- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 7 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce any initiatives which integrate prison support with community support to ensure that prisoners with drug problems receive continuity of care and treatment on release.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-10118.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 4 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to give local health care co-operatives some degree of commissioning powers.
Answer
The Scottish Executive is currently considering a range of measures to improve the operation of the NHS in Scotland, this includes the development of LHCCs. The Scottish Health Plan, to be published shortly, will outline our proposals in this regard, following extensive discussion and consultation.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 4 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-10729 by Ross Finnie on 13 November 2000, what environmental disbenefits could be associated with imported organic foods.
Answer
All transportation of products over long distances results in an environmental cost e.g. in terms of air pollutants and CO² emissions. This will vary according to the mode of transport and the length of journey involved.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the implementation of the Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland.
Answer
The
Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland set out a six-year implementation programme to September 2003.
Progress has been good in some areas, less so in others. The Mental Health and Well Being Support Group has been established specifically to help agencies advance the implementation programme against the timetable and ambitions set out in the framework.
The support group, chaired by Dr Ian Pullen, (Consultant Psychiatrist, Borders Primary Care NHS Trust) includes local authority and NHS professional membership, service user and carer representatives. The Chairman is also free to co-opt any individuals he considers appropriate to the delivery of the group's task. The group have completed six visits of a rolling programme across Scotland to meet all partner care agencies and service user and carer representatives.
The aim for all is full implementation by 2003 of a modern, flexible and responsive mental health service as set out in the framework.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8124 by Susan Deacon on 25 October 2000 and the figures published in table 8.5:1 of the Scottish Health Statistics published by the Registrar General for Scotland which shows an increase from 48 in 1997 to 67 in 1998, what is being done to address the 40% increase in accidental deaths of children under 15.
Answer
Scottish Health Statistics 1999, published in February this year, indicates that the number of such deaths declined from 67 in 1998 to 47 in 1999. This underlines that, where numbers are relatively small, there can be a degree of volatility from one year to the next. Over the 1990s the trend has been encouragingly downwards, although the Executive is not complacent about the picture presented by these figures as the following examples illustrate:
Schoolchildren are a particular target audience for fire safety messages and Scottish fire brigades have developed a number of educational packages. The Executive has funded an interactive website for primary schools.
On 1 March, the Scottish Executive and UK Government announced targets for road accident casualty reductions in the period to 2010 including a 40% reduction in the number of fatal and serious casualties and a 50% reduction in those involving children. These targets are underpinned by a Great Britain-wide strategy Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone. The Executive also provides funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign to develop road safety education resources and publicity measures, many of which are aimed at children.
Copies of Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's Annual Report are held in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how consumers can be assured that food labelled "organic" is free from additives.
Answer
I am advised by the Food Standards Agency Scotland that all food is subject to The Food Labelling Regulations 1996. In addition to this, the labelling of "organic" foods is further detailed in EC legislation 2092/91 - Organic Production of Agricultural Products and Indications referring thereto of Organic Products and Foodstuffs. Consumers can therefore be assured whether or not "organic" food is additive free by reading the label.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address any increased drug resistance amongst HIV patients.
Answer
Data collected by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health confirm the continuing beneficial impact of antiviral drug treatment of HIV patients and do not suggest any significant increase in drug resistance.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to fund a comprehensive programme to check each patient's resistance to drugs before treatment of HIV begins.
Answer
Antiviral susceptibility testing, which permits an assessment to be made of each patient's resistance to antiviral drugs, has only recently been developed from research. The testing involved is very complex and requires considerable expertise, which is not yet widely available within the NHS.
At present, antiviral susceptibility testing is used only when treatment fails. The Executive has made arrangements for such tests in respect of Scottish patients to be carried out by the Public Health Laboratory Service in Birmingham.
The Medical Research Council is currently funding a trial towards developing and testing guidelines and establishing protocols for treatment, which would define the circumstances in which resistance tests would be of benefit. The outcome of this work should indicate whether there will be significant benefits from introducing a resistance test for all or some HIV patients, prior to commencing antiviral drug therapy.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8826 by Susan Deacon on 14 August 2000, what programme of change has been established by the Chairman of the State Hospitals Board and what progress has been made in addressing the findings of the Mental Welfare Commission on the State Hospital, Carstairs.
Answer
The report which I have received from the Chairman of the State Hospital's Board covers a range of measures designed to:
- improve multi-disciplinary working across the hospital;
- expand the range and availability of psychological interventions to benefit all patients;
- introduce systems to ensure that patients are given the right interventions and therapies at the right time, and
- improve corporate and clinical governance with the hospital.
Some of these measures have been or are being addressed at present while others will require additional resources. When final decisions have been made on the funding consequences I shall reply to the Chairman. At that time, I shall be happy to fulfil the undertaking I gave to the Parliament on 30 March to report back to members and to the Health and Community Care Committee with further details of how the Commission's recommendations are being implemented.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to utilise private sector health providers in order to enhance patient care.
Answer
The independent health care sector can be used by the NHS where NHS facilities are unable to provide a particular service or in circumstances when NHS services are under particular strain.
