- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can confirm the finding in the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution, that NHS expenditure per 100,000 population in Scotland would have been about £180 million in 2005-06.
Answer
According to HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis, the identifiable expenditure on health in Scotland in 2005-06 was £1,681 per head. This equates to £168 million per 100,000 population.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died of oesophageal cancer in each of the last five years.
Answer
Data on the mortality from oesophageal cancer are available by calendar year at:
http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=m_cancer_oesophagus.xls&pContentDispositionType=inline.
The most recent calendar year for which complete.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to improve early detection and treatment of oesophageal cancer.
Answer
Better Cancer Care, An Action Plan recognised that early detection of cancer is crucial and the earlier it can be diagnosed, the better the chance of a positive outcome.
The Scottish Government is committed to improving awareness of possible cancer symptoms amongst members of the public and medical staff. The Scottish Cancer Taskforce (SCT) has been working with the Scottish Cancer Coalition in the area of awareness raising of cancer generally and recently held a national workshop to consider these issues in more detail. It will consider specific actions to help improve the awareness of cancer symptoms at a future meeting.
Action has been taken to ensure doctors across the country have up to date referral guidelines to ensure patients presenting with possible symptoms of oesophageal cancer are quickly and efficiently referred for further investigation. Such guidelines include SIGN Guideline 87 on the Management of Oesophageal and Gastric Cancer and SIGN Guideline 68 on Dyspepsia (which is due to be updated this year). Managed clinical networks use these guidelines to develop patient referral and care pathways.
Cancer services in Scotland have developed and improved significantly in recent years, with more doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals and state of the art equipment in all five cancer centres.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether photodynamic therapy is available in Scotland and used to treat cancer patients.
Answer
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is currently available in the areas covered by all three Regional Cancer Networks (North of Scotland, West of Scotland and South East Scotland) and is one form of treatment used to treat various types of cancer. The decision for the most appropriate treatment for an individual is the responsibility of the clinician in consultation with the patient, their family and carers.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline 87, Management of oesophageal and gastric cancer, states that “Oesophageal and gastric cancers occur mainly in people over 55 years of age” when many cases occur in people under the age of 55.
Answer
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 87 is intended to guide the management of any patient with oesophageal or gastric cancer, regardless of age. It does not state that these cancers occur exclusively in the over 55 age range. However, the incidence of these cancers is higher in people over 55 years of age, with 91% of oesophageal cancer and 92.5% of gastric cancer cases occurring in people over 55 years of age, between 2003-07. Use of the term mainly reflects these data.
Further information on the incidence of oesophageal cancer can be found at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1493.html, and information on the incidence of gastric cancer can be found at:
http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/1503.html.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether more use is to be made of telehealth for dermatology outpatients in light of the 113,125 new dermatology outpatient attendances in 2008-09, representing 7.8% of new outpatient attendances.
Answer
The Scottish Centre for Telehealth (SCT) continues to support and encourage the clinical use of teledermatology. The SCT have indicated that the consensus view is that the clinical climate is not yet right for a national teledermatology solution. The SCT has recently become part of NHS24. As a service delivery and improvement organisation NHS24 will provide a national focus for telehealth related activity. NHS24 and the SCT are developing a national telehealth strategy and business plan in consultation with stakeholders. Next steps for projects such as the teledermatology project will be considered as part of this process which will be complete by April 2010.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-30594 by Nicola Sturgeon on 19 January 2010, for what reason only three new outpatients were referred to the chiropody and podiatry specialities in 2008-09.
Answer
NHS chiropody and podiatry services are delivered by Allied Health Professionals (AHP) and not through consultant-led outpatient clinics.
In the year ending 31 March 2009, 48,413 new patients were seen by NHS chiropodists and podiatrists based on published AHP statistics.
Further information on AHP activity is published on the ISD website and can be found at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4452.html.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 12 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a consultation process with community councils or other local organisations is necessary prior to the allocation of common good funds.
Answer
Section 222 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 states that local authorities should have regard to the interests of the inhabitants of the area to which the common good formerly related. How local authorities choose to fulfil this obligation is a matter for them to decide.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 12 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how much (a) money, (b) property and (c) land is in the common good fund of each local authority.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. All common good assets which are held by local authorities are accountable within the audited accounts of each local authority which are accessible by law to any member of the public.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 12 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the common good funds, including land and property, managed by each local authority.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. All common good assets which are held by local authorities are accountable within the audited accounts of each local authority which are accessible by law to any member of the public.
