Parliamentary questions
Jim Hume
1,310 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
30 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on GPs using employers’ pension contributions that they receive as salary instead of NHS pension contributions.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12752 on 28 February 2013. 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/Apps2/MAQAS…
30 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what rules there are regarding GPs using employers’ pension contributions that they receive as salary instead of NHS pension contributions.
Answer · Alex Neil: The vast majority of GPs operate as independent contractors within the NHS under the terms of the nationally negotiated General Medical Services (GMS) contract. Payments for the GMS contract are made to practices and not to individual GPs. These payments are…
30 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs have formally opted out of paying employers’ pension contributions that they receive as NHS pension contributions.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12752 on 28 February 2013. 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/Apps2/MAQAS…
30 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs are using employers’ pension contributions that they receive as salary instead of NHS pension contributions.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12752 on 28 February 2013. 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/Apps2/MAQAS…
30 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP practices have phone lines that are not (a) free to call or (b) charged at a local rate.
Answer · Alex Neil: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12716 on 27 February 2013. 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/parliamentar…
30 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what statutory requirement exists to ensure that GP practice telephone numbers are not premium rate lines.
Answer · Alex Neil: The vast majority of GP practices operate as independent contractors within the NHS and are contracted locally by territorial Health boards to provide general medical services. Practices are contracted under the terms of either The National Health Service (Ge…
8 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement the recommendation of Equally Well: Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities that "The Government should continue to reform the funding of primary care services, to meet the needs of groups and communities most at risk of health ine…
Answer · Michael Matheson: The recommendations set out in the 2008 report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities Equally Well remain pertinent in the Scottish Governments commitment to addressing inequalities that persist in Scotland. Scottish Enhanced Services Programme…
8 Jan 2013 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement the recommendation of Equally Well: Report of the Ministerial Taskforce on Health Inequalities that "The Government should create and fund new evidence-based anticipatory care programmes for other groups at high risk of health problems".
Answer · Michael Matheson: The recommendations set out in the 2008 report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities Equally Well remain pertinent in The Scottish Government’s commitment to addressing the inequalities in health that persist in Scotland. The Scottish Governme…
7 Jan 2013 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS accident and emergency units are able to cope with increased demand on their services during the winter.
19 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is a legal requirement for a transplant patient to be informed prior to the operation of any risk associated with an organ as a result of the donor’s (a) health or (b) lifestyle.
Answer · Michael Matheson: There is no legal requirement for a transplant patient to be informed of the risks with donated organs as a result of a donors health or lifestyle. Guidelines on this are provided in Guidelines for Consent for Solid Organ Transplantation, published in March 2…
19 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legal requirements there are for local authorities to consider planning applications for housing developments in relation to their impact on local health services.
Answer · Derek Mackay: There are no statutory requirements to consult health authorities on applications for planning permission. The health boards are specified as key agencies for development planning and so are obliged to engage in the development plan process. Health boards ar…
17 Dec 2012 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the benefits are of Historic Scotland’s Inventory of Historic Battlefields.
17 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) farming and (b) other commercial lets are not subject to electrical safety standards.
Answer · Derek Mackay: This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Electrical safety standards normally apply to all farms and commercial lets due to them generally being places of work to which the health and safety at work legislation applies. This legislation, whic…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have undertaken talking therapies on the NHS for medically unexplained symptoms in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the benefits of talking therapies in the treatment of people with medically unexplained symptoms and the impact on (a) available NHS resources and (b) the economy.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) published the Stepped care for functional neurological symptoms report and recommendations in February 2012. The HIS report makes a number of recommendations about the management of functional neurological symptoms. One …
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the expenditure has been on talking therapies for patients with medically unexplained symptoms in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Michael Matheson: This information is not held centrally.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many acute NHS hospital beds have been allocated for (a) geriatric and (b) paediatric services in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Alex Neil: The number of average available staffed beds allocated to (a) geriatric and (b) paediatric specialties is shown in the following table. Average Available Staffed Beds in Geriatric1 and Paediatric2 Specialties in NHS Hospitals in NHS Scotland; financial years…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many homes of (a) older and (b) disabled people have been adapted in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what expenditure (a) it has and (b) local authorities have made in each of the last 10 years on aids and adaptations to the homes of (i) older and (ii) disabled people to allow them to stay at home.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government provided an additional £5 million to local authorities during 2005-06 specifically to help reduce waiting lists and support improvements in equipment and adaptation service delivery, choice and quality. Figures for the total Scottish …
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it has commissioned on the comparative costs of care for older people (a) at home, (b) in a care home and (c) in an acute hospital.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has not commissioned any specific research on the comparative costs of care for older people. However, information on the cost of care in hospitals, care homes and at home is available from a range of official statistical returns.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it uses for planning purposes of the average cost of supporting an (a) older and (b) disabled person to continue living at home rather than go into care.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government uses the following figures in comparing costs of care for older people: Geriatric long stay hospital bed - £50,700 per annum Care home with nursing care - £29,400 per annum Care home excluding nursing - £25,300 per annum Home care …
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on redesigning services providing care to (a) older people, (b) disabled people and (c) children using change fund funding.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Joint Improvement Team has published a mid-year review of the Reshaping Care for Older People Change Fund which is available at:http://www.jitscotland.org.uk/action-areas/reshaping-care-for-older-people/change-fund-plans/. The fund focuses on improving …
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much change fund funding has been allocated since its introduction and whether it will provide a list of recipients.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government has committed over £500 million to three Change Funds over the three year Spending Review period running between 2012-13 and 2014-15, covering Older People, Early Years and Reducing Reoffending. The Reshaping Care for Older People Cha…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many unplanned emergency admissions there have been to NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years and how many were by (a) older people, (b) disabled people and (c) children.
Answer · Alex Neil: The following table shows the number of emergency admissions to NHS hospitals over the last ten available years for (a) Older people aged 65 and over and (b) children aged 0 to 14. The table also shows the number of emergency admissions as a rate per 1,000 po…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what cost estimate it uses in health service planning for (a) NHS treatment, (b) admission to hospital and (c) hospital bed occupancy.
Answer · Alex Neil: The Scottish Government uses a range of cost estimates from the Scottish Health Service Costs (known as the Costs Book) for planning purposes. This is the official source of published cost information for NHSScotland and is available on the ISD’s website. Det…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the cost to the NHS is of an unplanned acute admission to hospital.
Answer · Alex Neil: This information is not held centrally.
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making on reducing the number of delayed discharges from hospital.
Answer · Alex Neil: The latest census of delayed discharges in Scotland (October 2012) showed there were 95 patients delayed for longer than the agreed maximum discharge planning period of six weeks. This compares with 679 patients delayed for more than six weeks at October 2006…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many delayed discharges there have been in each NHS board area in each of the last 10 years.
Answer · Alex Neil: Figures showing the number of NHS delayed discharges can be found in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1: Number of NHS Delayed Discharges1 by NHS board; October 2003 to October 2012 Oct 20032 Oct 2004 Oct 2005 Oct 2006 Oct 2007 Oct 2008 Oct 2009 Oct 2010 O…
13 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average cost to the NHS is of a week’s stay in an acute hospital bed.
Answer · Alex Neil: The average cost per inpatient week at an NHS Scotland hospital, for acute specialties, in 2011-12 was £4,390. This is based on the hospital costs of the 14 territorial boards in NHS Scotland and the National Waiting Times Centre Special Board. Source: ISD…
5 Dec 2012 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government on how many occasions operating theatres have been forced to close in the last three years; for what reasons, and how many theatre hours have been lost, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Alex Neil: The information requested is not collected centrally.