Alex Cole-Hamilton

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Grampian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reportedly being the only NHS boards that offer Botox treatment for migraines, what its response is to reports that they do not accept people from other board areas who require this treatment.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The role of the Scottish Government is to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS Boards to allow them to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. Where an agreed treatment is not available locally then the local board have t…

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance the NHS issues on the font size and typeface that should be used in communications with people with sight issues.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Under the Equality Act 2010, individual NHS Boards are responsible for ensuring that they make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of people with disabilities. These adjustments include ensuring that NHS Boards communicate with people with sight loss in …

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the SCI Diabetes Database has reportedly had its staffing and funding reduced by 20% and 50% respectively.

Answer · Shona Robison: The support team for SCI-Diabetes is currently funded on a 3 year programme ending 31 March 2018. The funding level recognised a need to catch up on a development backlog due to a technology refresh. Moving forward, the same level of development is not antici…

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the longest period is that a current GP post has been vacant for, and in which NHS board this is.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. We know that GP recruitment and retention is an issue for some areas of Scotland. That’s why the groundbreaking new GP contract for Scotland – jointly designed and agreed with the British Med…

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how many GPs will retire in each of the next 10 years.

Answer · Shona Robison: We know that GP recruitment and retention is an issue for some areas of Scotland. That’s why the groundbreaking new GP contract for Scotland – jointly designed and agreed with the British Medical Association – will help ensure that GPs are able to spend more …

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many vacant GP posts recorded in the Primary Care Workforce Survey 2017 were vacant for (a) between (i) six and 12, (ii) 12 and 18, (iii) 18 and 24, (iv) 24 and 30 and (v) 30 and 36 and (b) over 36 months, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: We know that GP recruitment and retention is an issue for some areas of Scotland. That’s why the ground breaking new GP contract for Scotland – jointly designed and agreed with the British Medical Association – will help ensure that GPs are able to spend more…

6 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many GPs work, on average, (a) between (i) 40 and 50, (ii) 50 and 60, (iii) 60 and 70, (iv) 70 and 80, (v) 80 and 90, (vi) 90 and 100 and (vii) 100 and 110 and (b) over 110 hours each week, and what the highest figure reported in the Primary Care Wor…

Answer · Shona Robison: The ground breaking new GP contract for Scotland – jointly designed and agreed with the British Medical Association – will help ensure that GPs are able to spend more time with patients and less time on bureaucracy. It will help reduce doctors’ overall worklo…

5 Mar 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on people with type 1 diabetes being provided with a libre sensor, and which NHS boards provide these, also broken down by how many have been provided in each of the last five years.

Answer · Shona Robison: Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring device was added to the Scottish Drug Tariff from 1 November 2017. It is now for NHS Boards to consider inclusion on their local formulary and stipulate through guidance the sub-categories of patients for who…

28 Feb 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact its most recent teacher recruitment campaign has had.

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many GPs have taken early retirement in each year since 2007, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: The following table covers practitioners whose records indicate Voluntary Early Retirement with an Actuarial Reduction (VERA) and Preserved VERA (i.e. situations where someone has left the NHS Scotland Pension Scheme with preserved benefits then decided to ta…

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS clinical staff have taken early retirement in each year since 2010-11, and what analysis it has carried out of their reasons for doing so, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Shona Robison: It is not possible to break down early retirals according clinical and other staff groups as SPPA pension records focus on scheme entitlements rather than staff group. However, the following table covers all staff who were directly employed and whose records …

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on NHS staff of the revalidation requirements that they must meet to demonstrate that they continue to be fit to practice, including the impact of this on retention, broken down by specialism.

Answer · Shona Robison: Requirements for revalidation vary between the nine regulatory bodies; however, the introduction of formal revalidation processes has been relatively recently introduced by the General Medical Council (GMC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and General Den…

26 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the average number of hours per year is that NHS staff dedicate to revalidation to demonstrate that they continue to be fit to practice, broken down by specialism.

Answer · Shona Robison: The nine health professions regulators have each established their own systems for ensuring continuing professional development and fitness to practise. In each case, the responsibility for meeting the conditions for continued registration lies with the indiv…

23 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the GP contract proposal that was submitted by the Rural GP Association of Scotland in November 2017.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government welcomes the commitment made by the Rural GP Association of Scotland, in their November 2017 publication, to engage with the aspirations of the proposed 2018 GP contract, and their agreement that the themes of workload, recruitment and…

23 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Rural Short Life Working Group on GP contracts has been established and, if not, by what date it will be.  

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government, in collaboration with the Scottish General Practitioners' Committee of the British Medical Association, is in the process of establishing the Rural Short Life Working Group which will help to assist in the implementation of the new GP…

20 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultant medical staff in each NHS board are currently suspended, broken down by length of time that they have been suspended for. 

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. The management of Employee Conduct PIN Policy sets out the rights and responsibilities of boards, managers, employees and trade unionists/professional organisations in respect of employees who are subject to any discip…

15 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made by the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry since it was set up.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Inquiry has considered a substantial volume of material running to millions of documents. It has also been necessary to speak to and then take formal evidence from a large number of people who were involved in the Project. Locating a number of them has pr…

15 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5O-01775 by Humza Yousaf on 8 February 2018 (Official Report, c. 3), when it expects the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry to report its findings.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Inquiry has yet to complete the Oral Hearings that are currently taking place and details of the order of events, documents and transcripts of the oral hearings are published on the Inquiry website at http://www.edinburghtraminquiry.org/ . The Inquiry …

8 Feb 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each local authority area (a) with and (b) without an inherited bleeding disorder who have received support from the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme were alive on 11 July 2017, and how many have since died.

Answer · Shona Robison: 159 infected people with inherited bleeding disorders, 295 infected people without an inherited bleeding disorder, and 54 widows, widowers or partners of the deceased were registered with the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS) and alive as at 11 J…

31 Jan 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent Guardian/ICM survey, which suggests that 69% of people in Scotland support a referendum on the final terms of Brexit.

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what efforts are being made to recruit nurses who are trained in sexual health.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: It is for NHS Boards to determine their recruitment requirements based on local need. However, following the commitments in both the 2016-17 Programme for Government and the National Workforce Plan, published in June, we are planning to commission a further …

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many nurse prescribers are trained to administer IUD (coil) implants in each NHS board.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: This information is not held centrally.

26 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many LARC (long-acting reversible contraceptive) methods are (a) offered and (b) administered in primary care settings.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The IUD (the coil), IUS (mirena) and contraceptive implant are all available to women wishing to access LARC. Other hormonal and barrier methods of contraception are also available meaning women are supported and empowered to choose the method most suited to …

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its press release, More social security rights, on 19 January 2018, whether companions will be allowed under the new social security system in Scotland; what this will involve, and how this differs from the existing system.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has been clear that companions will be able to attend assessments under the new social security system in Scotland, and we will ensure that any person accompanying someone to their assessment will be able to contribute to it. We conti…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has evidence of (a) any and (b) all people attending social security assessments being refused the opportunity to be accompanied by someone.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government has committed to building a social security system based on dignity and respect. To support the creation of this system, we have recruited 2400 people with experience of the current system to join our experience panels. The user rese…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it stated in its press release, More social security rights, on 19 January 2018 that "under the current system people who attend assessments aren't able to have someone with them during the assessment"; whether this requires correction, and whether it will do so.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government's consultation on Social Security in Scotland in 2016 and the user research we have conducted with our experience panels has indicated that the ability to be accompanied is not being applied consistently by the Department for Work and …

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the risk of people being deterred from attending social security assessments due to them being misinformed about what they involve.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: Making sure that everyone receives the financial support they are entitled to is one of the first steps towards putting dignity and respect at the heart of social security in Scotland. We have made clear that the private sector will not deliver assessments i…

24 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what restrictions there are on the ability of local authorities to erect signs that identify a location as having accredited fair trade status.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Traffic signs and permitted variants that can be used on public roads are contained in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (the TSRGD). This legislation ensures a continuity and consistency of signing throughout the country. Local road…

23 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what processes are in place to ensure that developments on new uses for off-patent drugs inform NHS prescribing guidance.

Answer · Shona Robison: There are currently local processes in existence in NHS Boards to facilitate access to off-patent drugs. A Short Life Working Group was established in 2017 to look at off label cancer medicines. The work of this group supports one of the key ambitions of our …

23 Jan 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish the results of its work to assess the improvements that can be made to the way repurposed off-patent drugs are assessed and recommended for use.

Answer · Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13661 on 23 January 2018. 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…