Alex Cole-Hamilton

5 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much the (a) New Medicines Fund and (b) Rare Conditions Medicines Fund has spent in each year since 2012-13, also broken down by expenditure on medicines (i) not yet assessed, (ii) approved, (iii) not approved but requested and (iv) approved by the Scottish Government but not approve…

Answer · Shona Robison: Information on the requested breakdown of expenditure is not available centrally.

5 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has allocated to the (a) New Medicines Fund and (b) Rare Conditions Medicines Fund in each year since 2012-13.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government allocated £21.7million to the Rare Conditions Medicines Fund for the period 1 March 2013 to 31 March 2014, £21.5million to the New Medicines Fund for the period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, and £85million to the New Medicines Fund fo…

4 Oct 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many inpatient beds there are for children and adolescents with mental health problems; what immediate action it is taking to provide additional provision; whether it aims to meet the recommendation by Royal College of Psychiatrists that there should be 125 to 208 beds, and, if so, w…

Answer · Maureen Watt: Unit No of beds Area served National Child Inpatient Psychiatric Service for under 12 years, Glasgow 6 Scotland Royal Edinburgh Hospital 12 South East of Scotland Lothian, Fife and Borders Skye House, Stobhill, Glasgow 24 West of Scotlan…

29 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish Centre for Deep Brain Stimulation will be established.

Answer · Shona Robison: Preparatory work for the Scottish Centre for Deep Brain Stimulation is being carried out by the host board NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The Scottish Government expects the service to be implemented in Spring 2017, but this will be dependent on key posts be…

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will produce a new child and adolescent health and wellbeing strategy and whether it will be subject to consultation.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is currently working to develop a new Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing strategy. This will be produced in Autumn 2017 following a period of consulting with key stakeholders.

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the UK Chief Medical Officers' Alcohol Guidelines Review and what action it will take to (a) tackle excessive alcohol consumption and (b) help people to make informed choices about their alcohol consumption.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Scottish Government is supportive of the review, and we have taken considerable action to reduce alcohol harm through our Alcohol Framework to help prevent problems arising in the first place, and ensuring support and treatment for those who are already e…

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it provides for parents who are concerned about health and safety in a school.

Answer · John Swinney: Health and safety legislation is not devolved to Scottish Government. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has UK wide responsibility for this matter. The HSE’s current schools guidance can be found online at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/index…

28 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its role is in ensuring appropriate health and safety in schools.

Answer · John Swinney: The health and safety of all pupils whilst at school in Scotland is of paramount importance to us. However, health and safety legislation is not devolved to Scottish Government. The Health and Safety Executive has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of th…

28 Sep 2016 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to require local authorities to carry out additional training for teachers and other school personnel on how to deal with children who have an attachment disorder or are affected by trauma and loss.

27 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, on average, how many people does a post-diagnostic dementia link worker support.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not collected or held centrally. Integration Joint Boards are responsible for commissioning dementia services, including post-diagnostic services, in their area. Responsibility for the delivery of those services remains with the statutory…

27 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many post-diagnostic dementia link workers there are in each NHS board.

Answer · Maureen Watt: This information is not collected or held centrally. Integration Joint Boards are responsible for commissioning dementia services, including post-diagnostic services, in their area. Responsibility for the delivery of those services remains with the statutory…

26 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with integration authorities about the inclusion of services and support for people with musculoskeletal conditions in their strategic plans.

Answer · Shona Robison: Health boards can with agreement from local partners delegate all services and support for people with musculoskeletal conditions to their local Health and Social Care Partnership for inclusion in strategic plans. Where the decision is taken by the Health boa…

26 Sep 2016 · Topical Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that NHS staff feel able to raise concerns about the service.

21 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people infected with hepatitis C because of treatment with infected blood or blood products have (a) received a stage 1 payment from the Skipton Fund and (b) died without progressing to stage 2 from the Skipton Fund, also broken down by those who died leaving a widow, widower or…

Answer · Aileen Campbell: 762 people identified as infected in Scotland with Hepatitis C via NHS blood or blood products have received a Stage 1 lump sum payment of £20,000 from the Skipton Fund, to recognise chronic infection. Of those, the Skipton Fund is aware of 103 people who hav…

20 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has issued regarding holding a morbidity and mortality conference when a person dies while being treated in an NHS hospital, and whether this contains a timeframe that indicates when these conferences should (a) begin and (b) conclude.

Answer · Shona Robison: A Morbidity and Mortality Practice Guide for clinicians and health professionals is being developed jointly with NHS Education for Scotland and Health Improvement Scotland which will address governance processes across all specialties and will be consulted on…

20 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the conclusions of morbidity and mortality conferences are considered when deciding whether to carry out fatal accident inquiries.

Answer · Shona Robison: Morbidity and mortality conferences, forums or meetings provide a systematic approach to reviewing patient deaths and complications in care, as part of professional learning. Where the Procurator Fiscal is carrying out a full investigation in relation to a d…

19 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it assesses the work done by each local community planning partnership on suicide prevention.

Answer · Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government sets national policy and direction for suicide prevention. It does not formally assess local suicide prevention action as this is a matter for local agencies to plan and implement, taking account of local needs and local circumstances.…

19 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support Choose Life co-ordinators in the next five years.

Answer · Maureen Watt: Support to Choose Life coordinators is currently provided by NHS Health Scotland's National Suicide Prevention Programme team on behalf of the Scottish Government. In 2017 we will publish a new Suicide Prevention Strategy; our development of this Strategy wi…

19 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding was provided to each local authority to implement the suicide prevention strategy, Choose Life, in each year since 2013.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: Provision of £3.298 million per annum was added to the Local Government Finance Settlement baseline from 2008-09 for the "Choose Life" Strategy and included within the block grant support from the Scottish Government. It is the responsibility of each individu…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will review the feedback from the consultation on the future of the Centre for Integrative Care at Gartnavel.

Answer · Shona Robison: These are matters for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, who are responsible for planning and delivering services to meet the assessed needs of their resident population. All NHS boards must adhere to national guidance (CEL (2010) 4) which can be accessed at: h…

9 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding the Centre for Integrative Care at Gartnavel has received each year since 2011.

Answer · Shona Robison: This information is not centrally held. It is the role of the Scottish Government to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS boards so they can deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. Within this context, it is a matter fo…

8 Sep 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will set out its plans for the Scottish Care Information Diabetes Collaboration system.

Answer · Shona Robison: The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the Scottish Care Information Diabetes Collaboration system. It is standard eHealth programme management practice to review the effectiveness of all IT systems in use in NHSScotland and how they are managed…

7 Sep 2016 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to protect greenbelt land from developers in order to achieve Outcome 3 of the 2020 challenge for Scotland’s biodiversity.

5 Sep 2016 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister for what reason more than a quarter of training places in GP surgeries were not filled at the end of the 2016 recruitment round.

22 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish details of the new GP contract that comes into force in 2017.

Answer · Shona Robison: The GP contract is formulated through a process of bilateral discussion, and agreement, between the Scottish General Practitioners Committee and the Scottish Government. These negotiations are commercially sensitive; details will be published once they have c…

22 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish information gathered from the GP test pilot in Inverclyde.

Answer · Shona Robison: Information gathered from the Inverclyde test site will be published as part of the final evaluation of the Primary CareTransformation Fund being carried out by the Scottish School of Primary Care (SSPC). As yet no formal date has been agreed for the publicat…

22 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-01618 by Annabelle Ewing on 18 August 2016, whether it will respond to the specific issue raised in relation to children living with one parent, rather than looked-after children.

Answer · Annabelle Ewing: The relevant legislation makes it clear that the child must be at the centre of these cases. Section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, on court orders relating to parental responsibilities etc, provides that in considering whether or not to make an orde…

18 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the statistics published in August 2016 that reported a record number of drug-related deaths in 2015, and whether it will increase the funding for drug and alcohol services as a result.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Any drug related death is a tragedy - for the individual, family and community involved. We are continuing to tackle the damaging impact of drugs in Scotland and making recovery a reality through our national drugs strategy, the Road to Recovery. The Nationa…

18 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what impact the reduction in funding for alcohol and drug partnerships in 2016-17 will have on their interventions aimed at harm reduction and reducing drug-related deaths.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Shona Robison, wrote to the Chief Executives of Scotland’s Health boards on 7 January 2016 confirming that ADPs are to maintain services and performance in 2016-17 at 2015-16 levels utilising the funding available. …

18 Aug 2016 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what services will be (a) withdrawn and (b) downgraded because of the reduction in funding for alcohol and drug partnerships in 2016-17.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02032 on 20 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…