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-21442

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 4 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a replacement service following the closure of Huntercombe Hospital, which specialised in the treatment of child and adolescent mental health and eating disorders.

Following the closure of Huntercombe Hospital, the Scottish Government is in conversations with CAMHS Lead Clinicians and CAMHS Regional Leads about the regional provision of specialist eating disorder facilities, and community services, across Scotland.

We are clear that young people with eating disorders should be seen in accordance with clinical guidelines. We therefore announced during Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2019 that SIGN will be taking forward Scottish-specific clinical guidelines on eating disorders.

Additionally, the Taskforce on Children and Young People’s Mental Health, chaired by Dr Dame Denise Coia, is looking across clinical and community services. We know that specialist clinical services are important, but are not the whole answer regarding serious conditions such as eating disorders. Other service providers which engage with young people and their families, such as education, social work, and the third sector, are vital to providing practical and emotional support, and can help young people come forward more quickly to seek help. The Taskforce will develop a blueprint for how services, and surrounding support, can better meet the rapidly changing need that exists across Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-21572

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many hospital porters in each NHS board (a) have been fully trained and (b) are being to trained to deal with clinical waste, also broken down by how many are on a six-month contract.

Question reference: S5W-21395

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the BMA Scotland poll, which recorded that 38% of its members believed that bullying was a problem in their workplace.

I will be meeting the BMA soon to discuss the results of this poll and other matters.

The Scottish Government is clear that that bullying and harassment in our NHS is unacceptable under any circumstances. We continue to work with our partners to create a culture where all staff feel confident they can speak up about any dignity at work issues they may have.

We have asked Boards about the mechanisms they have in place to support the reporting of bullying, to see how we can best support them if they need to strengthen their current arrangements. We are also carrying out a ‘Once for Scotland’ review of all our workforce policies, including bullying and harassment. The aim is to create a more consistent approach with simplified, improvement focused policies, which are person-centred and supportive to all those involved.

Question reference: S5W-21396

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what that average waiting time is for accessing dermatology services, also broken down by NHS board.

The information on the average waiting times for access to dermatology services held centrally is for the quarter ending 30 September 2018. This data for outpatient and inpatient/day cases is set out in the following two tables.

However, due to technical issues with some Health Boards’ submission of data, there is no more recent data currently held centrally. This information is held by individual Health Boards and can be obtained directly from them.

Table 1: Unadjusted Median Waiting Time in Days for New Outpatient Dermatology appointments for quarter ending 30 September 2018

NHS Board	Median (Days)
NHS Scotland	55
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	48
NHS Borders	29
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	56
NHS Fife	54
NHS Forth Valley	41
NHS Grampian	56
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	63
NHS Highland	57
NHS Lanarkshire	42
NHS Lothian	110
NHS Orkney	271
NHS Shetland	**
NHS Tayside	53
NHS Western Isles	53

Notes

Source: SMR01

** Denotes activity for this service is recorded at another Board.

Table 2: Unadjusted Median Waiting Time in Days for Inpatient or Day case Dermatology admission for quarter ending 30 September 2018

NHS Board	Median (days)
NHS Scotland	27
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	14
NHS Borders	**
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	^
NHS Fife	28
NHS Forth Valley	**
NHS Grampian	^
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	18
NHS Highland	8
NHS Lanarkshire	9
NHS Lothian	^
NHS Orkney	**
NHS Shetland	**
NHS Tayside	7
NHS Western Isles	**

Notes

Source: SMR01

^ Service provided by this Board, however no patients were seen during this quarter

** Denotes activity for this service is recorded at another

I am aware that the dermatology service is under significant pressure. Health Boards are taking a number of actions to improve the situation, including undertaking additional activity at weekends and evenings to reduce waiting times, engaging with independent sector providers to support short term recovery actions and recruitment of additional consultants.

The Modern Outpatient Programme is working with Innovate UK and Scottish Enterprise on a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition to develop innovative new solutions in dermatology that will help to optimise the use of consultant time.

The programme is also working on an EU-funded project to improve and standardise training for dermatology nurses across Scotland and parts of Ireland. This will ensure that all nurses have access to the necessary skills and training they require, and that nurses are trained to a suitable, verifiable standard

Question reference: S5W-21634

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Christina McKelvie on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of reports that over 230 victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been treated in Scotland's hospitals in the last two years.

Female Genital Mutilation is completely unacceptable, and we are committed to tackling it and ending the practice for good. In the Programme for Government 2018-19, we committed to introducing a Bill which will strengthen the existing legislative framework for the protection of women and girls from FGM. We have consulted on this over the winter, and are currently analysing responses. We are continuing to implement our FGM National Action Plan which includes a commitment to ensuring women and girls who have been affected, and who are potentially affected, by FGM have access to relevant, effective and integrated services. Crucial to this will be ensuring consistent recording and reporting of FGM data to inform responsive and high quality service development, and monitoring of services. At the moment, healthcare professionals in Scotland have been asked to record the diagnosis and types of FGM together with any corrective procedures in the appropriate clinical records. The purpose of this is to help healthcare professionals recognise the condition, some of the presenting symptoms, and the services most likely to come across the condition. Our National Implementation Group is due to meet in March, and it will discuss the reporting figures further.

Question reference: S5W-21644

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how much the NHS has spent on international recruitment in each of the last five years.

NHS Scotland health boards have fully delegated powers in relation to employment issues and as such, boards have the freedom to determine all matters in relation to recruitment and retention. The Scottish Government works closely with Boards with recruitment efforts. We are investing over £4 million in domestic and international recruitment and retention activity over the next three years to support health boards in their efforts to recruit and retain the brightest talent from across the globe. This includes £450,000 allocated in this financial year (2018-19) to support the establishment of a dedicated international recruitment service. The International Recruitment Unit is now live and has been created to improve NHS Scotland’s resilience to target speciality areas that have been identified as at risk from EU withdrawal, alongside where there are currently recruitment challenges.

Question reference: S5W-21635

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Breast Cancer Now's call for women in their 30s with a family history of breast cancer to receive annual mammograms.

The Scottish Government, along with the rest of the UK, is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group. Currently the UK NSC recommends breast cancer screening for women aged 50-70 every 3 years. The Scottish Government continues to monitor and consider all available evidence and recommendations.

In the case of women in their 30's with a family history of breast cancer, the guidelines set out in the Familial Breast Cancer Report, are followed in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-21713

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 18 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 28 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the call by BMA Scotland for the NHS to publish details of racism against its staff.

Racism of any form is unacceptable. The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to ensure that reported incidents are taken seriously and fully investigated, in line with existing national and local policies covering employee conduct and bullying & harassment. In accordance with the Embracing Equality, Diversity and Human Rights PIN policy, individual NHS Scotland health boards also have a responsibility to carry out local monitoring and action planning, in order to reduce inequalities in the workplace, promote tolerance and minimise inappropriate behaviour related to a protected characteristic.

All health boards in Scotland report bi-annually on how they are working to tackle discrimination in the workplace. We are continuously looking to improve our approach to staff experience to better understand and respond to discrimination issues, through our staff governance monitoring processes. In doing so, we are actively working with NHS Scotland Health Boards Equality and Diversity Leads to consider how we can improve our monitoring processes .

Question reference: S5O-02958

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of the red meat industry and what was discussed.

Question reference: S5W-21568

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 08 February 2019
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 27 February 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve early diagnosis of interstitial lung disease.