Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4O-01716

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 January 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what financial assistance it will provide to Moray Council for the storm damage to Lossiemouth and Kingston.

Question reference: S4W-11699

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 19 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what reviews have been carried out to ensure that intensive rehabilitation services are fit for purpose.

It is for NHS boards to ensure that the rehabilitation services they provide are appropriate in their intensity and duration.

The Scottish Government’s Rehabilitation Framework encourages NHS boards to ensure that as well as providing intensive rehabilitation where appropriate,
re-ablement services are also available and provided where appropriate.

We have established a Centre of Excellence in Rehabilitation and Re-ablement Research at Strathclyde University. The Centre will work with researchers and practitioners from the NHS and social care across Scotland to strengthen the evidence base, further evaluate and support the development of rehabilitation and re-ablement services.

Question reference: S4W-11700

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to integrate physical activity into (a) primary care and (b) mental health services.

We are working closely with NHS Health Scotland, The Royal College of General Practitioners and NHS Education for Scotland to integrate physical activity into a routine part of primary care. A brief advice and interventions pilot will commence next year. There will be 19 sites joining the pilot between January to March 2013 and the Scottish Government has provided £100,000 to support this project.

We are also aware regular physical activity improves mental health outcomes. The linked contribution answers for S4W-11701 and S4W-11702 on 13 December 2012 provide a response on action by the Scottish Government with physical activity in mental health services.

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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question reference: S4W-11702

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many GPs prescribe physical activity to support mental health patients.

This information is not held centrally.

We will work with partners, including the Royal College of General Practitioners and Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, to increase local knowledge of social prescribing opportunities, including through new technologies which support resources that connect existing sources of support and make local information easy to find. We will also raise awareness through local health improvement networks, of the benefits of such approaches.

Question reference: S4W-11701

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 13 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it allocates to organisations involved in supporting physical activity for mental health patients.

The Scottish Government sets national policy direction for mental health and provides funding to NHS boards and local authorities to support implementation of policy. The management of local actions in implementing national policy, and decisions on local service planning and delivery, spending priorities, and the contribution of the voluntary sector in this, is the responsibility of relevant local agencies.

Question reference: S4W-11572

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what the percentage success rate is of (a) psychiatric and (b) psychological treatment for patients with depression.

Question reference: S4W-11567

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to help build mental health skills in primary care and other health service settings.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) leads workforce development, education and training for NHS Scotland in line with the Scottish Government’s quality strategy ambitions for the delivery of safe, effective and person-centred care for the people of Scotland.

We are working very closely with NES to deliver the government’s new mental health strategy and related ongoing programme of work to develop the skills and expertise of staff in mental health, primary care and other settings. Examples include:

Work to support development of the mental health nursing workforce through development of competency frameworks and embedding recovery focussed practice;

Major programme of work to support the whole mental health workforce to increase access to psychological therapies and interventions; providing a range of multi-disciplinary staff with low to high intensity training across services such as addictions, forensic, general and older adults and trauma;

Training to enhance the skills and knowledge of staff in specialist children’s services to deliver psychosocial interventions for improving physical health;

Delivery, with the Scottish Social Services Council, of the Promoting Excellence framework for improving the skills and knowledge of all health and social services staff working with people with dementia including through education and training, and creating infrastructures and partnerships to ensure sustainability.

We are also advancing commitments in the mental health strategy to:

Work with the Royal College of GPs and Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland to increase local knowledge of social prescribing and self help opportunities, recognising primary care and particularly GPs have a key role to play in signposting people to such services;

Work with NHS boards and partners to more effectively link work on alcohol and depression and other mental health problems to improve identification and treatment, with a particular focus on primary care;

Identify and better respond to trauma and distress in primary care settings.

We are also maintaining a focus on the former HEAT target that delivered our commitment to train 50% of all frontline, primary care, accident and emergency and substance misuse staff in suicide prevention awareness training.

Question reference: S4W-11571

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether patients with medically unexplained symptoms are routinely referred to mental health services.

Referral to mental health services for those with medically unexplained symptoms will be on the basis of assessed needs, in consultation with the individual and where appropriate the family and other carers.

Holistic multi-agency and multi-disciplinary assessment of need will inform a regularly reviewed individual care plan which sets out appropriate treatment and interventions and the roles and responsibilities of all individuals and agencies involved.

Question reference: S4W-11574

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether mental health is a core component in the training of GPs.

Question reference: S4W-11566

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government which Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines recommend psychological input where appropriate for patients with long-term conditions.

SIGN has published a range of evidence based clinical practice guidelines for NHS Scotland which is available on their website:

(http://www.sign.ac.uk/index.html).

Psychological input may be suitable for a number of conditions and where there is evidence to support this in the treatment of people with long-term conditions. Individual SIGN guidelines will make such recommendations where it is appropriate to do so.