Anas Sarwar

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how many vacated hospital buildings there are in each NHS board, also broken down by when each building will be emptied of all re-useable equipment and furnishings.

Answer · Shona Robison: That information is not held centrally by Scottish Government.

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what saving targets the NHS has identified for each of the next five years, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: Individual NHS Boards are not given a savings target, although collectively NHS Boards are expected to deliver efficiency savings equivalent to 3% per annum to be reinvested in NHS care.

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many employees in the mental health sector it expects to retire in 2016-17, and how many of these posts will be subsequently advertised.

Answer · Shona Robison: In accordance with current legislation we can no longer presume a retiral age as this is discriminatory. As a result, information relating to numbers of Mental Health staff expected to retire in 2016-17 is not available. However, despite record levels of st…

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the NHS spent on non-contracted suppliers in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Answer · Shona Robison: Health boards manage their own expenditure and there may be times when a board opts to use local activity as opposed to the national solution that is in place. The Scottish Government does not hold specific details of this as this is managed directly by the H…

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of NHS procurement employees is qualified in procurement, also broken down by the proportion holding Chartered Institute of Procurement accreditation.

Answer · Shona Robison: Personnel employed within procurement across NHSScotland hold a wide variety of qualifications ranging from NVQ/SVQ certificates to degrees in law, engineering, business studies and clinical competencies. Approximately 30% hold accreditation with the Chartere…

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on NHS boards sharing procurement services; what information it has on (a) how often this occurs and (b) what savings are made, and whether it considers any savings that are made should be reinvested in clinical services.

Answer · Shona Robison: a) NHS Scotland has a mature shared service capability within National Services Scotland, via the National Procurement Organisation. This has increased the value of national/shared procurement arrangements significantly over the last 10 years with the annual …

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that the NHS procurement process is robust and that those who place orders have no financial or other connection with the suppliers.

Answer · Shona Robison: The NHS procurement process complies with the Scottish Government Procurement Journey. This is public sector wide guidance which provides all contracting authorities with information on how to procure, including appropriate steps to ensure separation of duty.…

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how often the NHS procurement process is audited and by whom, also broken down by the outcome of last audit for each NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS National Procurement are the appointed Centre of Expertise for auditing procurement processes at each Health Board as part of the annual capability review. In addition to this, all Health Boards have Internal Auditors, who will include procurement in thei…

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) nursing and (b) other staff there have been in each NHS board in each year since 2007-08.

Answer · Shona Robison: Under this Government, the number of Qualified Nurses and Midwives has increased by over 2,100 WTE, or 5.2%, to 43,166.2 WTE. The number of staff working in NHS Scotland has increased by over 11,000 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE), or 8.7 per cent, to 138,125.4 …

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in the paper, Review of ICT Infrastructure in the Public Sector in Scotland (the McLelland report), regarding e-procurement, for what reasons hospitals and health centres continue to submit sourcing requests using handwritten forms and faxes.

Answer · Shona Robison: Spend on electronic requisitioning has increased significantly over the last ten years with throughput on PECOS (the core NHS purchase ordering system) now at £1.9billion per annum and all pharmacy ordering being processed through electronic ordering systems …

30 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS-related meetings and seminars were held off NHS campuses in 2016, and at what cost.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

7 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many and what proportion of the intake in medical schools since 2011 were from (a) state schools, (b) private schools and (c) overseas, also expressed as a percentage.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data shows that between 2011-12 and 2014-2015 there were 3,795 entrants to pre-clinical medicine in Scottish HEIs. 2,150 (60%) were from state schools, 850 (24%) were from independent schools, and 555 (16%) were from …

7 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the spend was on locum doctors in each year since 2007, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is held by NHS Boards. The Scottish Government does not hold the information centrally. We do however know that the annual spend on agency medical locums in NHSScotland is £103 million. When compared to the NHS England overall spend…

7 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the expenditure was on the outsourcing of NHS services in each year since 2007, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

31 Aug 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact its spending plans for 2016-17 will have on Glasgow and Renfrewshire.

12 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve awareness and prevention of stroke.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: We are committed to ensuring that people who have had a stroke have access to the best possible care as quickly as possible. Our Stroke Improvement Plan published in 2014; http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/08/9114 continues to support the FAST (Face, Arm,…

10 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 28 April 2014, New national chronic pain centre, how much of the additional £1.3 million investment has been allocated, and to where.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The £1.3 million investment referred to in the 28 April 2014 news release was pump-prime funding provided to NHS boards in order to support Service Improvement Groups/Managed Clinical Networks for chronic pain. The allocations were based on an assessed propos…

10 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how much the (a) National Chronic Pain Improvement Group and (b) Ministerial Steering Group on Chronic Pain has spent each year on (i) functions, (ii) conferences, (iii) salaries and expenses, broken down by grade, (iv) travel and (v) other items.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The National Chronic Pain Improvement Group (NCPIG), a renamed version of the National Chronic Pain Steering Group (NCPSG), operated from December 2014 until March 2016. During this period, it held five meetings and one development day. The total cost for the…

10 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of how much the National Chronic Pain Steering Group spent each year on (a) functions, (b) conferences, (c) salaries and expenses, broken down by grade, (d) travel and (e) other items.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Prior to April 2014, the National Chronic Pain Steering Group (NCPSG) was operated by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS). The information requested for that period is not held centrally. The NCPSG also ended in November 2014, when it was renamed the Nation…

1 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it makes of the number of citizens from the rest of the UK working in NHSScotland based on information from the Office for National Statistics.

Answer · Shona Robison: Data on the citizenship of employees of NHSScotland is not collated or held centrally. Further information on the statistics, including information on how the data are collected and notes to aid interpretation, is given in the 'FAQs' section of the Workforce…

1 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number and nation of origin of NHS Scotland staff from the rest of the UK in each year since 2007.

Answer · Shona Robison: Data on the nation of origin of employees of NHS Scotland is not collated or held centrally. Further information on NHSScotland statistics, including information on how the data are collected and notes to aid interpretation, is given in the 'FAQs' section of…

15 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the new posts announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on 7 June 2016 (Official Report, c. 8) will (a) represent additional staff and (b) be reallocation from existing positions.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has committed to increasing the number of training places for Doctors, Nurses and Midwives and Paramedics across the NHS in Scotland. This includes an extra 50 places which have been allocated to Scottish medical schools for new entran…

15 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of all NHS (a) targets and (b) treatment guarantees.

Answer · Shona Robison: Local Delivery Plans (LDP) form the performance contract between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards. LDP standards are priorities that are reviewed and agreed between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards each year. The current standards are available a…

15 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with the Royal College of General Practitioners on the new GP contract.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government has ensured opportunities for engagement, particularly as part of a wider debate on the future of general practice, and are grateful for the contribution that the Royal College General Practitioners has already made and look forward to…

15 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the £250 million announced for social care by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport on 26 February 2016 will be allocated.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is distributing the £250 million to health Bbs via their annual allocations, using the same allocation formula as was used for distribution of the Integrated Care Fund. This approach takes account of funding formulae used for the NHS a…

8 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps are being taken to ensure the introduction of opt-out blood borne virus testing in prisons.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Opt-out blood borne virus testing (Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV) for all new prisoners is being phased into the Scottish Prison estate. This service has already been introduced in HMP Shotts, HMP Perth, HMP Glen Ochil and HMP Kilmarnock, and we are workin…

8 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Scotland is able to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 and by what date it expects to have eliminated it.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government has regular discussions with NHS boards through the Scottish Health Protection Network’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Programme. A number of the framework sub-groups, which meet regularly, are involved in action relevant to this…

4 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when its Policy Priorities scheme for grant funding via the Chief Scientist Office will be launched.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is intended that a grant scheme for research proposals to address Scottish Government policy priorities be introduced by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office by the end of 2016.

4 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to support Scottish-based medical researchers following the EU referendum result.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office continues to support Scottish-based medical researchers and all of its research funding and support mechanisms remain in place.

4 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether priorities for its Policy Priorities scheme for grant funding via the Chief Scientist Office have been identified and, if so, whether it will publish these.

Answer · Shona Robison: The planned grant scheme for research proposals to address specific Scottish Government policy priorities has not yet been introduced. Once introduced, calls for research proposals will be published by the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office.