Miles Briggs

25 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of clostridium difficile (C.Diff) have been reported within a community/home setting in each year since 1999.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Health Protection Scotland have reported data on community acquired cases of clostridium difficile (C. diff) since January 2017 and so cannot be provided back to 1999. The following link provides recent information on cases of community acquired C. diff.  So…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to roll out human papilloma virus (HPV) primary screening, and what discussions it has had with (a) NHS boards, (b) charities and (c) other stakeholders regarding this.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Implementation of HPV primary screening is underway and is expected to be introduced to the Scottish Cervical Screening Programme during 2019-20. The Full Business Case (FBC) for the introduction of HPV primary screening was developed in consultation with a …

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the national treatment target numbers are for hepatitis C for each of the next three years.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The new annual national targets for hepatitis C (HCV) treatment initiations are at least 2000 for 2018-19, 2500 for 2019-20, 3000 for 2020-21 and 3000 for each subsequent year. These are all minimum targets. The Scottish Government is committed to the elimi…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13734 by Shona Robison on 18 January 2018, in light of reports that NHS Lothian estimates that it requires £26 million to improve facilities, whether it will provide a breakdown of how the cabinet secretary calculated it as being £15 million.

Answer · Shona Robison: As previously stated, the Scottish Government is planning on allocating additional funds to support these plans and the current estimate is that NHS Lothian will require an additional £15 million to deliver this project. This estimate is based on advice recei…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00689 by Shona Robison on 23 February 2017, (Official Report, c. 1), whether it has received the business case from NHS Lothian and, if not, by what date it will be submitted.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Lothian are in the process of developing their business case and it will be submitted as soon as possible.

23 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the First Minister in its news release of 17 January 2018, Ambition on Human Rights, that  "it is vital we are not complacent and continue to push ourselves to do more to ensure human rights are embedded in everything we do", whether it considers that its ment…

Answer · Maureen Watt: Scottish mental health and incapacity legislation is based on rights and principles. Our mental health legislation promotes patients’ rights and provides safeguards which include that any function should be carried out for the maximum benefit of the patient, …

23 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress in implementing the recommendation in the report, Review of Access to New Medicines, to “make greater use of National Procurement in NSS to lead negotiations on behalf of NHS Scotland on the cost of new medicines”.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to taking forward the recommendations from Dr Brian Montgomery’s Review of Access to New Medicines. I wrote to the Health and Sport Committee on 16 November 2017 to provide an update on the Scottish Government’s progress…

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it decided on the investment figure of £30 million over the next three years for improving infrastructure and reducing risk at GP-owned premises, as stated in the the 2018 GMS Contract in Scotland.

Answer · Shona Robison: The National Code of Practice for GP Premises sets out the measures the Scottish Government will provide to assist GPs who own their premises. These measures include interest-free secured loans to be resourced through the new GP Premises Sustainability Fund. …

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons the incidence of influenza in winter 2017-18 has been reportedly higher for a number of years, and how it plans to learn lessons from the outbreak to reduce its incidence in future.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Influenza viruses change all the time, and each season more than one strain of flu virus will circulate. Different flu strains may have a different impact on population groups within Scotland, and this in turn can lead to variation in the impact on health ser…

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13628 by Aileen Campbell on 18 January 2018, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether ministers (a) were consulted beforehand regarding, (b) approved and (c) agreed with the actions of an official from its Strategic Planni…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13906 answered on 26 January 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/parliamentar…

22 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13628 by Aileen Campbell on 18 January 2018, how many chronic pain patients were interviewed to provide the feedback to the ministerial steering group, and what its position is on whether this number represented an adequate sample of patients.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The views passed onto NHS Information Services Division were taken directly from discussions at the Ministerial Steering Group for Chronic Pain on 4 October 2016, to help understand inconsistences in the data collection and definitions used by Boards. As par…

19 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what lessons it learned following the insolvency of the Dunne Group in 2016 regarding contractors that are involved in delivering public sector contracts going out of business before contracts are completed; what changes it made in systems and procurement policies in light of any lessons…

Answer · Keith Brown: The insolvency of the Dunne Group reinforced the importance of professional contract and supplier management during the delivery of key contracts and, as part of that, the need to monitor for any changes in the financial health of suppliers. It was this appro…

12 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund will support the provision of clinical nurse specialists in 2018 and, if so, how.

Answer · Shona Robison: Clinical nurse specialists make a valued contribution to delivering services and supporting patients and families who require specialist care. The Scottish Government has invested £2.5 million annually in the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund since 2015. The m…

12 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has considered setting disaggregated survival rate targets for less survivable cancers, as recommended by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce.

Answer · Shona Robison: Our cancer strategy, ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ and the accompanying £100 million investment over the coming years serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and af…

10 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to support NHS Lothian to address the reported parking shortage for staff and patients at St John’s Hospital.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Lothian have taken a number of steps over the years to maintain and control parking to ensure that available spaces at St John's are used by legitimate users (patients, visitors and staff) while deterring the use of the car park by non hospital users, but…

10 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13600 by Shona Robison on 9 January 2018, what specific actions are being taken to recruit staff at St John’s Hospital's paediatric service to ensure 24-hour consultant and Tier 2 (middle grade) cover, and what plans it has to consider new approache…

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Lothian advise that since the publication of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Report in 2016, the Board has undertaken six rounds of consultant recruitment, which has resulted in six consultants being in post. The Board continue to advert…

9 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00689 by Shona Robison on 23 February 2017, (Official Report, c. 1), whether it will provide an update on its plans for the new Edinburgh Cancer Centre; how much funding it is providing toward this, and whether the centre remains due to be completed…

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Lothian are in the process of developing a business case for a world-leading cancer centre in NHS Lothian and work is on-going. A decision on the funding will be taken when the business case is submitted to the Scottish Government for review. The target d…

9 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-00689 by Shona Robison on 23 February 2017 (Official Report, c. 1), whether it will provide details of what decisions were reached, following the review of the business case, on interim bridging capital for the Edinburgh Cancer Centre at the Western…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of providing high quality cancer services for the Edinburgh Cancer Centre at the Western General Hospital and are supportive of NHS Lothian’s plans to develop a business case. A decision on the funding will b…

9 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13253 by Shona Robison on 8 January 2017, whether the cabinet secretary approved the issue of the news release of 17 November 2017, Waiting Times at NHS Lothian.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13717 on 1 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…

9 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-13253 by Shona Robison on 8 January 2017, what its position is on reported concerns that, by referring to St John's Hospital only and not other A&E departments in NHS Lothian, the news release of 17 November 2017, Waiting Times at NHS Lothian, lacke…

Answer · Shona Robison: I will refer the member back to my response on 8 January. But for absolute clarity, I instructed NHS Lothian to carry out a full investigation across the three acute hospitals, despite the allegation being made against St Johns hospital. The news release, whi…

9 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met Universities Scotland and what was discussed.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government last met with Universities Scotland on 19 December 2017, when officials met with them to discuss the impact of Brexit on the Scottish Higher Education Sector, including EU students.

5 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what structured diabetes education is offered by each NHS board; what the uptake is; what assessment it has made of the impact of this approach, including its effectiveness in helping to prevent other serious diabetes-related conditions, and what support it offers to NHS boards to help e…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold information on the structured diabetes education offered by individual NHS Boards. NHS Boards are responsible for delivering structured education tailored to suit local circumstances. The Scottish Diabetes Survey include…

4 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the Baby Box scheme will cost in 2018-19, in light of FOI response FOI/17/02557, which states it will cost £8.8 million, and its Draft Budget, which states the budget is £8 million.

Answer · Maree Todd: A number of potential savings in upfront costs incurred in year one have been identified in 2018-19. These savings include procurement fees, legal advice and contract start-up costs. This was year one spend only, and will not be carried through into future ye…

4 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Baby Box scheme is mentioned in the Education and Skills section of its Draft Budget while the £8 million budget is shown in Level 4 of the Health and Sport budget.

Answer · Maree Todd: While expenditure for the Baby Box comes from the Health Budget line, this work, together with other health-funded interventions supporting families with very young children, contributes directly to the ambitions articulated in the Education and Skills portfo…

21 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of all involvement by former or current special advisers in providing advice to (a) ministers and (b) officials on the use of transvaginal mesh implants.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: In order to provide effective assistance to Ministers, special advisers work closely with the Ministerial team and with civil servants and may give assistance and advice on any aspect of Scottish Government business. Medical advice in relation to mesh is prov…

21 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it plans to take to verify and improve advice given to ministers on health issues, including external supervision, in light of the reported comments by the former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Alex Neil MSP, that he came to doubt advice given to him by officials …

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Civil servants abide by the Civil Service Code, which expects them to act with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. In particular, civil servants are asked to set out relevant issues truthfully, and must not mislead Ministers or be influenced by …

21 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers (a) were consulted beforehand regarding, (b) approved and (c) agreed with the actions of an official from its Strategic Planning and Clinical Priorities department in informing the Information Services Division (ISD) by email on 8 March 2017 that they did not want infor…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The reporting of waiting times data was a standing item for discussion at the meetings of the Ministerial Steering Group (MSG) on Chronic Pain. Officials met with ISD on 13 January 2017 to provide feedback from patient representatives of the MSG following dis…

21 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06499 by Derek Mackay on 6 February 2017, whether it will provide the figure for 2018-19.

Answer · Derek Mackay: I can confirm that in 2018-19 the City of Edinburgh Council will again receive an additional £3.9 million in recognition of the increased costs that are associated with Edinburgh being Scotland’s capital city.

20 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the children's ward at St John's Hospital in Livingston will reportedly close on 23, 24, 30 and 31 December 2017; what discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding this, and what action the board is taking to prevent any further such closures.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government supports NHS Health Boards in their efforts to ensure that they have the right staff in place to meet the healthcare needs of the local population. NHS Lothian have advised that when the decision was taken to temporary close its Paedi…

19 Dec 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12864 by Shona Robison on 29 November 2017, in light of the consultation discussing the need for "greater co-operation and data sharing between the professional regulators and other parts of the healthcare regulatory system" and highlighting the rol…

Answer · Shona Robison: The legislative functions of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) are broadly similar to those of the Care Quality Commission. The functions and powers of HIS include: supporting, ensuring and monitoring the quality of healthcare provided or secured by NHS…