Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-08925

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 20 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have died while on an NHS Scotland waiting list in each year since 1999.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) is unable to provide information on how many patients have died while on an NHS Scotland waiting list in each year as far back as 1999. However, the national waiting times datamart captures quality-assured data on the reasons for a patient being removed from a waiting list, including when a patient has died, from 1st April 2013 onwards.

Table 1 contains the following trend information for the period 1 st April 2013 to 31 March 2022, presented by financial year:

? The number of patients waiting to be seen at a new outpatient appointment or waiting to be admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case, expressed as an average based on the number waiting at the end of quarters in each financial year.

? The number of removals from waiting lists for the reason ‘died’.

? A simple mortality rate is also included to account for variation in waiting list sizes. This is presented as the number of deaths per year per 1000 patients waiting at quarter-end, averaged over the quarters provided for each year.

Table 1: Average waiting list size and total number of patients removed from lists for the reason ‘died’ whilst waiting for a new outpatient appointment or treatment as an inpatient or day case, NHSScotland, April 2013 to March 2022

	Inpatient or Day case			New Outpatient
Year	Number on List	Died	Rate	Number on List	Died	Rate
2013-2014	54,063	736	13.6	238,212	3,534	14.8
2014-2015	55,264	687	12.4	255,542	3,430	13.4
2015-2016	57,560	812	14.1	273,262	4,155	15.2
2016-2017	61,335	908	14.8	300,699	4,937	16.4
2017-2018	68,068	917 1	13.5	318,732	4,924 1	15.4
2018-2019	75,059	930 1	12.4	317,976	5,139 1	16.2
2019-2020	77,808	1,006	12.9	294,276	4,729	16.1
2020-2021	87,454	1,444	16.5	316,724	5,627	17.8
2021-2022	113,435	1,485	13.1	411,436	7,190	17.5

Source: PHS Waiting Times Datamart

Notes:

1 NHS Tayside figures for the number on list from 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2018 for patients waiting to be admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case are sourced from local aggregate returns rather than the national waiting times datamart. The same applies for new outpatients for the period quarter 1 April 2017 to 31 December 2018. The number removed for reason 'died' is unavailable for these periods and there is therefore a small undercount of the total number reported under ‘died’ .

When interpreting analysis on the number of patients reported as having died while on a waiting list, PHS advise that there are multiple factors to take into consideration:

Firstly, the data are generated by the using ‘reason for removal’ - a categorisation in national data that records the reason for a patient being removed from a waiting list. For most patients this category provides an indication that a patient has been seen. For other patients it is used to record other reasons for being removed from a waiting list when treatment is no longer required or appropriate. In the latter instance there can be variation in the quality of the precise reason for a patient being removed from a list.

Secondly, national data does not allow the identification of deaths where the cause of death can be directly attributed to a delay in the appointment or treatment that the patient is waiting for.

Lastly the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic should also be considered both in respect of the impact it has had on mortality levels in the overall population during particular periods and on the impact it has had on planned care services, including increasing the number of patients waiting to be seen.

Question reference: S6W-08915

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Tom Arthur on 17 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how much debt to public bodies in Scotland there has been in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government does not collect the detailed breakdowns of debts owed to Public Bodies. The information that is collected by Scottish Government will not necessarily distinguish between debts owed by individuals and debts owed by companies and other organisations.

Every Public Body produces and publishes an Annual Report and Accounts, and within this publication will report on amounts owed to them. The information within these accounts on debts owed to the Public Body may be at a relatively high level and may not distinguish between the different types of debt owed to them.

These annual accounts will normally be available online on the website of the individual entity. In the earlier period covered by the request – i.e. starting from 1999 – it may be necessary to approach the Public Bodies directly.

Question reference: S6W-08926

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 17 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the current average waiting time is for a (a) hip and (b) knee replacement in each NHS board.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) uses the national waiting times warehouse to collect electronic patient records covering the waits that patients experience waiting for treatment as an inpatient or day case under the Treatment Time Guarantee. This data source can be used routinely to identify the specialty of treatment. However this information does not provide the level of detail requested.

More detailed information on the procedure(s) that is planned or undertaken for a patient will be held locally by NHS Boards.

Statistics relating to the waits patients experience for inpatient or day case treatment at specialty level are published up to 31 March 2022 and can be found using the link below:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/13252/ipdc_may22.xlsx

Question reference: S6W-08924

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in each year since 1999.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) does not hold comprehensive data on the number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder since 1999.

However, we can provide data on the number of child and adult patients admitted in NHS psychiatric or general/acute hospitals, either as day cases or inpatients, with an eating disorder in any diagnostic field, for the period 2007-2021. The data is disaggregated by age group (child or adult), calendar year, and health board of residence.

Child Patients 2007 -2021

Number of child 1 patients 2 admitted to a general/acute or mental health specialty 3 , either as an inpatient or day case, with an eating disorder 4 ; by year of admission and NHS health board of patient residence, 2007 - 2021.

	Year of Admission
NHS Board	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Ayrshire and Arran	*	5	*	5	*	*	8	*	5	5	*	*	7	13	*
Borders	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	5	5	15	5	5	9
Dumfries and Galloway	*	*	*	*	-	*	*	8	6	*	*	6	*	*	9
Fife	*	*	6	*	6	5	*	*	*	*	6	10	9	9	16
Forth Valley	-	*	*	-	*	8	*	*	*	7	8	8	9	19	16
Grampian	7	*	9	7	11	16	7	12	10	9	14	9	10	14	22
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	16	7	7	8	9	10	17	25	13	13	16	14	17	32	38
Highland	5	11	5	*	*	14	9	14	17	6	7	*	8	17	26
Lanarkshire	*	6	*	6	7	8	12	7	*	10	11	12	19	17	26
Lothian	15	12	16	17	17	14	18	25	35	25	22	23	28	31	45
Orkney	*	*	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	-	-	-	*	-	*
Other	*	-	*	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	-	-	-
Shetland	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	-
Tayside	*	7	11	9	8	10	12	12	9	12	6	11	7	22	18
Western Isles	-	-	-	-	-	-	*	*	*	-	*	*	*	-	-
Total	60	62	69	61	72	94	98	119	109	102	108	122	125	184	233

Notes

* - Denotes values which have been suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.

1. A child is defined as someone whose age on admission was less than 18

2. Patients will be counted multiple times if they have been admitted within the same board in different years, or different boards in the same year, or both. A patient will be counted as both an adult and a child in the year they turn 18 if they had an episode when they were 17 and a subsequent episode that year aged 18.

3. The numbers represented show those who have been admitted to hospital and do not include those diagnosed in other settings. Therefore, these figures are likely to be undercount of the total number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder

4. Patients identified are those with an ICD-10 code of F50 in any of 6 diagnostic fields. Further information can be found on the ICD-10 website: https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en.

5. The "Other" category is a combination of the following health board categories: "Rest of UK (Outside Scotland)", "Outside the UK", "No Fixed Abode" and "Unknown residency".

Adult Patients 2007 - 2021

Number of adult 1 patients 2 admitted to a general/acute or mental health specialty 3 , either as an inpatient or day case, with an eating disorder 4 ; by year of admission and NHS health board of patient residence, 2007 - 2021.

	Year of Admission
NHS Board	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Ayrshire and Arran	19	17	17	18	20	13	16	15	15	23	19	21	19	23	23
Borders	7	7	*	7	8	11	11	7	*	10	*	9	10	14	9
Dumfries and Galloway	7	9	9	11	13	6	10	14	13	17	17	15	12	14	17
Fife	22	15	21	10	14	14	17	18	17	17	26	21	21	21	23
Forth Valley	7	7	8	9	17	10	15	11	9	13	19	19	24	34	28
Grampian	36	30	35	27	31	36	33	47	41	32	40	41	37	38	28
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	47	53	51	45	37	61	58	68	67	63	67	65	80	64	71
Highland	17	11	24	23	36	21	26	34	27	24	34	41	41	37	23
Lanarkshire	24	17	17	20	26	34	26	23	27	41	34	47	39	36	40
Lothian	57	56	48	46	32	69	62	60	58	63	49	58	66	91	77
Orkney	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	-	*	-	*	*
Other	*	*	*	*	*	5	*	22	39	50	29	20	23	30	22
Shetland	*	*	*	*	-	*	*	*	-	*	-	*	*	*	*
Tayside	17	15	15	23	22	29	22	26	19	21	23	21	16	17	27
Western Isles	-	-	*	*	-	*	*	-	-	*	*	*	*	*	*
Total	264	241	261	249	261	313	307	349	345	379	368	387	391	424	392

Notes

* - Denotes values which have been suppressed to protect patient confidentiality.

1. An adult is someone whose age on admission was 18 or older.

2. Patients will be counted multiple times if they have been admitted within the same board in different years, or different boards in the same year, or both. A patient will be counted as both an adult and a child in the year they turn 18 if they had an episode when they were 17 and a subsequent episode that year aged 18.

3. The numbers represented show those who have been admitted to hospital and do not include those diagnosed in other settings. Therefore, these figures are likely to be undercount of the total number of people diagnosed with an eating disorder.

4. Patients identified are those with an ICD-10 code of F50 in any of 6 diagnostic fields. Further information can be found on the ICD-10 website: https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en.

5. The "Other" category is a combination of the following health board categories: "Rest of UK (Outside Scotland)", "Outside the UK", "No Fixed Abode" and "Unknown residency".

Question reference: S6W-08922

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many investigations into government leaks to the media it has undertaken in each year since 1999, and how many people responsible for any such leaks have been identified.

Question reference: S6W-08916

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kate Forbes on 15 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to bring forward a Public Debt Bill.

Question reference: S6W-08918

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much debt on school meals has been written off in each local authority in each of the last five years.

The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. It is for local authorities to decide whether to write-off outstanding debts for school meals, ideally by taking into account the needs and circumstances of any affected families.

The Scottish Government recognises the work which has been undertaken by Aberlour on this issue and the First Minister has committed that officials will work with COSLA to understand this issue more fully.

Local authorities also have the flexibility to offer free school meals to families who do not meet the regular eligibility criteria but are experiencing financial hardship. I would encourage any family who thinks that they may have become eligible for free school meals to apply for them as soon as possible.

Question reference: S6W-08921

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Maree Todd on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time to access chronic pain services has been in each NHS board in each year since 1999.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05286 on 10 January 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

A set of data tables for the most recent Chronic Pain Waiting Times publication, which was released on 8 March 2022, can be found at https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/chronic-pain-waiting-times/chronic-pain-waiting-times-quarter-ending-31-december-2021

Data is available from the quarter ending 31 December 2015 to the quarter ending 31 December 2021.

Question reference: S6W-08917

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what the current level of debt on school meals is in each local authority.

Information about the levels of debt on school meals across Scotland is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The handling of school meal debts is a matter for local authorities, taking into account the local needs and circumstances of all families within their respective local areas.

The Scottish Government recognises the work which has been undertaken by Aberlour on this issue and the First Minister has committed that officials will work with COSLA to understand this issue more fully.

Question reference: S6W-08770

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 26 May 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 14 June 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what communications it has had with the UK Government regarding the location of settlement in Scotland for Ukrainian refugees.

The Scottish Government is not involved in the UK Government’s private sponsorship arrangements, or associated matching process through Homes for Ukraine.

The Scottish Government and partners are working hard within the UK Government’s sponsorship scheme to provide a fast and safe alternative to displaced people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Scotland and providing support when they do get permission to travel.

Once people have arrived through our super sponsor scheme, a national matching service, delivered by COSLA, will match those settling here with longer-term accommodation across Scotland. Displaced people from Ukraine are asked to complete a short questionnaire that captures key information and preferences. This information is then used to find suitable longer-term accommodation. All 32 of our local authorities are taking part in this programme, and hosts have offered up their homes right across the country. The national matching service will ensure that people are offered settlement opportunities across Scotland, recognising that people will have different preferences and available housing is limited in some local authorities

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