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: S4W-28430

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 19 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what investment it will make in self-testing kits for cervical cancer, which a reported 53% of women who had delayed a cervical screening said they would prefer to use.

On screening issues like this, the Scottish Government is guided by the independent, expert advice provided by the UK National Screening Committee. The committee regularly reviews national screening programmes against international evidence and technology to ensure they remain relevant and fit for purpose.

The committee has not recommended the use of self-testing kits however they are currently reviewing whether to change the primary screening test within the programme to testing for human papilloma virus. If there is any change to the recommendation this will be considered carefully.

Question reference: S4O-04795

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 18 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport's position is on the performance of the A&E department at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow.

Question reference: S4O-04666

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 1 October 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Alzheimer’s Research UK's prediction that one in three people born in 2015 will develop the disease, and what impact this will have on future dementia treatment and care policy.

Alzheimer Research UK’s latest prediction on the scale of the challenge we face across the world on dementia presumes increasing prevalence of dementia over time primarily because more people are living longer.

Other research, such as by the Medical Research Council in 2013, finds a lower number of people with dementia and concludes that rates of dementia across the UK are falling due in part to a decline in the rates of vascular dementia as a result of improvements in the primary prevention and better management of chronic conditions such as diabetes.

Both factors are in play, meaning it is difficult to accurately forecast what the position on dementia prevalence will be in 80 to 100 years. Irrespective of variable predictions on scale, there is no doubt that dementia is one of the foremost public health challenges world-wide and in Scotland our national work on dementia and health and social care integration is supporting local service re-design to meet that challenge, now and in the future.

Question reference: S4W-27532

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on the number of consultants who now practice abroad after being trained in Scotland in each of the last five years, broken down by speciality.

Question reference: S4W-27547

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 28 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-27186 by Shona Robison on 25 August 2015, in light of the reported decline in performance in the three weeks up to 6 September 2015, whether the support team (a) has completed its work and (b) is still at the hospital.

Like all sites across Scotland the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) can expect performance to fluctuate from week to week, especially as we head towards winter. However, I remain confident that the staff continue to work hard to ensure the level of improvement we have seen since the support team were on site in June 2015 will be maintained and improved upon.

Performance against the four hour A&E target at the QEUH in the week ending
13 September 2015 was 94.9%, compared to 78.6% in the week ending 14 June 2015 – an overall improvement of over 16 percentage points. While the support team formally disengaged from the site on 26 June 2015 the local teams continue to build upon actions and recommendations made while the support team were on site.

Additionally, since the launch of the new six essential actions approach in May 2015 we have progressed a number of actions. For example, we have:

Recruited the national team in June and July 2015. They have a range of skills and professional expertise to work with local team across Scotland;

Funded NHS boards to recruit local teams dedicated to implementing the six essential actions on each site;

Implemented appropriate site management structure – in essence there is a single manager responsible for all emergency and elective services and targets;

Strengthened structured planning and hospital safety huddles to ensure a whole system focus;

Enhanced use of discharge lounges and discharge hub facilities.

The national team maintain close relationships with the locally appointed teams across Scotland. Amongst other sites, the national team are currently working with staff at the QEUH to help embed the six essential actions, which complements the work of the support team, to ensure sufficient capacity is in place to support flow throughout the hospital as we head into winter.

This is a two year programme that will take time to bring about sustainable benefits across Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-27529

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultant posts are being advertised, broken down by (a) speciality and (b) NHS board.

Question reference: S4W-27530

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 24 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) consultant and (b) senior consultant vacancies there are, broken down by (i) speciality and (ii) NHS board.

We currently have the highest medical staffing levels ever, with record numbers of consultants. Under this government, consultant numbers across Scotland have increased by 1,387.8 whole time equivalent (WTE), or 38.2%, from 3,636.5 WTE in September 2006 to 5,024.3 WTE in June 2015.

The number of vacant consultant posts broken down by (i) specialty, and (ii) NHS Scotland board as at June 2015 is published by Information Services Division Scotland at:

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2015-09-01/Medical_Trend_J2015.xls.

Any fluctuation in consultant vacancies is linked to our efforts to increase capacity by recruiting even more staff. Information on the number of senior consultant vacancies is not held centrally.

Question reference: S4O-04616

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 23 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to receive the interim conclusions of the independent review into polypropylene mesh implants and what progress the expert group has made in developing pathways of care for women experiencing complications.

Question reference: S4O-04604

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what the recommended routes are for people travelling on public transport from East Renfrewshire to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and how long, on average, it is anticipated that these routes should take.

Question reference: S4W-27154

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 3 September 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether alternative processes to screen for bowel cancer have been considered or deemed practical.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport announced earlier in 2015 that a new type of test would be introduced to the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme over the next two years. The Quantitative Faecal Immunochemical Test will replace the current Faecal Occult Blood Test. The new test is deemed to be more user friendly than the current test and is expected to help increase participation in the programme.

Additionally the ‘Bowel Scope Study’ is currently underway within three health boards in Scotland to determine if offering a Flexible Sigmoidoscopy to participants would be a beneficial addition to the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme. The study is due to complete in March 2016, the resulting data will then be analysed and a decision taken upon recommending inclusion to the Bowel Screening Programme.