Parliamentary questions
Donald Cameron
1,854 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the monitoring reports that it receives from NHS boards regarding junior doctor working hours.
Answer · Shona Robison: Under the New Deal Contract, Junior Doctors are monitored on a bi-annual basis to ensure that their hours of work comply fully with the New Deal Contract limits. This monitoring shows that 99%+ rotas are compliant with the New Deal contract. High level data …
16 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 19 June 2014, Helping junior doctors, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of junior doctors have rotas that compel them to work (i) seven night- and (ii) more than seven day-shifts in a row, and what action it takes to enforce this.
Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02931 on 30 September 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/parliamentarybusin…
16 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 19 June 2014, Helping junior doctors, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of junior doctors have rotas that compel them to work in line with the working time regulations, broken down by NHS board, and what action it takes to enforce this.
Answer · Shona Robison: 100% of Junior Doctor rotas in NHS Scotland are designed to comply fully with the limits of the Working Time Regulations, including the 48 hour average working week, as well as meet the Scottish Government requirements that no Junior Doctor will work for seve…
14 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in response to the claim in the report State of Nature 2016 Scotland that one-in-11 species of animals and plants in the country are at risk of extinction.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The State of Nature 2016 Scotland Report has highlighted the challenges which lie ahead in conserving Scotland’s wonderful nature. We are committed to driving forward Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy - the ‘2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity’ publishe…
12 Sep 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has invested in shinty in each year since 2007, and how much it plans to invest in each of the next five years.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Sport Scotland, the national agency for sport, invests both Scottish Government and National Lottery monies into Scottish governing bodies of sport. The Camanachd Association (CA) is the governing body for the sport in Scotland and is responsible for the prom…
26 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to (a) raise awareness of and (b) tackle mesothelioma.
Answer · Shona Robison: We know that the earlier cancer can be diagnosed, the better the chance of a positive outcome. Scottish Government initiatives such as the Detect Cancer Early programme aim to raise awareness of all cancers amongst the public and health care practitioners, so…
23 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Kadcyla will be made available on the NHS and what plans it has to improve access to new cancer medicines.
Answer · Shona Robison: The manufacturers route to market for Kadcyla is through the long standing independent Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) process. In October 2014 the SMC decided not to recommend Kadcyla for routine use in Scotland because the balance of costs and benefits …
22 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when the descriptors for each of the 42 wild land areas identified in Scottish Natural Heritage’s map of wild land areas from June 2014 will be published and for what reason they have not been published.
Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The descriptions of the Wild Land Areas identified on the Scottish Natural Heritage 2014 map are currently in preparation. The descriptions are detailed and require technical input. We expect that these descriptions will be published later in 2016.
17 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many radiotherapy specialists have been recruited since May 2016; where they have been placed, and by what date it will meet its pledge to recruit an extra 100 specialists.
Answer · Shona Robison: Exact plans for where, when and the range of disciplines that will make up this figure will depend on radiotherapy demand and capacity plans and delivery over the next five years as part of the implementation of the Scottish cancer strategy. Our Radiotherapy …
11 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01550 by Shona Robison on 9 August 2016, whether it would intervene in decisions that would change the centre's capacity for inpatient care and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer · Shona Robison: It is right that all NHS boards keep services under review to ensure they remain safe, sustainable and of the highest quality. The planning and provision of local healthcare services are for NHS boards and their planning partners, in line with national polici…
3 Aug 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish (a) a summary and (b) all of the responses to the consultation on the law of succession that closed on 18 September 2015.
Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The Scottish Government is considering the analysis of responses to the consultation on the law of succession together with the findings of a survey of public attitudes towards succession law of just over 1000 people representative of the Scottish population …
15 Jul 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the NHS Centre for Integrative Care.
Answer · Shona Robison: The Centre for Integrative Care (CIC) is a facility run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde which offers a range of treatments and therapies. NHS Boards in Scotland retain the option of referring people to the CIC for treatment.
29 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of (a) relapsing remitting and (b) secondary progressive multiple sclerosis.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government understands that Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) is currently considered to be effective for people with highly active relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) who have already trialled other highly effective d…
27 Jun 2016 · First Minister's Question
To ask the First Minister what long-term plans the Scottish Government has to address concerns about the sustainability of the NHS in Scotland that were raised recently by the BMA.
23 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reorganise access to NHS dentistry in Lochgilphead.
Answer · Shona Robison: Responsibility for NHS dental services lies with NHS boards, and in view of the substantial increase in the numbers of independent dentists, boards are currently looking at how oral health care may be rebalanced from the Public Dental Service (PDS) to high-st…
21 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish government recognises that there are gaps in knowledge and awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder across Scotland. We are taking a number of steps to promote messages around prevention and harm reduction on alcohol use in pregnancy, for p…
21 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: A) Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is an umbrella term which defines a wide range of developmental disorders of childhood including in the most severe cases major difficulties which affect growth behaviour and learning. There is evidence that early dia…
10 Jun 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-00145 by Aileen Campbell on 26 May 2016, how much funding it is providing to each NHS board in 2016-17 from the outcomes framework budget to implement the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Funding for the sexual health and blood borne virus framework is now included in the £161m outcomes framework budget. Boards have flexibility to allocate funding from that budget for sexual health and blood borne virus activity appropriate to their local need…
8 Jun 2016 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the full £750 million pledged for the Scottish Attainment Challenge will be given to headteachers to spend on their individual schools’ priorities.
26 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of (a) Orkambi and (b) Kalydeco as treatments for cystic fibrosis.
Answer · Shona Robison: In Scotland we have a clear route for new drugs to be appraised through the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC). The independence of SMC decisions on individual drugs is well established. The SMC are pleased to receive any resubmission.
26 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve treatments available for cystic fibrosis.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Cystic fibrosis is a complex condition that affects people in different ways. As such, the Scottish Government believes that people with cystic fibrosis should be cared for by a team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with specialised knowledg…
26 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how NHS boards’ performance in relation to the deep vein thrombosis (DVT) guidelines is scrutinised and how each board has performed since 2014.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: Information regarding the implementation of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network national clinical guideline on the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism is not held centrally.
26 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its most up-to-date guidance is on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and what it has done to raise awareness of this.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: The most recent guidance available to boards is contained in Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guide 122 which was issued via Healthcare Improvement Scotland in 2010 with minor updates in November 2011 and October 2014. Awareness of the guide…
26 May 2016 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to improve adherence to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) guidelines when an NHS board has not performed satisfactorily in this regard.
Answer · Aileen Campbell: We expect boards to ensure that prevention and management of venous thromboembolism in their board follows all current relevant professional and clinical guidance and take appropriate action to ensure that this practice remains up-to-date.