- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any delays in the delivery of homecare medications.
Answer
National Procurement (NP), part of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), with representation from Health Boards, have regular performance management meetings with homecare providers to review key performance metrics and to agree and track progress against recovery plans.
Where a particular provider is experiencing service disruption, Health Boards will seek to register patients, where feasible, with alternative providers to help reduce demand on the affected provider. A challenge over the past year has been that multiple providers have experienced staffing issues which has created market-wide capacity constraints.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 18 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the dualling of the A96.
Answer
The current plan is to fully dual the A96 route between Inverness and Aberdeen; however, we are conducting a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme which is underway and the first part of the review, a report on the Public Consultation and the Initial Appraisal: The Case for Change was published on 22 December 2022. This is sensible good governance for major investment of this kind.
Transport Scotland is now pushing forward with the next phase of further detailed work to inform the remaining stages of the Review. These include a robust appraisal of the remaining options alongside a Climate Compatibility Assessment, with outcomes expected to be announced in the first half of 2023 for final public consultation, before a final decision can be reached.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address any stigma people at risk of hepatitis C and other blood-borne viruses experience in public services and wider society.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the challenges and distress caused by the stigma experienced by those at risk of or living with Hepatitis C and other blood borne viruses.
Evidence shows that Hepatitis C is most commonly diagnosed in those who inject drugs and we know that stigma can increase the harms experienced by people affected by substance use. People with experience of problem substance use and the harms associated with it, deserve parity of treatment as with any other long-term life-affecting health condition. That is why, later this month, we will publish an action plan to tackle the stigma faced by those with experience of problem substance use.
The Scottish Government is also working with HIV experts and third sector organisations on an HIV awareness campaign that will launch later this year. The development of the campaign is ongoing but in broad terms, it will seek to educate and address common misconceptions and misinformation about the realities of living with HIV, as well as reducing the stigma surrounding HIV.
Since 2018, We have also funded third sector organisations, through the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Framework, for a variety of work regarding addressing stigma, such as training for professionals who work with those who inject drugs.
A new SHBBV Strategy is currently being developed with clinical, academic and third sector representatives, and is due to be published in Spring.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 January 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08416 by Maree Todd on 17 May 2022, when it will publish the forthcoming Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.
Answer
The Scottish Government are currently working with a steering group comprised of key stakeholders from across the sector to develop an updated Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Framework. It is anticipated that the Framework will be published in Spring this year.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Reform of NHS Dental Services Survey, when a public consultation will take place on any proposed changes to sevices.
Answer
The reform of NHS dental services survey was responded to by over 500 dentists, the survey built on the Oral Health Improvement Plan which was developed through wide ranging public consultation in 2017. The reform of NHS dental services is presently focused on delivering payment system reform and sustaining NHS dental access for the general public.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 16 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what dental procedures (a) were available under the NHS in January 2017 and (b) are currently available under the NHS.
Answer
The Statement of Dental Remuneration has been amended over the time period since January 2017 and now. The list of treatments in January 2017 is reflected in Amendment 133 and the current list is described in 158. These can be viewed at Statement of Dental Remuneration | Scottish Dental .
In summary, the range of care and treatment is broadly similar in both versions, however, a significant reform was delivered in February 2022 (amendment 155) which aligned child and adult examination appointments through an enhanced fee.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many students graduated from the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) course in 2022.
Answer
52 students graduated from the ScotGEM course in June 2022. This is the first cohort of students that have graduated since the course commenced in 2018.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates are expected to qualify in the 2022-23 academic year from the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) course.
Answer
The number of ScotGEM students expected to graduate in AY 2022-23 cannot be confirmed until the academic year concludes. There are, however, 46 students currently in their final year of the course who will be eligible to graduate in summer 2023.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many graduates of the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) four-year graduate-entry degree programme have gone on to fulfil jobs in General Practice in rural areas of Scotland since the course began in 2018.
Answer
The first cohort of ScotGEM students graduated from the four-year course in June 2022. These graduates must now undertake two years of Foundation training before they are eligible to apply for specialty training posts. We therefore will not know how many ScotGEM students have entered General Practice Speciality Training until 2024.
- Asked by: Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 December 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 January 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20998 by Michael Matheson on 1 February 2019, what action it has taken to fulfil the commitment that was made by the then First Minister in August 2008, following a Cabinet meeting in Inverness, to reduce train journey times between Inverness and Edinburgh to at least two hours 45 minutes, and an average of three hours, with the aim of making “railway travel to the heart of the Highlands, in terms of time, competitive with roads… by a mixture of projects, including line improvement, additional passing loops, double-tracking and signalling upgrades”; what improvements projects were introduced, broken down by what progress has been made with each, and, in light of the comment that “the timescale for implementation is 2011-12”, for what reason the target date was not met, and by what date this level of service will be operational.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan, published in 2011, stated that the Highland Main Line (HML) Rail Improvement project would be completed in phases between 2014 and 2025.
Phase one was delivered as planned in December 2012, increasing services from 9 to 11 trains per day in each direction, and reducing journey times by an average of 6 minutes at a cost of £1.2 million.
HML Phase Two was completed in March 2019 at a cost of £57m. This phase delivered signalling upgrades at Aviemore and Pitlochry stations, along with an extension of the passing loop at Aviemore and the reconfiguration and extension of the platforms at Pitlochry, enabling simultaneous arrival of trains at both these stations.
In line with a recommendation from the draft Strategic Transport Project Review 2, Network Rail is developing proposals for the lengthening of several passing loops along the line to enable longer and more frequent freight and passenger services. These proposals will then be considered by Transport Scotland, taking into account the usual affordability and value for money considerations.
Achieving freight modal shift from road to rail has been recognised as a key component in achieving carbon reductions within Scotland’s transport system. A single freight train can typically remove 76 HGVs from adjacent roads, reducing congestion and improving safety. The infrastructure work delivered already and an integrated approach to passenger and freight timetable patterns have created capacity for additional rail freight on the Highland Main Line and discussions with key rail freight customers are underway to use this capacity.