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: S6W-40536

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps NHS Scotland is taking to address any workforce pressures facing the haematology workforce.

Question reference: S6W-40534

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39723 by Neil Gray on 21 August 2025, how many speciality training places have been funded in haematology in each year since 2014, and how many places were recommended by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group as part of expansion efforts.

Question reference: S6W-40535

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government further to the answer to question S6W-39725 by Neil Gray on 20 August 2025, what steps it is taking to ensure that the haematology workforce is included in the Future Medical Workforce project and other medical workforce plans, and whether it will meet the British Society for Haematology to discuss this work.

Question reference: S6W-40537

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 30 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the announcement by NHS England in July 2025 that the triple combination medicine vanzacaftor–tezacaftor–deutivacaftor (Alyftrek) is to be made available to patients with cystic fibrosis, including some with rare forms of the disease who will now be eligible for a triple therapy for the first time, whether such therapy will be available by NHS Scotland, and, if so, by what date.

Question reference: S6W-40362

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to address any shortfalls in the radiology workforce and the impact that any such shortfalls might have on cancer patients.

Whilst Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing are the responsibility NHS Boards. NHS Boards take account of national, regional, and local priorities, and we expect NHS boards to plan and provide safe, effective, and high-quality care, in line with their statutory service provision and workforce planning responsibilities.

To help address recognised workforce pressures, Scottish Government continues to invest heavily in radiology training. Scottish Government is currently funding around 190 specialty training places in clinical radiology, including 78 extra places which have been added since 2014. This enables doctors to train and enter the workforce following completion of training - which takes a minimum of 5 years. Clinical radiology specialty training programmes have been filled at 100% in Scotland from 2014 to 2024, with 230 resident doctors successfully completing training in this period.

To further support a coordinated response to pressures in cancer services, Scottish Government commissioned the National Oncology Coordination Group. This group considers real-time assessments and develops proactive risk mitigation proposals aligned with the strategic aims for cancer. This collaborative approach across NHS Boards in Scotland is ensuring that services can deliver for people with cancer.

Question reference: S6W-40196

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to make Significant Adverse Event reviews accessible to the public as is the case in other health systems, such as Norway.

The purpose of a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER) is to find out what happened, how it happened and why, and identify learning to reduce the risk of the same event happening again. Due to the nature to SAER reports, they often contain personal and clinical information. The Scottish Government does not require NHS Health Boards to publish SAER reports; however, they should always be shared with the individual concerned, or their family in the event of a death. Following the updated publication by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in February this year of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland: February 2025 – Healthcare Improvement Scotland, work is underway to support NHS Health Boards to share learning from SAERs locally and across Health Boards, to make the learning more accessible to healthcare professionals.

Question reference: S6W-40198

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to make Significant Adverse Event reviews more accessible to relevant communities of practice.

Work is underway to support health boards to share learning from SAERs locally and nationally, to make them more accessible to healthcare professionals. In February this year Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) published an updated version of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland: February 2025 – Healthcare Improvement Scotland. The revised framework includes an updated shareable learning template, which NHS Health Boards should complete following a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER). These summaries, which will support local and national learning, will be published on an online community of practice for NHS staff which HIS will launch soon. It is the responsibility of health boards to share learning within their organisations and to ensure that relevant staff groups are aware of changes to policies and processes as a result of learning and improvement actions.

Question reference: S6W-40199

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it has in place to monitor NHS boards' responses to Significant Adverse Event reviews.

Significant Adverse Event Reviews (SAERs) are conducted at a local level within each NHS Health Board. NHS Boards are required to notify Healthcare Improvement Scotland on a monthly basis of the number of SAERs that have been commissioned, including the event type and specialty. HIS recently reviewed and published an updated version of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland: February 2025 – Healthcare Improvement Scotland in February this year. This provides templates to support NHS Health Boards to consistently report and learn from SAERs. The Scottish Government does not monitor NHS Boards responses to SAERs.

Question reference: S6W-40197

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 September 2025
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to integrate the findings of Significant Adverse Event reviews into professional development and training for hospital staff.

Significant Adverse Event Reviews are conducted at a local level within each NHS Health Board and the learning and improvement actions that are identified as part of that review process are considered within the Health Board to reduce the risk of the same event recuring in the future. When relevant this will include actions to ensure that findings inform related professional development or training plans and delivery. The Scottish Government is clear that this learning should be shared nationally to enable other Health Boards consider if their processes can be improved as a result.

The Scottish Government has funded the Joint Commission for Safety, Openness and Learning – delivered by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) – which has developed Compassionate Communication Skills training to support staff in having difficult conversations after adverse events, reinforcing a commitment to learning and patient-centred care. NES has developed professional development and training resources, such as Human Factors/Ergonomics (Safety Science for Patient Safety), which can be accessed by all NHS Scotland staff.

Question reference: S6W-40359

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 19 September 2025

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will conduct an urgent review of sarcoma care and treatment in NHS Scotland.