- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15516 by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008, whether it will provide more specific details about the management of status epilepticus by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Answer
The Scottish Ambulance Service follows the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaisons Committee (JRCALC) UK Ambulance Service Clinical Practice Guidelines 2006. These can be found at:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/research/hsri/emergencycare/prehospitalcare/jrcalcstakeholderwebsite/guidelines.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what training a Scottish Ambulance Service paramedic receives that a Scottish Ambulance Service technician does not.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16872 on 28 October 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
In addition, paramedics are trained in the administration of specific medications and the securing of intravenous access.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15517 by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008, whether it will provide more specific details about the basic training and the training in the administration of specific medicines that Scottish Ambulance Service paramedics receive.
Answer
Scottish Paramedics are trained to the UK-wide standard syllabus as provided by the Institute of Health Care Development and the Standards of Proficiency as laid down by the Health Professions Council. Management standards are set by the Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison Committee which has UK-wide ambulance and medical representation including the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatricians.
In order to register as a paramedic staff must have completed a minimum of 18 months technician training, although in practice this is often nearer two years. During this time, and in relation to epilepsy, they will learn about the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system and about major and minor seizures and how to manage them.
The technician period is consolidated by a 12 month period of clinical practice on an ambulance before returning to paramedic training. During this period students will further study anatomy and physiology and disorders of the nervous system, extend their knowledge of see and treat procedures and undergo training in drugs licensed for use in the UK by paramedics. This list includes rectal diazepam and intravenous diazemuls for the management of active seizures. The indications for the use of these medicines is clearly defined in the JRCALC Clinical Practice Guidelines and all staff have access to these both in hard copy and via the electronic patient report form. Classroom training is further enhanced by placement in accident and emergency departments and in hospital theatres where students will experience the management of unconscious patients.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15512 by Shona Robison on 5 September 2008, what actions Scottish Ambulance Service crews would take in dealing with someone whose capacity to make decisions may be impaired by ill health.
Answer
The Scottish Ambulance Service staff follows the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaisons Committee (JRCALC) UK Ambulance Service Clinical Practice Guidelines 2006. These can be found via the following link:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/med/research/hsri/emergencycare/prehospitalcare/jrcalcstakeholderwebsite/guidelines.
If a patient is unable to give informed consent and is deemed incapable of understanding the implications of refusing treatment, then ambulance staff should act in the patient''s best interests and take whatever action is necessary to safeguard life and prevent or reduce further harm. However, it must be emphasised that if a patient is able to understand the implications of treatment refusal they have the right to refuse the offer of treatment.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15516 by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008, what the Scottish Ambulance Service considers to be the three most common types of epilepsy.
Answer
I refer the member to the revised answer to question S3W-15516 on 3 September 2008. The three most common types of convulsion covered in ambulance service training are grand mal seizures, status epilepticus and infantile convulsions.
It is important to explain that the Scottish Ambulance Service trains its staff based on presenting complaints and symptoms rather than in disease specific format. For example, the commonest form of epilepsy, Grand Mal, is incorporated within training on the assessment, management and treatment of convulsions. While epilepsy is the major cause of this clinical presentation there are a number of other conditions that can trigger convulsions.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-15518 by Shona Robison on 3 September 2008, whether it will provide more specific details about the training that Scottish Ambulance Service paramedics receive in the management of difficult epilepsy cases.
Answer
I refer the member to the revised answer to question S3W-15516 on 3 September 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 28 October 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances regularly operate without a paramedic, also expressed as a percentage.
Answer
This information is not available from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) IT systems.
However, the SAS recruits and trains to allow for traditional accident and emergency ambulances to be staffed by a paramedic and a technician. In circumstances where this is not possible, due for example to sickness absence, the dispatch centre will endeavour to provide paramedic support by sending a backup paramedic response to appropriate cases or via the paramedic advisor in the Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which treatments have been withdrawn in Scotland based on advice in a multiple technology appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Answer
Where a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Multiple Technology Appraisal (MTA) supersedes a recommendation from the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), patients in Scotland already receiving the drug in question would not have it withdrawn unless there was a clinical reason to do so. However, clinicians, in taking account of the NICE MTA determination and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) advice, would not routinely prescribe the drug.
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 September 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether advice contained in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) multiple technology appraisals always supersedes advice from the Scottish Medicines Consortium.
Answer
NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) reviews National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) multiple technology appraisals (MTAs) for applicability in Scotland. If the MTA is deemed to be valid for Scotland, it would supersede advice from the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC).
- Asked by: Helen Eadie, MSP for Dunfermline East, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank Mulholland on 11 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for a fully transparent complaints procedure against the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for members of the public.
Answer
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have a Customer Feedback Policy which has been in place for several years.
This policy currently involves a three stage process. The first stage involves the complaint being handled speedily by a manager in the Procurator Fiscal office or division where the complaint originated. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the terms of the response to their complaint, they can ask the Area Procurator Fiscal or respective Division Head to review their case.
The Area Procurator Fiscal or Division Head will review the case and provide a further response. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the terms of this response, they can ask the Crown Agent, Head of COPFS for a further review.
If the complainant remains dissatisfied then this matter can be taken up with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
The Ombudsman has a statutory remit which includes the power to investigate alleged maladministration. The Ombudsman has no role in relation to examining how and why legal decisions were taken, but does have a role in examining how COPFS handled a complaint. It is for the Ombudsman to decide whether the complaint has grounds that require to be investigated.
The full policy can be found on the Crown Office website at:
http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Contacts/CustFeePol.
