Dr Richard Simpson

20 May 2010 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any recent changes to its procedures for supporting future cultural events.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has not made any significant recent changes to its procedures for supporting future cultural events.</p>

13 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that referrals made to the NHS’s secondary or tertiary services consider ethnicity from the outset, with patient consent, instead of seeking the information retrospectively.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-33583 on 20 May 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Bu…

13 May 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the response rate is to the letters being sent out to referred hospital patients enquiring about their ethnicity, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held centrally. However, NHS NSS Information Services Division''s (ISD) Equality and Diversity Information Programme (EDIP) monitors the level of ethnicity reporting from secondary care. The EDIP produces quarterly reports setting out …

27 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates it has spoken with (a) retailers and (b) COSLA regarding the (i) proposed powers to enable local licensing boards to raise the minimum age limit for off-trade sales to 21 and (ii) possibility of introducing community alcohol partnership schemes similar to that trialled at St…

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish Government ministers and officials have had a number of meetings with individual retailers and representative bodies on all aspects of the Alcohol Framework both during the consultation phase and since the Alcohol Bill has been published. In particul…

27 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive on what dates since 26 April 2009 it has met retailers to discuss the proposed social responsibility levy on alcohol.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government has met a wide group of stakeholders covering both the on and off-trade sectors, including retailers, on 1 May 2009, 8 June 2009 and 11 August 2009 to specifically discuss the proposed social responsibility levy.</p> <p >In addition, …

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-15370 and S3W-29664 by Kenny MacAskill on 15 August 2008 and 14 December 2009 respectively and in light of English prison service instructions and the latest HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on Perth Prison, whether the Scottish Prison Service has…

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >Further to Dr Simpson''s previous two questions on the use of Body Orifice Security Scanner (BOSS) chairs, I can confirm th…

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the effects on the health of children of passive smoking in cars.

Answer · Shona Robison: There is an increasing body of evidence emerging regarding the levels of second hand-smoke present in cars and of the health hazard this represents for both adults and children. The smoke-free legislation has increased awareness of the risks associated with e…

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents were associated with drivers smoking in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested is not available.</p>

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to UK ministers regarding the possible reduction in the alcohol limit for drink-driving offences.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government strongly believes that a reduction in the drink drive limit from 80mg per 100ml of blood to 50mg would save lives and prevent many serious injuries on our roads.</p> <p >The government announced its full support for a reduction in the…

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether prescribing by pharmacists in the management of long-term conditions will be electronic only or a mixture of paper-based and electronic prescribing.

Answer · Shona Robison: Pharmacists who are prescribers currently use paper prescriptions, as do other non-medical prescribers. It should be noted that paper cannot be eliminated completely from the prescriptions process in Scotland at this stage.</p>

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are likely to be made redundant in the (a) prescription pricing and (b) NHS fraud division as a result of (i) the ending of prescription charges and (ii) changing to electronic prescriptions.

Answer · Shona Robison: National Services Scotland: Practitioner Services Division (PSD) administers the processing of all prescription forms in Scotland. At the abolition of prescription charges, this process will continue. Due to careful forward planning, no redundancies will be m…

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the likely reduction in the number of errors resulting from switching from paper-based to electronic prescriptions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) process reduces the risk of transcribing errors in community pharmacies and improves patient safety as most of the information from the paper prescription form is automatically pre-populated into the pharmacy IT …

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment of the cost savings, the logistics and possible timing for introduction it has made in switching from paper-based to electronic prescriptions.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16220 on 22 September 2008 which explains that paper cannot be eliminated completely from the prescriptions process in Scotland at this stage. While the electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) brings a range…

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what funds were included in the allocation to local authorities for Choose Life programmes in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to questions S3W-14128 and S3W-14129 on 23 June 2008. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <u><a href="http://www.scottish.par…

15 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths by suicide were associated with the use of charcoal in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009.

Answer · Shona Robison: Data indicating death from intentional self harm or events of undetermined intent, associated with the use of charcoal is as follows:</p> <p >(a) 2007 “ None.</p> <p >(b) 2008 “ One. </p> <p >(c) 2009 “ None to date, however final 2009 data is not availabl…

14 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29334 by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009, whether two-view mammography breast screening has now been rolled out across all NHS boards.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Yes.</p>

13 Apr 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the law does not discriminate against people with mental health problems and, with reference to section 141(8) of the Mental Health Act 1983, whether it will make representations to the UK Government to end the situation whereby an MSP might lose his…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), which is reserved to Westminster, protects disabled people from discrimination in employment, access to goods, facilities and services, the buying, renting or selling of land or property, education, transport and …

24 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of inappropriate or illegal access to patient emergency care records have (a) been recorded, (b) resulted in prosecution and (c) resulted in action by a health professional council.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government does not centrally hold information on the number of recorded unauthorised viewings of the ECS by health professionals. It is the responsibility of individual health boards to report and investigate in line with their own local policie…

24 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the record of a patient who subsequently decides to opt out of the Emergency Care Summary scheme will be deleted from the relevant database.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: If a patient decides to opt out then information is deleted from the ECS database. The only information held about a patient that has opted out will be the patient forename, surname, CHI number and opt out status.<i ></i></p>

24 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cochlear implants have been performed on children in each year from 2000 to date.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of children (age 0-16 years) receiving a cochlear implant in each year from 1999-2000 to 2009-10 is shown in the following table.</p> <p >Total Number of Children (0-16 years)</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width…

24 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cochlear implants have been performed on adults in each year from 2000 to date.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of adults receiving a cochlear implant in each year from 1999-2000 to 2009-2010 is shown in the following table.</p> <p >Number of Cochlear Implants (Adults)</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td width=86 valign=top > …

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many licence holders lost their licence for selling alcohol to people under 18 in 2008-09, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The following table gives the number of liquor licences suspended in 2007, the most recent year for which data is available.</p> <p >The data on suspensions do not include the reason for suspension and it is therefore not possible to identify whether suspens…

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions of a licence holder for selling alcohol to people under 18 resulted in a conviction in 2008-09 and, of those convicted, what the average financial penalty was.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: There were 116 convictions in 2008-09 and the average fine was £244 where the main offence was under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 Sections 67 and 68. Offences under sections 67 and 68 cover Licence holders, their employees and agents; it is not possible …

18 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions took place against a licence holder for selling alcohol to people under 18 in 2008-09, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.</p> <p >Persons Proceeded Against for Selling Alcohol to Persons Aged Under 18¹ by Approximate Local Authority Area², 2008-09.</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 …

17 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been allocated to The Gathering 2009 Ltd since its inception, including funding from partner bodies in the public sector.

Answer · Jim Mather: A range of public sector partners provided grant support to The Gathering 2009 Ltd for delivery of The Gathering event. The financial support provided by the public sector was £100,000 from Scottish Government, £100,000 from EventScotland, £80,000 from Homeco…

12 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position would be on a mandatory reporting scheme for nanomaterials if introduced by the UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Answer · Jim Mather: Regulation for nanotechnology is UK-wide and as such is a reserved matter. The Scottish Government will continue to work with other government and regulatory bodies to ensure that any related health issues are properly addressed. The Scottish Government welco…

12 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, given that expert organisations have raised concerns over the safety assessment of certain nanomaterials, whether it is aware that consumer products are available containing nanomaterials.

Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is aware that there may be concerns over the health impact from some nanomaterials and is working with relevant regulatory bodies and stakeholders on possible solutions to these problems.</p> <p >In advance of the publication of the …

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients assessed as being at medium or high risk of venous thromboembolism it estimates receive either mechanical or pharmacological prophylaxis.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally. </p> <p >Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) Guideline 62 on Prophylaxis of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) recommends interventions to reduce the incidence of VTE, including general measures, surgi…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to ensure that every patient is assessed for risk of venous thromboembolism on admission to hospital, as proposed in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31208 on 8 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps…

11 Mar 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients died in (a) 2007, (b) 2008 and (c) 2009 from preventable hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible, from centrally held information, to identify people who die as a result of preventable hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism (VTE), the collective name for Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism.</p> <p >However, the following ta…