Parliamentary questions
Miles Briggs
4,209 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what procedure is used by the NHS to review the criteria by which it decides who should receive letters asking them to shield at home because of COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: At the outset of the pandemic, the four Chief Medical Officers covering Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, published a list of six groups where people would be considered to be at extremely high risk of severe illness should they contract COVID-19…
5 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people who have been asked to shield at home from the COVID-19 outbreak are undergoing (a) chemotherapy, (b) radical radiotherapy for lung cancer, (c) treatment for blood or bone marrow cancer, (d) immunotherapy or other antibody treatments for cancer and (e) other cancer treatm…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold the specific breakdown of information requested. In total, there were 20,883 individuals on the shielding list that were requested to shield as part of the bloods cancers category the question refers to. This figure exclu…
5 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people received chemotherapy in April (a) 2019 and (b) 2020 for the treatment of (i) breast, (ii) bowel, (iii) lung, (iv) blood and (v) prostate cancer, and what impact it considers the COVID-19 outbreak had on any variation in the figures.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Cancer waiting times data collects information on eligible referrals who started first treatment for the ten main cancer sites that are part of the waiting times standards. This does not include blood cancer. The number of eligible referrals, from any source,…
5 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many two-week urgent referrals there were in April (a) 2019 and (b) 2020 for suspected (i) breast, (ii) bowel, (iii) lung, (iv) blood and (v) prostate cancer, and what impact it considers the COVID-19 outbreak had on any variation in the figures.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not hold data on urgent suspected cancer referrals for April 2019. This data is not held as we do not have a two week urgent referral target as in Scotland. The Scottish Government focuses on the 'whole cancer pathway' rather tha…
4 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it publishes a daily list of COVID-19-related deaths for hospitals only, and whether it plans to publish a daily list of such deaths across all settings, similar to the approach in England.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Daily statistics published by the Scottish Government have always included the number of Covid-19 deaths (where COVID-19 has been confirmed from a lab positive test result) in all settings of death, including in hospitals, care homes, homes or other settings.…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-28227 by Clare Haughey on 28 April 2020, what action it is taking in response to the reported concerns that the safeguards in mental health law are not effective.
Answer · Clare Haughey: Mental health legislation in Scotland provides for rigorous safeguards in respect of individuals’ human rights. Compulsory treatment is only allowed under very strict circumstances and certain criteria must be met before an order or certificate can be granted…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns regarding the accuracy of some of the COVID-19 testing kits that it has procured from overseas, and how it ensures that all such kits fully comply with safety standards.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The type of tests being used in Scotland (real time PCR assays) ar e widely used for the detection of respiratory viruses, as well as a range of other viral pathogens, owing to their speed and versatility. Scottish laboratories are working in collaboration w…
27 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it is making to allow the safe reopening of independent podiatry services.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are considering how best to bring all services back on stream, but in doing so we must be very careful that we do not do anything that might compromise the fragile gains that we are making in containing Covid-19. We recently published ‘COVID-19: A Framew…
27 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it is making to allow the safe reopening of dog and other pet grooming facilities, in light of animal welfare concerns regarding them being closed in response to COVID-19.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government recognises that the lack of access to professional pet grooming services has the potential to impact on the welfare of certain breeds of animal, particularly those requiring regular grooming to maintain their wellbeing. Routine gro…
24 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it routinely provides to unpaid carers, and whether it plans to increase this during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 has established a system of carers’ rights designed to listen to carers; improve consistency of support; and help sustain caring relationships by protecting carers’ health and wellbeing. This includes each carer’s right to a per…
23 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that all personal protective equipment (PPE) being used by female health and social care staff fits properly, in light of concerns that some PPE may be designed for male sizes only.
Answer · Clare Haughey: It is important that frontline staff receive the protective equipment they require and NHS National Services Scotland, with the support of Scottish Government and other national agencies are working hard to ensure a continued supply of the right equipment acr…
22 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government where each test centre in its COVID-19 community hub model is located, also broken down by the number of tests carried out.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Covid-19 Community Pathway was established to alleviate the pressure on GP practices by providing a safe pathway for patients who are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms. Patients are triaged through the CoVID Hub and are seen at a Community Assessment Centre …
22 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government where each COVID-19 drive-through testing site is located, and which are operational, also broken down by the (a) total testing capacity of and (b) number of tests carried out by the operational centres.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There are 6 drive-through testing centres in Scotland as part of the UK Government’s Expanded Testing Programme. These are located at Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen airports, the Highlands and Islands University campus’ in Inverness and Perth, and Prestwick…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the BMA, GMC and RCGP regarding the provision of exams for trainee GPs during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: There have been no discussions between the Scottish Government and these organisations on the provision of exams for GP trainees, which are primarily issues for the statutory medical education bodies, the GMC and the Royal College to resolve. On the recommen…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what research its COVID-19 advisory group has carried out or plans on rates of infection and death from the virus among black and minority ethnic (BAME) people.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Group has discussed this issue and is following the research being carried out on a UK-wide basis by SAGE. Further to this, discussions are ongoing with Public Health Scotland on understanding variance in rates of inf…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times its COVID-19 advisory has met and what it has discussed.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The group was first convened on 26 March 2020 and has met every Monday and Thursday since then. Further information about the group, including notes of the discussions which have taken place, is available here: https://www.gov.scot/groups/scottish-government…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many drug-related deaths have been recorded in each week since 1 January 2020.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government does not record deaths in Scotland. Drug-related deaths are recorded by the Courts in Scotland and official statistics on these deaths are published annually by National Records of Scotland (NRS). The most recent set of NRS statistics …
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to train COVID-19 contact tracers.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government set out our approach to contact tracing on 4 May in the Test, Trace Isolate, Support Strategy . We will establish an enhanced COVID-19 contact tracing service in every Board. Recruitment and training of new staff will be managed by exi…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are being developed to increase the capacity of elective surgery sites.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: As the member knows our waiting times improvement plan included the delivery of six elective diagnostic and treatment centres. The first of these will open at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. The member will appreciate that in scaling up and repositioni…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support has been provided to young carers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is aware that the current situation may be placing additional strain on young carers. Although most local carer and young carer services are unable to provide face to face support at present, many are offering alternatives such as tel…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what advice it is offering to parents to help support children experiencing anxiety regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government released the Clear Your Head campaign on 21 April. The campaign looks at simple steps people can take to protect their own mental health and to look after loved ones. The Scottish Government will provide an additional £75,000 of fun…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are trained to deliver its vaccine and immunisation programme.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS Boards and GP Practices are responsible for the delivery of immunisation programmes locally, including training of staff. There is, however, a significant multi-disciplinary workforce in place to deliver the Scottish Immunisation Programme, including prac…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many staff are trained to care for a patient on a ventilator in each NHS board.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: All Health Boards have produced mobilisation plans which set out the steps they are taking to maximise intensive care capacity while maintaining essential services, such as emergency, cancer and maternity care. All Health Boards have now implemented plans to …
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received medical treatment in the independent sector in each week since 1 January 2020.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information is not centrally held by ISD.
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of hospital acquired (a) COVID-19, (b) MRSA and (c) C. diff have been recorded in each week since 1 January 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: a) Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has advised that it is not possible to say with the degree of certainty required, how many cases of hospital acquired COVID-19 there have been across Scotland. Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) would usually be rega…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have received cancer treatment in each week since 1 January 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information on the number of people who have received cancer treatment in each week since 1 January 2020 is not available yet from Public Health Scotland. Quarterly Information on the number of referrals who started first treatment up to the end of 2019 is av…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many COVID-19 tests have been carried out on care home (a) staff and (b) residents, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The COVID-19 data and trend charts for Scotland are published daily and provide a range of information, including the number of care homes notifying cases of COVID-19 and the number of suspected cases of COVID-19 in care homes. These data are available from 1…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many people receiving IVF treatment have had their treatment paused since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Public Health Scotland collects IVF Waiting Times data for first cycle to screening appointment within the confines of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. Information regarding IVF can be found in the IVF waiting times section of the Public Health Sco…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to UK Government ministers regarding the screening of people entering Scotland at airports.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scottish Government officials have had and continue to have discussions with the other UK administrations on border health measures. These will be reviewed regularly and are informed by the best available scientific and medical advice.
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many eye protectors have been provided to (a) NHS and (b) social care staff in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The following numbers of items of eye protective equipment have been issued to the NHS and social care in response to the Covid 19 outbreak between 1 March and 31 May 2020, including the Tiger eyewear product which was recalled on 9 May: NHS Acute 2,091,…