Miles Briggs

16 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many school counsellors each local authority has hired in each year since 1999 to support young people with mental health issues.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

16 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many couples who have children from a previous relationship have received NHS-IVF treatment in each year since 1999.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Information on how many couples have received NHS IVF treatment who have children from a previous relationship in each year since 1999 is not held or collected centrally by Information Services Division.

16 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many consultations GPs have conducted by telephone in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Access to GP services is an important issue for the Scottish Government and I’m aware that many of general practices have, for many years, adjusted appointment arrangements in order to try to…

15 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-06547 by Shona Robison on 6 February 2017, by what date it will announce the national target for the treatment of hepatitis C in 2017-18, and for what reason it is not setting individual targets for NHS boards.

Answer · Shona Robison: The national target for hepatitis C treatment in 2017-18 will be 1800. This has increased by 300 from the previous target for 2016-17. The incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C varies across Scotland, as does the distribution of genotypes of the disease, w…

13 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that health professionals who work with people living with with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) inform them of the (a) activities that can be carried out at home to help deal with the condition and (b) details of support groups in their area.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Subject to the wishes of patients, community mental health teams involve families and carers routinely in the care and treatment of patients. Individual care plans allow consideration to be given to physical, mental and social aspects of the management of pat…

13 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the views of people living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and their carers are taken into account when developing its strategy for dealing with the condition.

Answer · Maureen Watt: During our engagement on the next Mental Health Strategy, we invited written responses on an engagement paper outlining our proposed priorities, and received nearly 600 responses. The responses were independently analysed and a full report published online, …

13 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve services for people with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

Answer · Maureen Watt: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is relatively common, and is managed across primary care and specialist mental health services. The provision of health services is the responsibility of local health boards. The Psychological Therapies Matrix (published by…

9 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the report that the five GPs at the Deans and Eliburn Medical Practice in West Lothian have resigned; what discussions it has had with NHS Lothian about the future of the practice, and what support it can provide to help ensure that it has a sustainable future.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Lothian will be taking over Deans and Eliburn Medical Practice from 1 April 2017 and will ensure that patients continue to receive a high standard of care. NHS boards have various means of supporting independently contracted practices which request assis…

8 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-07587 by Shona Robison on 8 March 2017, what the study's remit will be, and when it will report its findings to ministers.

Answer · Shona Robison: This study looks at the following in male prisoners: A comparison of the prevalence of head injury in prisoners assessed by self-report and by hospital records. A comparison of in prisoners with HI and without HI. How effective are the head injury screenin…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to provide access to proton cancer treatment in each NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: We expect that every NHS Scotland patient who needs it has access to Proton Beam Therapy (PBT). PBT is highly specialised and available in only a few treatment centres globally. There are currently no NHS PBT centres in the UK and Scottish patients go to othe…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the two-hour school PE target.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is committed to increasing physical activity and we want to make Scotland a more active country by encouraging people, and in particular young people, to make physical activity a part of their everyday lives. 98% of primary and second…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many cancer specialists have been employed by each NHS board in each year since 2007.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible to accurately identify all staff defined as ‘cancer specialists’ – either wholly or as part of their role – from centrally held data due to the multi-disciplinary roles involved in the delivery of cancer services. NHSScotland Boards are exp…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that housekeepers in care homes receive at least the living wage.

Answer · Shona Robison: We have provided significant resource to enable the Living Wage to be paid to care workers supporting adults. This focus has been to recognise challenges facing the sector in regards to recruitment and retention and to improve quality of care. We wish to see…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses in each NHS board have taken sick leave in each year since 1999.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS National Services Scotland, Information Services Department collect and publish sickness absence data at a national and board level once a year. Annual information from 2007 is available at the following link, this information is not broken down by job fa…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address so-called holiday-hunger among pupils who receive free school meals.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government is aware that several local authorities in Scotland offer holiday lunch club provision and welcomes any activity that may contribute to the health and wellbeing, as well as the attainment, of the most vulnerable in our society. Local a…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority area are used in the evening for (i) sports and (ii) community use.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: This information is not held centrally, individual local authorities are responsible for collating the data in their area.

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many care-hours were delivered by each local authority in each year since 2005, and how this compares with the target for each year.

Answer · Shona Robison: Data on care hours provided by local authorities is published by the Scottish Government at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/Data/HomeCare/SocialCareDatasets. The Scottish Government does not set targets for local authorities' delivery of…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making with its feasibility study into extending free personal care to people under 65; which organisations it has met or plans to meet regarding this, and who it will consult.

Answer · Shona Robison: The feasibility study is being conducted by Scottish Government officials, working with analysts and economists to produce a reliable estimate of the costs involved in extending free personal care to all adults. The feasibility study will also look at: The …

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure equity of access to radiotherapy across the country.

Answer · Shona Robison: More equitable access to modern radiotherapy is one of the ambitions of our cancer strategy, Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action, published last year. Currently all Scottish radiotherapy departments have state-of-the-art linear accelerators and associated equ…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which intensive neonatal units are planned to close.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06447 on 3 February 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/parliamentarybusiness…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs in each NHS board have operated closed patient lists in each year since 1999.

Answer · Shona Robison: The following number of practices were closed to new patient registrations in each NHS board: Board/Year Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, Fife, Forth Valley, Grampian, Highland, Lothian, Shetland, and Western Isles Greater Glasgow and Clyde Lanarkshire Orkne…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many new-build properties there have been in each local authority area since 1999, broken down by council tax band.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government publishes quarterly statistics on new build housing completions in each local authority area as part of the Housing Statistics for Scotland publications and web tables available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-R…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to the Spartans alternative school in Edinburgh and other similar institutions.

Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not directly support the Spartans alternative school in Edinburgh or any other similar institutions across Scotland. Some Edinburgh schools do contribute to costs but that, and funding for any similar institutions, is a matter for…

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority area have run (i) breakfast and (ii) homework clubs in each year since 1999.

Answer · John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners who tested positive for hepatitis C in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 were referred for treatment on their release from prison.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: This information is not routinely collected.

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners who tested positive for hepatitis C in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17 began treatment while still in prison.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: This information is not held centrally.

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisons offer opt-out testing for hepatitis C, as recommended in the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus updated framework.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Opt-out blood borne virus testing Hepatitis C is conducted for all new prisoners at HMP Castle Huntly, Cornton Vale, Glenochil, Grampian, Kilmarnock, Perth, Polmont, Shotts, Barlinne, Greenock, Dumfries and Low Moss. We are working with NHS boards to deliver …

7 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many prisoners have been tested for hepatitis C in (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17, and how many of these tested positive.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Hepatitis C test data is only held centrally for prisons within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Grampian, Lothian and Tayside board areas. In the calendar year 2015 2,396 prisoners in these Board areas were tested for Hepatitis C. In the same year 137 indivi…

6 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some return patients using chronic pain services have waited up to 22 months for treatment.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government expects all patients to have access to treatment which is appropriate to individual clinical needs. The Scottish Government is committed to improving services for people living with chronic pain. This is underlined by the fact that Sco…

6 Mar 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to expand the (a) capacity and (b) staffing of chronic pain services.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: It is the role of the Scottish Government to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS boards so they can deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. Within this context, it is a matter for NHS boards to plan, budget for and deliv…