Questions and answers

Question reference: S5O-03154

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how research capabilities in higher education have been affected by Brexit.

Question reference: S5W-22366

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what target it has set or plans for (a) children and (b) adults with type 1 diabetes to receive continuous glucose monitoring.

We expect NHS Boards to plan and budget to meet the healthcare needs of their resident population, including the appropriate levels for continuous glucose monitors for children and adults.

In 2016, the Scottish Government committed £10 million of additional funding, over the term of this Parliament, to increase the provision of continuous glucose monitors for all ages and insulin pump therapy for adults.

As part of this commitment, the 2019-20 additional funding will support NHS Boards in Scotland to deliver 138 continuous glucose monitors to patients of all ages.

Question reference: S5W-22365

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many people from the rest of the European Economic Area (EEA) have received kidney dialysis treatment in Scotland under the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme in each year since 2017.

Question reference: S5W-22357

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 April 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the decision by the Rural GP Association to resign from its Rural Working Group.

The Scottish Government values the views and contributions of rural GPs (including those members of Rural GP Association), and will continue to take their feedback into account as the Group continues its important work. The Rural Group has carried out a wide programme of engagement with rural GPs, including RGPAS members across Scotland in order to gather Case Studies to share good practice and innovative solutions to implement the new contract in rural communities.

Sir Lewis Ritchie, the Rural Working Group Chair, met with Dr Alida McGregor, Chair, RGPAS on 3 April to discuss the Group’s concerns. I understand the meeting was productive and Sir Lewis is committed to continuing engagement.

Question reference: S5W-21834

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many specialist bereavement midwives are employed by each NHS board.

Information on the number of specialist bereavement midwives employed by each Health Board is not collected centrally. However, we know that some Health Boards have specialist bereavement midwives; other Health Boards have individuals or teams trained in, and delivering, bereavement care. All Health Boards have at least one midwife who has an interest in bereavement and offers maternity bereavement care as part of their role.

Scottish Government has funded Sands £94,000 to lead and develop the National Bereavement Care Pathway with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to improve the quality of bereavement care when a baby dies.

Question reference: S5W-21836

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government which maternity units (a) do and (b) do not offer specialist bereavement (i) rooms and (ii) care.

Information on which maternity units do and do not offer specialist bereavement rooms and care is not collected centrally. However, the main hospitals in all larger Health Boards have dedicated bereavement rooms or suites, or are in the process of opening/ refurbishing bereavement rooms or suites. Some smaller Health Boards have rooms which can be adapted for bereavement care as and when required.

Scottish Government has funded Sands £94,000 to lead and develop the National Bereavement Care Pathway with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to improve the quality of bereavement care when a baby dies.

Question reference: S5W-21837

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 12 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what training in specialised bereavement care for parents who have lost a baby in late pregnancy or the neonatal period is offered to NHS staff, broken down by training provider.

The NHS Education for Scotland website ‘Support Around Death’ provides health professionals across Scotland with a range of resources on bereavement care after pregnancy loss, stillbirth or neonatal death, including short animated educational films. An e-learning resource on bereavement following pregnancy loss and the death of a baby is available on the Knowledge Network and provides in-depth education for maternity care professionals.

Midwifery students are offered modules in bereavement and loss.

Scottish Government has funded Sands £94,000 to lead and develop the National Bereavement Care Pathway with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to improve the quality of bereavement care when a baby dies. The development of an online training kit for Health Boards is expected as part of the National Bereavement Care Pathway.

Question reference: S5W-21551

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20862 by Kate Forbes on 23 January 2019, whether it will provide the information that was provided expressed as a percentage of (a) each NHS board's and the (b) total NHS workforce.

The information provided in S5W-20862 related to withdrawals from the scheme. The actual information sought is the number of opt outs from the scheme. The following table provides details of the opt outs from the scheme between 1 April 2016 and 31 January 2019.

NHS Board	Number of employees who opted out the scheme*
	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	Total
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	607	187	135	929
NHS Borders	67	31	29	127
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	164	90	71	325
NHS Education for Scotland	59	29	22	110
NHS Fife	316	187	159	662
NHS Forth Valley	247	180	161	588
NHS Grampian	669	338	234	1241
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	1156	833	622	2611
NHS Highland	399	207	150	756
NHS Lanarkshire	967	346	267	1580
NHS Lothian	1073	663	550	2286
NHS National Services Scotland**	333	156	61	550
NHS Orkney	22	21	6	49
NHS Shetland	16	13	8	37
NHS Tayside	470	260	247	977
NHS Western Isles	41	22	10	73
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	3	6	8	17
National Waiting Times Centre	155	70	52	277
Scottish Ambulance Service	35	89	17	141
State Hospital	53	18	6	77
Total	6852	3746	2815	13413

* Includes those who at the time of opting out may have retained scheme membership through a dual or multiple contract, or those who opted out of the scheme but re-joined at a later date.

**Includes figures from NHS 24 and NHS Health Scotland

Source: Figures provided by SPPA

Information on the NHS Scotland workforce, including for each NHS Board, is published by Information Services Division Scotland on the Overall Staff in Post dashboard:
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2018-12-04/Overall.asp .

Question reference: S5O-02820

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 January 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 30 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of Brexit on the life sciences sector.

Question reference: S5W-20873

Asked by: David Stewart, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 January 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 23 January 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for an initial consultation at a lipid clinic following a referral, broken down by NHS board area.

Chamber and committees