Parliamentary questions
Dr Richard Simpson
2,702 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on rolling out the NHS Scotland contract to provide a single sign-on and password reset system to improve access to health systems, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) services.
Answer · Shona Robison: The boards outlined in the following table have implemented the single sign-on and password reset system. Details of users, the number of applications involved and the number of single sign on accesses over a seven day period are also provided. Over 60,000 wo…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource remains (a) on schedule to be rolled out in March 2016 and completed by January 2017 and (b) on budget.
Answer · Shona Robison: The delivery of the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource is being led by NHS National Services Scotland, with oversight of a project board comprising key stakeholder groups, including the Scottish Government, NHS boards, GPs (including the Royal College…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-30181 by Jamie Hepburn on 4 March 2016 and, in light of the delay in opening the 2016-17 funding scheme, which organisations have enquired about making an application but have been unable to do so; which organisations received funding from the 2015-…
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The following organisations have approached The Scottish Government to enquire about the 2016-17 Section 16b funding scheme: Art in Healthcare Bowel Cancer UK Cervical Cancer Trust Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland Fertility Care Scotland; Hearts and Mind…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will place the promotion of infant mental health and the needs of the most vulnerable infants at the heart of the revised National Mental Health Strategy for Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We are currently engaging with a number of stakeholders about the next Mental Health Strategy which will be produced in 2016, and informed by further engagement with interested parties. The importance of the links between mental health and early years service…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure the effectiveness of (a) targets, (b) indicators and (c) measures on infant mental health in existing performance management frameworks.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Scotland set challenging targets (now standards) to ensure faster access to child and adolescent mental health services as well as psychological therapies for all ages within 18 weeks from referral to treatment. This was undertaken to improve access to mental…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an overview of where infant mental health sits within existing performance management and improvement frameworks.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Scotland set a challenging target (now a standard) to ensure faster access to child and adolescent mental health services. These mental health waiting times standards have been included within the Local Delivery Plan (LDP) guidance for 2016-17. The LDP and a…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to appoint a national lead to maintain an overall focus on improvement and outcomes in infant mental health.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We are currently engaging with a number of stakeholders about the next Mental Health Strategy which will be produced in 2016, and informed by further engagement with interested parties. If a national lead to maintain an overall focus on improvement and outcom…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will drive a shared recognition, commitment and coordination between the structures for mental health and early years services.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We are currently engaging with a number of stakeholders about the next Mental Health Strategy which will be produced this year, and informed by further engagement with interested parties. The importance of the links between mental health and early years servi…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to increase the focus on the direction and coordination of infant mental health services with national monitoring arrangements for child and adolescent mental health services.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to provide safe, effective care and services which support and respond to the needs of the individual. Our national mental health strategy and clinical guidelines for health professionals support mothers and infants …
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set to measure progress in the development of high level diagnostic and therapeutic skills in child and adolescent mental health services to meet the mental health needs of 0 to 3-year-olds.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: We have invested £19.8 million to increase the number of psychologists working in specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This investment has seen the psychology workforce increase by 70%. NHS Education Scotland (NES) provide essentia…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has made available to develop high level diagnostic and therapeutic skills in child and adolescent mental health specialists to increase capacity to meet the mental health needs of 0 to 3-year-olds.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: NHS boards are responsible for ensuring they have the correct numbers and skill mix to meet the needs of all children and adolescents. The Scottish Government has invested £16.3 million over the last six years to increase the number of psychologists working …
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce a requirement to include child and adolescent mental health service provision for 0 to 3-year-olds in new (a) local delivery plan and (b) improvement standards.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Children ages 0-3 should receive the same access to specialist child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) as all other children and adolescents, and will be treated in accordance with the CAMHS referral to treatment standard, which states that no one …
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that all child and adolescent mental health services adhere to their responsibility to include the needs of infants, with an emphasis on attachment and the parent-child relationship, in the overall pattern of services.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that they have the correct skill mix to ensure they meet the needs of all children and adolescents. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is providing a number of training programmes aimed at children, perinatal and infant …
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase availability of child and adolescent mental health services provision for the 0 to 3 age group.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The waiting times standard for child and adolescent mental health services applies to children of all ages. NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that their services meet the needs of their local population. In some cases waits have been seen to reduce from…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP services are on a 2C arrangement and which of these are (a) closed to or (b) have restrictions on new patient registration.
Answer · Shona Robison: There are 47 GP practices run directly by health boards, making up a small percentage of the 987 practices across Scotland. Of these one is closed to new patient registrations and two have restrictions on new patient registrations. NHS boards work with GP pr…
8 Mar 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the pupil to teacher ratio is in special schools, and how this compares with 2008.
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which acute hospitals provide both a seven-day alcohol specialist nurse service and an assertive outreach alcohol service to care for (a) frequent hospital attenders and (b) long-stay patients.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the findings of the report by KJ Moriarty, Alcohol Care Teams: to reduce acute hospital admissions and improve quality of care, which was published in 2011 on behalf of the British Society of Gastroenterology.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has noted the findings of the Alcohol Care Teams: to reduce acute hospital admissions and improve quality of care report. Through the alcohol framework which was launched in 2009 the Scottish Government has put in place a number of si…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on establishing a managed care network for alcohol-related brain damage.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30434 on 16 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/2…
8 Mar 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in implementing the recommendations in the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland report, Missed Opportunities: Findings from our visits to people with Acquired Brain Injury and Alcohol Related Brain Damage, which was published in August 2010.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Two recommendations fell directly for the Scottish Government to consider. The first was on continuation and extension of the existing clinical network for acquired brain injury. The Scottish Acquired Brain Injury Network (SABIN) established in 2007 continues…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what external expert assessment of applications for funding for the self-management of conditions is made by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland.
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: Applications to the Transforming Self Management in Scotland Fund, a £2 million annual fund administered by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, are scrutinised by a grant allocation panel, which comprises members…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the concerns raised by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland in its visit and monitoring report, No through road: People with learning disabilities in hospital, that "12 of the 18 units [the commission visited] were thought to be not fully fit for …
Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government is pleased that the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland report identified that there is much good practice taking place in units for people with learning disabilities that the majority of care and treatment plans for people with lea…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which small to medium-sized enterprises were awarded Scottish Wide Area Network contracts, also broken down by (a) the value of the contracts and (b) details of the contractual terms.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) procurement strategy was developed and agreed by the Scottish Government in collaboration with the four SWAN Vanguard Partners: NHS Scotland, Education Scotland, Pathfinder North (a consortium that comprises the Highland …
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of the Scottish Wide Area Network it (a) planned to award and (b) awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) procurement strategy was developed and agreed by the Scottish Government in collaboration with the four SWAN Vanguard Partners: NHS Scotland, Education Scotland, Pathfinder North (a consortium that comprises the Highland …
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, under Getting it right for every child, in what circumstances a named person who is not an NHS clinician can have access to medical information and what restrictions on confidentiality apply.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Draft statutory guidance on Part 4 (Named Person), Part 5 (Child’s Plan) and Part 18 and Section 96 (Assessment of Wellbeing) of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (the Act), was released on 1 December 2015 and can be accessed at: http://ww…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government under what circumstances it would be (a) appropriate and (b) inappropriate for patients who are referred to other NHS boards to have their waiting time period reset to the time of the referral.
Answer · Shona Robison: The circumstances when a patient’s waiting time can be reset to zero are clearly set out in The Patient Rights (Treatment Time Guarantee) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. The appropriate Regulations are 5 and 6(2). A copy of the legislation can be found at: http:…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it delivered the (a) clinical portal procurement and (b) telehealth development recommended by the Health and Sport Committee in session three in its report, Clinical portal and telehealth development in NHS Scotland (SP Paper 399), and, if so, how much this cost.
Answer · Shona Robison: Since the report was published in 2010 the majority of NHS boards have made significant progress, with clinical portals becoming a core strategic capability and making a significant impact on the availability of the nationally agreed 14 priority clinical info…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards do not have the capacity for clinicians to access electronic records on portals in all other board areas.
Answer · Shona Robison: Portal access is shared between some NHS boards where patients may be commonly referred across those NHS board boundaries for treatment. The Scottish Government is promoting regional working in eHealth, and a key aspect of this is to create interoperable link…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS staff in each of the last three years have been identified as having inappropriately accessed patient records, and how many were subsequently (a) disciplined and (b) reported to the (i) police and (ii) Scottish Information Commissioner.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on how many NHS staff have been disciplined as a result of inappropriate access to information. Boards are however obliged to report significant information security incidents to the Scottish Governm…
26 Feb 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason waiting time data for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde suggests that the rate of patient social unavailability is 33%; how this compares with other boards, and whether it will ask Health Improvement Scotland or Audit Scotland to investigate this.
Answer · Shona Robison: As part of the Scottish Government's on-going monitoring of the use of unavailability it became clear that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's use of social unavailability was higher than other health boards. The board’s local policy had been to apply unavailab…