Monica Lennon

29 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when funding allocations for alcohol and drug partnerships for 2019-20 will be announced.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Alcohol and Drug Partnership funding is provided to NHS Boards as part of their baseline allocation for onward delegation to Integration Authorities. Additional funding from the 2017-18 Programme for Government for 2019-20 will be communicated to Alcohol and …

29 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women in Moray have (a) had to travel and (b) been transferred to (i) Raigmore Hospital and (ii) Aberdeen Royal Infirmary to give birth since July 2018.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Between July 2018 and February 2019, 344 women from the Moray area gave birth at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and 23 women gave birth at Raigmore Hospital, compared to 215 births at Dr Grays Hospital. Between July 2018 and January 2019, 98 pregnant women were tr…

29 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20288 by John Swinney on 11 December 2018, how many of the 350 school counsellors have been recruited so far, and how many will be (a) in post and (b) delivering services by September 2019, also broken down by local authority area.

Answer · John Swinney: Officials have been working with partners to establish the appropriate funding model for distribution of the resource to education authorities. It is anticipated that this will be agreed and the resource distributed in Spring 2019. It will be for local author…

28 Mar 2019 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether the processed meats used by its catering services is nitrite-free and, if not, whether it will consider introducing such a policy.

Answer · Kezia Dugdale: Catering services within the Scottish Parliament do use processed meats that include nitrites. Nitrites are additives used to protect the meats from harmful bacteria as well as improve the appearance and taste of the meat. Strict legislation ensures nitrit…

26 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of meat containing nitrites in patients' meals in hospital.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: There are strict maximum permitted levels of nitrites that can be used by the manufacturers of cured meat products. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed nitrites as food additives in April 2017 and concluded that it was not necessary to change p…

14 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to (a) advocacy groups, (b) charities and (c) other stakeholders that are dedicated to specific areas of women’s health in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) name of organisation and (ii) health issue.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22189 on 27 March 2019. 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/…

14 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to each NHS board to address specific areas of women’s health in each of the last five years, broken down by health issue.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: In respect of baseline funding, individual health boards take decisions on allocation taking in to account local population needs and spending priorities. From this Boards work on a range of initiatives which can be delivered by third sector organisations fo…

14 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on raising public awareness regarding specific areas of women’s health in each of the last five years, broken down by health issue.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Marketing expenditure by the Scottish Government focussing on specific areas of women’s health in recent years, and the associated spend, have included: Breast Cancer/Screening2014-2015: £109,8962015-2016: £2,7322016-2017: £9882017-2018: £2,2332018-2019: £12…

13 Mar 2019 · SPCB Oral Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what action it is taking to remove pigeon droppings from the building.

Answer · Andy Wightman: An annual programme of planned maintenance ensures that all exterior surfaces of the building are kept clean.  Additional reactive cleaning and removal of pigeon droppings is also carried out where necessary.

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for people with chronic pain.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We are continuing to work with NHS Boards about the actions they are taking to improve performance, supported by record investment and our reform programme. Last year we launched our Waiting Times Improvement Plan, backed with more than £850 million of fundin…

13 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to patient concerns regarding the quality of patients' meals in hospitals.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Scotland has led the UK by setting a minimum standard for hospital food. The catering service in every Board must comply with National Food Safety Standards and the Food in Hospitals specification (the National Catering and Nutrition Specification for Food an…

13 Mar 2019 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last carried out an assessment of capacity in planning authorities.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Planning authorities publish on an annual basis a Planning Performance Framework Report which includes information about staff resource. Authorities submit their reports to the Scottish Government and we assess them against the 15 Key Performance Markers dev…

12 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20028 by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 November 2018, what progress it is making in taking forward its plan to raise awareness of the lower-risk drinking guidelines, and by what date it expects to launch its campaign.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Our Count14 campaign, launched on 11 March, is running for three weeks across TV, print, radio and digital platforms, to raise awareness of the UK Chief Medical Officers’ lower risk maximum drinking guidelines of 14 units of alcohol per week. This first phase…

11 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that there is an unregulated online market for breast milk.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: In 2018, Scottish Government announced an additional £300,000 for the Scottish Donor Milk Bank, over three years, to increase access to safe donor milk for high risk premature and sick babies across the whole of Scotland. Informal sharing of breastmilk via i…

11 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendation by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), State of Child Health 2017, that it should fund mandatory child health training for all general practice trainees.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: General Practice Specialty Training (GPST) is based on the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) curriculum which is the educational framework that defines and sets the standards for independent general practice The RCGP curriculum is approved by the GMC and any change…

11 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason women are formally offered a medical investigation only after a third consecutive miscarriage; what its response is to the concerns raised by the head counsellor at Scottish Care and Information on Miscarriage in The Herald on Sunday on 10 March 2019 that “we have been ca…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We know that before 12 weeks, one in 5 pregnancies ends in miscarriage and that most of these are due to chromosomal abnormalities which cannot be prevented. Recurrent miscarriage (defined as three or more miscarriages) happens to one in every hundred women …

11 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women in each NHS board area have experienced a miscarriage in each of the last five years, broken down by age group.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

5 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have received treatment for problems arising from an intrauterine (a) device and (b) system in each of the last five years, broken down by (i) NHS board area and (ii) age group.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Most intrauterine devices (IUDs) are inserted in a primary care or hospital outpatient setting and any problems arising will often be treated there rather than as a hospital inpatient. However, data are not available centrally on the number of women treated f…

4 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people (a) nationally and (b) in each NHS board area are affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder; what proportion of the population this represents, and what action it is taking in response to this.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: This information is not held centrally. Historically, this condition was difficult to diagnose and assess consistently. To aid better assessment and diagnosis The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network published a guideline on the assessment and diagnosi…

4 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to research by University College London, which suggests that the standard urinary tract infection (UTI) test of a midstream urine culture fails to diagnose UTIs in most people with recurring or chronic conditions.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The research by University College London notes that further study is required in order to better understand the potential weaknesses of the midstream urine (MSU) culture as a way of diagnosing UTIs. Until an alternative test is established, those responsible…

4 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it supports people with chronic urinary tract infections.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21921 on 20 March 2019. 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/…

4 Mar 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many women have received treatment for a urinary tract infection (a) by their GP and (b) at hospital in each of the last three years, broken down by (i) age group and (ii) NHS board area.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The answer to this question is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 60526).

27 Feb 2019 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the red meat industry and what was discussed.

21 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5F-02970 by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 January 2019 (Official Report, c. 23), what the outcome was of the National Planning Board meeting to consider proposals for the delivery of a national thrombectomy service for stroke patients, and what the timetable i…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S50-02929 on 28 February 2019. The answer to the oral parliamentary question in available on the Parliaments website, the Official Report can be viewed at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.a…

18 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the call by BMA Scotland for the NHS to publish details of racism against its staff.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Racism of any form is unacceptable. The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to ensure that reported incidents are taken seriously and fully investigated, in line with existing national and local policies covering employee conduct and bullying & harassment.…

18 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Standard Commission's recent survey, which recorded almost a quarter of NHS board members reporting that they have experienced "disrespectful conduct".

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is clear that that disrespectful conduct in our NHS is unacceptable under any circumstances. We expect board members to act in line with the values and behaviours expected of everyone in NHS Scotland. All NHS Boards have in place a Co…

18 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what cardiac services are available for children with a heart condition, and how (a) much funding is dedicated and (b) many medical staff are allocated to these services.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: There are a number of specialist cardiac services and provisions for children with heart conditions in Scotland. The National Paediatric Cardiac Service (PCS), based at Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children, incorporates cardiac surgery, interventional cardio…

18 Feb 2019 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that school menus in around three quarters of council areas include processed meats containing nitrites.

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of the reported increase in incidences of bowel cancer in people under 50.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are committed to improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare for all people living in Scotland who are affected by any form of cancer. This is reflected in our £100 million, 5 year national cancer strategy, ‘Beating Cancer: Ambi…

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To as the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of reports that emergency out-of-hours GP services in Glasgow have been left unstaffed by doctors more than 200 times in the last year.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I am aware that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have required, on occasion, to temporarily close Out of Hours centres often for a short period of time. This is due to the difficulty in finding GPs willing to fill certain shifts in the out of hours period. The d…