Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
29 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many level 3 ambulance technicians were recruited in 2016-17, also broken down by how many were appointed to backfill places following the recruitment of other level 3 technicians to become new paramedics.
Answer · Shona Robison: In 2016-17, 254 technicians were recruited by the Scottish Ambulance Service. 179 of these technicians were recruited to backfill vacancies left by technicians progressing to paramedic training.
29 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new paramedics were recruited from the existing ambulance technician workforce in 2016-17.
Answer · Shona Robison: In 2016-17, 179 paramedics were recruited from the existing technician workforce
29 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many level 3 ambulance technicians there are; what training they receive, and what their duties are.
Answer · Shona Robison: There are currently 400 trainee technicians in the Scottish Ambulance Service. The main duties of technicians include: Assessing and managing patients using appropriate techniques Conveying patients to hospital, or another setting if necessary Supporting…
28 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the radiology department at NHS Lothian's Lauriston building will be closed each Friday until Christmas 2017, and on additional days after Christmas and the New Year, due to staffing shortages; what discussions it has had with the NHS board regarding …
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Lothian has advised that due to unexpected illness, a temporary model has been introduced for the primary care x-ray service at Lauriston, which resulted in the service being reduced by one day per week from mid-November until 21 December and for all of t…
24 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the GPs at the East Craigs medical practice have handed responsibility for its management back to NHS Lothian; what discussions it has had with the NHS board regarding this, and what support it will provide to help resolve the issue.
Answer · Shona Robison: I am aware of the situation with the East Craigs Medical Practice who informed NHS Lothian that they were unable to continue with their practice earlier this year. NHS Lothian has worked over recent months to put alternative arrangements in place to ensure co…
22 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much each NHS board spent on child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2016-17, and what percentage of (a) that board's and (b) the overall NHS mental health budget this represented.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Information on NHS expenditure, mental health expenditure and percentage of expenditure that have been spent on children and adolescent mental health services in the hospital and community sectors in year 2016-17 is shown in Table 1. Table 1: Child and Ado…
21 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital patients, who had been admitted with another condition, have (a) developed and (b) been treated for dehydration in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: In relation to part (a) of the question, information is not available centrally about the number of people who did not have dehydration at the time of admission but who developed it during the admission due to complications arising during the admission. When …
21 Nov 2017 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on being able to access independent voices across the sporting sector.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Listening to independent voices is vital as we continue developing a world class sporting sector in Scotland. There is so much great work being carried out across the country and a collective voice allows that to be heard more powerfully. I engage directly w…
17 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) health regulatory and (b) other stakeholders regarding the Department of Health's consultation, Promoting professionalism, reforming regulation, and whether it plans to respond to the consultation.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government remains committed to a UK wide approach to the regulation of healthcare professionals, sensitive to Scotland’s specific needs. The Scottish Government has had regular discussions with the healthcare regulatory bodies throughout the d…
14 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01334 by Shona Robison on 4 October 2017, whether it will provide the statistics for 2016-17.
Answer · Shona Robison: Official statistics on hospital beds are routinely published on the ISD website. https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Hospital-Care/Publications/2017-11-07/Annual-Trends-in-Available-Beds-by-Health-Board-of-Treatment-and-Hospital-Nov17.xlsx
13 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments by the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board that locally-contracted social care providers are experiencing staff turnover rates of up to 50%.
Answer · Shona Robison: It is the responsibility of Integration Joint Boards working with partners and commissioned services to deliver and to manage all aspects of the resources, including staff, which are required to deliver the services. Attracting and retaining the right people…
10 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cyclists have been involved in road traffic accidents in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area, and what information it has regarding how many of the cyclists were wearing a helmet, also broken down by the cost to each NHS board of treating those who (i) wore…
Answer · Humza Yousaf: Reported Road Casualties Scotland provides information on injury road accidents reported to the police. The latest statistics available are up to 2016. The following table Shows the number of pedal cyclists who were involved in injury road accidents by local…
10 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 in each NHS board area, broken down by the (i) charge and (ii) type of emergency worker involved, and how many custodial sentences were imposed, broken down by the average length of…
Answer · Michael Matheson: Data on NHS board areas and type of emergency worker involved are not held in the Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database. Prosecutions and convictions under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 were published in January 2017 as part of an ad…
10 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a revised definition of true ultra-orphan medicines.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12594 on 21 November 2017. 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/parliamentarybusine…
10 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will implement the new assessment and approval pathway for ultra-orphan medicines.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-12594 on 21 November 2017. 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/parliamentarybusine…
9 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve access in communities to specialist mother and baby units that offer mental health support.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operatio…
9 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of specialist mother and baby units for the treatment of postnatal mental health conditions.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operatio…
9 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve the support available to treat postnatal (a) depression and (b) psychosis.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operatio…
9 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of nurses in mental health facilities who have specialist training in dealing with postnatal mental health conditions.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operatio…
9 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what contact it has had with the UK Government and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) regarding the MHRA’s forthcoming report, Hormonal pregnancy tests (including Primodos) and possible association with birth defects, and whether it plans to have discussions …
Answer · Shona Robison: Regulation for the Licensing and Safety of Medicines is currently a reserved area for the UK Government. The Scottish Government meets regularly with the MHRA to discuss medicine safety issues. This includes discussion on Primodos. Furthermore, I wrote to t…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-09441 by Shona Robison on 23 June 2017, whether it will provide the figure for 2017-18.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Budget Bill for 2017-18 included all health resource consequentials within the health budget. This amounted to £304 million. Allocation of the further consequentials arising since the Budget Bill will be confirmed as part of the 2017-18 Spring Budget Rev…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11658 by Shona Robison on 25 October 2017, when it will publish the timeline for the implementation of free personal care for people under 65 (Frank’s Law).
Answer · Shona Robison: Scottish Government officials are working closely with Chief Officers and Chief Finance Officers of a number of Integration Joint Boards, along with COSLA to discuss the implementation of Free Personal Care for under 65's. There has been a new webpage added…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support people with MS to access autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT).
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The role of the Scottish Government is to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS boards in order that they can deliver services that meet the needs of their local population. Within this context, it is for clinical audit and local clinical governan…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time has been for an NHS-funded wheelchair in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: This information is not held centrally. The most recent figures, broken down by service area for the 12 months up to June 2017, are in the public domain. This information can be found at http://www.retis.scot.nhs.uk/wheelchairquality.html under ‘Quality Am…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS employees have received the flu vaccination in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The vaccination of NHS staff against seasonal flu is an occupational health responsibility of NHS Boards. NHS Boards provide high level data to Health Protection Scotland on flu vaccine uptake amongst their healthcare workers, and this allows an estimate to b…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many district nurses there have been in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Since 1999 the data on the community nursing staff categories, including district nurses, has been subject to a number of reviews. The number of district nurses by NHS Board, from September 1996 to September 2005, can be found on the workforce statistics we…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how higher taxes in Scotland could impact on the recruitment and retention of NHS staff.
Answer · Shona Robison: Our tax plans for 2018-19 were announced as part of the Budget and were formulated to protect and promote the level of public services the people of Scotland expect; to ensure the lowest earning taxpayers are protected and don’t see their taxes increase; to m…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many school coordinators for young carers have been appointed by each local authority.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government does not hold this data. We are aware of a number of different approaches to supporting young carers in schools across Scotland. This includes dedicated young carer workers from the third sector working across a number of schools in a…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding the establishment of a discount card for young carers.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government believes that young carers should be supported to have a life similar to their non-carer peers which includes having access to leisure and recreational activities. The Scottish Government engaged with COSLA as part of the development…
8 Nov 2017 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in allowing people with rare diseases better access to drugs.
Answer · Shona Robison: I wrote to the Health and Sport Committee on 16 November to provide an update on the Scottish Government’s progress on implementing the recommendations of the Montgomery Review of Access to New Medicines. Since publication of the Montgomery Review in Decembe…