- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents involving violence and aggression were perpetrated against members of the Scottish Ambulance Service in each of the last five years broken down by division, showing the percentage increases or decreases for each year and including separate figures for physical and verbal abuse, and what steps are being taken to reduce the number of such incidents.
Answer
The statistical information requested is not available centrally. The Scottish Ambulance Service, however, has statistical data on violence towards its staff and that can be obtained by writing to Mr Adrian Lucas, Chief Executive, Scottish Ambulance Service, National Headquarters, Tipperlinn Road, Edinburgh, EH10 5UU. He will also be able to advise you about the action being taken locally with staff and the trade unions to protect staff.
With regard to the action being taken by the Scottish Executive Health Department to address the issue of violence towards staff, I refer the member to the answer I gave to question S1W-10293.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 6 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place in NHS Trusts to ensure that an adequate level of up-to-date and appropriate training is provided for medical staff and whether any new measures are planned to improve internal training audits.
Answer
The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education is responsible for ensuring that all doctors in training receive adequate, appropriate and up-to-date training following the guidelines laid down by the Specialist Training Authority of the Medical Royal Colleges. It also collaborates with the NHS Trusts in supporting Continuing Professional Development in career grade doctors.
The regular appraisal of individual doctors within NHS Trusts together with the revalidation of doctors' registration by the General Medical Council will also confirm appropriate training and continuing professional development.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 12 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 30 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to make additional resources available to voluntary groups dealing with stress in rural areas and, in particular, to those working with farmers.
Answer
The Executive gives funding to Stresswatch Scotland, which provides advice and support to sufferers of stress and their families across Scotland, including in rural communities. The Executive is also in regular contact with other bodies which help to tackle the causes of stress and promotes the services offered by these bodies. We have no plans to make additional funds available at this time.
The Executive also helps alleviate stress amongst farmers through financial and other measures to support farming incomes; and the steps that have been taken within the Rural Affairs Department to reduce the burden of red tape within the farming sector.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 30 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents involving violence and aggression were perpetrated against members of the police service in each of the last five years broken down by police force, showing the percentage increases or decreases for each year and including separate figures for physical and verbal abuse, and what steps are being taken to reduce such incidents.
Answer
The information is not held centrally in the form requested. The following table shows the number of assaults on police officers in each of the last five years broken down by force, and the percentage increase or decrease for each year.
| | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | % | 1997-98 | % | 1998-99 | % | 1999-2000 | % |
Central | 262 | 204 | -22.14 | 241 | 18.14 | 233 | -3.32 | 267 | 14.59 |
D&G | 174 | 112 | -35.63 | 86 | -23.21 | 47 | -45.35 | 14 | -70.21 |
Fife | 233 | 233 | 0.00 | 257 | 10.30 | 55 | -78.60 | 53 | -3.64 |
Grampian | 485 | 310 | -36.08 | 259 | -16.45 | 172 | -33.59 | 68 | -60.47 |
L&B | 373 | 191 | -48.79 | 172 | -9.95 | 264 | 53.49 | 304 | 15.15 |
Northern | 188 | 190 | 1.06 | 202 | 6.32 | 194 | -3.96 | 215 | 10.82 |
Strathclyde | 8,035 | 8,892 | 10.67 | 8,609 | -3.18 | 8,970 | 4.19 | 8,713 | -2.87 |
Tayside | 322 | 330 | 2.48 | 329 | -0.30 | 204 | -37.99 | 276 | 35.29 |
Total | 10,072 | 10,462 | 3.87 | 10,155 | -2.93 | 10,139 | -0.15 | 9,910 | -2.25 |
Source: Annual Statistical Returns from forces.
The deployment and personal safety of officers is an operational matter for chief constables who have introduced a number of measures in an attempt to reduce the number of assaults. These include the introduction of the use of side handled batons, telescopic batons for officers in the CID, protective vests and CS spray. In addition, officers are trained to deal with aggressive members of the public to reduce the likelihood of assaults.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 20 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds are blocked in the NHS in Grampian.
Answer
Based on recent information from Grampian Health Board there were 256 patients experiencing a delay of 10 days or more in their discharge to alternative continuing care.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 18 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the publication of Promoting and Protecting Freshwater Fisheries, whether it plans to initiate any legislation in addition to the Salmon Conservation Bill.
Answer
230 responses were received during the consultation period on "Protecting and Promoting" and these are currently being analysed. An announcement about future action will be made in due course.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 18 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the membership of each District Salmon Fishery Board.
Answer
This information is not yet held centrally. However, the Rural Affairs Department holds lists of the Chairperson and Clerk for each District Salmon Fishery Board and copies have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The department intends to compile a fuller database which will include the full membership of boards.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 October 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 18 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to increase the saithe quota for fishing vessels.
Answer
At last year's December Fisheries Council, we successfully invoked Hague Preference for West of Scotland Saithe. This provided an additional 1,840 tonnes of saithe for UK fishermen this year.
We shall examine closely the scientific advice on saithe and, at this year's December Council, will seek to maximise the quota available to the Scottish industry, in line with sustainable stock management practices.
Also, as a matter of routine, we approach other member states when UK uptake is high to see if we can obtain quota through an international swap. We have done so for North Sea saithe but EU uptake, particularly by the French who have the major share of this quota, is currently higher than UK catch levels. Other member states are therefore understandably reluctant to swap away any fish at present but we shall continue to monitor the position.
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 July 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 12 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times are for cancer treatment by cancer type, broken down by health board.
Answer
Cancer is one of the three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. Reducing waiting times for investigation and treatment are a high priority within the Scottish Cancer Group's work programme.
Initial treatment for cancer can take place in either an outpatient or inpatient setting. Information on waiting times for cases where treatment starts in an outpatient setting is not held centrally.
Information on the time from a patient being placed on the waiting list for treatment of cancer and their admission to hospital is available centrally. The median waiting times for the four main cancers and all other cancers, in the year ending 31 March 2000, by Health Board of residence, is given in the table.
The Scottish Executive is providing additional funding to support the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I recently announced a rolling modernisation programme which will provide new linear accelerators and treatment planning simulators in all cancer centres, new and replacement MRI scanners, and imaging equipment to help further speed up diagnosis.
NHS In Scotland: Median Waiting Time For Hospital Admission For Treatment For The Main Four Cancers And All Other Cancers: 31 March 2000p
Health Board | Colorectal Cancer | Lung Cancer | Breast Cancer | Ovarian Cancer | All Other Cancers |
| | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days) | Median Wait (Days) |
Argyll and Clyde | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
Ayrshire and Arran | 9 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 15 |
Borders | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 14 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 14 | 7 | 15 | 14 | 17 |
Fife | 10 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 17 |
Forth Valley | 9 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
Grampian | 7 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 10 |
Greater Glasgow | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
Highland | 9 | 4 | 12 | 9 | 10 |
Lanarkshire | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
Lothian | 13 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 18 |
Orkney | 8 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 7 |
Shetland | 8 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 12 |
Tayside | 19 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 24 |
Western Isles | 7 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 10 |
Scotland | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 13 |
p
Provisional
Source: ISD Scotland
- Asked by: Richard Lochhead, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 September 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by John Home Robertson on 10 October 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current state is of cod stocks off the west coast of Scotland, whether any new measures are planned in connection with the management of such stocks and, if so, what discussions have taken place with the industry.
Answer
The need for management measures for west of Scotland cod will be considered in the light of scientific advice from the Advisory Committee on Fishery Management (ACFM). We expect this advice by November 2000. If the nature of the advice suggests that new management measures are required then I will discuss the available options with the Scottish fishing industry.
