- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to put together an over-arching national strategy addressing the issues surrounding hospital acquired infection.
Answer
We have already put in hand a rigorous quality improvement process with a number of elements designed to tackle healthcare associated infection. This includes:- the detailed guidance in the Scottish Infection Manual,- implementing the recommendations of the working group on managing the risk of hospital acquired infection (HAI),- implementation of Clinical Standards Board standards for infection control, cleaning services and decontamination of reusable medical devices,- implementation of a mandatory national system of surveillance for HAI, and - the development of a Scottish action plan as part of the UK antimicrobial resistance strategy.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of its meeting with Dr Andrew Walker and Pharmacia on 12 October 2001.
Answer
The department gained a better understanding of Dr Walker's study and in response set out a series of co-ordinated measures ministers had introduced for tackling healthcare associated infection which is much wider than the use of new antibiotics.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive which aspects of its hospital acquired infection strategies it plans to change in the light of the report by Dr Andrew Walker Hospital Acquired Infection - What is the cost in Scotland ?
Answer
The report provided a better estimate of the costs of hospital acquired infection (HAI) but measures have already been introduced to ensure the NHS tackles the issue more effectively. These include the guidance in the Scottish Infection Manual, the recommendations in the report on managing the risks of Healthcare Associated Infection, the introduction of a national framework for HAI surveillance and the implementation of standards for infection control cleaning services and the decontamination of reusable medical devices which the NHS will be expected to meet.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many isolation rooms and wards there were in each of the last five years in NHS hospitals.
Answer
That is a matter for individual NHS Boards.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds for care of the elderly there were in each of the last five years in NHS acute hospitals.
Answer
Beds in acute specialties are not designated for specific age groups so it is not possible to identify separately the number of beds provided for care of the elderly. However, beds in NHS hospitals for geriatric assessment can be identified. The average daily number of beds which were staffed and were available for the reception of geriatric assessment in-patients and day cases are shown as follows:Year ending 31 March
1997 | 3,452 |
1998 | 3,707 |
1999 | 3,634 |
2000 | 3,603 |
2001 (provisional) | 3,484 |
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations it plans to adopt to stop the spread of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in private nursing homes.
Answer
Every nursing home is required to have effective policies and procedures to control and prevent the spread of infection. When private nursing homes are being inspected, checks are made to establish that these are in place and being followed. All nursing homes are inspected at least twice a yearFrom 1 April 2002, the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care will regulate all care homes to national standards (including, for example, hygiene) set by Scottish ministers.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 13 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor specifically the death rate of patients from hospital acquired infections in the light of the report by Dr Andrew Walker Hospital Acquired Infection - What is the cost in Scotland ?
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15384 on 10 May 2001.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are waiting for orthodontic treatment and what the current average waiting times for such treatment are in each health board area.
Answer
Most orthodontic treatments carried out within hospital and community health settings are undertaken on an out-patient basis. Information on waiting lists and waiting times for such treatments is not collected centrally.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18314 by Susan Deacon on 20 November 2001, (a) when the proposals for oral cancer screening will be submitted to the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) and when the CSO is expected to reply and make recommendations, (b) when the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on the Health of Older People will end its consideration of means to improving the oral health of older people and make recommendations, (c) when the sub-group on oral health of the elderly will complete its review of issues relevant to improving the oral health of the elderly, (d) what proposals relating to dental health are currently under consideration, (e) how many reviews are currently taking place on dental health issues and (f) how many further proposals will have to be considered or reviews undertaken before decisions are made and guidance issued.
Answer
An Action Plan for Dental Services in Scotland launched in August 2000, outlined a number of proposals to improve oral health in Scotland, including the health of older people. A number of these have now been carried forward as part of the implementation process. Proposals for oral cancer screening have been submitted to the Chief Scientist Office and are currently under consideration.The Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on the Healthcare of Older People has completed a review of the issues associated with the health of older people, including oral health. The oral health sub-group has reported to the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group. Publication of the report of the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on the Healthcare of Older People is expected early in 2002.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 11 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why 13,300 less clients were seen by a District Nurse in 2000 than in 1999, as detailed on page 7 of the Scottish Community Care Statistics 2000.
Answer
The figures refer to the number of home visits made by health visitors and district nurses. This represents only part of the work that they do. Recent changes in practice has included increased activity in clinical based settings rather than home visits and this is not reflected in the figures. The figures also do not reflect an increasing shift in health visiting practice towards community and group based activities or that district nurses are increasingly working jointly with social work. The increasing complexity and intensiveness of activity carried out by district nurses and health visitors is not reflected in these numbers. The numbers of district nurses and health visitors have continued to increase year by year. There were 21.9 more whole-time equivalent health visitors in 1999 than in 1997. The number of district nurses rose by 141 during the same period. In Nursing for Health, we acknowledged that the current methods of recording activity are inadequate and do not reflect changing practices. Work is on going to develop a more meaningful means of reflecting community nursing activity based on the development of an electronic primary health care patient record. Further details of proposals will be made public soon.
