Alex Cole-Hamilton

5 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the £89 million that it has announced in its Budget for reforming mental health and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is new money or part of the £250 million per year for improving mental health services that it announced in the 2018-19 Programme for Government.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The £89 million investment in reform and improving patient outcomes for mental health and child and adolescent mental health services set out in the Scottish Budget combines a number of existing budgets. It includes the 2020-21 share of the 2018 Programme for…

4 Mar 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many Scottish Ambulance Service callouts were alcohol-related in each of the last four years.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Ambulance Service do not record alcohol related incidents. The following table shows the number of callouts where the crew have noted that alcohol was a factor: Calendar Year Number of Incidents 2016 14,385 2017 15,420 2018 31,009 2019…

26 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the publication, NHS Scotland confidential alert line: annual information, how many of the public interest cases in the period (a) 1 August 2017 to 31 January 2018, (b) 1 February 2018 to 31 July 2018, (c) 1 August 2018 to 31 January 2019 and (d) 1 February 2019 to 31 October…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The public interest cases contained in the published information within the report provided by the Whistleblowing Alert and Advice services for NHSScotland, reflect the exact number of whistleblowing cases raised with them. These are as follows: - From 1 Aug…

25 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to a recent Cancer Research UK forecast, which suggests that Scotland might miss its 2034 target of being tobacco-free by at least 16 years and, in light of this finding, what plans it has to prioritise the implementation of the actions and interventions proposed in …

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Cancer Research UK endorses many of our current plans, such as evaluating our tobacco control action plan and providing ongoing smoking cessation support across all healthcare settings. Smoking prevalence in Scotland continues to fall and we are confiden…

21 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason social care provision is reportedly only provided to people with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) following a diagnosis of dementia, and what its position is on offering such provision to all people with MCI.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Local authorities have a duty under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to carry out social care support assessments. Any person who feels their quality of life would benefit from social care support can request a social care support assessment. This includes…

20 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to use more than one supplier of the flu vaccination for primary school children in Edinburgh during winter 2020-21.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Vaccine for the childhood flu programme is procured by colleagues in Public Health England on behalf of each of the Devolved Administrations. As in previous years, the vaccine recommended by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisations for the 2020-…

20 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve the rollout of flu vaccinations for winter 2020-21 to primary school children in Edinburgh.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: The Scottish Government is working with NHS Health Scotland to prepare for this season’s flu public marketing campaign, which is likely to include TV and radio advertising as well as posters, leaflets and other support materials to help raise public awareness.

20 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27246 by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2020, whether Dr Veronikis will be meeting mesh-injured people as part of his visit in the spring.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: I can confirm that the Chief Medical Officer wrote again to Dr Veronikis last week, to re-iterate an invitation to visit Scotland in the spring. It is intended that this visit be observational in nature for reasons I outlined in Parliament on 27 February, i.e…

19 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its justification is for legal certificate fees reportedly being higher in Scotland than they are in England.

Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Registration is devolved, and the setting of fees for registration matters – including charges for extracts from the Birth and Death Registers (birth certificates and death certificates) – is the responsibility of the Registrar General for Scotland subject to…

19 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review the regulation of professional dog walkers.

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: Professional dog walkers, like dog owners, are subject to a number of laws relating to dog welfare and control. The majority of dog walkers are likely to operate sensibly and responsibly; however, the profession itself is currently unregulated and the Scottis…

19 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to protect endangered native hedgehog populations from new housing developments.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Hedgehogs are listed on schedule 6 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), which makes it illegal to kill or capture them with certain methods. One of the principles in Scottish Planning Policy is that the planning system should seek benefits for biodive…

17 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the introduction of a suicide deterrent net system on the Forth Road Bridge, similar to that being constructed on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Answer · Michael Matheson: During the development and implementation of the netting system on the Golden Gate Bridge, this perceived method of preventing self-harming on the Forth Road Bridge was reviewed. However, a similar system was not considered to be suitable or effective in the …

12 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the announcement in December 2018, how many additional child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) staff have been recruited through NHS Education for Scotland.

Answer · Clare Haughey: In December 2018 the Minister for Mental Health announced £4 million of funding to expand the CAMHS workforce. NHS Education for Scotland agreed individual workforce development plans with each Board to increase service capacity including elements of educatio…

12 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it defines "affordable housing".

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Scottish Planning Policy broadly defines affordable housing as housing of a reasonable quality that is affordable to people on modest incomes. It makes clear that affordable housing may be provided in the form of social rented accommodation, mid-market rented…

12 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24130 by Kevin Stewart on 18 July 2019, what percentage of social landlords currently meets its minimum site standards for Gypsy/Travellers, also broken down by local authority.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: 15 out of 19 (79%) of the social landlords that provide Gypsy/Traveller sites report that they have met the minimum site standards. The following table provides a breakdown by local authority/Registered Social Landlord. The Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) co…

12 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-24311 by Clare Haughey on 30 July 2019, whether it will provide an update on how much of the £250 million allocated to mental health in the 2018-19 Programme for Government has been invested in community mental wellbeing services for five- to 24-yea…

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme Board is overseeing the delivery of new community mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children and young people aged from 5-24 and their families. The Programme Board has…

10 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it did not extend the concessionary travel scheme to the Edinburgh Trams network.

Answer · Michael Matheson: The National Concessionary Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People provides travel concessions on buses. Local authorities have discretion under the Transport Act 1985 to offer local travel concessions on other modes of transport if they wish. The terms a…

10 Feb 2020 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported extended waiting times for general colorectal surgery in NHS Lothian.

10 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides to local authorities regarding criteria for installing physical traffic calming measures.

Answer · Michael Matheson: Local Transport Note 1/07 Traffic Calming, published by TSO for the Department for Transport and devolved administrations is applicable in Scotland. Scottish Government advice on traffic calming measures can also be found in Designing Streets - A Policy State…

5 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding progress with the PARROT 2 study (Placental Growth Factor to Assess and Diagnose Hypertensive Pregnant Women: a Stepped-wedge Trial), including (a) the timescale for its completion and (b) when any additional evidence arising from it will be published.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The PARROT 2 trial is an independent research study led by Dr Louise Webster of St Thomas’ Hospital and sponsored by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. A plain-English summary of the study and its intended timescales is avai…

5 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it is reportedly waiting until the findings of the PARROT 2 study (Placental Growth Factor to Assess and Diagnose Hypertensive Pregnant Women: a Stepped-wedge Trial) are published before it considers introducing blood testing of placental growth factor (PlGF), in light of…

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government recognises that placental growth factor (PlGF) testing shows promise in improving the detection and diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. However, while NICE Guideline [NG 133] Hypertension in Pregnancy: diagnosis and management, published in Ju…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been treated for eating disorders in each year since 2013, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Clare Haughey: Information is not centrally held on numbers treated by the NHS for an eating disorder. However, Information Services Division (ISD) holds information on inpatients admitted with an eating disorders diagnosis. Table 1. Number of inpatients admitted with eati…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many hours of training regarding eating disorders is offered by each medical school.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to carry out an independent review of eating disorder treatment.

Answer · Clare Haughey: We are aware that the Mental Welfare Commission is currently undertaking national themed visits of eating disorder services in Scotland. The visits will cover child and adolescent, and adult services in both the NHS and independent facilities. This review is …

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on introducing a waiting time standard for young people to access eating disorder support, similar to that in England and Wales.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government currently has no plans to introduce a waiting times standard for eating disorders. We are clear in our engagement with NHS Boards that patients should be assessed according to their clinical need. Our expectation is that those who need…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in developing the eating disorder support service, SPIRE, and whether it will provide a breakdown of what information and data this service collects.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is not aware of an eating disorder support service called SPIRE.

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many eating disorder specialists there are, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The following table shows the numbers of eating disorder specialists in Scotland broken down by Health Board. These figures have been taken from the NHS Staff Census which was conducted on the 30 September 2019. In Scotland, a range of eating disorder servic…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken by each NHS board to reduce waiting times for access to eating disorder support.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is clear in our engagement with NHS Boards that patients should be assessed according to their clinical need. Our expectation is that those who need immediate necessary treatment, whether for an eating disorder or for any condition or …

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason ISD Scotland has no central recording of eating disorders, and whether it plans to do so.

Answer · Clare Haughey: ISD collects information on patients who are admitted to hospital for psychiatric inpatient care. People who are admitted with an eating disorder are included in this dataset and can be identified. Work is underway to collect patient level data from Child and…

4 Feb 2020 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist eating disorder inpatient beds there are, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.