Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29314 on 4 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary has been assessed by the National Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland on its compliance with adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) standards set by Leicester and the UK National Commissioning Group (NCG) for centres temporarily accredited in the context of H1N1.

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary did not meet all of the accreditation standards, however it is the only site in Scotland with both adult ECMO machines and a clinical team trained by Leicester, and therefore can provide ECMO in the event that additional capacity is required, with the agreement and ongoing support and advice of Leicester clinicians.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29319 on 4 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

This information is not held centrally.

The decision to refer for adult respiratory extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment is based upon individual clinical need. Where clinicians consider ECMO is necessary, patients from throughout the UK, including NHS Grampian, are referred for treatment to the UK''s nationally-commissioned centre for adult respiratory ECMO at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, following discussion and agreement with clinicians there.

In the event that capacity at Leicester has been reached, there are robust arrangements in place to ensure that patients can be treated at the UK''s additional commissioned H1N1 surge capacity centres at the Royal Brompton and Papworth Hospitals or at the European ECMO centre in Stockholm, Sweden. Only when current UK and European capacity has been reached, and with the agreement and ongoing advice and support of the clinicians in Leicester, would a patient be treated at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29310 on 4 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Individual clinical need determines decisions made regarding an individual''s treatment, and this patient information is confidential in each case.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review, led by Lord Gill, which was published on 30 September and debated in the Scottish Parliament on 8 October. It includes a number of recommendations relevant to family law cases, including that there should be a system of designated specialisms for sheriffs, including family law; that a new judicial office of district judge should be created; that there should be concurrent jurisdiction of sheriffs and district judges with relation to family actions; that a docket system should operate to allocate cases to a sheriff; and that a new model of case management of cases should be introduced. There are also a number of specific recommendations about the handling of family actions (recommendations 64-71).

Family courts do not operate as a separate jurisdiction in Scotland. The majority of cases concerning family law are civil cases in the sheriff court. The Scottish Government is considering the recommendations of the Scottish Civil Courts Review, led by Lord Gill, which was published on 30 September 2009 and debated in Parliament on 8 October 2009. It includes a number of recommendations relevant to family law cases, including that there should be a system of designated specialisms for sheriffs, including family law; that a new judicial office of district judge should be created; and that there should be concurrent jurisdiction of sheriffs and district judges in relation to family actions.

Regulation of Sheriff Officers is a matter for the Court of Session under Part V Section 75 (1) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. Amendments proposed in Schedule 2 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill (PSRB), which was introduced into Parliament on 28 May 2009, will give new powers to enable the Lord President to regulate officers more effectively and to appoint a person to inspect and report back on the work of officers of court. The PSRB also proposes an open and transparent complaints route; publication of a code of practice, to be approved by the Lord President, to ensure consistent behaviour and practice; publication of an annual report of the Advisory Council on Messengers at Arms and Sheriff Officers (the Advisory Council) which will report on officer activities; the introduction of lay representation on the Advisory Council and expansion of its activity in supervising officers.