- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 7 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that general practitioners are qualified to give a diagnosis of autism or Asperger's syndrome.
Answer
General practitioners, like other professionals, are encouraged to look at their own personal learning needs and the health needs of their patients and to seek training in specific areas accordingly. Guidance and assistance is available from the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education via the postgraduate Directors of General Practice Education. Each GP already receives an annual Postgraduate Education Allowance to support an agreed amount of training.In addition, revalidation by the General Medical Council and clinical governance now make explicit requirements for all doctors to provide evidence of their continuing competence.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 23 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 7 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to replicate the initiative by Lothian Health Board by ensuring that an Adult Autism Co-ordinator is appointed in each health board area.
Answer
The same as you? recommended that health boards and local authorities should identify a named professional who will be responsible for improving local services for people with autism and for linking local services to the national network. It is the responsibility of agencies locally to identify the named professional.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the decision of the General Medical Council's Preliminary Proceedings Committee in respect of the complaint against Dr Peter John Mansfield regarding the practice of giving children single vaccinations instead of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccination will have for the administering of such vaccines in Scotland.
Answer
None. The decision of the General Medical Council relates to an individual health professional. It has no substantive bearing on immunisation policy.Immunisation policy is informed by expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Their advice remains that MMR is the safest and most effective way to protect children against measles, mumps and rubella. Single vaccines are not recommended, in place of MMR, as there is no evidence of benefit and a clear risk of harm.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 20 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 4 December 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any alternatives to mainstream schooling for pupils with special educational needs.
Answer
There is a broad range of provision for pupils with special educational needs. This includes local authority mainstream and special schools, special units attached to mainstream schools, independent special schools and grant-aided special schools. Some children may have split placements in mainstream and specialist provision.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider setting up a research group to look into any effects of using pesticides in the food chain.
Answer
It is the responsibility of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides to ensure that all pesticides are safe to those who use them, to consumers of the treated produce and to the environment. In addition, the Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC) monitors the safety of food on sale. Its function is to plan a surveillance programme for pesticide residues in the UK food supply and to evaluate the results. Both committees are independent of Government.The PRC results are published on a regular basis. A copy of the latest Annual Report for year 2000 has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17241).
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider commissioning any studies into the use of food additives and any possible side effects caused by their consumption.
Answer
On matters of food safety and standards, the Scottish Executive is advised by the Food Standards Agency. Additives are only permitted if independent experts consider them to be safe and their use is justified. The Food Standards Agency actively checks on the amounts of individual food additives eaten by UK consumers, to ensure that they remain within safe limits. The details of this work is published and if any problems are found, appropriate action is taken to safeguard public health. Information about the Food Standards Agency's research on additives, including work to measure additive intake, is available in the Annual Review of Current Research Projects by the Working Party on Food Additives 2000, published on the agency's website.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what medical breakthroughs have been made in the treatment of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in Scotland.
Answer
The Executive is not aware of any recent significant advances in the treatment of ME in Scotland. The forthcoming report of the Chief Medical Officer's Working Group in England is expected to produce good practice guidelines on the treatment of people with ME.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis since 1995 broken down by health board area, year and gender.
Answer
The information requested is not available centrally. However, estimated all-Scotland figures for patients seen by general practitioners for myalgic encephalomyelitis, based on a sample of Scottish general practices participating in the Continuous Morbidity Recording System for the years from 1999, are given in the table. Due to differences in code descriptors it is not possible to provide information for myalgic encephalomyelitis prior to 1999.
Estimated number of patients seen by GPs for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis |
Year | January-December | January-July |
1999 | 5,800 | - |
2000 | 8,000 | - |
2001 | - | 5,400 |
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 01 November 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 15 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on any research that has been carried out into myalgic encephalomyelitis, stating in what year and by whom any such research was carried out and where any report of the findings may be accessed..
Answer
Information on non-commercial health related research carried out in the last seven years is available from the National Research Register, a copy of which is in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17404). Policy on accessibility of research reports is a matter for individual research funders.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 11 October 2001
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 8 November 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings of the Expert Group on Immunisation have taken place and what issues were discussed.
Answer
There have been three meetings of the Expert Group to date. The content of meetings is a matter for the Expert Group, having regard to its remit. Details of the group's work will be available on its website.
