- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of The Queen's Nursing Institute of Scotland's project, Three Bridges-Promoting Blood Borne Virus (BBV) wellness within Police Custody Suites, what its position is on (a) including BBV-testing as part of a package of care and (b) implementing an opt-out testing model to help to reduce some of the stigma and inequalities surrounding hepatitis C care and treatment.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to eliminating hepatitis C as a public health concern, and is supporting work to improve opt-out testing in prisons as we recognise that this population is at particular risk. We are providing funding of over £2m between 2018 and 2021 to organisations tackling poor sexual health and blood borne viruses, including to Hepatitis Scotland and Waverley Care for their work to support people living with or at risk of hepatitis C and HIV.
The Scottish Government supports the integration of blood borne virus (BBV) testing into treatment as part of the care available to those in police custody. As part of nationwide efforts to increase testing for BBV, a number of NHS Boards have elected to develop BBV testing in police custody for those populations most at risk. Lessons learned from these service developments are being shared with services across Scotland to support our commitment to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health concern.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the components in the home screening kit for bowel cancer kit are recyclable.
Answer
The bowel cancer screening kit comprises of an outer envelope, a letter with instructions, an information booklet, a return postage-paid envelope and a test kit.
The outer envelope, the letter with instructions, and the information booklet are all paper and can be recycled. Until 11th February 2019, the programme used a foil return envelope which was not recyclable, however the programme now uses a different type of envelope which is recyclable.
After being analysed at the lab the used test kits are disposed of in clinical waste bags (i.e. treated in the same way as blood tubes), and are not recycled.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 31 January 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of hospitals produce their food (a) in-house and (b) through private contractors, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
Of 168 healthcare sites across Scotland that receive a catering service, 33 receive their catering provision from an outsourced provider. The remaining sites receive catering provision from an outsourced provider.
NHS Board | Sites with Outsourced Provision |
Ayrshire and Arran | 1 (out of 10) |
Forth Valley | 7 (out of 7) |
Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 1 (out of 16) |
Highland | 4 (out of 23) |
Lanarkshire | 13 (out of 14) |
Lothian | 5 (out of 19) |
Tayside | 1 (out of 18) |
Western Isles | 1 (out of 1) |
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Ash Denham on 28 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what enforcement powers exist to ensure that family contact judgements are upheld.
Answer
Currently, if someone believes an order under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act) has been breached the person can go back to court and seek a further order (such as a variation of the order or a switch in residence), and/or ask the court to hold the person breaching the contact order in contempt of court. The Scottish Government’s understanding is that the penalties for contempt of court are laid down in section 15 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. They include a prison sentence or a fine.
We have recently consulted on the review of Part 1 of the 1995 Act. The consultation sought views on how contact orders should be enforced. We are now considering next steps. The Programme for Government for 2018-19 announced that there will be a Family Law Bill.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2019
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what preparations it is making for business continuity with wholesale food providers in the event of a no deal Brexit.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2019
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 26 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to help reduce the volume of microplastics in the environment and the sea.
Answer
The Scottish Government's focus is to both reduce and prevent this source of microplastics pollution. We have many policies under the frameworks of our Marine and National Litter Strategies, as well as commitments in our Programme for Government to reduce all plastic litter which degrades into microplastics. In addition we have taken action directly with two sources of microplastics; In June 2018 we introduced legislation to ban the use of plastic microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and we have also established a working group with the plastics sector to build on the industry's Operation Clean Sweep guidelines to further reduce nurdle loss across the full supply chain.
We are showing leadership in our approach to tackling plastics, as the first UK administration to commit to establishing a deposit return scheme, and to introducing legislation to ban plastic-stemmed cotton buds.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area have died in each year since 2009 while waiting for a kidney transplant.
Answer
The following table provides number of residents of Scotland recorded as having died between 2009-2018 whilst on the waiting list for a kidney-only transplant. Please note we have not provided data by individual NHS Board as that would risk potential identification of the individuals concerned.
| | Year of death | Total |
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
Total | 25 | 24 | 27 | 22 | 28 | 22 | 29 | 32 | 31 | 25 | 265 |
Data supplied by NHS Blood and Transplant as at 11-02-2019
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area are on the kidney transplant waiting list.
Answer
The following table lists the number of people in Scotland currently listed as active on the waiting list for a kidney-only transplant by NHS Board.
NHS Board | |
AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 23 |
BORDERS | 11 |
DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 16 |
FIFE | 26 |
FORTH VALLEY | 31 |
GRAMPIAN | 40 |
GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 112 |
HIGHLAND | 26 |
LANARKSHIRE | 56 |
LOTHIAN | 57 |
TAYSIDE | 24 |
ORKNEY, SHETLAND, WESTERN ISLES | 10* |
Total | 432 |
Data supplied by NHS Blood and Transplant as at 11-02-2019.
* Please note that data for the Island NHS Boards has been merged and rounded to the nearest 10 in order to avoid risk of disclosing personal data of individuals and the total figure has been adjusted accordingly.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 21 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on altruistic kidney donation, and what action it can take to encourage people to consider becoming living kidney donors.
Answer
The Scottish Government is supportive of altruistic kidney donation, although it is of course entirely for individuals to decide if they wish to donate a kidney, whether to a stranger or to a loved one. The role of the Scottish Government is to help raise public awareness of the potential of living kidney donation and to that end a range of information about living kidney donation is available on the Organ Donation Scotland website. The Scottish Government will continue to ensure that real-life stories of living kidney donors, recipients of living kidneys and how these people have benefited from this type of donation are published on a regular basis.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 21 February 2019
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to mark the 10th anniversary of the first person in Scotland to become an altruistic kidney donor, which was in March 2009.
Answer
The 10th anniversary of the first person in Scotland to become an altruistic kidney donor will be marked during National Living Kidney Donation Awareness Week from 11 – 17 March 2019. I will meet one of the first people in Scotland to donate a kidney altruistically in 2009 during a visit to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. There will also be a week-long living kidney donation radio campaign and real-life stories of living kidney donors and recipients, which we hope will be featured in the Scottish regional and national press that week.
