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: S5W-27104

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the report by Equality Here, Now, Disabled people, work, and the NHS in Scotland 2019, that, if the figure for NHS 24 is excluded, the proportion of the NHS workforce identifying as being disabled is 0.91%.

Disclosure of a disability to an employer is on a voluntary basis and was previously only asked for when someone started employment with the NHS. Staff may therefore have elected not to disclose a ‘hidden’ disability, particularly where a reasonable adjustment was not needed. Equally they may not have recorded a disability developed during the course of their employment.

We continue to work with health boards to improve disclosure rates. A new national self-service HR system means staff can now update their personal information at any time. With this in mind, positive information campaigns will be launched in the spring to encourage staff to ‘bring your whole self to work’.

Question reference: S5W-27005

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the recent Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet, which estimated that there were 48.9 million cases of sepsis worldwide in 2017, and 11 million deaths, what action it is taking to (a) raise awareness of this condition and (b) support research into finding new ways to tackle antibiotic resistance.

a) The Scottish Government is committed to further reducing the number of deaths from sepsis. Scottish Government-led sepsis awareness campaigns, which ran in 2018 and 2019, have contributed to awareness of the condition reaching 90%. However, as sepsis can affect anyone at any time, we are committed to continue working with sepsis charities and other stakeholders, including individuals affected by sepsis, to continue raising awareness of the early symptoms of sepsis. The next iteration of the sepsis public awareness campaign will focus on these early symptoms (cold or blotchy hands and feet; uncontrolled shivering; confusion; not passing as much urine; very high/low temperature) and will be launched later this year.

(b) The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland contribute to the “UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance 2019 to 2024”, which supports the “UK 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance (AMR)”. The action plan and vision both acknowledge the high level of AMR research coordination and collaboration that already exists across the UK, however also recognise the importance of the further research required to tackle AMR.

In 2019, the Scottish Government commissioned the establishment of the Scottish One Health National AMR Action Plan Group, led by Health Protection Scotland (HPS), to coordinate the delivery of the UK five-year national action plan.

HPS is involved in several collaborative research projects with universities and other organisations across Scotland, the UK and Europe aimed at helping tackle AMR. This includes research to understand the risk factors for acquisition and outcome of certain resistance organisms, as well as research into the effectiveness of interventions aiming to drive behavioural change around antimicrobial use. Within HPS, the Scottish One Health Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance (SONAAR) programme has responsibility for developing epidemiological evidence to inform the development of robust local and national interventions and initiatives to help tackle AMR.

Significant work is also under way to develop new evidence-based interventions to prevent infections, decreasing the need for and use of antimicrobials and in turn reducing the potential for the development of resistance.

The Scottish Antimicrobial Prescribing Group (SAPG), established in 2008 at the request of the Scottish Government, also sits on the Scottish One Health National AMR Action Plan Group and is involved in a number of research collaborations with universities and other organisations across Scotland, focussing predominantly on approaches to promote prudent and optimal use of antimicrobials in order to prevent overuse and, ultimately, help contain AMR.

Question reference: S5W-27097

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of disabled people employed across the NHS.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the number of disabled people employed across the NHS.

Our NHS Professional Careers Programme continues to place disabled graduates in rewarding roles and the careers of their choices. A number of health boards are also working with project SEARCH to help people with intellectual impairments into employment.

We are working with health boards to ensure that all jobs are made accessible for disabled applicants. Work is also underway to increase disclosure rates and develop national commitments for the recruitment, retention and progression of people with protected characteristics, including those with a disability.

Question reference: S5W-27003

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 27 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 19 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of sepsis have been diagnosed in each year since 2017, broken down by NHS board.

Information on cases of sepsis is only held centrally for people admitted to hospital. The following table presents the number of hospital stays with a diagnosis of sepsis at any point during the stay by NHS Board of Treatment for the years 2017, 2018 and up to June 2019. Note that because of changes to coding these figures are not directly comparable with those from previous years.

Table: Number of hospital stays1,2 with a diagnosis of sepsis 4,6; NHS Scotland; 20175 - 2019

NHS Board of Treatment	2017	2018	20193

National Waiting Times Centre	20	28	16
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	1,797	1,680	724
NHS Borders	343	599	260
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	365	582	239
NHS Fife	637	1,446	759
NHS Forth Valley	714	1,146	460
NHS Grampian	848	1,305	615
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	2,769	4,684	2,479
NHS Highland	504	999	407
NHS Lanarkshire	2,855	2,511	1,211
NHS Lothian	1,652	2,828	1,277
NHS Orkney	30	102	50
NHS Shetland	50	41	15
NHS Tayside	784	1,307	566
NHS Western Isles	49	104	66
Total	13,417	19,362	9,144

1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland.
2. A hospital stay is selected if sepsis is recorded at any point during the stay.
3. Data for 2019 includes discharges up to June 2019.
4. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD10) codes used to
identify relevant cases: A40, A41, P36, A02.1, A22.7, A26.7, A32.7, A42.7, B37.7, O85X.
5. Year is based on date of discharge
6. Note that the coding of sepsis in Scotland was changed in October 2017 and that figures for 2018 are not comparable with those for previous years.

Question reference: S5O-04148

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported extended waiting times for general colorectal surgery in NHS Lothian.

Question reference: S5W-27246

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the plans for Dr Veronikis to visit Scotland to conduct mesh removal surgery and train other surgeons in this technique.

Question reference: S5W-27247

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 11 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what care and treatment pathways there are for people experiencing complications arising from hernia mesh implants.

Any patient who suspects they are experiencing complications from hernia mesh surgery should discuss their concerns with their GP or other clinicians involved in their case. Any subsequent care may be surgical or non-surgical depending on the individual circumstances of the case. The Chief Medical Officer has previously written to all Health Boards to emphasise that any patient who reports complications or side-effects following mesh surgery must be carefully listened to. Their concerns should, at all times, be taken seriously and acted on appropriately.

More generally, in response to emerging concerns about hernia mesh, the Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Health Technologies Group to undertake an evidence review into its use in men. The final report can be viewed here . The Scottish Government will also approach Healthcare Improvement Scotland to ask that it considers whether a guideline on clinical care, including using recently published international studies, would be helpful for NHS Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-27124

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how much was spent on the upkeep of the Forth Road Bridge in the financial year (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19.

Question reference: S5W-27128

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 23 January 2020
Current Status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how fees for birth and death certificates are regulated and monitored.

The setting of fees for registration matters, including charges for extracts from the Birth and Death Registers (birth certificates and death certificates), is the responsibility of the Registrar General for Scotland, subject to the approval of Scottish Ministers. Fees are monitored by an advisory working group within National Records of Scotland which includes members from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Association of Registrars of Scotland. Where the Registrar General recommends to Ministers a change to the established fees, and this is approved, revised fees are then brought into force by way of a Scottish Statutory Instrument.

Question reference: S5T-01996

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 February 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for the leadership of NHS Lothian, in light of the recent resignation of its Chairman and forthcoming retirement of its Chief Executive.