- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 29 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make mandatory the recording on death certificates of Clostridium difficile where it is the cause of death.
Answer
It is already a statutory requirement, under section 24 of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965, for a registered medical practitioner to issue a medical certificate of cause of death stating to the best of his knowledge and belief the cause of death, and that would include Clostridium difficile.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposal to remove the microbiology laboratory from the Vale of Leven Hospital to a central location will be subject to (a) public consultation and (b) ministerial approval.
Answer
It is right that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde consider options to maintain and develop modern, efficient and effective laboratory services in the best interests of patients, and that these options are subject to appropriate engagement with stakeholders.
Any decision to close existing laboratory services at the Vale of Leven Hospital would ultimately be subject to my approval and I would have to be convinced by robust evidence that such a move was in the best interests of patients and local people.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the newly identified 078 strain of Clostridium difficile has affected any patients and, if so, how many and at which hospitals.
Answer
There have been 16 isolates of 078 strain of Clostridium difficile reported since 2007. Information by hospital is not currently held centrally but is shown by NHS board in the following table.
| Board | No of Isolates |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 4 |
| Fife | 2 |
| Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 4 |
| Grampian | 1 |
| Highland | 1 |
| Lothian | 2 |
| Tayside | 2 |
| Total | 16 |
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the relative toxicity of the 078 strain of Clostridium difficile is compared to other strains.
Answer
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) advise there is some evidence to suggest that the 078 strain can cause more serious disease but that cases present in a younger age group and are more likely to be community acquired. Further studies need to be undertaken to better understand the virulence of this strain. Meantime, control of clostridium difficile is best achieved by prudent prescribing and good infection control measures.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) minimum, (b) maximum and (c) average turnaround time is for the testing of samples from patients with suspected hospital-acquired infections, broken down by (i) NHS board and (ii) medical laboratory.
Answer
Health Protection Scotland do not hold this information centrally. They have advised that turnaround times are set by local laboratories in conjunction with their clinical users, but are usually between 24 and 48 hours for cultures, depending on organisms of interest, the site of infection and the sample type.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 29 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list each microbiology laboratory, broken down by location and NHS board.
Answer
The following table details the current list of NHS laboratories including those who do not perform direct clinical testing. It is important to note that not all the laboratories shown provide a full range of tests.
| Hospital Location of Laboratory | Health Board |
| Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock | Ayrshire and Arran |
| Border General Hospital, Melrose | Borders |
| Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy | Fife |
| Golden Jubilee National Hospital, Glasgow | Forth Valley |
| Glasgow Royal Infirmary | Golden Jubilee |
| Inverclyde Royal Infirmary, Greenock | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Southern General Hospital, Glasgow/Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Vale of Leven Hospital | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Western Infirmary, Glasgow | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Gartnavel Virology Laboratory (virology only) | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Yorkhill NHS Trust, Glasgow | Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
| Aberdeen Royal Infirmary | Grampian |
| Lorn and Islands District General Hospital | Highland |
| Raigmore Hospital, Inverness | Highland |
| Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride | Lanarkshire |
| Monklands, Airdrie | Lanarkshire |
| Wishaw General Hospital | Lanarkshire |
| Edinburgh Royal Infirmary | Lothian |
| St John''s Hospital Livingstone | Lothian |
| Western General Hospital, Edinburgh | Lothian |
| Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall | Orkney |
| Gilbert Bain Hospital, Lerwick | Shetland |
| Ninewells Hospital, Dundee | Tayside |
| Perth Royal Infirmary | Tayside |
| Western Isles Hospital, Isle of Lewis | Western Isles |
Reference Laboratories “ provide specialist typing services or specialist diagnostic services for Scotland:
| Hospital | Organisms |
| Stobhill Hospital | MRSA, Meningococcal/Pneumococcal, Salmonella/Shigella/Clostridium difficile, Legionella, Parasite |
| Edinburgh Royal Infirmary | Bacterial sexually transmitted infection, Mycobacteria, HPV, BBV specialist services |
| Western General, Edinburgh | E Coli 0157 |
| Gartnavel General Hospital | BBV services |
| Glasgow Royal Infirmary | Trace Elements |
| Highland Hospital, Inverness | Toxoplasma |
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive from which budget head funding for a public inquiry into the outbreak of Clostridium difficile would be drawn.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20028 on 29 January 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set aside funding to facilitate a public inquiry into the outbreak of Clostridium difficile and, if so, how much.
Answer
There is an on-going Procurator Fiscal investigation into the tragic deaths from Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital. The area procurator fiscal for Argyll and Clyde has asked Strathclyde Police and the Health and Safety Executive to conduct parallel investigations and report back to him as quickly as possible. It will then be for the area procurator fiscal to determine whether any further inquiries are required before he submits his report for consideration to Crown Counsel. I will return to Parliament to make a statement once the area procurator fiscal''s investigations are complete and the views of Crown Counsel are known.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were referred to the Scottish Driving Assessment Service in 2007-08 and for the first nine months of 2008-09, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The number of patients referred to the Scottish Driving Assessment Service in 2007-08, broken down by NHS board, was:
| NHS Board | Number of Referrals Received |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 66 |
| Borders | 44 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 39 |
| Fife | 123 |
| Forth Valley | 71 |
| Grampian | 124 |
| Greater Glasgow | 219 |
| Highland | 63 |
| Lanarkshire | 120 |
| Lothian | 342 |
| Orkney | 2 |
| Shetland | 1 |
| Tayside | 74 |
| Western Isles | 4 |
| Total | 1,292 |
Information concerning the number of patients referred to the Scottish Driving Assessment Service for the first nine months of 2008-09, broken down by NHS board, is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 January 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider establishing a permanent base for the Scottish Driving Assessment Service in the west of Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not believe there is a strong business case identifying the need for this service.
