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-28552

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 20 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 20 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people who have died from COVID-19 had (a) heart disease, (b) diabetes, (c) experienced a stroke, (d) cancer and (e) a lung condition.

Question reference: S5W-28625

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many non-COVID-19-related deaths there were in week (a) 14 and (b) 15 in 2020, broken down by cause, and how each figure compares with the five-year average.

	Week 14		Figures making up 5 year average
	Registered deaths 2020	Five year average (2015-2019)	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Cancer	375	292	284	296	274	321	287
Dementia/Alzheimer’s	203	118	99	119	124	130	116
Circulatory (heart disease and stroke)	390	286	273	314	287	305	250
Respiratory	160	143	145	156	127	156	131
Other	360	260	241	281	248	280	248
All	1,488	1,098	1,042	1,166	1,060	1,192	1,032

	Week 15		Figures making up 5 year average
	Registered deaths 2020	Five year average (2015-2019)	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Cancer	341	301	330	278	263	326	306
Dementia/Alzheimer’s	215	113	124	93	119	117	114
Circulatory (heart disease and stroke)	352	299	337	298	252	328	281
Respiratory	141	139	160	138	142	133	120
Other	341	248	241	241	222	288	248
All	1,390	1,100	1,192	1,048	998	1,192	1,069

Footnote
1) The ICD 10 codes for disease categories are as follows:
Cancer: C00-C97
Dementia and Alzheimer's: F01, F03 and G30
Circulatory: I00:I99
Respiratory: J00-J99
The 2020 figures do not include COVID-19 deaths

Source: National Records of Scotland

Question reference: S5W-28885

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards with birth numbers of over 5,000 per year now have a multidisciplinary community perinatal mental health team that has the skills and capacity to assess and care for pregnant and postnatal women, up to 12 months, who require secondary care mental health services.

Question reference: S5W-28884

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update of table 4.2.1 in the report, Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services, which was published on 6 March 2019, and which NHS boards currently have (a) disciplinary specialist community perinatal mental health teams, (b) protected multidisciplinary sessions and a core team, (c) one or more members of mental health staff identified as having a special interest in perinatal mental health and (d) no special interest provision for perinatal mental health.

As described in the answer to question S5W-28877 on 18 May 2020 during the first year of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme, as set out in the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board Delivery Plan 2019-20, we have focused on a set of initial actions to implement the Delivering Effective Services recommendations. As part of this work, we have invested in community services in the North of Scotland which will inform the development of a model that can be adapted and rolled out across Scotland in 2020-21 and beyond.

Work to roll out this model across Boards in the current financial year had to be paused due to Covid-19 pressures. However, we are now recommencing this work where possible and the Chair of the Board will shortly meet each health board to agree guidance and protocol for wider roll out of expanded specialist community perinatal teams as well as funding to support these developments.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Question reference: S5W-28887

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has introduced to the Mental Health Quality Indicators a measurement of how many women are seen for primary care psychological interventions in pregnancy, and in the first postnatal year, within six weeks of referral.

Question reference: S5W-28881

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that all NHS boards have equity of access to a regional mother and baby unit (MBU); whether any boards do not have service level agreements with an MBU, and, if so, for what reason.

The two Mother and Baby Units in Scotland are regionally managed. However, admission is available to women and infants from all health board areas in Scotland, based on clinical need. The Scottish Government expects that where admission to an inpatient unit is required, that women and infants will be admitted appropriately, in line with clinical judgement and the wishes of the patient.

Leverndale Mother and Baby Unit (managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde) has contractual arrangements with: NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Highland, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Western Isles

St John’s Mother and Baby Unit (Managed by NHS Lothian) has contractual arrangements with: NHS Borders, NHS Fife, NHS Highland and NHS Tayside, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland .

NHS Grampian and NHS Forth Valley do not hold contractual arrangements with either MBU but are able to access either resource on a case by case basis.

Question reference: S5W-28882

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the furthest distance is that any mother had to travel to a mother and baby unit in 2019.

Question reference: S5W-28877

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how current provision compares with the recommended whole-time equivalent (WTE) provision contained in appendixes 3 and 4 of the report, Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services, which was published on 6 March 2019, broken down by NHS board.

During the first year of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme, as set out in the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board Delivery Plan 2019/20 , we have focused on a set of initial actions to implements the Perinatal Mental Health Managed Clinical Network’s Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services recommendations. As part of this work, we have invested in community services in the North of Scotland which will inform the development of a model that can be adapted and rolled out across Scotland in 2020-21 and beyond.

Work to roll out this model across Boards in the current financial year has had to be paused due to Covid-19 pressures.

However, we are now recommencing this work where possible, and the Chair of the Board will shortly meet each health board to agree guidance and protocol for wider roll out of expanded specialist community perinatal teams as well as funding to support these developments.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board Delivery Plan for 2020-21 will be published in the coming weeks and will set out further actions to implement the recommendations in the Delivering Effective Services Report, as well as additional actions the Programme Board considers necessary to ensure women, babies and families receive the support they need.

Question reference: S5W-28888

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether NHS Highland is currently meeting the Scotland-wide ambition of providing the best services to women with, or at risk of, mental ill-health in pregnancy or the postnatal period, their infants, partners and families.

The Programme Board is working with NHS Highland to support its development of Perinatal Mental Health Services. This has included £82,367 in 2019-20 for Community Perinatal Mental Health provision across NHS Highland and Grampian. Forward planning includes further investment in Community Perinatal Mental Health provision along with expansion of Infant Mental Health Services into the Highland area.

Question reference: S5W-28883

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to recommendation 5 in the report, Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services, which was published on 6 March 2019, whether each NHS board now ensures there is provision for accommodating partners or other family members near to each mother and baby unit when mother and child have travelled a long distance.

A Family Fund is being created to help with travel, subsistence and accommodation costs for immediate family members of inpatients in MBUs.

The Family Fund will support families from out of area to maintain close contact with women and infants who have been admitted to an MBU.

As visiting to MBUs has been suspended for the time being due to Covid-19 restrictions, we have paused final development of this fund until such time as visiting is resumed.