Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
31 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the letter to the Health and Sport Committee by Shona Robison on 16 November 2017, what progress has been made with the development of a new pathway for ultra-orphan medicines; what consultation on this it has carried out or plans, and when the pathway will be in place.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14278 on 8 February 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusi…
31 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to work with (a) patient groups and (b) the health sector to establish which managed access schemes and conditional acceptance options will be of greatest benefit.
Answer · Shona Robison: Since publication of the Montgomery Review of Access to New Medicines, we have been working closely with relevant partners, stakeholders, patient representatives, the third sector and the pharmaceutical industry to consider the most appropriate and effective …
31 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13509 by Aileen Campbell on 11 January 2018, how “draft quality performance indicators” will be assessed effectively, in light of reports that long-term staff shortages have led to lengthy waiting times in many areas, and whether it plans to increas…
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The draft Quality Performance Indicators are currently in development and the process is yet to be finalised in detail. In regards to waiting times, I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14263 on 20 February 2018. All answers to written parliamen…
31 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13509 by Aileen Campbell on 11 January 2018, whether it will provide further details of how the funding is being used, including in relation to the number of researchers who are employed or contracted, and of salary and payments made to these resear…
Answer · Aileen Campbell: 11 January 2018. The answer provides details of how the funding is being used. The Data Protection Act (DPA)1998 requires the Scottish Government to process personal data fairly and lawfully. The funding provided by the Scottish Government has been used to…
31 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken by the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain to tackle (a) reported staff shortages in NHS pain clinics and (b) lengthening waiting times, including in Grampian.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The remit of The National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain includes guiding the improvement of chronic pain management at all levels of health and social care and informing effective policy development. Workforce numbers are at record levels under this Gov…
30 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by its spokesperson in The Scotsman on 27 January 2018 that "we have provided additional funding to improve access to specialist nursing support and for Action for ME", whether it will provide details of the additional funding that it is providing for specialist …
Answer · Aileen Campbell: From 2015-16 Scottish Government has been investing an additional £2.5 million of recurring funding in the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund to improve access to specialist nursing support. Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social c…
30 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what funding it will provide to (a) Action for ME and (b) other ME-related organisations in 2018-19.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: No bids for 2018-19 funding have been received from Action for M.E. or any other M.E.-related organisations. Like all applications for funding from third sector organisations bids would be assessed to establish whether they assist in the delivery of Scottish …
30 Jan 2018 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry will publish its report.
29 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported lack of specialist dementia beds in NHS Lothian.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is assured that NHS Lothian has sufficient NHS specialist dementia bed provision and notes that the Board and its statutory partners recognise that there is a need to expand provision of specialist care home places. The Edinburgh Healt…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the diversity of people working in executive roles in the NHS.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland actively promotes the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups within the NHS workforce; this is underpinned by fair and inclusive recruitment policies, supported by a clear and unequivocal Staff Governan…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for patients with stomach or gastro concerns to be seen in A&E units, also broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14083 on 6 February 2018. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people outwith the target group have been treated for hepatitis C in each year for which information has been available.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: In 2016-17, 42 % of people treated for hepatitis C (HCV) had no liver disease or mild liver disease and so were outwith the priority group of those with moderate to severe liver disease. For the first 6 months of 2017-18 the latest data indicates that 54% of …
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients with terminal conditions have not had a Patient Care Plan in each year for which information is available, broken down by NHS board, and what advice it provides to GPs regarding these plans.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not centrally held. Our Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care, which was published in December 2015, emphasised the importance of people having care plans in place to enable those who would benefit from palliat…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many delayed discharge patients are waiting for guardianship to be provided, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of patients delayed due to procedures under the Adults with Incapacity Act (awaiting Guardianship) are available in the monthly Delayed Discharge census published by NHS information Services Division. The publications are available h…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many parking spaces have been made available for medical professionals at each NHS hospital site in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally by Scottish Government.
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it issues to public sector organisations regarding accessible toilets with hoists and adult changing beds.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is fully committed to the continuing provision of Changing Places toilets, through our A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People delivery plan ambition ‘places that are accessible to everyone’. We will continue to support PAMIS to ensure t…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many accessible toilets with hoists and adult changing beds each NHS board has.
Answer · Maureen Watt: There are currently 157 Changing Places Toilets (CPTs) across Scotland. Unlike other regions of the UK, the number of CPTs in Scotland has been increasing. The location of each CPT in Scotland can be found at http://pamis.org.uk/campaigns/changing-places-toil…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on smoking cessation campaigns in each year since 1999.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Information on how much the Scottish Government has spent on cessation and related campaigns in each year from 1999 is as follows: Year Cessation and related spend 1999-2000 N-A 2000-2001 N-A 2001-2002 N-A 2002-2003 N-A 2003-2004 N-A 2004-2005 …
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11463 by Maureen Watt on 5 October 2017, whether it will provided an update on when the review will be published.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The report of the review of rejected referrals will be published by the 31 May 2018.
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients from each NHS board area have been treated in other parts of the UK in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following tables shows the number of people from Scotland who have received treatment in hospitals in other parts of the UK in each year since 1999. The data across the UK is not directly comparable due to differences in data definitions. Information is …
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many social care employees from the EU are employed by each local authority, also broken down by what percentage of staff this represents.
Answer · Maree Todd: The information requested is not held centrally.
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many employees from the EU are employed by each NHS board, also broken down by what percentage of staff this represents.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government believes that EU citizens make a vital contribution to the delivery of NHS services in Scotland. Given the uncertainties presented by Brexit, we are working with all NHS Scotland Boards, and engaging with the professional regulatory bo…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of NHS staff uniforms being cleaned by the NHS and not by staff at home.
Answer · Shona Robison: In line with the NHSScotland National Uniform Policy hospital/facility laundries should be used to launder uniforms where they are available. Information is not held centrally in relation to the number of uniforms routinely laundered by staff at home. Where …
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board has spent on (a) agency and (b) bank staff in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: Agency spend figures for each NHS Board are only available from 2006-7 to 2016-17 and are given in the following table. Information on NHS Board spend on bank staff is not held centrally. Agency Spend by NHS Board (in £’000) 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 20…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in each NHS board are currently being treated in hospital in another NHS board area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information on current patients is not held centrally. However, previous data on cross-boundary flows for 2016-17 was published in November 2017 and is available from the following link: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Hospital-Care/Publication…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many GP (a) phone and (b) video call consultations there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The use of GP phone and video call consultations is a local decision made by NHS Boards and their contractors. Once the new GMS Contract is introduced GP practices will provide agreed informat…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many hospitals in each NHS board have been in crisis bed-management mode in each month since April 2007.
Answer · Shona Robison: Crisis bed-management mode is not a term that the Scottish Government recognises. Each hospital site have a management system in place for capacity and would relate this to escalation procedures as required. We have issued guidance on improving management of …
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist positions in the NHS have not been filled in each year since 2007.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. NHS Information Services Division publishes quarterly workforce statistics which details current vacancy information for consultant grade specialists. The data tables can be accessed via the following link: https://www.…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether all stomach or gastro patients presenting at A&E departments are included in A&E waiting times statistics.
Answer · Shona Robison: All patients making a new or unplanned return attendance at A&E departments are included in the A&E statistics, regardless of the condition they present with. In terms of the average waiting time for patients with stomach or gastro concerns, this informatio…
25 Jan 2018 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase testing for hepatitis C in (a) general practice and (b) A&E.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: A short life working group on hepatitis C case finding will report this summer in 2018. The group are considering best practice and innovative approaches to finding undiagnosed patients. It is anticipated that recommendations to improve case finding in a vari…