- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 18 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the allocation of £4.5 million two years ago for three PET scanners in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh has resulted in these scanners being available for patient use.
Answer
In March 2003 the Scottish Executive announced £5 million capital investment from 2004-05 to support the development of PET services in Scotland. The three Regional Cancer Advisory Groups and their constituent NHS boards are currently developing a national consortium approach to plan the phased development of PET services in Scotland.
Arrangements can continue to be made with the existing PET facility in Aberdeen or elsewhere for patients requiring a PET scan.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes of the Agenda for Change pilot schemes were, broken down by staff group, and how many employees (a) were disadvantaged, (b) gained and (c) remained the same in respect of their pay and conditions under these schemes.
Answer
The original findings from the four pilot sites in Scotland, including a break- down across staff groups, were published in August 2004. Copies of the reports are available on the web at
www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sehd/paymodernisation.
The pilot sites have been engaged in “dry run” exercises. Therefore the actual levels of staff protection under Agenda for Change will not be known until staff are assimilated onto Agenda for Change after the job matching and evaluation processes are complete. It should be noted that the protection rates indicated in the pilot site reports have since been overtaken by changes to the new pay system, and it is now expected that rates of protection will be significantly lower, reducing markedly the number of employees who will be disadvantaged.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how the answer to question S2W-10400 by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004, showing that two children have died from whooping cough in Scotland since 1990, is consistent with the statement in the Sunday Herald on 22 August 2004 by public health official Dr Syed Ahmed that, of 100 babies who are hospitalised annually with a severe form of whooping cough, “about 10% die and most are under four or five months”.
Answer
The statistics given in the answer to question S2W-10400 are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland. There is no change to the information previously provided inresponse to question S2W-10400, answered on 4 October 2004.
I am unable to comment on the specific statement made in this newspaper.
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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 17 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans are in place to carry out MMR vaccination programmes in schools as part of an “extended-day” schools scheme, as reported in The Sunday Times on 17 October 2004.
Answer
The Executive is not aware of any plans, local or national to implement such a scheme in Scotland.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 16 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to address any concerns that have been notified to it about the Sodexho contract at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Answer
Following recent allegations in a newspaper article, the Executive has received assurances from the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow.
The Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow has made it clear to Sodexho that he expects nothing other than the highest standards of compliance with their contract. NHS Greater Glasgow is monitoring the situation closely.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10679 by Mr Andy Kerr on 11 October 2004, how many staffed NHS beds there were in the five years prior to 1998, broken down by NHS (a) board and (b) trust.
Answer
Information on average available staffed beds for Scotland and in each health board area for the years ending 31 March 1993-97 is shown in the table. Prior to 1997-98, the requested information was not collected nationally by NHS trust.
NHSScotland - Average Available Staffed Beds1; by Health Board: Years Ending 31 March 1993-97
| | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
| Scotland | 47 556 | 45 263 | 43 587 | 41 789 | 39 668 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 3,964 | 3,749 | 3,610 | 3,529 | 3,479 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 2,806 | 2,692 | 2,575 | 2,408 | 2,259 |
| Borders | 867 | 845 | 822 | 807 | 781 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 1,316 | 1,287 | 1,226 | 1,183 | 1,105 |
| Fife | 2,666 | 2,577 | 2,455 | 2,322 | 2,228 |
| Forth Valley | 2,669 | 2,598 | 2,504 | 2,349 | 2,260 |
| Grampian | 4,959 | 4,661 | 4,443 | 4,304 | 4,135 |
| Greater Glasgow | 10,205 | 9,689 | 9,212 | 8,760 | 8,256 |
| Highland | 1,857 | 1,735 | 1,688 | 1,624 | 1,497 |
| Lanarkshire | 4,464 | 4,307 | 4,112 | 3,994 | 3,882 |
| Lothian | 6,985 | 6,558 | 6,532 | 6,253 | 5,717 |
| Orkney | 152 | 152 | 150 | 150 | 153 |
| Shetland | 143 | 142 | 137 | 136 | 127 |
| Tayside | 4,257 | 4,005 | 3,857 | 3,720 | 3,557 |
| Western Isles | 246 | 266 | 265 | 250 | 232 |
Note: 1. Excludes joint-user and contractual hospitals.
Decisions on bed numbers are best taken by local NHS sstems which can take full account of local needs and circumstances, acting with their partners in local authorities and others.
Bed reductions reflect changing patterns of care, in particular the progressive move towards caring for the elderly and other long-stay patients in the community and other settings outside hospitals.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of a US Government investigation which concluded that patients immunised with the MMR vaccine are 20 to 30 times more likely to suffer orchitis, what action it is taking to inform parents of this research to allow them to make informed decisions about vaccinating their children.
Answer
Orchitis is a possible, but exceptionally rare, event after MMR (one case in 2,650,000 MMR doses in the study to which the question refers). This is in sharp contrast to orchitis after natural mumps infection, which is very common (four out of 10 adult male cases). MMR vaccine can therefore protect against orchitis. Information on these issues will be considered for inclusion in the next edition of the MMR Discussion Pack.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of scientific research published in the Journal of Paediatric Neurology, current issue, volume 2, number 3, by Paul Richard Dyken, MD, MLA, BS. Director of the USA/World SSPE and of the Institute for Research in Childhood Neurodegenerative Diseases, Mobile, Alabama, U.S.A., which details the mechanism by which the attenuated measles element of the MMR vaccine can cause measles-induced neuroautistic encephalopathy in a sub-set of children, what plans it has to replicate this research and reintroduce single vaccines as a choice for parents who do not wish their children to have the triple MMR vaccine.
Answer
The weight of evidence, from studies around the world, confirms that MMR remains the safest and most effective way to protect children from these diseases and fails to support claims of links with autism, bowel disease or measles-induced neuroautistic encephalopathy.
The Executive has no plans to change the current policy in relation to MMR vaccine, on which it is advised by the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 15 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9905 by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 September 2004, whether it will provide the table, hospital beds by specialty, in electronic form.
Answer
An electronic copy of Bib. number 33661 has been made available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that no staff were disadvantaged as a result of Agenda for Change.
Answer
The UK agreement under Agenda for Change provides salary protection up to 2011 at the latest for a minority of cases where pay before assimilation will be above pay under the new system. My predecessor, Malcolm Chisholm gave an undertaking in March 2003 that this “marked-time protection” would be extended in Scotland forso long as was necessary to ensure that no existing NHSScotland staff would suffera reduction in their salary as a result of Agenda for Change.
