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: S3W-40425

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how many calls have been categorised by NHS24 as (a) P1, (b) P2 and (c) P3 in 2010-11.

Question reference: S3W-40423

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it receives all data from NHS24 regarding (a) P1, (b) P2 and (c) P3 category calls.

The Scottish Government receives weekly, monthly and annual performance information from NHS24 in relation to performance against P1 and P2 calls to the service. As agreed in their 2010-11 Local Delivery Plan, target responses are as follows:

Commence 100% of calls prioritised as P1 within 60 minutes

Commence 90% of calls prioritised as P2 within 120 minutes.

Performance against these targets is reported publically within the monthly NHS24 Board papers, the most recent report can be found at:

http://www.nhs24.com/content/default.asp?page=s21_8&monthNo=2&yearNo=2011.

Performance against calls prioritised as P3 (commence call within 180 minutes) is monitored internally by NHS24 and is not reported to the Scottish Government.

Question reference: S3W-40422

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 17 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what a (a) P1, (b) P2 and (c) P3 category call is as defined by NHS24.

NHS24 receives around 1.5 million calls a year, and around 75% are dealt with on an inbound basis. Of these, it is important to recognise that all calls identified as serious or immediately life threatening are dealt with immediately by NHS24 on an inbound basis.

However, less serious conditions can be assigned a clinically appropriate timescale within which they can be called back and these account for around 25% of calls to NHS24. This mechanism is utilised, particularly at times of peak demand, to ensure the clinically effective management of all patients. These calls are assigned a priority status (P1, P2, or P3) in line with the rigorous assessment process applied to inbound calls. The priority categorisation is as follows:

P1 “ Priority 1 patients to be called back within 60 minutes

P2 “ Priority 2 patients to be called back within 120 minutes

P3 “ Priority 3 patients to be called back within 180 minutes.

In deciding which patients/conditions are suitable to be called back, a range of factors will be considered including, but not limited to, presenting symptoms, previous medical history, recent health interventions, age of patient, social circumstances etc.

An electronic call streaming functionality has been introduced within NHS24, allowing call handlers to advise patients of an indicative timeframe within which they will be called back, improving the patient experience. This enhancement also supports the robust real time monitoring by senior clinicians of patients who are waiting to be called back. All patients are advised to contact the service immediately if their condition deteriorates while they are waiting to be called back.

Question reference: S3W-40163

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers it appropriate for children over 13 with chronic pain requiring inpatient services at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children to be referred to adult pain services until such time as the new children’s hospital opens at the Southern General Hospital in 2015.

Question reference: S3W-40166

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive, in view of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde promising to treat children with chronic pain up to ages 16 or 18 from 2015, whether it will be in breach of (a) patients’, (b) children’s or (c) human rights if it limits inpatient services to new chronic pain patients over 13.

Question reference: S3W-40164

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will provide inpatient services for children over 13 from the Highlands and Islands with chronic pain in the next four years until the new children's hospital opens at the Southern General Hospital.

Question reference: S3W-40144

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive what companies supply pre-cooked or fresh food to the NHS and what the value is of each contract, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S3W-40165

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how long waiting lists are for adult chronic pain services in the (a) Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (b) Highlands and Islands area.

Question reference: S3W-40143

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how much each NHS board spends on hospital food per patient per day.

This information is not held centrally, however Scottish Health Service Costs publishes information on catering costs per patient consumer week:

NHS Board	Catering Expenditure	Number of Patient Consumer weeks	Cost per patient consumer week
NHS Board	£000s		£
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	6,399	73,212	87.4
NHS Borders	1,719	23,455	73.3
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	2,420	28,142	86.0
NHS Fife	4,629	62,961	73.5
NHS Forth Valley	3,843	50,261	76.5
NHS Grampian	8,057	104,143	77.4
NHS Greater Glasgow	21,222	299,152	70.9
NHS Highland	5,172	55,664	92.9
NHS Lanarkshire	6,664	98,713	67.5
NHS Lothian	13,280	165,990	80.0
NHS Orkney	360	2,485	145.0
NHS Shetland	495	3,016	164.1
NHS Tayside	7,549	98,258	76.8
NHS Western Isles	812	6,630	122.5
Total	82,619	1,072,082	77.1

Question reference: S3W-40145

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 03 March 2011
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 March 2011

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is improving nutritional standards in the NHS.

A comprehensive programme for improving nutritional care in hospitals, including the quality of meals, was established in 2008 backed by £1.5 million to support the implementation of the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland Clinical Standards for Food, Fluid and Nutrition in Hospitals. The programme includes:

The publication of Food in Hospitals “ A National Catering and Nutrition Specification for Food and Fluid in Scottish Hospitals.

Development of a monitoring tool to be used by NHS boards to ensure

compliance with the Specification, incorporating the patient experience.

Publication of a Practice Development Programme and Toolkit.

Development of an Educational Framework, a web-based resource.

Funding of Nutrition Champions in each NHS board

Software which provides a database of standard recipes which have been nutritionally analysed

In recognition of the importance of nutrition for in particular, vulnerable patients, senior charge nurses play a key role in ensuring these patients, who may need assistance with eating and drinking, are given care and support to improve and maintain their nutrition where appropriate. Protected meal times ensure that patients are not interrupted unnecessarily and also allow nursing staff more time to spend with patients who need assistance to eat and drink. This work links directly with the development of Clinical Quality Indicators one of which is for food, fluid and nutrition, currently being implemented across NHS Scotland.