Parliamentary questions
Anas Sarwar
601 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
5 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that pharmacies are correctly auditing their couriers on a routine basis to ensure that they are fit for purpose, as specified in UK Government guidelines.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-05312 on 9 January 2017. All answers to Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx
5 Dec 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that the security measures specified by the UK Government for the transportation of controlled drugs are adhered to by (a) NHS boards and (b) private and independent pharmacies.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government issued guidance to NHS Scotland following the introduction of the Health Act 2006 by the UK Parliament and the governance arrangements for controlled drugs which the Act and subsequent relevant Regulations put in place:- www.sehd.scot…
28 Nov 2016 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to address workforce issues in the NHS.
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish the findings of Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland's review of how homicides involving persons with a mental illness are dealt with.
Answer · Maureen Watt: In 2015, the Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health, asked the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland to review how homicides, by people who are users of mental health or learning disability services, are investigated. A final report was su…
21 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02025 by Shona Robison on 15 September 2016, what steps it has introduced to reduce the risk of future similar litigation regarding informed consent procedures.
Answer · Shona Robison: The case in question resulted from a medical procedure that was carried out in 1999 and it is recognised that medical practice has advanced significantly in this time. Patients are now better informed and advised of the risks and complications regarding their…
21 Nov 2016 · General Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Transport and the Islands last met ScotRail and what issues were discussed.
17 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many whole-time equivalent human resources staff have been employed by each NHS board in each year since 2010-11, and how many there currently are.
Answer · Shona Robison: Table 1 shows the whole-time equivalent (WTE) of human resources staff presented at 31 March of each year and for the latest published figures as at 30 June 2016. Mar-11 Mar-12 Mar-13 Mar-14 Mar-15 Mar-16 Jun- 16 NHSScotland 1087.3 1006.2 987.7 …
17 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients are classified as delayed discharge, code 9 (awaiting completion of complex care arrangements in order to live in their own home), and how many there have been in each of the last five years.
Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is shown in the following table. The 'reason for delay code' which you asked about was introduced in May 2012. A change in data definitions and reporting in July 2016 means that figures in the period July to September 2016 are not co…
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the costs would be for introducing a gender-neutral human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: It is not possible to know what the costs of a gender neutral HPV vaccination programme would be until the JCVI has made its final recommendation, as this will determine the eligibility group to be vaccinated, and potentially the vaccine product to be used. …
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to be in a position to implement a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for boys.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-04716 on 23 November 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.…
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what estimates it has made of the likely impact of providing the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to boys as well as girls.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is advised on all vaccination matters by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI recognises the importance of ongoing assessment of HPV vaccination for boys and agreed that further work was required to co…
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS boards optimise the savings from discounted medicines to treat more people who have the hepatitis C virus.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The national treatment target is a minimum target and is based on reducing hepatitis C related serious liver disease and working towards the eradication of hepatitis C as a serious public health concern within Scotland. NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring…
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason some NHS boards are treating people who have the hepatitis C virus according to national treatment targets while others are treating within a medicine budget.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: NHS Boards are responsible for the clinical care of their local population and for making decisions on the use of their allocated budgets. It is for NHS Boards to assess the needs of their local population and deliver services accordingly. In the case of hepa…
15 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the national treatment target for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) remained the same for 2016-17 when the cost of HCV medicines has reportdly reduced due to savings made in the tendering process.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The treatment target is based on advice from the Treatment and Therapies sub-group. This group includes representatives from Health Protection Scotland, NHS Boards, National Procurement and patient representatives. Targets for 2016-17 were considered at a poi…
14 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Medicines Consortium's decision not to recommend nivolumab for use by patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, what options it is considering to make this treatment available.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-04618 on 21 November 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/parliamentarybusines…
14 Nov 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the Scottish Medicines Consortium's decision not to recommend nivolumab for use by patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-04618 on 21 November 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/parliamentarybusines…
2 Nov 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the Director of ScotRail and what issues were discussed.
Answer · Humza Yousaf: I, along with my officials, last spoke with the Director of ScotRail on Wednesday 2 November. The meeting discussed ScotRail’s performance over the last week and an update was provided on the initiatives being progressed within the Performance Improvement Pla…
31 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish in full the report by Dr Brian Montgomery into the work of the Scottish Medicines Consortium; when it will announce the outcomes of the review, and whether it will implement in full the recommendations.
Answer · Shona Robison: I have received Dr Montgomery’s independent review into Access to New Medicines and am currently considering his recommendations.
26 Oct 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the annual value of Scotland’s exports to the EU compares with its exports to the UK.
24 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has provided to tackle childhood obesity levels and for maintaining healthy child weight in each of the last five years, also broken down by NHS Board.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has provided the following funding to NHS Boards for tackling childhood obesity and child healthy weight since 2012-13. NHS Board 2012-13 allocation £ 2013-14 allocation £ 2014-15 allocation £ 2015-16 allocation £ NHS Ayrshir…
13 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communication the Scottish Health Council has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding (a) Lightburn and (b) the Vale of Leven Hospital since May 2015.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The independent Scottish Health Council (SHC) works with NHS Boards and communities across Scotland to promote and support the involvement of people in NHS Scotland: that includes instances where changes to NHS services are being considered by a Board or Boar…
13 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the capital investment in Lightburn Hospital since May 2007, including the work that was carried out and the total cost.
Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally by Scottish Government.
13 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what communication it has had with (a) NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (b) the Scottish Health Council regarding (i) Lightburn and (ii) the Vale of Leven Hospital since May 2015.
Answer · Shona Robison: Ministers and Government officials regularly communicate with representatives of all health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde; to discuss matters of importance to local people. As part of this, any discussions about potential service change take p…
11 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many new training places have been created to meet its pledge to recruit an extra 100 radiotherapy specialists.
Answer · Shona Robison: Additional specialist posts for radiotherapy healthcare professionals will be created over time to meet projected demand. Planning for these including training capacity will be a matter for NHS Boards based on the advice of the recently established radiothera…
11 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many radiotherapy specialists there are, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Shona Robison: The number of consultant clinical radiologists in NHS Scotland has increased by 43.1 per cent under this Government, to 320.0 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE). The number of therapeutic radiographers has also increased, by 22.1 per cent to 274.2 WTE. It is not p…
7 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will improve treatment waiting times for people with kidney cancer to ensure that the renal Quality Performance Indicator target for 70% of patients with advanced or metastatic kidney cancer to receive systemic therapy within 12 months of their diagnosis is met.
Answer · Shona Robison: The roles and responsibilities of NHS Boards and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) in delivering the National Cancer Quality Programme are set out in CEL 6 (2012) which can be found at: http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2012_06.pdf.
7 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government who it consulted regarding kidney cancer when preparing its cancer strategy, and for what reasons the strategy did not include specific actions on improving outcomes for people with kidney cancer.
Answer · Shona Robison: A range of health care professionals, third sector and advocacy groups were involved during the drafting of the strategy. Our ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ strategy and the accompanying £100 million investment over 5 years, serves as a blueprint fo…
4 Oct 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many nursing staff working days in each NHS board have been lost due to illness in each of the last five years, and what information it has on how many times the absence was covered by colleagues.
Answer · Shona Robison: The welfare of NHS staff is critically important with every health board required to have policies in place and to comply with national policies on managing health at work. The Scottish Government is actively addressing the sickness absence challenge. Under…
30 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date the new research manager to support reducing HIV transmission will be appointed and how much research funding the appointee will be provided with in each of the next five years, also expressed in real terms.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The intention is to recruit a new research manager to be in post by March 2017 at the latest. The research manager will not have their own research budget. As set out in updated Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework, published in September 2015, the…
30 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in implement the recommendations regarding procurement set out in the paper, Review of ICT Infrastructure in the Public Sector in Scotland (the McLelland report).
Answer · Derek Mackay: The Review of ICT Infrastructure in the Public Sector in Scotland published in 2011, recommended that the public sector embrace an integrated approach to ICT procurement, apply effective oversight and governance to the procurement process and ensure Small and…