Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government which health and social care partnerships will be supported by Healthcare Improvement Scotland to test and implement improvements in the identification and care coordination of those who can benefit from palliative and end-of-life care, as set out in its Strategic Framework for Action on…
Answer · Shona Robison: East Ayrshire, Glasgow City, Perth and Kinross, Western Isles/ Eilean Siar and Fife Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) will be supported to test and implement improvements in the approaches taken to the identification of needs and coordination of pal…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS staff have been suspended on pay in each year since 1999 in each NHS board and at what cost.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The Management of Employee Conduct PIN Policy sets out the rights and responsibilities of boards, managers, employees and trade unions/professional organisations in respect of employees who are subject to any discipli…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to update the professions listed as registered medical practitioners for the purposes of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recently consulted on the Scottish Law Commission’s review of the Adults with Incapacity legislation. Analysis of the responses to this consultation are available at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/07/5000 and officials are now w…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs have undertaken social prescribing in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information is not held centrally. Individual GPs are responsible for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of their patients. In addition, GPs may signpost/refer patients who require non-medical support to community and third sector services but often the…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children have had baby teeth removed due to tooth decay in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on extractions of deciduous teeth (''baby-teeth'') due to tooth decay is not collected. We are able to provide information on deciduous and permanent tooth extraction in children which is shown in the following table. NHS Board 00-01 01-02 02…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many carers have received a respite break as provided for under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 will be commenced on 1 April 2018, and therefore data about carers receiving short breaks as provided for under the Act is not available. The Scottish Government has made a commitment to monitoring and evaluation of the Act’s…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of patients under 65 living with (a) dementia, (b) motor neurone disease, (c) Parkinson's, (d) multiple sclerosis and (e) progressive supranuclear palsy.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government provides policies, frameworks and resources to NHS boards for the delivery of healthcare services to meet the assessed needs of their resident populations. It is, therefore, the responsibility of NHS boards (and integration joint board…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been treated for the effects of exposure to organophosphates in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally.
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been to see a paediatrician in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The specific information is not available centrally. Information on the median wait for a patient to see a consultant in the specialties of paediatric and paediatric surgery for the calendar years 2010 to 2015 by NHS Board is provided in the following table. …
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many compensation payments for clinical neglect have been made in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: The following table details the total number of clinical negligence payments made across NHSScotland in each year since 1999: 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Compensation Payments 156 176 166 207 175 186 2005-06…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many young carers are at college or university.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The 2011 census shows that there were 9,825 young carers and young adult carers (aged 16 to 24) in further or higher education. The Scottish Government is working with colleges, universities, and other bodies to better identify students who also have carin…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been for babies to be seen by a cleft lip specialist in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Cleft Care Network began reporting cleft service audit outcomes by NHS board from 2013-14. Prior to that, the Network reported on Scotland wide performance. The most recently available information on the quality and performance of cleft care services is s…
7 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people under 21 have been prescribed antidepressant drugs in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) age and (b) NHS board.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The number of people under 21 prescribed antidepressant drugs from calendar year 2009 to 2015 is shown in the following table. Information on the number of patients prescribed antidepressant drugs before calendar year 2009 is not available because Communit…
4 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish details of the stakeholder event that the then Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, Jamie Hepburn, agreed to during stage 3 of the Mental Health Bill on 24 June 2015 (Official Report, col. 121).
Answer · Maureen Watt: This government is committed to undertake a review to determine whether people with learning difficulties and autism should be removed from the definition of ‘mental disorder’ under the provisions of the Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. …
1 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that it complies with all (a) legislation relating to patient safety and (b) health and safety at work legislation.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government is fully committed to ensuring that the NHS in Scotland delivers high quality, safe, effective and person-centred care to all patients every-time they access health services. Healthcare Improvement Scotland is responsible for the scr…
1 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that 50 people have died by suicide in hospital in the last four years.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Every suicide is a tragedy that has a far reaching impact on family, friends and the community long after a person has died. The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to provide care to the highest standards of quality and safety whatever the setting, with…
1 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that all mental health wards should be constructed to full anti-ligature specification.
Answer · Shona Robison: A safe and therapeutic environment for service users, staff and visitors is integral to the provision of mental health care. This position is reflected in the guidance which applies to mental health units in NHS Scotland which states: 3.42 Spaces where ser…
1 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that board members of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have expressed concern that the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow was not constructed to full anti-ligature specification.
Answer · Shona Robison: The use of fittings and fixtures that reduce ligature risks is not clinically appropriate in many general hospital rooms, e.g. x-ray, consulting exam and patient toilets and showers, as they would compromise the hospital’s ability to deliver appropriate care …
1 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of suicides in hospitals.
Answer · Maureen Watt: Every suicide is a tragedy that has a far reaching impact on family, friends and the community long after a person has died. One of the key themes in the Scottish Government’s Suicide Prevention Strategy (2013 to 2016) is to improve the NHS response to suicid…
30 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been fitted with hearing aids by each NHS board in each year since 1999.
Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of people fitted with hearing aids, by NHS board, is not held centrally.
22 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) when it will act on recommendations made in its Child Death Review Report of 2014 and the subsequent steering group report of March 2016 to introduce a national collaborative multi-agency system for reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death of a child and (b) what work it wil…
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is acting on the recommendations made in the Child Death Review Reports of 2014 and 2016 and is at the early stage of establishing a national child death review system in Scotland. Child death reviews in Scotland will consider modif…
22 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to allocate its share of the revenue raised from the UK Government’s proposed soft drinks industry levy to initiatives dedicated to tackling childhood obesity and, if so, how it will do so.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government awaits details on how the proposed levy will operate in practice. The Barnett formula does not adjust to changes in reserved taxation such as the soft drinks industry levy but instead allocates to Scotland a population share of net cha…
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many telephone calls the NHSScotland Confidential Alert Line helpline has received since it was established, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Since its launch on 2 April 2013 to 31 March 2016 (the latest date for which figures are available), a total of 276 cases have been raised with the NHSScotland Confidential Alert Line. This figure includes both public (whistleblowing) and private (contractual…
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the threat from the Zika virus and what information is being provided by the NHS to people visiting affected countries.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The mosquito vectors for the Zika virus are not able to survive in the Scottish climate, and therefore the risk to Scotland is very low because it would not be possible for the virus to spread easily here. Health Protection Scotland regularly reviews their a…
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase support for dementia patients under 65 and support Frank's Law.
Answer · Shona Robison: We have committed to considering how best to address the charging issue for people with dementia under 65 raised in Amanda Kopel's petition and the ‘Frank’s Law’ campaign, but remain of the view that any changes to the charges to service users for the care th…
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much additional funding to that set out in its 2014 Budget it projects that the NHS will receive in each year of the current parliamentary session.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government will increase the NHS revenue budget by £500 million more than inflation by the end of this parliament. Details of the annual increases will follow in due course.
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time was to receive a hearing aid in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: Audiology Services is included in the Scottish Government’s target that no patient should wait more than 18 weeks from a GP referral to start of treatment since the end of 2011. Information on the average waiting time to receive a hearing aid is not collecte…
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time was to see a hearing specialist in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The specific information requested is not available centrally.
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The information is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of people discharged with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from hospitals in Scotland in each year between 1999 and 2014. Numbers are shown for the whole of Scotl…
20 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many ex-service (a) men and (b) women have been assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Maureen Watt: The information is not held centrally. Individual clinicians are responsible for the assessment and diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder and for arranging services and support which respond appropriately to the needs of the individual.