Chamber and committees

The reasons why people do not attend their GP appointments are many and varied. The priority is to improve systems to make them more user friendly and encourage patient responsibility. In different parts of the NHS a number of schemes are being tested to improve attendance, for example by the introduction of call ahead procedures to remind patients of forthcoming appointments.

While GP practices, health boards and the Scottish Government are working together to minimise the impact of those who do not attend for their appointment, it is up to the patient to act responsibly and either keep or cancel any appointments they make.

Legislation relating to asbestos is dealt with by the Health and Safety Executive and is a reserved matter. The Scottish Government is aware of the risks of those exposed to asbestos while working in the building and maintenance trades, and for those involved with asbestos removal. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 were introduced to place obligations on any person responsible for managing the maintenance and repair of a non-domestic building to manage asbestos within it.

The purpose of all learning in health and wellbeing, including alcohol education, is to help children and young people to make informed decisions and to establish a pattern of health and wellbeing, which will be sustained into adult life. In order to achieve this effectively, teachers still need to explore issues such as social norms, peer pressure and the many other social influences which can affect the attitudes, values and behaviours of children and young people. Schools will identify the most effective teaching methods, including specialist alcohol programmes, to meet the needs of their children and young people. There are several alcohol programmes used across Scotland by primary and secondary schools.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme is in the early stages of planning for the introduction of digital mammography.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme is in the early stages of planning for the introduction of digital mammography. The Scottish Government has not made a commitment to digital mammography being implemented in NHS boards in 2011.

The numbers of schools offering annual health and fitness checks is not held centrally. This would be a matter for education authorities themselves.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of Scotland''s children and young people. The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007 requires that all Scottish schools are health promoting. A school is health promoting if it provides activities, and an environment and facilities which promote the physical, social, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of pupils.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29234 on 2 December 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme is in the early stages of planning for the introduction of digital mammography.

Better Cancer Care: An Action Plan, which was published in October 2008, outlines the Scottish Government''s commitments to improving cancer care and outcomes for all those with a cancer diagnosis, including pancreatic cancer. The Scottish Cancer Taskforce has been established to oversee and co-ordinate all of the commitments outlined within Better Cancer Care.

Pancreatic cancer is a relatively rare cancer and we do know that survival rates are poor, however, Scotland is not significantly different to the rest of the UK in this respect. Between 1996 and 2006 the incidence rate has dropped by 17.5% in men and 9.9% in women, which is encouraging.

Whilst no specific action is currently being taken to promote awareness of the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, the Scottish Government is aware that patient outcomes are likely to be better if the cancer is diagnosed early on. Awareness-raising will feature as an agenda item for the Scottish Cancer Taskforce at a future meeting.

Pancreatic cancer is linked to known risk factors such as body fatness and smoking and the Scottish Government is already implementing a wide-ranging programme of action to encourage healthy lifestyle choices around these issues.

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme is in the early stages of planning for the introduction of digital mammography.