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-13555

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances have been unable to be deployed on shifts at the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Arrochar stations due to staff sickness during the last six months, also broken down by month.

It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested. However, the Scottish Ambulance Service has provided the following table which sets out all shifts not covered. These may be seen in the context of more than 2,000 rostered shifts across the three stations over the last six months. Reasons for shifts not covered will include staff sickness and vacancies.

	December 2007	January 2008	February 2008	March 2008	April 2008	May 2008	Total
Vale of Leven	5	6	4	4	3	7	29
Helensburgh	2	0	1	2	5	0	10
Arrochar	0	2	7	14	0	14	37
Total	7	8	12	20	8	21

As the Cabinet Secretary made clear in her statement to the Parliament on 4 June 2008, the Scottish Ambulance Service must make every effort to cover all shifts and budget controls should not determine decisions about whether or not to cover shifts.

Question reference: S3W-13397

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been screened for thrombophilia since May 2007.

This information is not held centrally. We have accepted the advice from the National Screening Committee that population screening for thrombophilia should not be offered. As with all the topics on which it offers advice, however, the committee keeps the evidence base under review.

It is usual in Scotland, however, for adult relatives of those with Factor V Leiden, the most common genetic mutation which gives rise to thrombophilia, to be offered genetic testing and given appropriate advice in the light of the result of that test.

Question reference: S3W-13554

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many paramedics are rostered on each ambulance across each shift pattern in the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Arrochar stations.

Question reference: S3W-13557

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the overtime budget was for the Scottish Ambulance Service for 2007-08 and what it is for 2008-09.

Question reference: S3W-13553

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how many ambulances are available on each shift pattern in the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Arrochar stations.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided the following table.

Station	Resource	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Vale of Leven	Day shift double crew Ambulance	3	3	3	3	3	2	2
	Night shift double crew Ambulance	3	3	3	3	3	3	2
	Day shift FRV Single crew paramedic 7-3 Mon-Fri & Sat/Sun 9am to 9pm	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
	Back shift FRV Single crew paramedic up to 11pm Mon-Fri	1	1	1	1	1	0	0
Helensburgh	Day shift double crew Ambulance	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
	Night shift double crew Ambulance	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Arrochar	Day shift double crew Ambulance	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
	Night shift double crew Ambulance	o/c	o/c	o/c	o/c	o/c	o/c	o/c

Notes:

o/c = on call from home address.

FRV = Fast Response Vehicle paramedic car.

Excludes Patient Transport Ambulances.

Question reference: S3W-13559

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all ambulances are double-crewed, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

The service operates a range of vehicle types deployed according to the clinical condition of the patient. Rapid Response Vehicles tend to be single responders, accident and emergency units should be double crewed, as should mid tier and urgent tier units.

The statement to Parliament on 4 June by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing made clear the position of the Scottish Government on these matters.

Question reference: S3W-13556

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive what the response times were for ambulances attending patients in (a) Dumbarton, (b) the Vale of Leven, (c) Helensburgh and (d) the Rosneath Peninsula set against national targets, in each of the last six months.

The national response time target for category A calls (life threatening) across mainland Scotland is that, by March 2009, 75% of all incidents should be reached within eight minutes.

The national response time target for category B calls (serious but not life threatening) across mainland Scotland is that, by March 2009, 95% of all incidents should be reached within 14, 19 or 21 minutes depending on population density. For the locations requested, the target is 21 minutes.

The information requested has been provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service and has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 45730).

Question reference: S3W-13560

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all ambulances from the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Arrochar are double-crewed.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has confirmed that all traditional Accident and Emergency Units (AEUs) are rostered to be double crewed. However, in exceptional circumstances, such as short notice sickness absence, a single manned unit AEU may be deployed.

The statement to Parliament on 4 June by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing made clear the position of the Scottish Government on these matters.

In addition there are single crewed Paramedic Rapid Response Vehicles at the Vale of Leven.

Question reference: S3W-13561

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 5 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned that a claim of bullying and harassment has been submitted to NHSScotland against senior management of the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The Scottish Government takes very seriously all claims of bullying and harassment.

However, it is important that such claims are dealt with thoroughly and appropriately by the board of the Scottish Ambulance Service as the employer, ensuring that due process is followed and that rights under employment law and NHSScotland’s staff governance framework are respected.

The statement to Parliament on 4 June by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing made clear the position of the Scottish Government on these matters.

Question reference: S3W-13399

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 22 May 2008
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 June 2008

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that women taking hormone replacement therapy or the contraceptive pill are forewarned of the possible risk of thrombosis associated with such medication.

In primary care, the risks and benefits of any prescribed medication are discussed during consultation between the patient and their GP. This would include the risks of thrombosis associated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the contraceptive pill, which are well-known.

Pharmacists will discuss the indications, contra-indications, drug interactions and side effects with the patient before dispensing medication. There is also a legal requirement for each prescription for HRT and the oral contraceptive pill to contain an information leaflet which describes product characteristics, including the risk of thrombosis.

We would also expect clinicians providing maternity services to assess pregnant women for risk factors for DVT as part of their clinical assessment, and to provide further management in line with the current clinical guidelines produced by SIGN and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

In addition, we have commissioned Lifeblood, the thrombosis charity, to develop a general information leaflet on DVT. The leaflet includes guidance for individuals considered to be at high risk, including those on HRT and the oral contraceptive pill, and mentions that a simple blood test is available which may show a genetic susceptibility to DVT. The leaflet has been distributed to every GP practice in Scotland so that it can be on display and available to the general public.