- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 23 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Accounts Commission for Scotland publication Supporting Prescribing in General Practice in September 1999, which of the following recommendations has each health board implemented: (a) substitution of branded Ranitidine and Fluoxetine by their generic equivalents and (b) therapeutic substitution of (i) Ranitidine/Famotidine/Ni'atidine by Cimitidine, (ii) Indapamide by Bendroflua'ide, (iii) Doxa'osin/Tera'osin by Pra'osin, (iv) Isosorbide Mononitrate by Isosorbide Dinitrate, (v) more expensive NSAIDs by Ibuprofen or Naproxen and (vi) Minocycline substituted Oxytetracycline.
Answer
The information requested is not available centrally and should be sought from individual health boards and Primary Care Trusts. Prescribers and health board and Primary Care Trust prescribing advisers receive for review regular reports from the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency on the prescribing behaviour of their individual practices.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what advice it provides on treating schi'ophrenia and other mental illnesses with resperidone, olan'apine and quetiapine rather than older medicines such as chlorproma'ine.
Answer
The use of risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine for the treatment of schizophrenia and other mental illness depends on the clinical judgement of the clinician concerned. It is for each health board to determine its prescribing policy on drugs, including risperidone, olanzapine and quetiapine, taking into account advice from local drug and therapeutic committees.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what cost benefit analysis has been undertaken, in partnership with the NHS in England and Wales where appropriate, into the use of newer, safer, more effective medicines rather than older, less expensive drugs which may have a poorer safety profile and a lower level of patient compliance.
Answer
No cost benefit analysis can be attempted in global terms to make the comparison between more recently introduced products which claim to be safer, against established products.
A cost benefit analysis or other economic analyses can only be done to compare two or more treatments for a given use. There are a number of units providing such analysis on behalf of the NHS, including units based within Scotland.In addition, publications such as the Scottish Medicines Resource Bulletin and its English and Welsh equivalents give advice to prescribers on choice of treatment, but are not full economic assessments of the subject.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive whether the Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places has been disseminated and what systems of monitoring and evaluation have been put in place to measure the effectiveness of the charter in Scotland.
Answer
The
Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places is in the process of being extensively disseminated to the membership of the Charter signatories: the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, the Scottish Tourism Forum, the British Hospitality Association and the Brewers and Licensed Retailers Association of Scotland. This process is due to be completed by January 2001.
Detailed arrangements for monitoring the impact of the Charter in co-operation with Charter signatories have still to be agreed. However, monitoring is likely to be through an exercise similar to the independent Survey of Smoking in Public Places which was published on 11 May. A copy is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
A copy of the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places pack, which was distributed, will also be made available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made towards the development of a meningitis B vaccine.
Answer
Research is under way to find an effective vaccine against meningitis Group B. Candidate vaccines have been developed and the Department of Health has funded phase 2 trials of these vaccines via the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research. The department is also investigating Group B vaccines in collaboration with the Dutch national vaccine manufacturer.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 17 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to cut any red tape for overseas companies wishing to invest in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Executive seeks to reduce any unnecessary bureaucratic burden affecting any company within Scotland.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 17 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what encouragement it is giving to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to increase support for pharmaceutical sciences.
Answer
The Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 specifically prevents Ministers from directly interfering in the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council's funding of particular institutions or subject areas. The Scottish Executive's guidance to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council sets a broad policy framework and leaves the council appropriately free to exercise its discretion through its teaching and research funding streams.
Pharmacology is within the council's Science teaching funding subject group and Pharmacy is within the Other Health and Welfare teaching funding subject group. The Science teaching funding subject group is prioritised by Scottish Executive guidance, which means that there are restrictions on transfers of council-funded places for teaching out of this priority area into other subjects.
As for all other research funding subject areas, no specific priority is attached to Pharmacology and Pharmacy by the council.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Wendy Alexander on 17 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to attract bio-manufacturing to Scotland.
Answer
Locate in Scotland (LiS) has identified the strengthening of a number of key clusters, which are crucial to the performance and development of the Scottish economy, as part of its strategic portfolio approach to inward investment. Biotechnology is one of the clusters to which LiS has been able to make a considerable contribution and it works closely with Scottish Enterprise's Biotechnology Cluster Team to maximise the opportunities available to Scotland in this sector within the £38 million Biotechnology Cluster Action Plan launched last year.
The Executive's commitment to the biotechnology sector has been further bolstered by the granting in August 2000 of planning permission for the creation of a biotechnology park at Gowkley Moss, Midlothian.
A recent addition to Scotland's biotechnology base has been made in the shape of the Japanese Kyorin Pharmaceutical Company's partnership with the Scottish Biomedical Foundation to develop compounds in the allergy and immunology field.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 16 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to allow patients to return unused and unopened medicines prior to the expiry date and to have prescription charges refunded.
Answer
Patients can take any unused medicines to their local pharmacy for safe disposal. We have no plans to refund prescription charges collected on returned medicines.
- Asked by: Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 02 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 16 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to allow Tobramycin to be prescribed for the treatment of cystic fibrosis and what guidelines will be issued to health boards regarding this medicine.
Answer
Tobramycin is available on the NHS in Scotland and its use as a treatment for cystic fibrosis depends on the clinical judgement of the clinician concerned. It is for each health board to determine its prescribing policy on drugs, including Tobramycin, taking into account advice from local drug and therapeutic committees.
