Miles Briggs

28 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have been able to access drugs via the PACS Tier 2 system in each year.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: From 1 June 2018 when the PACS Tier Two process was introduced up until to 31 March 2019, there was 222 medicine requests accepted, 26 medicine requests not accepted and 10 medicine requests deferred. From the current year 1 April 2019 to 31 December 2019 th…

28 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been to see a dermatologist in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The average waiting time to see a dermatologist is available for new outpatients and inpatient/day cases quarterly, since December 2012 and NHS Board on ISD’s website. Please find the following link to the NHS Waiting Times Stage of Treatment publication wher…

28 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans is has to develop a national NHS staff bank similar to that run by NHS Lothian.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: All acute NHS Boards have access to an NHS Staff Bank, with the majority of temporary cover coming from this. We have over 35,000 nurses and over 2,900 doctors registered on the NHS Staff Bank, which operate on a local and regional basis to provide high quali…

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21804 by John Swinney on 5 March 2019, whether it will provide the same information for 2018-19.

Answer · John Swinney: Data detailing spending on additional support for learning is collected from local authorities via the Local Financial Returns (LFR). Data from 2018-19 is provided in the following tables. Local authorities are asked to provide this data in line with releva…

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21999 by John Swinney on 19 March 2019, whether it will provide the same information for 2018-19.

Answer · John Swinney: Average per-pupil spending on additional support for learning in Scotland was £3,286 in 2018-19. Data detailing spending on additional support for learning is collected from local authorities via the Local Financial Returns (LFR). This per-pupil spend figure…

21 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) expand stoma services and (b) increase the number of specialist stoma nurses in (i) NHS Lothian and (ii) Scotland.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27562 on 2 March 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…

21 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a comprehensive review of all specialist nursing.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of clinical nurse specialist roles and their contribution to the care of the people of Scotland. As part of the Chief Nursing Officer's Transforming Nursing, Midwifery and Health Professionals programme, a rev…

21 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of future demand for stoma services and specialist stoma nurses in (a) NHS Lothian and (b) Scotland, and what action it is taking to meet future demand.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the people of Scotland who require stoma care services are able to receive the best possible care and support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre…

11 Feb 2020 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had regarding the future rebuild of the Edinburgh Cancer Centre.

11 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what evaluation it has carried out of its guidance, Caring for people in the last days and hours of life, and what changes it has made to this since publication in 2013.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The National Statement on Caring for People in the Last Days and Hours of Life, was published in 2013. The purpose of this National Statement was to communicate the key principles underpinning high quality palliative and end of life care. This was to support…

11 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether and when it consulted patients and chronic pain groups on decisions not to prioritise chronic pain issues in NHS specialist pain clinics on a waiting times project under the Scottish Access Collaborative, in light of reports that staffing shortages have led to delays in patient t…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Access Collaborative was created in October 2017 to sustainably improve waiting times for patients waiting for non-emergency procedures. It is working alongside NHS boards in Scotland to reduce waiting times, improve patient experience and develo…

11 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether an equality impact assessment (EQIA) was produced for the (a) Scottish Access Collaborative Programme and (b) Modernising Patient Pathways Programme and, if so, on what date this was produced, and whether it is publicly accessible.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Under the Equalities Act (2010), there is no requirement to carry out an Equalities Impact Assessment when establishing an internal improvement programme such as the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme or the Scottish Access Collaborative. They will howev…

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27060 by Jeane Freeman on 5 February 2020, what the findings have been from the stress audits carried out by NHS boards.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Findings from stress audits are not collated by the Scottish Government . Stress audits are part of the monitoring and evaluation process on the effectiveness of NHS Boards` stress at work policies and support services. They include consideration of staff ex…

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on installing sleeping pods in hospitals to allow staff to have a rest on their breaks; what feedback it has received or plans to seek from NHS employees regarding such an initiative, and whether it will introduce a pilot scheme or carry out a feasibility study into …

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Each NHS Board is responsible under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and its subsequent regulations, to provide appropriate rest facilities for their staff. They are best placed locally to determine the particular requirements for sleeping pods in hos…

7 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the links between air pollution and depression and suicide; what plans it has to undertake further research on this, and whether it will provide an update on the action it is taking to reduce air pollution.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The relationship between air pollution and health is extremely complex. It is widely documented that air pollution has a negative impact on health. However, the sorts of illness that air pollution can exacerbate can also be affected by multiple other factors …

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which NHS boards use the Medinet system, and how much each NHS board has spent on the Medinet system in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Boards are able to use Medinet as part of a national contract. This contract with Medinet was put in place through a formal procurement process run by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). NHS Boards are responsible for managing agreed activity and the as…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of Waiting Times Improvement Plan funding has been spent on the Medinet system.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Boards have utilised Medinet as part of a national contract recently established to provide activity in Ophthalmology, ENT and Dermatology. This contract was put in place through a formal procurement process run by National Services Scotland (NSS) on beha…

31 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it will cost to change the domain name on NHS staff email addresses from "nhs.net" to "nhs.scot"; what its position is on the cost effectiveness of this project, and what the timetable is for its completion.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The move from nhs.net to nhs.scot is part of the ongoing Office 365 transformation programme that will ensure staff can work more collaboratively and effectively across NHSScotland and, in the future, with Local Authority social care. The nhs.net domain name …

30 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response to reports of supply difficulties with the FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring system for people with type 1 diabetes; what discussions it has had with the manufacturer regarding this, and what action NHS boards are taking to manage supplies.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The manufacturer of FreeStyle Libre, Abbott, have chosen to also be the exclusive distributer for their product, therefore any healthcare professional experiencing difficulties in obtaining this product must contact Abbot directly. The manufacturer have indic…

27 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress Information Services Division is making in gathering the data that it agreed to collect for the Cross Party Group on Chronic Pain regarding (a) (i) new and (ii) returning patients, including how the waiting times for return treatment compare with the recommended timings of …

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Data on waiting times for return chronic pain appointments is not routinely recorded by NHS Boards. During 2018, Information Services Division (ISD) carried out two pieces of work to explore if this data could be collected and if there were alternative data s…

27 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there is no statutory time limit for chronic pain patients to receive return treatment, and whether it will consider setting one.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30489 on 21 March 2016. 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/…

27 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much of the £257,000 grant that it provided to the University of Dundee to finance dataset work on chronic pain was used to collect information regarding returning patients.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13509 on 11 January 2018 which provides details of how the funding was used. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found …

23 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to carry out a review of non-residential social care for people with Parkinson’s disease and other long-term conditions.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are currently working with people who use social care support, unpaid carers, COSLA and the social services sector to take forward a shared programme of reform for adult social care in Scotland. This covers all parts of the population who have a need for s…

22 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that some health and social care staff are not aware of the extension of free personal care to under 65s (Frank's law) and have been seeking financial assessments for care.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27068 on 19 February 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/parliamentarybusine…

22 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that all health and social care staff are aware of the extension of free personal care to under 65s (Frank's law).

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Guidance on Free Personal Care was renewed to include the extension of free personal care and this was sent in December 2018 to COSLA, Chief Officers and Chief Finance Officers of Health and Social Care Partnerships, Chief Executives, Chief Finance Officers a…

21 Jan 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the number of children across Edinburgh who are living in temporary accommodation.

21 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26660 by Michael Matheson on 19 December 2019, when work on the installation of the sensors will (a) commence and (b) be completed, and how much this will cost.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The safety of road users is our number one priority. The procurement process for installation of the ice sensors and ancillary equipment is currently underway and we hope to be in a position to award the contract shortly, after which the sensors will be inst…

21 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what actions are being taken to improve NHS staff (a) safety and (b) welfare in the workplace.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Ministerial Short Life Working Group, I convened following the Sturrock Review is examining wellbeing, support services and how behaviours and values fit together. Specifically this group has been tasked with developing a framework to support cultural imp…

21 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on people who are especially affected and distressed by tinnitus being fast-tracked through audiology services so that they can benefit from using hearing aids more quickly.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The decision to fast track people affected by tinnitus is a clinical one, based on the reported or presenting symptoms, and will be made as part of the vetting of referrals and/or following a specialist assessment, on an individual case by case basis. In most…

21 Jan 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to support the establishment of additional tinnitus support groups in communities to provide more accessible peer-to-peer support.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is committed to supporting children and adults who have a sensory impairment, including deafness and tinnitus, to access the health services and social care they need through the See Hear Strategy. Local See Hear Leads partnerships hav…