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: S2W-28043

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the NHS investing in shares; how much each NHS board has invested and in what companies; who incurs any losses that are accrued, and who monitors the receipts.

NHS boards are not permittedto invest in shares and will therefore have no reason to do so and invest nil,incurring no losses and having no receipts.

NHSboards may, however, invest funds donated to them in shares but the ScottishExecutive does not hold any information on these funds, as they are held on theboards’ behalf as separate endowment funds. Investment of NHS endowment fundsis a matter for the individual fund managers and may also be governed by theterms of the endowment made.

The Executive have supplied the following corrected answer:

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards are notcurrently permitted to invest in companies without specific authority fromScottish ministers. However Scottish ministers agreed that NHS Grampian, NHSGreater Glasgow, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside should be allowed to own shares inTMRI Ltd., a Scottish limited company newly formed by those boards, four of Scotland’sUniversities and Scottish Enterprise for the purpose of facilitating a medicalresearch collaboration with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Each board has subscribed atotal of £1,000 in return for being issued 1,000 ordinary £1 shares in TMRILtd. The universities and Scottish Enterprise have also bought shares in TMRILtd and any potential losses in excess of the share capital would be borne byTMRI Ltd itself. Financial monitoring is the responsibility of the board ofdirectors of that company, which includes a representative of eachparticipating NHS board.

NHS boards may also investfunds donated to them in shares but the Scottish Executive does not hold anyinformation on these funds, as they are held on the boards’ behalf as separateendowment funds. Investment of NHS endowment funds is a matter for theindividual fund managers and may also be governed by the terms of the endowmentmade.

Question reference: S2W-28031

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS hospitals have (a) in-house and (b) private contracts for cleaning services.

The current pattern ofcleaning services provision in NHS hospitals is as follows:

Hospital	(a) In-house	(b) Contracted out
Gartnaval General Hospital, Glasgow	3
Western Infirmary, Glasgow	3
Glasgow Royal Infirmary		3
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary	3
Western General Hospital, Edinburgh	3
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh		3
Ninewells Hospital, Dundee	3
The Ayr Hospital	3
Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock	3
Borders General Hospital	3
Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy	3
Queen Margaret Hospital	3
Southern General Hospital	3	One Department
Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow	3
Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow	3
Inverclyde Royal Hospital/Ravenscraig Hospital	3
Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley	3
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness	3
Monklands Hospital, Airdrie	3
Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride		3
Wishaw General Hospital		3
St John’s Hospital, Livingston	3
Perth Royal Infirmary	3
Stirling Royal Infirmary	3
Falkirk Royal Infirmary	3
Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary	3
State Hospital Board for Scotland	3
Golden Jubilee Hospital	3

Question reference: S2W-27841

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 11 September 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any studies focusing on adverse psychiatric reactions linked to the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug, Strattera.

The Medicines and Healthcareproducts Regulatory Agency has advised that a Prescription Event Monitoringstudy is being undertaken by the Drug Safety Research Unit in Southampton. Thestudy is to further evaluate the safety profile of Strattera in routineclinical practice and includes a specific focus on psychiatric reactions –particularly suicidal thoughts and behaviour. It was initiated when clinicaltrial data suggested an increased risk of suicidal behaviour in patients takingStrattera. Based on these data the Chairman of the Committee on Safety ofMedicines advised health professionals in September 2005 that:

Patientsshould be monitored for signs of depression, suicidal thoughts or suicidalbehaviour and referred for appropriate treatment if necessary.

Patients and parents should be informedabout this risk and advised to watch for any clinical worsening, irritabilityor agitation, suicidal thoughts or behaviour or other unusual changes inbehaviour.

Further informationabout the use of Strattera can be found on the MHRA website - www.mhra.gov.uk

Question reference: S2W-27763

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 29 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21075 by Nicol Stephen on 31 January 2006, how many (a) grocery, (b) butcher, (c) baker, (d) fishmonger, (e) newsagent, (f) confectionery and (g) tobacco retail outlets and how many wholesalers there were in 2005 or, if this data is not yet available, when it will be.

This data for 2005 is not yetavailable.

The reference point for the ScottishExecutive’s business stock database is being brought forward from November to March.For continuity of analysis, the first two years of March based figures (2005 and2006) will be published together by the end of this year. This change has resultedin a delay to the 2005 figures; however the data for 2006 and subsequent years willbe available at least six months earlier under the new timetable.

Question reference: S2W-27839

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the contracts in respect of public telephone call charges in hospitals, including the Beatson Clinic.

Question reference: S2W-27840

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 August 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 29 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospitals operate a telephone service which charges patients higher than normal network rates.

Question reference: S2W-27435

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been given contraceptive implants on the NHS in the last five years.

Question reference: S2W-27428

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) in patient beds and (b) specialist staff are dedicated to the treatment of anorexia.

The information requested isnot held centrally. NHS in patient care is provided within generic mentalhealth services and not separately identified by condition. In patient care isalso contracted from the independent sector.

Patients diagnosed withanorexia may come into contact with a wide variety of healthcare professionalsin the multidisciplinary team who offer treatment and therapy includingpsychologists, nurses and many of the allied health professions. Information onthe number of specialist staff dedicated to the treatment of anorexia is notavailable centrally.

Question reference: S2W-27432

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adults and (b) children registered with an NHS dental practice in each year since 1995.

The information requested isprovided in the following table.

Total Number of Adults andChildren Registered with an NHS General Dental Practitioner; At 31 March

Year	Number of adult registrations	Number of child registrations
1995	1,849,884	623,874
1996	1,942,469	635,945
1997	2,027,245	637,743
1998	2,034,688	710,064
1999	1,891,328	726,124
2000	1,972,310	754,545
2001	1,969,008	743,469
2002	1,960,605	733,743
2003	1,959,293	725,494
2004	1,935,634	716,070
2005	1,915,492	711,847
2006	1,877,945	707,371

Source: MIDAS(Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

Question reference: S2W-27427

Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 July 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 14 August 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address anorexia on a Scotland-wide basis, in light of the recent decision by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman on the treatment of an anorexia patient in NHS Lothian.

Weare working with all interests, including the independent sector, to improveeating disorder services in Scotland. The focus remains on better supported andcoordinated care and greater family involvement.

Aspart of this action the NHS regional partnerships are reviewing and introducingchanges to the organisation of care. These changes will be further informed bythe outcomes, expected this December, and from the Delivering for Health inspiredreview of specialist services, including eating disorder care.

On the wider front NHSEducation Scotland is providing educational material for undergraduate healthand social care and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is consulting on themanagement of eating disorders, the outcomes of which will be published thisNovember.