Monica Lennon

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the NHS has spent on international recruitment in each of the last five years.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Scotland health boards have fully delegated powers in relation to employment issues and as such, boards have the freedom to determine all matters in relation to recruitment and retention. The Scottish Government works closely with Boards with recruitment …

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 12 February 2018, Radiologist recruitment drive, which stated that "nine health boards are teaming up to fill 32 [consultant grade radiologist] vacancies through targeted advertising across the globe", what specific action has been taken as part of this ex…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Scotland advertised vacancies through focussed campaigns in ten countries during the first quarter of 2018. Subsequently candidates have been through selection, shortlisting and assessment phases. Advertising spend on the campaign was £28,400, this was m…

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Breast Cancer Now's call for women in their 30s with a family history of breast cancer to receive annual mammograms.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government, along with the rest of the UK, is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group. Currently the UK NSC recommends breast cancer screening for women aged 50-70 …

12 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of reports that over 230 victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been treated in Scotland's hospitals in the last two years.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: Female Genital Mutilation is completely unacceptable, and we are committed to tackling it and ending the practice for good. In the Programme for Government 2018-19, we committed to introducing a Bill which will strengthen the existing legislative framework fo…

11 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20842 by Joe FitzPatrick on 16 January 2019, by what date it plans to publish its Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The work to develop the Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland is currently being taken forward with a wide range of stakeholders and the expectation, at this stage, is that it will be published in late 2019.

11 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5T-01442 by Jeane Freeman on 22 January 2019 (Official Report, c. 3), whether it will provide an update on the review at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital; what the remit of the review will be; what expert advice will be sought, and who has been appo…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: As set out in an update to Parliament on 26 February, officials are in the concluding stage of appointing two co-chairs of this review. It will be for these independent co-chairs to determine the remit, timeframes and approach of the review and, once establis…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the work of the Scottish Access Collaborative.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Access Collaborative has developed a comprehensive programme of work over the last year to support a sustainable balance between demand and capacity in the health and care service in Scotland. It has endorsed a number of challenges which are bein…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the board of NHS Grampian considering setting up an international office to offset the effects of its reported staffing problems.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is supportive of the innovative approach being developed by NHS Grampian to set up an international health office to provide support and guidance for staff who choose to get involved in global citizenship. These plans are aligned to th…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to each recommendation in the report by Parkinson's UK, People. Parkinson's. Scotland. What do we know about services and support for people with Parkinson’s in Scotland?.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We welcome this report from Parkinson’s UK and will consider it closely as we continue to work with the neurological community to develop Scotland’s first National Action Plan on Neurological Conditions. The public consultation on our draft plan closed on 8 F…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital porters vacancies have been advertised by each NHS board on a (a) six-month and (b) other type of contract in each of the last three years, also broken down by how many posts (i) were filled and (ii) not filled each year.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The requested information is not held centrally as ISD do not collect vacancy data on support staff, including hospital porters. Further notes:Further information on the statistics, including information on how the data are collected and notes to aid interpr…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-02865 by John Swinney on 6 February (Official Report, c. 29), how many children and young people have died by suicide in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area, and what information it has regarding how many were not enroll…

Answer · Clare Haughey: Further to the answer to question S50-02865 by John Swinney - the data requested is only partially held. It is not possible to identify which individuals are not enrolled at school at the time of their death. Furthermore, it has not been possible to provide i…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the take-up rate of the flu vaccine has been in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board, and also expressed as a percentage of those eligible for the vaccine.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Influenza vaccine uptake is monitored by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) based on aggregate level data for all population groups eligible for free influenza vaccine in Scotland. Information on vaccine uptake estimates during each season is routinely publish…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve early diagnosis of interstitial lung disease.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20959 on 23 January 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/parliamentarybusines…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve life expectancy rates, in light of the finding in the Scottish Public Health Observatory report, Recent adverse mortality trends in Scotland: comparison with other high-income countries,that Scotland has (a) seen the slowest growth in life expectancy i…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Over the long term life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of changing trends. The issues are complex and relate to an ageing population, inequalities, deprivation and poverty. We remain focu…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Health Survey review, which found that women aged 45 to 54 experience the highest levels of poor mental health, and what action it is taking to improve mental health support for women in this age group.

Answer · Clare Haughey: We are working across the wide range of public services to harness the broadest range of opportunities to improve the population's mental health. Our PfG announced an additional £250 million of investment in mental health over the next five years, to introduc…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the rise in death rates, in light of the findings in the Scottish Public Health Observatory report, Socioeconomic inequality in recent adverse mortality trends in Scotland.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Over the long term life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the cause of changing trends. The issues are complex and relate to an ageing population, inequalities, deprivation and poverty. We remain focu…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital porters in each NHS board (a) have been fully trained and (b) are being to trained to deal with clinical waste, also broken down by how many are on a six-month contract.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-21573 on 26 February 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/parliamentarybusin…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many porters in each NHS board deal with clinical waste, and how many of these porters dealt with such waste prior to December 2018, also broken down by how many are on a six-month contract.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The requested information is not held centrally as ISD do not collect clinical waste data on support staff, including hospital porters. ISD do not hold details of the contracts which individual NHS Boards have with hospital porters. Further notes:Further in…

8 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by the head of the Scottish Public Health Observatory comment regarding life expectancy rates that, "What we see [in Scotland] is a worrying trend. Life expectancy not only gives an indication of how long people are likely to live, but also serves as a…

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Over the long term life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased. The latest data are of concern. We have a range of strategies to address inequalities in health and their underlying drivers. Health inequalities are a symptom of wider income ineq…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 17 August 2018, 9% pay rise for NHS workers, by what date it will publish the details of the proposed changes to the terms and conditions of the "Agenda for Change" staff.  

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Shared positions have now been reached on all 4 areas of reform and Staff Side are currently consulting their members on the proposals. Any agreed changes to NHS Scotland staff terms and conditions, will be set out in guidance issued from the Scottish Governm…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that people newly diagnosed with dementia will receive the minimum of one year’s post-diagnostic support that they are entitled to.

Answer · Clare Haughey: As part of the 2017-2020 National Dementia Strategy, we continue to take national action to support local partnerships to improve the quality of post-diagnostic support in line with the national LDP Standard, to train the workforce, innovative and improve the…

6 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent ISD statistics, which show that 61% per cent of the 17,496 people newly diagnosed with dementia in 2016-17 did not receive the post-diagnostic support they were entitled to.

Answer · Clare Haughey: As part of the 2017-2020 National Dementia Strategy, we continue to take national action to support local partnerships to improve the quality of post-diagnostic support, to train the workforce, innovative and improve the consistency of the service and access …

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20934 by Jeane Freeman on 4 February 2019, whether it will provide the same information for the (a) Edinburgh and (b) Aberdeen endometriosis centre.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20937 on 13 February 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/parliamentarybusine…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-21123 by Jeane Freeman on 4 February 2019, whether it will provide the same information for the (a) Edinburgh and (b) Aberdeen endometriosis centre.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20937 on 13 February 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/parliamentarybusine…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20933 by Jeane Freeman on 4 February 2019, whether it will provide the same information for the (a) Edinburgh and (b) Aberdeen endometriosis centre.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20937 on 13 February 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/parliamentarybusine…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported delays to its publication in December 2018 and January 2019, on what date the integrated health and social care workforce plan will be published.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Work is underway to develop a comprehensive plan to help address some of the recruitment and retention challenges faced by our health and care sector. We have already published workforce plans covering the NHS, Primary Care and Social Care. We intend to publ…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a replacement service following the closure of Huntercombe Hospital, which specialised in the treatment of child and adolescent mental health and eating disorders.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Following the closure of Huntercombe Hospital, the Scottish Government is in conversations with CAMHS Lead Clinicians and CAMHS Regional Leads about the regional provision of specialist eating disorder facilities, and community services, across Scotland. We …

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported comments by BMA Scotland that the matter should be treated with urgency, what immediate action it is taking to tackle NHS recruitment problems.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government continues to work closely with NHS Scotland health boards, the BMA and the Royal Medical Colleges, to support a comprehensive approach to workforce recruitment and retention. We have already announced immediate work being taken forward…

5 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18206 by Christina McKelvie on 10 September 2018, whether it will provide an update on the appointment of a new Independent Race Equality Adviser.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: Further discussion on the provision of independent advice on race equality, including any new Independent Race Equality Adviser, will take place when the Race Equality Action Plan Programme Board next meet on 4 March 2019. This will inform decisions by Minist…

4 Feb 2019 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for accessing treatment for an eating disorder, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The data held in the ISD Psychological Therapies database is aggregated data and type of diagnosis is not collected as part of this dataset. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific response regarding waiting times for eating disorders.