- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many times the former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care made official visits to NHS hospitals in each year since his appointment in May 2021.
Answer
Ministerial engagements (including official visits), overseas travel, car journeys, domestic travel and gifts received are published on the Scottish Government website at: www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/ in line with the terms of the Scottish Ministerial Code.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the level of any unmet need for social care is in each local authority area across Scotland.
Answer
Information published by Public Health Scotland ( Social care – Demand for Care at Home services ) provides the number of people waiting for a social care assessment, as well as the number of people who have been assessed and are waiting for a package of care. These figures, however, represent only a subset of unmet need.
Scottish Government analysts are considering options for increasing our understanding of the nature and level of unmet need in adult social care, and will continue to engage with external partners to develop appropriate approaches and deliver new insights over the coming months.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many ovarian cancer patients have self-funded related surgery, such as a hysterectomy, in each of the last five years, and whether there are any NHS board inequalities regarding the NHS funding private treatment.
Answer
This information is not held centrally within the Scottish Government.
Any arrangements for NHS patients to be treated at an Independent Sector hospital would need to be made between the patient, NHS Board and their clinical team.
While a patient has the right, at any time, to exercise choice and seek private treatment, there can never be the expectation that the NHS will pay for it. The reimbursement of any costs incurred when a patient opts for private treatment, however, is a matter for consideration by the local Health Board.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the delays to the two new hospital buildings in Aberdeen that have resulted in an increase in the overall budget costs for these projects, how much additional capital it has had to provide in total to NHS infrastructure projects, due to delays to the operational date, in each of the past five years.
Answer
The Scottish Government publishes an update on progress on all major capital investment projects every 6 months in its Infrastructure Investment Plan and includes information on the following the projects:
- NHS Grampian - Aberdeen Baird Family Hospital and ANCHOR Centre
- National Waiting Times Centre Board - Hospital Expansion Programme - Phase 2
- NHS Lothian - National Treatment Centre
- NHS Highland – National Treatment Centre
- NHS Forth Valley - National Treatment Centre
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - North East Hub
- NHS Ayrshire & Arran - Foxgrove (National Secure Adolescent Inpatient Service)
- NHS Tayside - Ninewells Electrical Infrastructure Zone 3
- NHS Ayrshire & Arran - National Treatment Centre - Ayrshire & Arran
The full report is published here:
Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26: Major capital projects progress update (September 2022) - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an assessment of the findings of the literature review, The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and its relevance in judicial contexts, which was submitted to the Scottish Sentencing Council in January 2020, in relation to policy areas that engage the wellbeing and welfare of young people, including (a) education, (b) health and (c) equalities.
Answer
The literature review 'The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and its relevance in judicial contexts' was commissioned by the independent Scottish Sentencing Council to inform its work in developing a sentencing guideline on young people. Its conclusions specifically relate to those aspects of adolescents and young people's cognitive and emotional development and maturity which are relevant to judicial decision-making with a particular focus on its relevance to decisions about the sentencing of young people convicted of criminal offences.
As the report focuses specifically on how evidence about the development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and young adults is relevant to decision making in judicial contexts, the Scottish Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of its findings' relevance in other policy areas.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether the clinical portal has been rolled out across all NHS boards.
Answer
Further to the answer provided to question S6W-11404 issued on 4 November 2022, I can confirm that all Health Boards now have access to Clinical portals within acute services.
All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of applications to the Young Patients Family Fund has resulted in the award being granted in 2022-23.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not yet have complete YPFF data for the whole period of 2022-23 so we are unable to state the percentage of successful claims across the 12 month period. We expect Health Boards to have provided this data by the end of May 2023.
- Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Scotland were waiting to be assessed for social care on 1 January 2023.
Answer
On 2 January 2023, the number of people waiting for social care support assessment was 7,143. The latest data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) shows that there were 6,706 waiting for a social care support assessment on 17 April 2023.
Please note:
- The demand for a package of care is unknown in advance of the assessment taking place, and some of the people being assessed will not need a package of care.
- Scotland estimates are derived by summing the number of people waiting from the partnerships. This excludes 3 Health and Social Care Partnerships who were unable to supply data.
- Figures are collected each Monday.
Source: Public Health Scotland, Social care – Demand for Care at Home services , published 25 April 2023.
- Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland regarding attracting more people to apply for (a) environmental health undergraduate places and (b) work in local authorities.
Answer
Officials have met with the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) to discuss attracting more people to apply for environmental health courses and to work in local authorities.
The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health is due to meet with REHIS soon to discuss these themes.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 20 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-16175 by Kevin Stewart on 5 April 2023, how much replacement planting is planned along the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route for trees that have failed to become properly established.
Answer
The planting is designed to deliver specific objectives such as landscape integration, screening/shelter, and ecological enhancement etc. However, this does not necessarily mean 100% of the stock planted needs to establish in order to achieve the objectives. A number of annual inspections are carried out by the landscape architect throughout each year of the 5 year establishment period. These inspections determine whether the planting is on course to deliver the intended design outcomes, and can result in remedial actions for the contractor to carry out.
Over 1,000 replacement trees have been planted so far in 2023. Inspections will continue over summer of 2023 to monitor the development of the planting design before deciding what future remedial works and/or replanting may be necessary.
Other remedial works may include applying fertiliser or improving drainage. Fertiliser has already been applied to around 140,000 square metres of tree beds in 2023 to date. Trial removal of tree guards is underway in selected plots and this will be carefully monitored to assess any impact from grazing deer.