- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to develop a sexual health strategy for Scotland, following the Health Education Board for Scotland's report Teenage Sexuality in Scotland, published in 2000.
Answer
The Executive has commissioned further research from the Health Education Board for Scotland to inform the development of a sexual health strategy. This is due to be completed next month.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 22 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether single vaccines and vaccinations administered outwith the UK were included in the recent statistics published by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency (ISD(s)13) on MMR immunisation uptake rates.
Answer
The information on MMR vaccination uptake rates to 30 June 2001, published by ISD Scotland, do not include data on single vaccines. They do, however, include information on triple vaccines administered outwith the UK to children who moved to Scotland after being immunised elsewhere.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to ensure that no NHS prescription class A drugs are available illegally.
Answer
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and regulations made under the Act, provide the basis for preventing misuse of controlled drugs.
There are measures in place to ensure that controlled drugs are prescribed and dispensed on the NHS in accordance with the statutory requirements. Guidance and advice on the principal legal requirements relating to the prescribing of controlled drugs is contained in the British National Formulary provided free to all doctors and pharmacists.
If prescribed controlled drugs became available illegally, then this would be a matter for the police.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what specific steps are being taken to meet the national target of reducing the pregnancy rate among 13 to 15 year olds by 20% by the year 2010.
Answer
The £3 million Healthy Respect National Health Demonstration project, currently running in Lothian, has as one of its aims the reduction of unwanted teenage pregnancies. The project, which will be independently evaluated, seeks radically to transform teenage attitudes to sexual health and sexual relationships, with a particular focus on marginalised groups such as young people in care.
In addition to measures taken by health boards and other interests at local level, the Executive is also funding the setting up by Brook in Scotland of four new advice centres for young people, the first of which is expected to open later this year.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 18 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether methadone is prescribed to drug users primarily to reduce anti-social behaviour or because it is the most clinically effective treatment.
Answer
The decision to prescribe methadone, or any other pharmacological intervention, is made on clinical grounds based on the assessment of the nature and extent of the individual's problem drug use.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 18 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring implementation of the recommendations in Eating for Health: A Diet Action Plan for Scotland and what monitoring reports are available.
Answer
The Scottish Executive liaises with key sectors identified in the Scottish Diet Action Plan in order to monitor its implementation and this will be further enhanced by the recent appointment of the Scottish Food and Health Co-ordinator. Formal reporting mechanisms include the Scottish Health Survey and publications from the Food Standards Agency, Health Education Board for Scotland and from Scottish Executive funded initiatives to improve Scotland's diet.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10739 by Susan Deacon on 27 November 2000, what success it had in increasing the uptake of donor cards following its TV advertising campaign; what further measures it has taken to encourage organ donation; how successful any such measures have been, and what additional measures it intends to take to raise awareness of an individual's rights with regard to organ donation.
Answer
The number of organ donor leaflets requested from the Scottish Executive so far this year has already exceeded last year's total by over 31,000. The Scottish Executive has recently provided funding support towards a billboard and cinema advertising initiative organised by the Scottish Transplant Co-ordinators, which took place during Transplant Awareness Week.
The Scottish Executive is currently considering a range of potential measures to raise public awareness about organ donation. We have asked the Scottish Transplant Group to develop a strategy to increase organ donation and I expect to be able to make an announcement once I have received its report later this year.
One key way of helping to increase organ donation rates is for people who would be willing to donate organs to discuss their intentions with their family, so that the family is aware of those intentions if they are ever asked to decide whether organ donation should take place.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS patients have been treated in (a) the private/independent sector and (b) hospitals outwith Scotland in each of the past five years.
Answer
(a) Reliable information on the number of NHS patients treated in private hospitals is not available centrally. However, the Information and Statistics Division, part of the Common Services Agency in NHSScotland, are currently working with the Scottish Executive, NHS Trusts, health boards and the private sector to resolve this issue.
(b) The information is not available centrally.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 21 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the specific needs of rural health workers will be addressed in future education and training courses for health workers.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18269. There are already provisions in place within NHSScotland's Learning Together Strategy that promotes education, training and lifelong learning for all NHSScotland staff.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 24 September 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 October 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were given a domiciliary eye test in each health board area in each of the last five years.
Answer
Information on the number of domiciliary sight tests paid for by health boards and Primary Care NHS Trusts in Scotland is collected by the Common Services Agency as part of the General Ophthalmic Services return. The domiciliary information collected is not published due to concerns about the robustness of the data. Figures by health board of the number of domiciliary sight tests paid are shown in the table for the years ending 31 March 1998 to 2001. Information for the year ending 31 March 1997 is not shown due to quality concerns.
Number of domiciliary visits paid for by Health Boards and Primary Care NHS Trusts
| | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
Argyll and Clyde | 1,894 | 2,266 | 2,100 | 2,471 |
Ayrshire and Arran | 2,071 | 2,171 | 2,381 | 2,356 |
Borders | 409 | 275 | 491 | 423 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 513 | 425 | 605 | 841 |
Fife | 849 | 1,304 | 1,464 | 1,182 |
Forth Valley | 1,116 | 1,110 | 1,375 | 1,474 |
Grampian | 1,491 | 977 | 1,827 | 1,838 |
Greater Glasgow | 7,065 | 5,876 | 6,859 | 7,065 |
Highland | 397 | 397 | 824 | 783 |
Lanarkshire | 2,639 | 2,106 | 3,123 | 3,280 |
Lothian | 3,318 | 3,411 | 4,219 | 4,042 |
Orkney | 11 | 0 | 6 | 29 |
Shetland | 52 | 54 | 13 | 42 |
Tayside | 1,315 | 1,805 | 1,994 | 2,535 |
Western Isles | 38 | 66 | 37 | 68 |
Scotland Total | 2,3178 | 22,243 | 27,318 | 28,429 |
Notes:
1.
The increase in the number of sight tests for the years 31 March 2000 and 2001 reflects the change in legislation which allowed for free NHS sight tests for all aged 60 and over.
