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-05462

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been assessed for deep brain stimulation surgery at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in 2016.

Question reference: S5W-05411

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many mothers have been separated from their babies in the course of receiving mental health treatment in each year since 2011.

The Mental Welfare Commission report “Perinatal Themed Visit Report – Keeping Mothers and Babies in Mind” published 29 June 2016 contains a survey of all 43 Scottish General adult acute wards, 11 IPCUs and both mother and baby units from July to September 2015. 16 out of 44 mothers admitted during the survey did not receive care with their baby in one of the specialist mother and baby units. Data on how many mothers have been separated from babies in the course of receiving mental health treatment is not routinely collected in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-05412

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 22 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what maternal mental health targets it has, and which NHS boards are meeting these.

Scotland was first nation to introduce a waiting time target for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) services in the world, and was the first country in the UK to introduce a waiting time target for psychological therapies - this is an indication of how seriously we take this issue. All people in Scotland are included in these targets, so that would include maternal mental health. We expect that health boards and health and social care partnerships will deliver mental health care and treatment, this includes maternal mental health, in a person-centred manner to meet each individual’s needs.

In its Perinatal Themed Visit report in 2016, the Mental Welfare Commission made 13 recommendations to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health issues. One of these, to establish a national Managed Clinical Network, was for the Scottish Government, which we have agreed to. We will therefore fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network (MCN) to improve the recognition and treatment of mental health problems in the perinatal period.

Question reference: S5W-05471

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 21 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what mental health support is available to people with diabetes.

Question reference: S5W-05303

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 21 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the merits of extending registered medical practitioners to include psychologists.

I met with representatives of the British Psychological Society (BPS) on 8 September this year to discuss among other matters the merits of extending registered medical practitioners for the purposes of section 47 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. A further meeting between Scottish Government officials and BPS representatives took place on 10th October and officials are awaiting further information from the BPS about the training clinical psychologists receive in respect of assessing capacity of patients before deciding the most appropriate way to proceed with this matter. In any event the merits of extending registered medical practitioners to include clinical psychologists will be considered within the consultation on Adults with Incapacity legislation in 2017.

Question reference: S5W-05413

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 21 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of maternal mortality has been recorded as suicide since 2011, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-05235

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 15 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on reports that there are no education opportunities in Scotland to become a practitioner in applied behavioural analysis to assist children who have been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder.

Universities are autonomous bodies and as such they have responsibility for their own staffing, admission, subject provision, curriculum, degree awarding and research. Course provision is therefore a matter for each individual institution.

The Scottish Government expects each agency (health, education and social care) to consider their staff training and competence. It is important that services maintain staff competences in line with the SIGN Guidance and evidence. The published Autism Training Framework allows services to target their training to the needs of the individuals they are supporting.

The framework is available from the following link: http://elearning.scot.nhs.uk:8080/intralibrary/open_virtual_file_path/i1923n4027869t/NESD0350ASDTrainingFramework-WEB.pdf

Question reference: S5O-00499

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to provide access to fibre broadband in areas where there is an insufficiency of hardware to meet demand.

Question reference: S5W-05305

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how long it takes for third-party approval for a Section 47 certificate of incapacity under Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.

The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 provides a framework for safeguarding the welfare and managing the finances of adults (people aged 16 or over) who lack capacity due to mental illness, learning disability or a related condition, or an inability to communicate.

Some people are not able to give consent, either permanently or temporarily.

Part five of the Act gives a general authority to treat a patient who is incapable of consenting to the treatment in question, on the issuing of a certificate of incapacity (section 47 certificate). Doctors can issue certificates for a range of medical treatments. Dentists, optometrists and registered nurses, who have specialist training can also issue certificates for treatment related to their speciality.

Section 47 (1A)(a) allows the medical practitioner primarily responsible for the medical treatment of the adult to certify that an adult lacks capacity in relation to medical treatment, and to carry out that medical treatment. Part five defines "medical treatment" to include any procedure or treatment designed to safeguard or promote physical or mental health. If there is a welfare attorney or guardian with the power to consent to treatment then their authority must be sought unless it is impracticable to do so.

There are no official statistics which record the length of time taken to secure authority from a persons relevant attorney or welfare guardian.

Question reference: S5W-05046

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Friday, 25 November 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 14 December 2016

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-04549 by Aileen Campbell on 22 November 2016, what analysis it has carried out to determine the reason for the fall in the number of hepatitis C diagnoses in 2015; what estimate it has made of the current number of undiagnosed cases, and what steps it is taking to ensure that each NHS board has the capacity to exceed its treatment target for the condition.

Health Protection Scotland have investigated the reduction in the number of diagnosis in 2015 but has not identified a particular trend to explain this. HPS has specifically examined whether or not there has been a reduction in the volume of testing undertaken, but based on an analysis of the four largest NHS boards, this appears not to be the case. Rather this has demonstrated a 40% increase in hepatitis C tests carried out during 2015 compared to the annual average for the 2010-2014 period. Over 65,000 people were tested in 2015 compared with an average of 46,546 tests per year over the prior five years).

It is estimated that the number of people chronically infected with hepatitis C in Scotland is 35,900 of which 21,500 (60%) have been diagnosed. This equates to a 50% increase in the proportion of infected people being diagnosed since the launch of the Hepatitis C Action plan in 2008. The proportion of the infected population being diagnosed is continuing to increase each year.

The annual treatment target is a national minimum target. Each NHS Board is responsible for managing its own population and the disease within its locality. NHS Boards are currently on track to exceed the national target for 2015-16 of 1,500.