- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the process is for women who are seeking a referral for mesh surgery to (a) Dr Veronikis and (b) Professor Hashim.
Answer
Anyone who wishes to be referred to either Dr Veronikis or Professor Hashim should firstly discuss their case with their GP who will refer them to the local specialist within their Health Board. If considered appropriate they would then be referred to the Complex Mesh Surgery Service for consideration by a full multi-disciplinary team (MDT). The MDT will undertake an appropriate clinical assessment and ensure that all relevant investigations are undertaken to support shared decision making. If, after careful consideration by both the MDT and the patient, it is agreed that surgery is appropriate and the patient wishes to be referred to either Dr Veronikis or Professor Hashim, the team in Glasgow will facilitate this in conjunction with their local specialist within their local Health Board.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many women have been referred to (a) Dr Veronikis and (b) Professor Hashim for mesh surgery to date.
Answer
The contract negotiations with Dr Veronikis are progressing and are expected to reach a positive conclusion imminently. No patients can be referred until this process is complete, however referrals for those who wish to travel for treatment by Dr Veronikis will begin as soon as possible after the contract has been concluded. All negotiations with Spire Healthcare, Bristol are complete and contracts have been signed. For the small number of patients who have requested referral to Spire Healthcare, arrangements for referral are now beginning and it is anticipated that the first patients will travel for treatment shortly.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address widening health inequalities in light of reports that an increasing number of people are using private healthcare in order to receive elective and orthopaedic surgery.
Answer
The National Treatment Centre (NTC) Programme will deliver the single biggest increase in protected planned care capacity ever created in NHSScotland. The network of 10 NTCs will deliver capacity for over 40,000 additional planned procedures and diagnostic care across 12 specialties.
Within the next 18 months, NTCs will open in NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Highland and at NHS Golden Jubilee specialising in orthopaedic surgery. On 13 April, we also announced £1.8m of funding to purchase a private hospital in Ayrshire (Carrick Glen) to be developed into a new National Treatment Centre specialising in orthopaedics.
As well as significant investment in new infrastructure, the new NHSScotland Centre for Sustainable Delivery is also leading work to explore new and innovative ideas to reduce In Patient / Day Case and Outpatient waiting times. Examples include:
- The rollout of Active Clinical Referral Triage, to provide patients with information about non-surgical interventions and self-management options;
- Patient Initiated Reviews, enabling patients to be escalated if their condition deteriorates and reduces routine appointments while supporting patients in a safe and clinically appropriate manner; and
- Enhanced Recovery after Surgery pathways, designed to support patients achieve faster recovery after surgery.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much it estimates will be raised from the rationalisation of the public sector estate, as set out in the Resource Spending Review.
Answer
It is clear that the changes in working practices and budgets will offer opportunities to right-size the portfolio and improve efficient delivery of services to the public. There are no details of any savings available yet as the multi-year programme has not started. The first phase of the programme will begin this year and will look to gather and validate existing estate information and to plan for a place-based approach across the public sector. Subsequent phases will identify opportunities to work towards an optimal, greener and interoperable public sector estate.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government which of the 129 public sector bodies it plans to reform.
Answer
The scope for reform applies to all public bodies. After years of growth in the public sector, due to Brexit and the pandemic, we need to reset. We expect all public bodies to demonstrate that they remain fit for purpose against the present and future needs of Scotland’s people, places and communities. The spending review provides a platform for engagement ahead of the next budget. We do not intend to take the same approach as set out by the UK Government, but we do need to reshape and refocus. We will work together across the public sector to look creatively at reform in order to become more efficient and deliver better outcomes.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 24 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many public sector bodies it considers are required for good governance and regulation of the country.
Answer
Good governance and regulation is not captured by a single number. We will work with public bodies leaders and other stakeholders in the coming months, to agree the optimal public body landscape for achieving improved outcomes, good governance and regulation. The spending review provides a platform for engagement ahead of the next budget. We do not intend to take the same approach as set out by the UK Government, but we do need to reshape and refocus. We will work together across the public sector to look creatively at reform in order to become more efficient and deliver better outcomes.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08705 by Maree Todd on 7 June 2022, what the timetable is for its plans to work with the UK Government to explore areas of potential shared interest and learning, particularly in terms of research into ME/CFS, and how it is engaging with the UK Government to improve care and support for people with ME.
Answer
The Scottish Government is a member of the UK Government ME/CFS Delivery Plan Task and Finish Group, which is scheduled to convene in June and to meet monthly thereafter. Officials are maintaining close and regular contact with the UK Department of Health and Social Care regarding this work, with the UK Government planning to publish its draft Delivery Plan later this year.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 23 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08705 by Maree Todd on 7 June 2022, when it anticipates the commissioned external report regarding the implementation of the 2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS will be published.
Answer
We are working to publish the external report regarding the implementation of the 2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS as soon as possible, and anticipate that it will be published by the beginning of July 2022.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS National Services Scotland has spent on the purchase of (a) PPE items and (b) lateral flow tests that were provided to unpaid carers in each month since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, also broken down by financial year.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08988 on
22 June 2022. 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, 09 June 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 22 June 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS National Services Scotland has spent on the purchase of (a) PPE and (b) lateral flow tests in each month since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, also broken down by financial year.
Answer
NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) publish spending in relation to PPE and Covid-19 testing kits as part of their annual accounts, which are published on their website.
NSS’ 2021-22 annual accounts, once finalised, will be published in line with their financial reporting timetable.
Detail not provided within their accounts would require to be requested from NSS.