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-10145

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has published to ensure that all potential users of community equipment and adaptations receive full information of the services available to them locally and nationally.

The Executive has not published comprehensive guidance, although it expects to review what exists shortly, in line with Audit Scotland’s recommendations.

However, local authorities have a duty under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons (Scotland) Act 1972 to publish general information about the services they provide. And I expect them to implement the recommendation in the Audit Scotland report, Adapting to the future: Management of community equipment and adaptations, that jointly with NHS boards they should publish comprehensive information on community equipment and adaptations.

Question reference: S2W-10143

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to publish guidelines on the management of community equipment and adaptations.

Question reference: S2W-10334

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 12 November 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the daily cost is of keeping a long-stay patient in an acute hospital bed.

Data is not held centrally thatwould differentiate the daily cost of a long‑stay patient from that of a short‑staypatient in an acute bed. For financial year 2002-03, the national average cost perday of an acute surgical inpatient was £462, an acute medical inpatient was £280and a geriatric long‑stay patient was £142. Further information on hospitalrunning costs is available in the annual Scottish Health Service Costs publication,which can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=2574&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&.

Question reference: S2W-10830

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had, and with whom, regarding the removal of public telephone boxes in rural and suburban areas.

Question reference: S2W-10332

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12417 by Susan Deacon on 30 March 2001, what the median waiting times for all forms of cancer were in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board; what the reasons were for longer than average waiting times in any boards where patients waited for longer than the average median time, and what plans there are to reduce waiting times in all boards, in particular those where the waiting time is above average.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9562 on 1 September 2004. The median waiting times for inpatient and day case cancer treatment, by NHS board area of residence, during the last five years, is given in the following table.

£25 million is being invested annually to support implementation of Cancer in Scotland. Investment plans concentrate on building capacity aimed at meeting waiting times targets and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland standards. Detailed plans are published at www.cancerinscotland.scot.nhs.uk.

An additional £1 million is also committed over three years to underpin the redesign of cancer services through the Cancer Service Improvement Programme.

NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for Hospital In-Patient and Day Case Admission for Treatment on Cancer¹ by NHS Board of Residence

	Median Wait (days)
NHS Board	Year Ended 31 Mar 2000	Year Ended 31 Mar 2001	Year Ended 31 Mar 2002	Year Ended 31 Mar 2003	Year Ended 31 Mar 2004^P
Argyll and Clyde	10	10	9	9	9
Ayrshire and Arran	12	14	10	11	11
Borders	8	10	11	13	11
Dumfries and Galloway	15	14	14	13	12
Fife	13	14	13	12	13
Forth Valley	11	11	12	13	13
Grampian	7	9	6	6	6
Greater Glasgow	12	13	10	11	11
Highland	9	12	11	10	11
Lanarkshire	10	11	10	9	9
Lothian	15	15	15	15	15
Orkney	7	7	7	6	7
Shetland	8	11	7	6	6
Tayside	19	18	18	15	14
Western Isles	9	9	7	8	12
NHSScotland	12	13	11	11	11

Source: ISD Scotland.

^PProvisional.

Notes: 1. Cancer as defined as ICD10 C00-C97 as main diagnosis.

Question reference: S2W-10139

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce NHS one-stop treatment centres.

Partnership for Care made clear that the way NHS services are provided mustcontinually adapt to reduce waiting times and improve the quality of patient care.It is for NHS boards to determine how these improvements are best brought about.But NHS boards already have or plan to introduce a number of walk-in treatment centres. This includes Stracathro, Tayside (operational); Leith Community Treatment Centre, Lothian (operational); Stobhill and Victoria in Glasgow (planned), and Grampian (planned).

Question reference: S2W-10154

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what language knowledge it accepts as a minimum standard for EU-qualified medical personnel for the purpose of patient safety.

Under European Union legislation on freedom of movement, doctors, dentists, nurses responsible for general care, pharmacists and midwives who are European Economic Association (EEA) nationals are entitled to automatic recognition. The freedom of movement laws prevent health regulatory bodies (for example, the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council) from language testing EEA nationals. However, employers are responsible for ensuring that the staff they employ have the competence and linguistic ability to carry out their duties of care.

Question reference: S2W-10208

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to replicate the decision of the Department of Health to reduce the regulation of entry into NHS pharmacy contracts.

Question reference: S2W-10333

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 29 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds are occupied by long-stay patients who are fit to move into a nursing or residential home, broken down by NHS board.

The number of patients whose discharge from hospital was delayed and who were awaiting a placement in a care home at the time of the April 2004 census is shown in Table 1. Long-stay patients cannot be separately identified from the census.

Table 1 – Patients Ready for Discharge – Numbers Waiting for Care Home Placement by NHS Board as at April 2004 Census

NHS Board	Number of Patients Waiting for a Care Home Placement¹
Scotland	795
Argylland Clyde	108
Ayrshireand Arran	48
Borders	15
Dumfriesand Galloway	3
Fife	85
Forth Valley	46
Grampian	104
Greater Glasgow	94
Highland	35
Lanarkshire	34
Lothian	141
Orkney	3
Shetland	0
Tayside	70
Western Isles	9

Since January 2002 and the launch of the first delayed discharge action plan, we have reduced the numbers delayed from 3,116 to 1,785 at April 2004. The number of patients delayed for more than six weeks has halved. The number of patients delayed for over 12 months has reduced by 68%. Furthermore, each local authority currently has vacant places in care homes for older people.

Note:

1. Number of patients ready for discharge where the principal reason was:

- awaiting place availability in local authority residential home, independent residential home or nursing home (not NHS funded);

- non-availability of public funding to purchase Residential/Nursing home place;

- patient exercising statutory right of choice, with one of the above as the secondary reason, or

- awaiting completion of social care arrangements in local authority residential home placement, independent residential home placement or nursing home placement (not NHS funded).

Question reference: S2W-10142

Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 28 September 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any plans to provide dedicated facilities for detoxification and rehabilitation for substance misuse in each NHS board area.

It is for local Drug and Alcohol Action Teams (DAAT) to design and deliver services in their areas tailored to local needs and circumstances. Local service planners and providers already have access to a range of clinical guidance and advice on good practice provided by the Executive.

According to DAAT returns to the Executive, detoxification and community rehabilitation services are already available in each NHS board area.