- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2014
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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.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 11 June 2014
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2014
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 May 2014
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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.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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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.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 21 May 2014
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
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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.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20794 on 6 May 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government how many people are registered with (a) community pharmacists and (b) GPs for (i) chronic prescribing and (ii) the minor ailments scheme, broken down by NHS board, and how it encourages people to register.
Answer
The following table sets out the number of current registrations for the Chronic Medication Service (CMS) and the Minor Ailment Service (MAS), broken down by NHS board. Eligible patients can register with the community pharmacy of their choice for each service. Registration arrangements for both services are pharmacist-based and -led.
The Scottish Government publishes leaflets giving details of both services. These leaflets are made available at GP surgeries and community pharmacies, and at Jobcentre Plus offices and Citizens Advice offices.
| Health Board | CMS Registrations | MAS Registrations |
| NHS AYRSHIRE and ARRAN | 33284 | 82742 |
| NHS BORDERS | 8328 | 19972 |
| NHS DUMFRIES and GALLOWAY | 11685 | 22205 |
| NHS FIFE | 24926 | 62861 |
| NHS FORTH VALLEY | 21850 | 44772 |
| NHS GRAMPIAN | 37322 | 78717 |
| NHS GREATER GLASGOW and CLYDE | 93566 | 239219 |
| NHS HIGHLAND | 20507 | 43944 |
| NHS LANARKSHIRE | 52813 | 151625 |
| NHS LOTHIAN | 52806 | 135327 |
| NHS ORKNEY | 550 | 2985 |
| NHS SHETLAND | 616 | 2846 |
| NHS TAYSIDE | 26232 | 68875 |
| NHS WESTERN ISLES | 725 | 768 |
| Grand Total | 385210 | 956858 |
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to ensure that falls coordinators in each NHS board encourage people at risk of falls to take an eye test.
Answer
The importance of including vision assessment in a multifactorial approach to falls prevention is highlighted in two national documents produced by the National Falls Programme. Both documents aim to support the local development of co-ordinated, integrated and person centred falls prevention and management pathways:
Up and About, Pathways for the prevention and management of falls and fragility fractures. Produced by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (2010)
The Prevention and Management of Falls in the Community: A Framework for Action for Scotland 2014-2015 (currently out for consultation, expected date for publication June 2014)
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government whether only people who were eligible for free prescriptions prior to the abolition of prescription charges can register for the minor ailments scheme.
Answer
The eligibility criteria for the minor ailment service are the same as those which entitled people to free prescriptions before charges were abolished in April 2011.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that its BCG vaccination programme follows each of the guidelines set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Answer
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) undertook a review of the BCG vaccination programme in 2005 and recommended an improved targeted programme directed towards those most at risk of tuberculosis.
The Scottish Government’s TB Action Plan for Scotland, published in 2011, contains four recommendations in respect of BCG vaccination. One of these requires NHS boards to review BCG neonatal immunisation in their locality to re-examine current operational plans. In preparation for the 2013 annual report of the action plan, boards were asked to confirm their implementation status for each recommendation and thirteen reported that this had either been completed or that a review was underway. A further update on progress will be sought from boards in preparation for the 2014 annual report.
In addition, the action plan requires Health Protection Scotland to undertake a more detailed review of NHS Board BCG audit activities so that best practice can be shared across Scotland. The results of the review are awaited, but are expected to confirm that NHS boards are delivering the BCG vaccination programme in line with the recommendations set out by the JCVI and in line with the Green Book chapter publication. This can be accessed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/148511/Green-Book-Chapter-32-dh_128356.pdf.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 April 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement each of the recommendations set out in the 2011 report, A TB Action Plan for Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government published the first annual report of the TB Action Plan for Scotland in November 2013. The report sets out the progress made towards implementation of the action plan’s 42 recommendations and includes key recommendations following on from the action plan.
These include the development of a strategic monitoring framework to manage implementation and measure progress towards the achievement of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) target ‘To eliminate, by 2050, TB as a public health problem (incidence <1 per million population)’. A suite of key performance indicators has been developed to track progress with Scottish recommendations and this is in addition to annual reporting against ECDC indicators. To facilitate implementation a national multidisciplinary TB network has been set up and is chaired by an NHS board.
The report can be viewed at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0043/00437667.pdf.
