- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what mandatory training is provided to sales assistants in non-pharmacy outlets regarding the sale of proprietary medicines.
Answer
Responsibility for the training of sales assistants in non-pharmacy outlets is not a matter for the Executive.
Before a medicine is classified for general sale, it is considered to be safe to use without professional advice.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions were due to misuse of over-the-counter analgesics and cough medicines, purchased outwith community pharmacies, in each of the last five years.
Answer
This information is not available.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 14 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any test purchases are made in non-pharmacy outlets in respect of amounts of analgesics and other proprietary medicines sold at any one time.
Answer
The sale and supply of medicines on the General Sales List Order are controlled under section 53 of the Medicines Act 1968.
In Scotland, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enforces the Medicines Act 1968 on behalf of Scottish ministers. Records held do not identify test purchase initiatives in Scotland in non-pharmacy outlets in respect of amounts of analgesics and other proprietary medicines sold at any one time.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14155 by Mr Andy Kerr on 28 February 2005, whether it will list all the members of the Scottish Health Council, their areas of expertise and their home areas.
Answer
This information wasprovided in press releases, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s ReferenceCentre (Bib. numbers 35664 and 35665) which announced the appointments.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 March 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14160 by Mr Andy Kerr on 28 February 2005, whether it will give the explicit reasons why the new Scottish Health Council was not given the task of providing advice and support services for those people seeking to complain about the NHS.
Answer
The consultation document
ANew Public Involvement Structure for NHSScotland, held in the Parliament’s ReferenceCentre (Bib. number 26830), outlined the proposals for the Scottish Health Councilwhich were based on an increasing emphasis on NHS Boards directly engaging withand involving the public, and the need for a new body to provide quality assuranceof boards’ performance.
Providing advice and supportservices to people wishing to comment on NHS services has been the responsibilityof the board. This service has been provided by some local health councils in thepast and some NHS boards have provided funding for complaints support staff. Thereare currently no national standards for the delivery of complaints advice and supportand it is outwith the health council core remit. Arrangements are now being developedto establish a partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland and their local bureauxto formalise their existing arrangements for providing advice and support on NHSservices.
The Scottish Health Council willnot provide advice and support services, but they will seek to ensure that NHSboards have appropriate and effective arrangements in place. The Scottish HealthCouncil will also ensure that individual patients, carers and members of the publicare able to make their views on health services known.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to acquire sufficient supplies of diamorphine for use in the NHS.
Answer
In December 2004, Chiron, themajor supplier of diamorphine injection in the UK, informed the Department of Healththat its supplies of this product were limited. Since that time, the Scottish ExecutiveHealth Department working with NHS National Services Scotland, the Department ofHealth and NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, have been monitoring the supply situationfor diamorphine.
Wockhardt UK, the otherUKsupplier, has increased its production and extra supplies are being distributedto the NHS. However, it is likely that diamorphine injection will remain in shortsupply for the immediate future. Health professionals have been asked to conservestocks for patients in whom the need is greatest. Wherever possible, the use ofalternative medicines should be considered.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued any guidance regarding initiating the prescription of co-proxamol.
Answer
The safety of medicines availableon the UK market is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA) and the expert independent advisory committee, the Committee on Safetyof Medicines (CSM).
There are a number of alternativesfor managing pain and the CSM has issued advice on pain management options to assistprescribers, together with individual patients, in choosing pain management strategies.This guidance also refers to a number of sources of additional advice includingthe British National Formulary, issued to doctors and pharmacists.
On 31 January 2005, The ScottishExecutive Health Department issued advice from Professor Gordon Duff, Chairman,CSM, about the withdrawal of co-proxamol. The CSM’s overview of alternative analgesicoptions is available on the MHRA website (www.mhra.gov.uk).In order to minimise disruption of healthcare provision, co-proxamol will be phasedout over an extended period of time so that patients currently receiving co-proxamolmay be switched to a suitable alternative.
No new patients should be initiatedon co-proxamol therapy.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken action to avoid any shortage in supply of morphine within the NHS.
Answer
The NHS Purchasing and SupplyAgency is in contact with the suppliers of morphine, who have increased their productionof this product.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cancer patients use complementary medicines.
Answer
This information is not heldcentrally. It is open to NHS boards to provide complementary medicines at theirdiscretion and based on their assessment of local needs.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 February 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 March 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a shortage of supply of diamorphine within the NHS and how many weeks of supply is in stock.
Answer
In December 2004, Chiron, themajor supplier of diamorphine injection in the UK, informed the Department of Healththat its supplies of this product were limited. The other supplier, Wockhardt UK, continuesto produce diamorphine injection and has increased its production and these extrasupplies are being distributed to the NHS.
Because of the limited availabilityof diamorphine injection, prescribers have been asked, wherever possible, to switchpatients to alternative analgesics. Given the switch in prescribing habits, stocksof diamorphine injection are being conserved for those patients whose need is greatest.The UK Health Departments are taking whatever action is necessary to secure sufficientsupplies of the alternative medicines to meet the needs of patients in the UK.
