- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 5 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-14808 by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 July 2008, what timetable is in place for the transfer of primary healthcare services from the Scottish Prison Service to the NHS and, specifically, which services will be transferred.
Answer
In recognition of the significant scope of the work and the need for close partnership working, a national programme board for prisoners'' health care is currently being set up. The early priorities for the programme board will be to define appropriate and sustainable models of care such as GP, pharmacy, nursing, optometry and dental services and from this, identify the detail of the underpinning legislative changes necessary.
The national programme board will also oversee preparatory work in the areas of finance and funding, operations, including staffing and other resources, and governance including organisational, staff, clinical, and other areas central to an effective transfer of services.
Current estimates are that this work and the necessary legislation will take approximately three years prior to any transfer of services taking place.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2008
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Current Status:
Awaiting answer
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of newly-qualified physiotherapists found employment in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007.
Answer
Awaiting answer
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 September 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of patient records being found at Strathmartine and Law hospitals, what steps have been taken to inform the patients concerned.
Answer
NHS Tayside had two requests from members of the public for information/reassurance and they have been dealt with. NHS Tayside consider that it would not be practical to go through debris and contaminated paperwork to identify specific names and then make efforts to contact them. In addition, advisers to NHS Tayside have suggested that the documents removed from Strathmartine Hospital be incinerated because of the possibility of asbestos contamination.
Following investigation of the material that was discovered on the Law Hospital site in July 2008 there were no complete patient records found. A number of miscellaneous pieces of patient identifiable data were found. All the identifiable data was reviewed by health professionals and it was considered that there was no impact on the ongoing care of any individual as a consequence of the patient information that was found. As a result, and in light of the age of some of the material found, it was considered inappropriate and a potential cause of unnecessary distress to patients and/or relatives to attempt a process of contacting individuals.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of newly qualified physiotherapists found employment in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007.
Answer
The information requested is not centrally held. Current workforce statistics are collected by Information Services Division Scotland, these indicate a steady increase in the number of qualified physiotherapists in post in NHSScotland, from 1,937 whole-time equivalent (WTE) in 2003 to 2,527.9 WTE at September 2007. However, these statistics include all physiotherapists and do not relate specifically to new graduates. Latest available NHS board workforce planning projects an 6.9% increased demand for physiotherapists over the next three years, from 2,138 WTE to 2,286 WTE.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 01 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional junior doctor posts will be established to maintain service levels when the European Working Time Directive, which will require a reduction in waiting time from 56 to 48 hours, is implemented and, if no additional posts are to be created, what alternative plans the Executive has put in place to meet service need.
Answer
We do not anticipate that any additional junior doctor posts will be created as a direct consequence of the Working Time Regulations (WTR) requirement for average working hours to be reduced from 56 to 48 by 1 August 2009.
Compliance with the reduction in working hours is the responsibility of NHS boards as employers. At the request of Scottish ministers, all NHSScotland boards have provided information on how they plan to achieve compliance with WTR for their doctors training. We will continue to monitor progress on this issue.
The Scottish Government seeks to support the service in this by issuing guidance, disseminating information on good practice on work carried out across Scotland and elsewhere in the UK and holding seminars. The Scottish Government continues to offer practical support to help NHSScotland to invest in the service and workforce modernisation which is necessary if compliance is to be attained. This includes:
The creation of new and extended non-medical roles to help support the decrease in working hours for junior doctors;
The introduction of the Hospital at Night concept;
The expansion of the SAS (Speciality) Grade Doctor;
Service Redesign, and
Reshaping the medical workforce “ a project aiming to improve longer term medical workforce planning by shifting towards service delivery by trained doctors.
Workforce planning is firmly embedded into the work of NHS boards and is becoming more integrated into the wider planning function with boards continuing to build up their knowledge and expertise to meet the challenges of the future where the workforce is key to achieving change.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many publicly-owned laptops and memory devices, which have been stolen or lost in the last 12 months, have contained NHS patient information and whether this information was (a) password protected, (b) encrypted and (c) considered necessary to be transferred to a laptop or memory device.
Answer
The Scottish Government (SG) does not maintain records of IT equipment other than that used within its core directorates.
None of the SG laptops lost during the last 12 months contained NHS patient information.
It is the responsibility of individual NHS boards to maintain records in relation to their own equipment and to report and investigate in line with their own local policies and procedures.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive from which locations publicly-owned laptops and memory devices have been stolen or lost in the last 12 months.
Answer
In relation to core Scottish Government (SG) directorates and close agencies using the SG network, six laptops have been lost during the last 12 months. Two were new unused devices lost in transit to their intended users by the courier company. Three were lost while owners were travelling. One was stolen in a house burglary. Information about other public sector bodies is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what type of password protection and encryption it uses on publicly-owned laptops and memory devices.
Answer
In relation to the core Scottish Government (SG) directorates and close agencies using the SG network, the Scottish Government password-protects and encrypts devices to the standards specified and required by Cabinet Office Communications Electronic Security Group for membership of the government secure intranet. Information about other Scottish public sector bodies, who are responsible for their own processes, is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 28 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many publicly-owned laptops and memory devices have been (a) stolen and (b) lost in the last 12 months.
Answer
In relation to core Scottish Government (SG) directorates and close agencies using the SG network, six SG laptops have been lost during the last 12 months. Two of these were unused new machines lost in transit to their intended users by the courier company.
The SG does not hold information about other Scottish public sector bodies as records of their equipment are maintained by them and not held centrally.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 August 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 August 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to have in place a reporting system on Clostridium difficile for each hospital and when it will be available on the internet.
Answer
All diagnostic laboratories will have access to the ECOSS (Electronic Communication of Surveillance in Scotland) web-based system by end of October 2008.
A web-based system of reporting is a central feature of our plans to improve surveillance procedures and reporting systems across all NHS boards, as set out under the surveillance section of our new national action plan in response to the recommendations arising from the publication of the Health Protection Scotland Report on Review of Clostridium difficile Associated Disease Cases and Mortality in all Acute Hospitals in Scotland from December 2007 - May 2008 and the independent review Report on the Clostridium difficile Outbreaks at Vale of Leven Hospital. The national action plan is available from the HAI Task Force website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/19529/2005/actionplans.
