Monica Lennon

13 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its Women’s Health Plan, as set out in the 2019-20 Programme for Government, and what measures this will include to tackle health inequalities in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Our intention is to publish the Women’s Health Plan by the end of this year.  

13 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking in response to the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic to (a) monitor stock levels at foodbanks, (b) maintain adequate supplies in foodbanks and other voluntary settings and (c) ensure that (i) vulnerable individuals and (ii) people who are self-isolating receive (…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has introduced a £350m package of funding and coordinated support for individuals and communities affected by COVID-19, allowing better support for people who may be worried about accessing food and other essentials whether due to an i…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the decision by sportscotland to close the National Watersports Centre on Cumbrae.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: We understand that sport scotland has sought to explore all options in detail before making this decision, and that it is committed to supporting the future growth of sailing in Scotland as well as a future for the centre which will benefit the local communit…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the closure of the National Watersports Centre on Cumbrae on (a) the local community and economy, (b) people from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds and (c) Scottish sailing.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: sport scotland has undertaken an extensive review, which has included consideration of impact on the following: a) The local community and economy sport scotland has consulted with the local community and conducted detailed discussions with staff and partne…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of oxygen supplies in the NHS, and whether it has any plans or considers it necessary to increase this, in light of the current outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: On behalf of all Scottish Health Boards, NHS National Procurement is working with the two contracted suppliers to NHS Scotland to co-ordinate the supply of bulk liquid oxygen stored in tanks and piped throughout hospitals, as well as medical gases supplied wi…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is planning to increase the availability of intensive care beds and the capacity of hospitals to cope with a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The international standard for an appropriate pandemic response is to double ICU capacity. NHS Scotland has more than trebled its adult ICU capacity, from a base of 173 beds to a surge capacity of 585. These beds will be brought into use as needs dictate, on …

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to ensure the provision of care at home services in the event of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Considerable efforts have been and continue to be made nationally and locally to rapidly increase workforce capacity across social care, including care at home, and healthcare. A national online recruitment portal has been developed to enable those with relev…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to ensure that NHS staff have adequate protective equipment in the event of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government is committed to keeping staff across the NHS safe, including ensuring continued access to appropriate personal protective equipment. NHS National Services Scotland are keeping the position with NHS supplies under constant review as th…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the ability of (a) local authorities and (b) care companies to provide food and meals to people who require home care in the event of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is working closely with local government on a daily basis though COSLA and SOLACE to understand local resilience plans, to establish how we can best support them to rapidly respond to communities affected by COVID-19. We are also worki…

12 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to ensure that home carers have adequate protective equipment and are properly protected in the event of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has developed specific guidance for social or community care and residential settings on COVID-19 to support those working in the social care sector. It is based on the National Infection Prevention & Control Manual and in…

11 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will continue to provide Section 10 funding to third sector organisations in 2020-21, and what communication it has had with stakeholders regarding the next round of funding.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Section 10 funding will continue to be provided in 2020-21 to support third sector organisations who are developing social care services and helping to create a healthier Scotland. To alleviate the impact of the UK budget delay on third sector organisations,…

11 Mar 2020 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the STUC regarding the potential impact of the coronavirus, COVID-19, on the workforce, including those who will require sick leave.

9 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason there was a reduction in 2018-19 in the proportion of children in P1 who have a record of their child health review recorded on the CHSP-S system for the purposes of BMI statistics, and what it is doing to support NHS boards to record this surveillance measure.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Improving children's healthy weight is a top priority for the Scottish Government. T hat is why our ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce health inequalities sits at the heart of our Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan, publishe…

9 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment in its 2018 publication, A healthier future: Scotland's diet and healthy weight delivery plan, what consultation has taken place on a pre-conception action plan to support women to start their pregnancy at a healthy weight.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: A draft framework document will be ready for initial stakeholder review including education, social work, more specialist health care providers and third sector, by spring 2020, and will include, among other things, how to support women to start their pregnan…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment by the World Health Organization regarding the reaction to the coronavirus, COVID-19, that "severe and mounting disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment, caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse, is putting lives at risk"…

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is committed to keeping staff across the NHS and emergency services safe, including ensuring continued access to appropriate personal protective equipment. NHS National Services Scotland are keeping the position with NHS supplies unde…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many diabetes specialist nurses there are in each NHS board; what its position is on whether this is a sufficient number, and what assessment it has made of how caseload, complex needs and projected demand for service can impact on these staffing levels.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The information requested on how many diabetes specialist nurses there are, broken down by NHS Board, is not currently available. Due to data quality concerns, some NHS Boards have asked for their Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) data not to be published whil…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the £205,000 that was allocated to NHS National Services Scotland in 2019-20 to run the Scottish Prison Care Network has been used; what outcomes have been achieved, and what the allocation will be for 2020-21.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: NHS National Services Scotland took responsibility for hosting the refreshed National Prison Care Network in July 2019. A programme team has been recruited to establish, manage and facilitate the work of the Network. The Network is currently recruiting a clin…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses work in prison healthcare; what its position is on whether this is a sufficient number, and when it last met trade unions or professional bodies to discuss this.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Information about how many nurses work in prison healthcare is not collected or centrally held by Scottish Government, Information Services Division or NHS Education for Scotland. Prisoner healthcare is a priority area for this government and the Transforming…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18158 by Christina McKelvie on 7 September 2018, whether it will provide an update on how long the waiting lists are for rape survivors at each rape crisis centre.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The most recent information provided by Rape Crisis Scotland on waiting lists across rape crisis centres is from October 2019 and as follows:   Centre Length of waiting list Argyll and Bute 4-6 weeks Grampian 6 months South West (Dumfries and Galloway…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26544 by Humza Yousaf on 11 December 2019, what percentage of operational prison staff are in receipt of full up-to-date training in the administration of naloxone.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows: NHS staff on duty within prisons will provide a clinical response to an overdose in custody, including the administration of n…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the Minister for Mental Health has met the Chair of the Drug Deaths Taskforce, and what was discussed.

Answer · Clare Haughey: To date I have not yet met with the Chair of the Drug Death Taskforce. We know that there are strong links between mental health and drug use, and I have frequent discussions with the Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing who established the Taskfo…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area have been referred for residential rehabilitation in each of the last 10 years to be given for treatment to deal with (a) alcohol, (b) drug and (c) gambling addiction, or a combination of these addictions.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scottish Government officials are currently mapping residential rehabilitation opportunities across Scotland including improved referral pathways. Work around this is being accelerated in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-26545 by Clare Haughey on 11 December 2019, what assessment it has made of waiting times for psychological therapies in the prison estate, and what action it is taking to reduce waiting times and improve mental health outcomes.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Information regarding waiting times for psychological therapies in the prison estate is not held centrally by the Scottish Government or Information Services Division (ISD). The Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 reinforces our commitment…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on removing dental charges for people who have undergone chemotherapy or other treatment that can impact on dental health.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: All patients in Scotland are entitled to free dental check-ups – and NHS dental care is free to children and young people up to 17 years of age, and adults in receipt of certain benefits, such as pensioners in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit. Some…

7 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent BMA Scotland survey of 800 doctors, which reported that 71% of respondents said that they had gone to work when they felt too ill to do so.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: We continue to work in close partnership with the BMA and other representative bodies, to ensure that we maintain the highest health and safety standards, and promote the health and wellbeing of NHS Scotland staff. The Minister for Mental Health is working c…

5 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider undertaking a campaign to raise public awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Through the Detect Cancer Early programme, the Scottish Government aims to increase the proportion of cancers that are detected at the earliest stages and includes increasing awareness of the symptoms of ovarian Cancer. Our social marketing strategy and the …

5 Mar 2020 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it plans to apply for Endometriosis Friendly Employer status from Endometriosis UK.

Answer · Liam McArthur: The SPCB recognises that Endometriosis can be debilitating for those affected, if not properly managed in the workplace. As part of our commitment to the wellbeing of SPCB staff we have recently updated our policy and guidance on Periods and the Menopause to …

5 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to apply for Endometriosis Friendly Employer status from Endometriosis UK.

Answer · Jamie Hepburn: The Scottish Government currently provides a full range of health, wellbeing, and supportive measures to staff, including those who suffer from Endometriosis. We fully support the Endometriosis Friendly Employer Scheme and we are working to ensure that we mee…

5 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the risk of the coronavirus, COVID-19, what information has been provided to (a) hostels and (b) services working with people who are homeless regarding (i) testing, (ii) self-isolating and (iii) hygiene precautions.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The main source of medical advice remains the NHS Inform website . This allows local frontline teams to take account of the latest advice and ensure that homeless people, and in particular those with multiple, complex needs are catered for and looked after.…

5 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the risk of the coronavirus, COVID-19, what action it is taking to ensure that rough sleepers have access to guidance and washing facilities.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government takes the health of everyone in Scotland extremely seriously. As we have repeatedly stated, washing hands is extremely important and if that is not possible, hand gels should be used. The main source of relevant medical advice for all …