- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether measures are being taken to identify prior to admission patients who are most at risk from hospital-acquired infections.
Answer
NHS hospitals are required to implement the guidance in the Scottish Infection Manual (1998). This makes clear that:where the potential for the spread of infection may pose exceptional difficulties, hospitals should develop and adhere to appropriate infection control policies to reduce the risk to particularly vulnerable patients;suitable arrangements should be established for the admission, transfer and discharge of patients with infection, including liaison with the medical and nursing staff responsible for the care of patients during admission and after discharge or transfer, andhospitals are required to provide suitable accommodation for the clinical care of patients with healthcare associated infection.Trust chief executives are responsible for ensuring that effective arrangements for infection control are in place, including adequate clinical facilities and staff, microbiological resources, infection control teams and occupational health service. To ensure that hospitals are addressing healthcare associated infection effectively, the Executive requested the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland (CSBS) to introduce a new infection control standard. The CSBS will shortly provide an interim report on hospitals' performance against this standard.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what policies are being proposed to provide support to patients with hospital-acquired infections to enable early discharge into the community.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23636.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote education through undergraduate training in medicine, nursing and professions allied to medicine with relevant institutions incorporating the role and process of mediation within their core curricula, as recommended in paragraph 2.21 of the report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Encouraging Resolution: Mediating Patient/Health Service Disputes in Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-3659.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will work with the Central Legal Office of the National Health Service in Scotland to undertake a fully researched mediation project mirroring that being undertaken by the National Health Service Litigation Authority in England and as recommended in paragraph 2.14 of the report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Encouraging Resolution: Mediating Patient/Health Service Disputes in Scotland.
Answer
I welcome the publication of this Report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The Scottish Executive will consider the recommendations in the report very carefully and will take its findings into consideration in the on-going review of the NHS complaints procedure and in the work of the expert group being established to look at the compensation system.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 March 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in its current review of the NHS complaints procedure, it will consider mediation as being an integral option in the process of resolving non-medical negligence disputes, as recommended in the report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Encouraging Resolution: Mediating Patient/Health Service Disputes in Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-3659.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are being made to improve diabetes education and information facilities in order to raise public awareness.
Answer
Raising awareness of the causes and consequence of diabetes and improving the quality and availability of patient information about diabetes, are key strands of the Scottish Diabetes Framework. Specific plans in these areas will be developed by the Scottish Diabetes Group over the coming months.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what new measures will be introduced to assist those people with diabetes who are becoming visually impaired or blind.
Answer
The priority of the Scottish Executive is to prevent people with diabetes from losing their sight. Eye care is therefore identified as one of the first stage priorities in the Scottish Diabetes Framework, due to be published shortly.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive why there is a payment of #20 for the Levonelle morning-after pill when purchased from a pharmacist, when the pill is free from general practitioner surgeries, Brook Advisory Service and other family planning clinics.
Answer
The retail price levied for Levonelle when purchased privately from a community pharmacy is a commercial decision, determined by the manufacturer and is not a matter for the Scottish Executive.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been done on the availability of emergency hormonal contraception.
Answer
No evaluation has been undertaken by the Scottish Executive on the availability of emergency hormonal contraception.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 February 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 March 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many teenage pregnancies there were in each of the past five years, broken down by health and NHS board.
Answer
All published health statistics, including those for teenage pregnancies broken down by health board, are available on the SHOW website at:http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/publications/publications.htm. The Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency, which gathers and publishes annual teenage pregnancy statistics, must rely on returns from hospitals. Because of delays in returns from some hospitals, the last year for which full figures are available is 1999.
