Parliamentary questions
Monica Lennon
3,484 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dormitory wards there are in each hospital.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: NHS Scotland does not use the term ‘dormitory ward’ for the classification of hospital wards, nor do we publish data at individual ward level of each hospital. However, the Information Services Division (ISD) does publish a list of the total number of hospita…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how social distancing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak can be applied in dormitory hospital wards, and what plans are in place to ensure an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff in these settings.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I expect NHS Boards to continue to implement the extant Scottish Health Planning Note (SHPN) 04-01: Adult in-patient facilities (October 2010) file:///C:/Users/u440390/Downloads/1476379336-SHPN%2004-01%20for%20web.pdf which sets out bed spacing requirements…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS patients are registered at dental practices that also carry out private work.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Under NHS arrangements in Scotland patients are registered with individual dentists rather than dental practices. The majority of dentists who accept patients for NHS registration will operate with practices which also perform some elements of private work, e…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many dental practices carry out both NHS and private work.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Dentists in Scotland are independent contractors who may provide both NHS and private dental services. While the Scottish Government does not hold specific information about the number of dental practices that provide private dental care, the majority of dent…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what business support it is making available to dental practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: From the outset of this pandemic the Scottish Government has endeavoured to provide support across all sectors of our economy, and to ensure that it is distributed in the most equitable way possible whilst addressing some of the specific sectoral and geograph…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the (i) NHS and (ii) social care workforce belong to BAME groups.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The information requested is available at i) NHS Workforce Data https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/NES-Publication/Equality_and_Diversity_S2019.xls ii) Social Care Annual Workforce Data: https://data.sssc.uk.com/data-publications/22-workf…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that they might by at higher risk from the virus, what risk assessment has been carried out for the appropriate deployment of BAME workers in health and social care services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: We are aware that there is emerging evidence that people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds may be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Further research and reviews are still underway and we await the results of these. Analysts across the …
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data is (a) available and (b) being collected regarding the number of people with (i) autism and (ii) learning disabilities who have died from COVID-19.
Answer · Clare Haughey: This data is not routinely collected on death certificates. However, the Scottish Government are working with National Records of Scotland and the Scottish Learning Disability Observatory to ascertain whether the data from death certificates can be linked to …
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new referrals to mental health services have been received by each NHS board in each month since March 2020, and what analysis it has carried out of the impact of the COVID-19 on these figures.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on how many new referrals to mental health services have been received by each NHS board in each month since March 2020. Waiting times data on CAMHS and psychological therapies is published by Public Health…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of referrals to mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic have been identified as needing prioritised assessment.
Answer · Clare Haughey: During the COVID-19 pandemic, NHS Boards are prioritising referrals to mental health services in line with local continuity plans. The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally regarding (a) how many and (b) what proportion of referrals to mental healt…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what additional resources have been made available to NHS boards to help them support the mental health of vulnerable people who are shielding or self-isolating in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Clare Haughey: In order to maximise the reach of services for people who are isolating, the Scottish Government is investing a total of £6 million of additional funding to support the population’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes £3.8 million to inc…
8 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many times each NHS board has notified it of critical issues relating to mental health service continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Clare Haughey: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Ayrshire and Arran both notified the Scottish Government of critical issues relating to mental health service continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic once. Both instances were to relate changes in service delivery in resp…
4 May 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring the provision of free period products to people in (a) school, college and university and (b) community settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is continuing to fund access to free period products during the Covid-19 pandemic. Local authority policy leads for both education and community provision are making reasonable adjustments to ensure products can continue to be accesse…
4 May 2020 · Topical Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of the impact of the lockdown on the mental and physical health of older people, in light of the views of the BMA and Royal College of GPs that age alone should not determine social distancing rules.
30 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the data being collected through the community surveillance testing programme for COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Health Protection Scotland is responsible for the community surveillance testing programme which is currently underway. This informs the Scottish Government’s response to Covid-19. The Scottish Government is working with Health Protection Scotland on the diss…
30 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what data is being used for calculating or estimating the R number for COVID-19 in communities.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: R is a measure of the average number of people that would be infected by one individual with COVID-19. If R is 2, then two people would be infected by one person on average. It is calculated through modelling of the path of the virus in Scotland. The epidemio…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) anaesthetists and (b) other NHS staff have been redeployed since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information on how many (a) anaesthetists and (b) other NHS staff have been redeployed since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak is not held centrally by ISD or NES. National Boards have been asked to consider where they can return any clinical staff to clini…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of anaesthetists in each NHS board have been absent from work due to suspected or confirmed COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information on (a) how many and (b) what proportion of anaesthetists in each NHS board have been absent from work due to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 is not centrally held by ISD or NES. The info on Covid absence is published daily and can be found on the…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many anaesthetists have been tested for COVID-19, and how many have tested positive.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The requested information is not collected or held by the Scottish Government.
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address potential shortages of anaesthetic drugs.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The supply of medicines is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government works with the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK and Scottish Medicines Supply Response Groups (MSRG), Community Pharmacy Scotland and its members and NHS B…
29 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs regarding social care assessments during the ministerial statement on 28 April 2020 (Official Report, c. 14), how many care packages have been (a) withdrawn or (b) reduced since the commen…
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Coronavirus Act 2020 allows for temporary relaxation of local authority assessment duties in relation to needs assessments and preparation of adult carer support plans. Section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 gives local authorities a core duty …
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what improvements and changes were made to community and national influenza pandemic preparedness between the completion of its training exercise, Silver Swan, in 2015 and January 2020, and on what dates pandemic response plans were (a) reviewed and (b) updated during this period to ensu…
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: A range of improvements and changes were made to local and national influenza pandemic preparedness arrangements since the multi-agency exercise Silver Swan in 2015 and up to January 2020. These are reflected in documents relevant to a pandemic response which…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assumptions and modelling were made and reviewed regarding the distribution of the national influenza pandemic stockpiles between the completion of its training exercise, Silver Swan, in 2015 and January 2020, and how often it reviewed its frameworks in pandemic preparedness during …
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: A point was raised through Exercise Silver Swan regarding assumptions on whether deliveries to NHS Boards would be to central locations or a wider range of delivery points. NHS National Services Scotland core approach to pandemic distribution has remained the…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS staff who undertake overtime during the COVID-19 outbreak will be paid for the additional hours or be expected to take the time back in lieu.
Answer · Clare Haughey: All staff who work overtime should have the choice to take this as extra payment or time off in lieu, or a combination of both. This is a decision taken at local level, and in making this decision consideration should be given to both the needs of the staff m…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many items had been stockpiled for a possible pandemic in January (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: I assume the member is referring to items of PPE. If that is the case the number of items stockpiled for a pandemic event at the first quarter of each year from 2016 to 2020 are as follows: 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Items 54,603,969 52,097,543 50,…
21 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the daily absence rate of NHS staff has been each day in April 2020 for (a) COVID-19 and (b) non-COVID-19 reasons.
Answer · Clare Haughey: The daily absence rate of NHS staff for each day in April 2020 for (a) COVID-19 and (b) non-COVID-19 reasons can be found on the following table: Date COVID-19 Absence rate Non-COVID-19 Absence rate 01-Apr 6.1% 8.4% 02-Apr 6.3% 8.7% 03-Apr 6.3% …
19 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many people in Scotland with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have access to the app, MyCOPD; what action it is taking to extend its availability, and how it supports older people in accessing it.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: MyCOPD is currently being assessed for potential usefulness to patients and services in Scotland as part of a managed service. It is part of the MymHealth apps and is commercially available to all UK citizens living with COPD Long Term Conditions provided the…
14 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its publication, Trends in daily COVID-19 data, for 15 April 2020, for what reason NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been unable to provide an estimate for the number of patients in hospital suspected of having COVID-19.
Answer · Jeane Freeman: The statistics on suspected cases of COVID-19 in hospital were developed and published at pace. NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde did not provide data for inclusion in first publication of statistics. The published statistics reference the fact that NHS Greater Gla…
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will increase Carer's Allowance to take account of any additional financial pressures that unpaid carers experience during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We value the support provided by Scotland’s unpaid carers. They are dealing with pressures that are already great, and will be experiencing added pressure at this time. Through the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill 2, we propose to make an extra payment of £230.10…
13 Apr 2020 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to concerns of unpaid carers regarding the withdrawal of care packages for vulnerable people and families during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is reportedly taking place without any warning, effective review or risk assessment.
Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government absolutely values the support provided by Scotland’s unpaid carers. Throughout this difficult time, it is critical that social care support is maintained to ensure the safety, dignity and human rights of people who already receive that…