Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with no power of attorney have been moved from hospital to a care home since 1 January 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: In response to your question, the information you request is not available centrally; whether or not power of attorney has been granted prior to discharge is not recorded. We can provide information on the number of people who were discharged from hospital t…
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many mental health counsellors are working in schools, broken down by local authority, and what percentage of schools in each local authority have a mental health counsellor working in them.
Answer · John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of counsellors. As stated in the Programme for Government 2018-19, we anticipated that the investment of over £60m in additional school co…
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with NHS boards regarding the Silver Swan exercise.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Some NHS Boards were closely involved in the planning of Exercise Silver Swan alongside the Scottish Government. Following the exercise, NHS Boards were provided with the exercise report to inform local planning. NHS Boards and other organisations discussed t…
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many GP surgeries have closed in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: This is a matter for individual Health Boards and the information requested is not held centrally .
3 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to issue guidance that cyclists and runners should wear protective face coverings when sharing space with pedestrians.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government continues to consider evidence and recommendations including from The Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE).” . Our guidance on face coverings also makes clear one of the most effective measures to reduce transmission is to s…
2 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when property valuers and surveyors will be able to resume work, and what assessment it has made of whether plans to reopen the housing market are being held back by property valuers and surveyors not yet being able to do so.
Answer · Kevin Stewart: A relaxation of restrictions on home moves is anticipated in phase 2 of the recovery plan, as set out in Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis , published on 21 May. Restrictions will only be relaxed if the virus remains suppressed and the eviden…
2 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many Do Not Resuscitate forms have been issued to patients in each month since January 2016.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29407 on 10 June 2020. 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…
1 Jun 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the incidence of young people misusing nitrous oxide is increasing; what action it is taking to educate them about the dangers of this, and how it plans to tackle the suppliers.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: All illicit drug use is dangerous, and I would strongly urge all people, and particularly young people, to seriously consider the risks that are involved. We are and will continue to work closely with a range of partners and stakeholders, including Police Sc…
1 Jun 2020 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that there have been around 600 more deaths in care homes from COVID-19 than officially recorded.
29 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a system that will allow people to report adverse reactions to therapies, similar to the Yellow Card scheme that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) operates for adverse reactions to medicines and medical products.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: There are existing organisations, systems and processes in place in Scotland to identify and manage any concerns patients have with respect to their treatment. Patients who have experienced an adverse reaction to a therapy or treatment are advised to, first …
29 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment the Chief Medical Officer has made of the evidence submitted to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) by people with ME regarding harm that they claim they have experienced from graded exercise therapy.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: As NICE has already begun a comprehensive review and assessment of the most up to date clinical evidence available, we have committed to follow this review closely and will make a decision on updating the Scottish Good Practice Statement on ME once NICE has p…
28 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what risk assessment it carried out after it became aware of the COVID-19 outbreak at the 2020 Nike conference regarding the possibility of the disease spreading (a) in Edinburgh and (b) across Scotland.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: An Incident Management Team (IMT) was established to investigate and manage the incident at the Nike conference. The IMT is an independent, multi-disciplinary and multi-agency group, which provides a framework, response and resources to enable the NHS board(s…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS Louisa Jordan will be used as part of the phased reopening of NHS services and, if so, on what date it will be made operational for such services.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The NHS Louisa Jordan will provide extra capacity as part of NHS Scotland’s response to COVID-19. It will initially create capacity for 300 extra hospital beds, with the ability to expand to over 1,000, if required. Although NHS Louisa Jordan will have ICU pr…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on whether air conditioning systems used in hospitals, care homes and domestic properties can spread COVID-19.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are not aware of any evidence from worldwide literature that we are aware of that suggest that air conditioning systems spread COVID-19, however we recognise that our understanding of COVID-19 continues to grow and expand and we will continue to review new…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not stated a timescale for reopening chronic pain clinics, in light of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists recommending on 15 May 2020 the aim of “reverting to pre-COVID-19 capacity in the next six weeks”.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We have published the ‘Re-mobilise, Recover, Re-design, The Framework for NHS Scotland’ that sets out how Health Boards will follow national and local clinical advice to safely and incrementally prioritise the resumption of services paused during the curren…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research it is aware of regarding whether air conditioning systems that are used in hospitals, care homes and domestic properties can spread COVID-19, and whether it plans to undertake any research on this subject.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: In May 2020, Health Protection Scotland carried out a Rapid Review of Literature: 'Assessing the infection prevention and control measures for the prevention and management of COVID-19 in health and care settings', which identified that, currently there is no…
27 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it plans to take in response to reports regarding chronic pain patients not being able to access their usual treatments, such as infusions, and of some patients considering travelling to England or raising funds to be treated at private clinics.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29453 on 10 June 2020. 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…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people have been admitted to (a) local authority and (b) independent care homes in each week since January 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information on all admissions to care homes is not held centrally; data on how many people have been admitted to local authority care homes will instead be held by each local authority.
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have had a DNACPR (do not attempt CPR) order put in place during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not centrally collect information or data relating to the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiovascular Resuscitation (DNACPR) forms in hospitals. As with all other clinical treatments, decisions about CPR should be based on the individua…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many births it estimates there will in Scotland in 2020-21.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: In the year to 30 June 2021, there are projected to be 51,100 births in Scotland. 1. The data is sourced from the most recent national population projections published by National Records of Scotland (NRS), which use the mid-2018 population estimates as it…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of ministers stating that the Scottish Government does not know what the COVID-19 R number is in care homes, what steps are being taken to monitor the R number in care homes.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We do not calculate a separate R value for care homes. Scottish Government is informed of the findings of independent academic researchers such as those of the SPI M sub group who are developing methods for estimating transmission in care homes. This is not …
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consultation it had with professional representational organisations regarding the guidelines for DNR (do not resuscitate) forms put in place for individual patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There has been no change to the guidance on the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary (DNACPR) forms during the Covid 19 outbreak. As such, the Scottish Government has not formally consulted with professional representational organisations on the existing DNA…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many care home beds the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport has instructed to be purchased in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, broken down by the (a) care home and (b) NHS board area they were purchased for.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-29289 on 17 June 2020. 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…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it has provided on DNR (do not resuscitate) forms put in place for individual patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: On the 10 April, the Chief Medical Officer, Chair of the Scottish General Practitioners Committee of the BMA and Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) wrote to GPs to provide advice and support on having anticipatory care planning convers…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many retired medics returning to support the NHS have been employed during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As at 5 June 2020, 19 medics who declared themselves as retired on an Expression of Interest form through the Accelerated recruitment Portal have subsequently been employed. Retired medics who have been granted a temporary license to practise may seek employ…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legal advice it sought regarding DNR (do not resuscitate) forms put in place for individual patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There has been no change to the guidance on the use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary (DNACPR) forms during the Covid 19 outbreak. As such, the Scottish Government has not sought legal advice on the existing DNACPR guidance during the Covid 19 outbreak. In 2…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many outbreaks of COVID-19 it has reported to other UK Home Nations, and on what dates.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government provides daily information on a range of COVID-19 measures to the UK Department of Health and Social Care and to the Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office to co-ordinate, inform and report on the COVID-19 position acros…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many retired medics have expressed an interest in returning to support the NHS during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There have been 441 retired medics who have expressed an interest in returning to support the NHS as a doctor during the COVID-19 outbreak through the Accelerated Recruitment Portal. This information is based on self-declarations and may be subject to revisi…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many expectant mothers have been registered with GPs in each week in 2019 and 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold data on patient registrations. NHS NSS holds data on where patients are registered for practice payment purposes and transfer of records. Expectant mothers do not have to register with a GP because they are expectant; th…
26 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many expectant mothers have attended pregnancy scans in each week in 2019 and 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information on the number of pregnant women who have attended pregnancy scans in each week in 2019 and 2020 is not collected centrally by the Scottish Government.