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: S6O-00519

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 9 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve the support that is available for people who are affected by strokes.

Question reference: S6W-04507

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 30 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that no dental surgeries in Fife are registering new NHS patients.

The dental sector has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and pre-COVID levels of patient volume are not currently achievable with the current infection prevention and control (IPC) guidance. The majority of dental treatments involve the use of aerosol generating procedures which potentially has a higher risk of transmission of the virus. We are working closely with the sector to improve capacity which is why we have provided £5m funding to improve surgery ventilation and a further £7.5m has been allocated to for the purchase of new drills. These measures are intended to increase the productivity of practices, enabling them to see more patients, within the current IPC constraints.

Additionally, funding of £4.7m has been provided to NHS Boards to enable the Public Dental Service (PDS) to improve access to NHS dental care in their area, particularly for people who are unable to register with a dentist at present. Any patients who require dental treatment before they are able to register with a practice should contact the dental helpline in their Board area. Contact details for each Board can be found on the NHS Inform website at: https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/nhs-services/dental/dental-emergencies .

Question reference: S6O-00422

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 November 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services that are declined.

Question reference: S6W-04062

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-02154 by Maree Todd on 27 August 2021, whether it will launch a consultation on restricting the advertising and promotion of Nicotine Vapour Products (NVPs) in November 2021.

Question reference: S6W-04059

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Date lodged: Monday, 01 November 2021
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 10 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a response to the results of the Prohibiting smoking outside hospital buildings: consultation.

Question reference: S6O-00334

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 November 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the 2019 Scottish export statistics.

Question reference: S6W-02308

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme 2021 national report stating that fewer people have been admitted to hospital with a stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic, how many out-of-hospital deaths due to stroke there have been in each reporting period of the last three Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme national reports.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish deaths by cause in their vital events reference tables, including stroke, available under cerebrovascular disease, table 6.04: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/vital-events-reference-tables

Background information on how NRS record deaths can be found at:

Deaths - Background Information | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Deaths with an underlying cause of stroke (identified as ICD-10 codes I61, I63 and I64), by location of death, showed that in 2018, 698 deaths occurred in a non-hospital setting, in 2019, this figure was 682, and in 2020 it was 847. This includes deaths which are categorised as taking place in a Care Home, Home /non-institution or Other institution.

Question reference: S6W-02304

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme 2021 national report, what it considers the impact on stroke (a) mortality and (b) recovery would be if all NHS boards achieved their targets for stroke bundle provision, and what its position is on whether achieving these bundle provision targets represents an acceptable level of stroke care.

There is evidence that achieving the stroke bundle reduces mortality and increases the chance of patients returning to their usual place of residence after stroke.

There are a number of other factors in achieving an acceptable level of care for people with stroke. However, the stroke bundle is a simple metric which has been shown to be associated with improved outcomes. The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme Team will continue to support NHS Boards to achieve the Stroke Bundle as well as supporting improvements across the stroke pathway.

Question reference: S6W-02305

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in the period covered by the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme 2021 national report, how many people who survived a stroke were discharged with (a) a significant, (b) a moderate, (c) a slight and (d) no disability; how their rehabilitation needs were assessed; how many patients received rehabilitation, and whether rehabilitation enabled them to achieve their recovery potential.

The Scottish Stroke Care Audit does not currently directly measure level of disability at the time of hospital discharge. The stroke improvement team rehabilitation sub group is currently considering future updates to measure rehabilitation service delivery, patient outcomes and experiences.

Rehabilitation is a person centred process. People with ongoing impairment and activity limitations following a stroke are assessed by a multidisciplinary team and their wishes and needs are agreed individually as part of their rehabilitation plan. All patients who require stroke rehabilitation should be offered it. Rehabilitation may be delivered via a variety of inpatient, early supported discharge and community teams

Question reference: S6W-02306

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the World Stroke Organization's Roadmap to Delivering Quality Stroke Care, how it assesses Scotland’s stroke care against this roadmap; what Scotland’s current level of stroke service capacity is; what gaps exist, compared with the roadmap; what action it will take to ensure that stroke care in Scotland is based on evidence and best practice from around the world, and by when.

Work is ongoing to produce a progressive stroke pathway document by December 2021. This will take account of international evidence, including the World Stroke Organisation’s roadmap to delivering quality stroke care, to define what a progressive stroke pathway should look like in Scotland.

The progressive stroke pathway will, similarly to the roadmap, follow the continuum of care starting at the onset of a stroke event through the acute phase (emergency department and inpatient care), and stroke rehabilitation and long term supported recovery.

Following this, an implementation plan will identify any gaps between current capacity and the progressive stroke pathway vision, and outline clear actions to take.