Miles Briggs

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is aware of local concerns about the operation of the level crossing at Kirknewton and, if so, whether it has made representations to Network Rail.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is aware of local concerns about the length of time the crossing barriers are down during normal operation and that the barrier down time has increased recently due to a period of unreliability with the barrier mechanisms. Network Rail…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns regarding an ageing midwifery workforce in (a) NHS Lothian and (b) the rest of Scotland, and what action it is taking to retain and recruit midwives.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: It is for NHS boards to plan and deliver clinical services and ensure that they have the correct staff in place to meet the needs of their services and ensure high quality patient care. As part of this, we expect NHS boards to have robust workforce plans and …

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which hospitals do not have a dedicated transition service from paediatric to adult care for young people with (a) inflammatory bowel disease and (b) other long-term conditions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information relating to which hospitals do not have dedicated transition services from paediatric to adult care is not centrally held. The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to have well-structured transition arrangements in place, which meet the nee…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the NHS makes best use of social media when engaging with young people with long-term conditions.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is committed to providing person centred care ensuring access to the best possible care and support, and from healthcare services that are safe and effective. The person centred approach covers all aspects of how NHS Boards should info…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential of peer-to-peer support to improve care for young people with (a) inflammatory bowel disease and (b) other long-term conditions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The need for more access to support, including peer support, is one of the key themes of the “Gaun Yersel” Self Management strategy. The strategy was written by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) for the Scottish Government from the p…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what psychological support services are available to young people with inflammatory bowel disease who are moving from paediatric to adult care.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to respond to the physical and mental health needs of their population. To assist in providing effective, evidence-based treatments, the Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to hos…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve access to care closer to home for young people with inflammatory bowel disease.

Answer · Shona Robison: The National Clinical Strategy is the Scottish Government’s blueprint for health and social care over the next 15 years. It’s one of the key drivers that will help deliver transformational change across our NHS. Its foundation is to provide care as locally a…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making (a) nationally and (b) in rural and remote areas in improving transition services from paediatric to adult care for young people with inflammatory bowel disease.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to have well-structured transition arrangements in place, which meet the needs of their local population, regardless of where in Scotland the young person lives. The national policy regarding age appropriate hospit…

8 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce geographic variation in transition services from paediatric to adult care for young people with long-term conditions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to have well-structured transition arrangements in place, which meet the needs of their local population, regardless of where in Scotland the young person lives, as outlined in Better Health, Better Care: Hospital Se…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns regarding (a) district nurse vacancies and (b) an ageing district nurse workforce.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06994 on 3 March 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/2…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the report, Workforce Update: District Nursing, which was presented to the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) on 20 January 2017, and what action it is taking to support NHS Lothian and the EIJB to address (a) district nurse vacancies and (b) its agei…

Answer · Shona Robison: It is for NHS Boards to plan and deliver clinical services and ensure that they have appropriate staff in place to meet the needs of their services and ensure high quality patient care. As part of this, we expect NHS Boards to have robust workforce plans and …

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recommendations set out in the report, The Best Start: A Five-Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland, what investment it is providing to support transport services for neonatal care.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Work is underway to plan for implementation of the recommendations in The Best Start. We will take this planning work forward in partnership with boards, including the Scottish Ambulance Service to develop a comprehensive understanding of the resource implica…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage more men to become health visitors.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is committed to equality and diversity, and that commitment extends to ensuring that these values are fully respected by, and reflected in the operation of NHSScotland. This includes the recruitment of all staff, including the recruitm…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns regarding an ageing health visitor workforce in (a) NHS Lothian and (b) the rest of Scotland, and what action it is taking to retain and recruit health visitors.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is for NHS boards to plan and deliver clinical services and ensure that they have the correct staff in place to meet the needs of their services and ensure high quality patient care. As part of this we expect them to have robust workforce plans and recruit…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the results were for the Scottish Patient Safety Programme's venous thromboembolism (VTE) workflow programme, which ran between 2012 and 2014, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: Healthcare Improvement Scotland funded the SAPPHIRE (Social Science APPlied to Healthcare Improvement REsearch) group at University of Leicester to carry out an independent evaluation of the sepsis VTE collaborative. The evaluation report was published in 201…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02629 by Aileen Campbell on 27 September 2016, how it ensures that the SIGN guidance is enforced, and whether this has led to a reduction in incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Answer · Shona Robison: SIGN guidelines are distributed within the NHS in Scotland via a network of Guideline Distribution Coordinators in each NHS board. Implementation is the responsibility of each individual NHS board and local ownership of the implementation process is crucial t…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02629 by Aileen Campbell on 27 September 2016, what the timescale is for the work with NHS Borders, its spread across Scotland and the public facing campaign.

Answer · Shona Robison: The work with NHS borders will be completed in May 2017. There will be a networking event in late May to further share the learning from this project and a final report will act as a resource for NHS boards to use in their VTE improvement work.

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many convictions there have been involving cases of people shining (a) laser pens and (b) other laser devices at transport operators in each year since 1999, broken down by transport type.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The information requested cannot be identified from the Criminal Proceedings database. Offences involving cases of people shining (a) laser pens and (b) other laser devices at transport operators would be prosecuted under either the common law offence of culp…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government's proposals to make it an offence to shine lasers at transport operators, whether it will introduce similar legislation for Scotland.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Prosecutions in relation to laser pen attacks can be raised under the common law offence of culpable and reckless conduct. In respect of laser pens being shone at aircraft, prosecutions can be raised as a contravention of the statutory Air Navigation Order 20…

7 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to tackle the incidence of people shining laser pens at transport operators.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Police Scotland is responsible for investigating incidences of laser pens being shone at transport operators. We have not received representations from transport operators or Police Scotland about laser pens and would encourage any transport operator to repor…

3 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Edinburgh's Inverleith Medical Practice will close this summer; what discussions it has had with NHS Lothian regarding this, and how it will support NHS Lothian to ensure that alternative GP services are provided for people registered with the practic…

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government expects Health Boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate to ensure that all patients have access to GP services. Edinburgh’s Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Lothian and the team at the pr…

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many multiple burials have taken place in Scotland in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is the responsibility of individual burial authorities to maintain accurate burial records and registers. The information requested is, therefore, not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The figures in the table have been provided for local authori…

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Ambulance Service will consider establishing a cadet force, similar to that operated by St John Ambulance in England.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many neighbourhood watch schemes there have been in each year since 1999.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government does not hold all the information requested. However, we know that in 2012, there were approximately 1,500 Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in Scotland and the most recent figures show that there are now 1,723 Schemes in Scotland.

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the guidance regarding health checks for children.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The 2005 universal core programme for child health screening and surveillance, Health for all Children 4, was supplemented with A New Look at Hall 4: the Early Years in 2011 and with Guidance on the 27-30 month child health review in 2012. Guidance on health…

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many integrated care homes there are.

Answer · Shona Robison: At 31 January 2017 there were 1,149 care homes for adults operating. Of these, 853 were care homes for older people and 296 were care homes for other adults, primarily adults with disabilities. Care homes provide a variety of services and support people who …

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 500 new health visitors that it announced in June 2014 will be in post by 2017-18.

Answer · Shona Robison: ISD Official Statistics for quarter end March 2017 will be published in June 2017.

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to neighbourhood watch schemes in each year since 1999.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government has supported Neighbourhood Watch Scotland (NWS) since it was established in 2008. Over this period, the Scottish Government has provided funding of £652,152. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Neighbourhood Watch …

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide (a) the number, (b) the names and (c) details of individual road safety campaigns that were planned for 2016-17.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is committed to achieving safer road travel in Scotland, which is why Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2020, written in 2009, contains challenging casualty reduction targets and an ultimate vision where there are no fatalities on Sc…

1 Feb 2017 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Scotland report, The State of Child Health, and which of the report's recommendations it plans to take forward.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government welcomes the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's State of Child Health report which reaffirms the work currently underway across government to improve child health. The Scottish Government is carefully considering all of th…