Anas Sarwar

4 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the value has been of its medical research budget in each year since 2007.

Answer · Shona Robison: Details of the Scottish Budget are available online at the following address: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18127/Documents. Information specific to Health Research can be found in the supporting information of the published support documents.

4 Jul 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much medical research funding it has provided to (a) motor neurone disease, (b) multiple sclerosis (MS), (c) stroke, (d) heart disease and (e) cancer since 2011.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government supports medical research financially by three routes: (1) through research and infrastructure support allocations to the NHS Boards, (2) by its contribution to the Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research which allows…

29 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number and country of origin of NHS staff from other EU member states in each year since 2007.

Answer · Shona Robison: Under this government we currently have the highest NHS staffing levels ever, and we greatly value the significant contribution made to our health service by our dedicated NHS workforce – including those doctors, nurses and other staff from EU countries who c…

23 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which current targets will be exempted from the NHS targets review, broken down by the reason for not including them.

Answer · Shona Robison: The scope of the NHS targets review will focus on the 20 existing local delivery plan standards. The review will encompass cancer waiting times targets – linking in with the Scottish Government’s Cancer Strategy which includes a commitment to review cancer wa…

23 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the NHS targets review will have an independent chair.

Answer · Shona Robison: The NHSScotland Target Review Group will have an independent chair.

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the Stracathro Hospital mental health ward, and whether it is considering downgrading or closing the facility.

Answer · Shona Robison: Health and social care in Scotland is being integrated to ensure people have access to the right care, at the right time, in the right place, and in particular that people are supported to stay in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. Over…

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to consult and engage on the national clinical strategy.

Answer · Shona Robison: Since publishing the strategy in February there have been over 20 engagement meetings with a wide range of clinicians and other stakeholders including NHS boards and integration joint boards, professional bodies and other stakeholder groups.

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to implement the findings of the recent review of out-of-hours primary services.

Answer · Shona Robison: A £1 million initial testing programme is underway with eight sites throughout Scotland testing a range of aspects of the recommended new model of urgent care. Sites are testing new ways of working, including new approaches to leadership and providing new opp…

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers the delivery of post-diagnostic support for people with dementia to be a guarantee or a target.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government designed a national target to give effect to a guarantee that everyone newly diagnosed with dementia between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016 will have received at least a year’s worth of post-diagnostic support, coordinated by a named l…

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what waiting lists there are for post-diagnostic support for people with dementia, broken down by integration joint board.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Information will be published later this year on comparative performance across Scotland on the national LDP Standard on post-diagnostic support for dementia. This will show how many people newly diagnosed between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015 received a min…

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what post-diagnostic support for people with dementia is being delivered by each integration joint board.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Information on post-diagnostic support for people with dementia will be published later this year, showing comparative performance across Scotland on the national LDP Standard on post-diagnostic support. This will show how many people newly diagnosed between…

21 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on (a) introducing or (b) piloting an initiative similar to the Admiral Nursing Scheme in England for the provision of dementia care.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government is taking a distinctive and extensive approach to increasing the capacity and capability of nursing and other disciplines to respond to dementia, and as such there are no plans to introduce or pilot the use of admiral nurses in Scotlan…

13 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what NHS capital projects are underway, at what cost and with what expected completion date.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS capital projects in development (with a capital value over £5 million) are listed below along with the expected cost and estimated completion date. The various projects have been grouped into public capital, non-profit distribution (NPD) and revenue finan…

13 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what notifications it has received from NHS boards of insufficient GP cover to meet demand.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00460 on 16 June 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/parliamentarybusiness/2…

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what drug-related abstinence programmes it has funded since 2011-12, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not directly fund any drug-related abstinence programmes.

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which drug rehabilitation programmes it provides funding for, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government does not directly fund any drug rehabilitation programmes. Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided funding towards Scotland's 30 alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs), embedded within existing community planning structures. AD…

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been on the methadone programme since 2011-12, also broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: In October 2015, information services division Scotland published analysis of individuals on methadone based on those prescriptions with a valid community health index (CHI) number. This analysis was published on the ScotPHO website, and can be accessed here,…

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the methadone programme has cost (a) in total and (b) each year since 2011-12, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Scotland does not have a methadone programme. Substitute prescribing, including methadone, is one component in a package of care, treatment and recovery that can be offered to individuals to help them recover from drug addiction. Decisions on the type of trea…

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government who the members are of the NHS targets review committee; what the review's remit is; when it will be completed and the findings published; what plans it has for the review to have cross-party (a) representation and (b) engagement; whether it will invite the Health and Sport Committee to …

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recognise that the health and sport committee considered NHS targets, as part of their work around the scrutiny of NHS board budgets, during the last parliamentary session. In developing a review of NHS targets, the Scottish Governmen…

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS patients have received treatment in private hospitals in each of the last 18 months, also broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) cost.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the number of NHS patients treated as an inpatient or day case in the independent sector in the last 18 months up to December 2015 is published quarterly and available on the Information Services Division website.

9 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many procedures each NHS board has commissioned to be carried out in the private sector in each year since 2011-12, also broken down by cost.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-29600 on 21 March 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/parliamentarybusiness/…

7 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage more young women to take up STEM subjects.

Answer · John Swinney: As the First Minister said last week, encouraging girls, and indeed, all young people to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects is vital for their future and vital for the future of the country. The numbers of entries by girls…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many clinical nurse specialists are employed by the NHS.

Answer · Shona Robison: As at 30 September 2015 there were 2,035.3 whole time equivalent (WTE) clinical nurse specialists in NHSScotland – an increase of 689.1 WTE, or 51.2 per cent under this government*. In 2015-16 this government invested over £2.4 million of recurring funding t…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have attended the A&E unit at the (a) Glasgow Royal Infirmary and (b) Royal Alexandra Hospital in each of the last 24 months, and what information it has regarding what postcode area they live.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of monthly attendances at each A&E unit in Scotland is published by Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland and can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Emergency-Care/Publications/data-tables.asp The following table shows th…

7 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have attended the A&E unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in each of the last 12 months, and what information it has regarding what postcode area they live.

Answer · Shona Robison: The number of monthly attendances at each A&E unit in Scotland is published by Information Services Division Scotland and can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Emergency-Care/Publications/data-tables.asp The following table shows the numb…

6 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what drugs have been approved for use by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence but not by the Scottish Medicines Consortium, also broken down by their intended use.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information about the decisions taken by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and Scottish Medicines Consortium on medicines and their indications can be accessed at weblinks: http://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/ https://www.nice.org…

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what drugs have been approved for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium but not by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, also broken down by their intended use.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information about the decisions taken by the Scottish Medicines Consortium and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on medicines and their indications can be accessed at: http://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/ https://www.nice.org.uk/

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many notifications it has received in the last year of there being insufficient GP cover to meet demand, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards have various means of supporting independently contracted practices which request assistance. We expect health boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate to ensure that all patients have access to GP services.…

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many notifications it has received in the last year of GP practices being closed to new patients, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: NHS boards do not formally notify the Scottish Government when they agree with an independently contracted practice that it can temporarily close its patient list. We expect health boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropri…

2 Jun 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time GPs there have been in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Primary Care Workforce Survey Scotland 2015, published 14 June 2016, shows that the estimated whole time equivalent number of GPs was 3,645 in 2015. The Primary Care Workforce Survey does not collect data annually, however the table below shows GP head…