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: S4W-00059

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Michael Russell on 31 May 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether mental health awareness and promotion is included in teacher training and, if so, whether this is made available for continuing professional development.

Student teachers are given general tuition and guidance on how to recognise and support pupils with additional support needs, including mental health conditions, as part of a series of core and elective modules within initial teacher education courses.

In addition, there are many specific mental health awareness and emotional wellbeing continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities available for teachers. Identifying appropriate CPD opportunities and arranging to engage with them is a matter for individual teachers to agree with their local authority employers.

Question reference: S4W-00069

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 31 May 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that police forces receive the support needed to deal with people with mental health problems.

The police have a general duty of care, as well as specific duties under legislation such as the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 to support those with mental health issues and to work with other agencies in doing so. Training on mental health and suicide prevention is a core part of the curriculum for probationers at the Scottish Police College. Since 2008, in association with NHS Health Scotland, 100 police officers have been trained in Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid programme and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. Additionally, the police have received £1 million for adult protection activity generally as part of the overall £40 million funding provided by the Scottish Government since October 2008 to support the implementation of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007.

Question reference: S3W-40478

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost to dentists in primary care is of complying with the new measures to decontaminate dental instruments.

As independent contractors to the NHS, General Dental Practitioners have responsibility for ensuring appropriate instrumentation is used to treat patients.

In excess of £50 million has been allocated to NHS boards to assist general dental practitioners with practice improvements under the Primary and Continuing Care Modernisation Improvement Programme.

In addition to this, dental practitioners also receive a general dental practice allowance which is intended to help address practice improvements in relation to the provision of high quality premises, compliance with health and safety requirements and decontamination.

Question reference: S3W-40479

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 18 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what evidence exists of dental patients contracting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from a contaminated dental instrument.

The Department of Health reported in 2007 that there was currently no evidence of vCJD having been spread by dentistry and this is still the case. The latest guidance from the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) on infection control of CJD, vCJD and other human prion diseases in healthcare was published in January 2011 and identifies that the risks of transmission of infection from dental instruments are thought to be very low provided satisfactory standards of infection control and decontamination are maintained.

Question reference: S3W-40332

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to roll out the Pharmore project of walk-in services being piloted at five Boots pharmacies

Question reference: S3W-40331

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Efforts to tackle current obesity trends are probably the single biggest factor in reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes, given that unhealthy body weight affects over 80% of those with type 2 diabetes.

The Scottish Government and the COSLA published Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Scotland: A Route Map Towards Healthy Weight. in February 2010. The route map makes a long-term commitment to tackling overweight and obesity, to help achieve a healthier Scotland. Our 2010 diabetes action plan expects NHS boards to take account of the route map in their work with community health partnerships and their planning partners in developing population strategies for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, including diabetes. Those strategies should focus on diet and increased physical activity.

In addition, our Keep Well programme has meant that to date, more than 90,000 people from Scotland''s most deprived communities have received a health check covering the risk factors for type 2 diabetes, with those identified as being at risk receiving appropriate follow-up advice or treatment. We have announced plans to mainstream the Keep Well programme from April 2012.

Question reference: S3W-40333

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 07 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what evaluation has been carried out regarding the benefits of the Pharmore project

Each of the eight pilot sites involved in the Pharmore Pilot Programme have been subject to ongoing local monitoring and evaluation since the programme launch in September 2008.

Feedback from local project teams indicate that the Pharmore programme has helped to open up access to a range primary care services, as well as complementing existing local services, further establishing community pharmacy as a pivotal part of the wider primary care team.

A full evaluation of the Pharmore Pilot Programme will be commissioned which will inform the future design of community pharmacy based walk-in services and the extent to which they should be rolled out.

Question reference: S3W-40127

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will recommend the provision of complementary and alternative medicine through the Complementary and Natural Health Council for the treatment of chronic pain.

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) is a non-statutory project, funded and assessed by the Department of Health in London. There is no duly appointed Scottish representative on the CNHC, and no endorsement or funding has been sought from this government.

The government recognises that complementary or alternative medicine offer relief to some people suffering from a wide variety of conditions. It is open to NHS boards to provide these therapies, based on their assessment of the needs of their local population and in line with national guidance on treatment. Guidance on complementary and alternative medicine was issued to NHS boards in August 2005 in HDL (2005) 37, which is available at:

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/HDL2005_37.pdf.

Question reference: S3W-40126

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will recommend sequential therapies for the treatment of persistent non-specific low back pain.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) Clinical Guideline on Early Management of Persistent Non-specific Low Back Pain (May 2009) refers to the use of sequential therapies, in the section dealing with research recommendations. It suggests that further research is needed to address the question of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of sequential therapies (manual therapy, exercise and acupuncture) compared with single interventions in people with persistent non-specific low back pain.

Helpful information on managing back pain is included in the Scottish Backs pages of the NHS Inform website www.nhsinform.co.uk.

Question reference: S3W-40067

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 01 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 14 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to identify and support schoolchildren known to be self-harming.

The Scottish Government, through the implementation of the 2005 Children and Young People''s Mental Health Framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care have been encouraging NHS boards and partners to improve the networks between professionals within the children''s workforce, and to improve the skills of the non specialist workforce (such as school based professionals) in identifying a range of children''s metal health problems, and in responding appropriately in offering and securing the right help.

We have been working with NHS boards to ensure that there is a mental health link worker or properly articulated link system between schools and child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) specialists. In support of this a web based toolkit (http://www.handsonscotland.co.uk ) aimed at improving the confidence of teachers and others in responding to the mental health needs of children has been developed.

We have supported NHS QIS in the development of draft standards for integrated care pathways which are currently out for consultation. Implementation of the standards will ensure that local arrangements are in place which support school based professional to better recognise when children are in need of specialist help and to refer on quickly after these children have been identified.

We are investing an additional £12.5 million in specialist CAMHS in the three years from 2009. This has grown the specialist workforce by 25% between the end of 2008 and the end of 2010. This is enabling specialist CAMH services to respond quicker to children who need the service.