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: S4O-03331

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what progress the NHS is making in recording and reducing the levels of boarding out.

Question reference: S4W-21451

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 4 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what tendering process NHS boards undertake when disposing of or transferring assets and services to the independent sector, and whether such disposals require to be advertised locally, nationally and EU-wide.

The NHSScotland Property Transactions Handbook sets out the mandatory requirements for NHSScotland bodies in relation to the lease, acquisition or disposal of property holdings. This requirement was set out in CEL 8 (2011) which was issued on 22 February 2011. Mandatory guidance regarding the disposal of assets including valuation and marketing can be accessed at:

http://www.pcpd.scot.nhs.uk/PropTrans/PTHome.htm

Primary day-to-day responsibility for ensuring that NHS property is bought, sold and leased at a price and on other conditions which are the best obtainable for the public interest at that time rests with the Chief Executive of the NHSScotland holding body. This is a significant responsibility and he/she is answerable to the accountable officer, to ensure that procedures are followed. It is essential that the management of transactions is based upon best commercial practice informed by public accountability requirements.

Question reference: S4W-21401

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 4 June 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the NHS in England regarding how much an independent Scotland would pay it for patients' access to specialist (a) hospitals and (b) services.

There are already a range of service level agreements in place between NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Division (NSD) and NHS England Specialised Commissioning and NHS Trusts in England, covering a wide range of specialist services not routinely available in Scotland due to their low volume and highly specialised nature.

The costs of these services will continue to be met by NSD through these arrangements, which will be unaffected by independence.

Question reference: S4O-03251

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to reduce the level of gender segregation in certain industries.

Question reference: S4W-20776

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 7 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to amend the guidance for the management of influenza pandemics, in light of the recent review by the Cochrane Collaboration on the effectiveness of Tamiflu and Relenza.

Question reference: S4W-20772

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve the uptake of eye tests by people (a) with learning difficulties, (b) with impaired capacity, (c) from deprived households, (d) whose first language is not English and (e) from ethnic minority communities.

In recognition of the additional needs of some groups optometrists can visit certain approved day centres to provide NHS eye examinations for patients who would have difficulty in obtaining services from practice premises because of their particular needs. The types of patients who could be seen include, those whose first language is not English who are new to the UK and require the service of an interpreter.

Optometrists may also undertake domiciliary visits to patient’s homes or residential homes in order to provide NHS eye examinations where the patient cannot leave home unaccompanied because of their particular needs, such as people with dementia or other disability.

GPs are also promoting optometrists as the first point of contact for eye related problems, with them now referring 33% more patients annually for NHS eye examinations than in 2007.

A patient information leaflet Your guide to free NHS eye examinations in Scotland is also available for display in optometrists, GP practices, and pharmacies.

Finally, training packages to support all optometrists in Scotland have been produced via the UK Directorate of Optometric Continuing Education and Training , supported by the Scottish Government. These include:

Making a Difference: Professional Eye Care for People with Learning Disability

Dementia and Optometry

Optometry and Ethnicity

Question reference: S4W-20594

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the definition is of an "exempt visitor" for the purpose of receiving a free eye test as referred to in the publication, General Ophthalmic Services Statistics: Updates of existing pages - as at 31st March 2013, published on 27 August 2013.

An ‘exempt visitor’ is a person who is not ordinarily resident in the UK who is exempt from NHS charges under the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Scotland) Regulations 1989, as amended.

Further information on people who may not be charged for conditions (including eye conditions) that occur during a visit to the UK can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/Services/Overseas-visitors

Question reference: S4W-20596

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the evidence base is for providing free eye tests (a) annually for age groups under 16 and over 60 and (b) every two years for the age group between 16 and 59 for people who do not qualify for a free supplementary eye test other than those who should have a repeat test because of personal or family conditions.

Free NHS eye examinations are available annually, where required, for children aged under 16 and adults aged 60 and over.

For children rapid growth may require them to attend for eye examinations annually. Cases where it is particularly important for annual eye examinations in children include the detection and up to date correction of refractive error and early and regular intervention to reduce visual loss due to squints.

For adults the incidence of eye disease increases dramatically with age and with poor general health. Cataract, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are common causes of visual loss in older people. Frequent refractive error changes, and the screening and monitoring of disease development and progression are vital to maintain optimal vision. Good vision does not rule out the possibility of sight threatening eye disease and regular eye examinations in older people are most important.

Less frequent examinations may be recommended by the optometrist where the likelihood of ocular disease and refractive change is low.

Supplementary eye examinations are available to all, free of charge, where required. Supplementary eye examinations are undertaken for a range of reasons including follow up or repeat tests or procedures to monitor an abnormality or suspect abnormality; referral refinement before deciding if a patient requires referral to secondary care; where a patient has a problem with their eyes before their next primary eye examination is due.

Question reference: S4W-20595

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether visitors from the rest of the UK are eligible for free eye tests if they are charged for such tests in their normal place of residence.

Question reference: S4W-20597

Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 10 April 2014
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its estimate is of the additional number of people saved from (a) severely reduced sight and (b) blindness as a result of the introduction of free eye tests.

No assessment has been undertaken by the Scottish Government on the impact that free NHS eye examinations have had on sight threatening conditions.

There are a number of factors which impact on sight and increase the incidence of blindness, including an ageing population and poor general health.

The free NHS eye examination is one in a number of changes in how we deliver eye care services, with the emphasis now being on the screening and monitoring of eye disease in community optometric practices. The introduction of the supplementary examination has further supported practitioners in the early detection of sight-threatening disease. Early detection of sight threatening problems and appropriate and timely referrals from the optometrist to the ophthalmologist are key.

Changes to secondary care treatments, improvements to ophthalmic surgical techniques and increased patient care have also resulted in the ability to save the sight of more patients.