since prescription charges were abolished in April 2011. The total number of current registrations is 956,858.
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether only people who were eligible for free prescriptions prior to the abolition of prescription charges can register for the minor ailments scheme.
Answer · Alex Neil: The eligibility criteria for the minor ailment service are the same as those which entitled people to free prescriptions before charges were abolished in April 2011.
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are registered with (a) community pharmacists and (b) GPs for (i) chronic prescribing and (ii) the minor ailments scheme, broken down by NHS board, and how it encourages people to register.
Answer · Alex Neil: The following table sets out the number of current registrations for the Chronic Medication Service (CMS) and the Minor Ailment Service (MAS), broken down by NHS board. Eligible patients can register with the community pharmacy of their choice for each servic…
22 Apr 2014 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many bed days were occupied by patients categorised as code 9 in each of the five years to March 2014, also broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Alex Neil: Information showing bed days occupied by patients categorised as code 9 is available on the Information Services Division website from April 2012 to December 2013 at Scotland and NHS board level. Information is only available from April 2012 as this was the f…