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: S5W-29403

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 May 2020
Current Status: Answer expected on 10 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many DNR (do not resuscitate) forms have been signed in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S5W-29056

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 27 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many meetings Ministers held to discuss the Silver Swan pandemic meeting in 2015.

Question reference: S5T-02214

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will have recruited all 2,000 contact tracers by the end of May.

Question reference: S5W-29055

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many care home (a) staff and (b) residents in the (i) local authority, (ii) charitable and (iii) independent sector have been tested for COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-28937

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many local authority care home residents have been tested for COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-28908

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to establish COVID-19-free hospitals specifically dedicated to cancer treatment.

We are working hard to ensure vital and urgent care remains, including the use of the Golden Jubilee and the use of private hospital capacity to treat these NHS patients. By utilising the private sector capacity we are able to provide a COVID free environment for urgent cancer procedures.

Over the coming weeks we will be developing a clinical priorities framework alongside health boards that will help to inform how the health and care system is aligned and managed during the next phase of the COVID-19 response, and beyond. This includes consideration of establishing dedicated “green” specific areas to carry out treatments including cancer.

Question reference: S5W-28903

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) men and (b) women with blood cancer in each age group have (i) contracted and (ii) died from COVID-19, also broken down by how many had received intensive care support.

The Scottish Government does not hold the total number of men or women with blood cancer, in each age group, who have contacted or died from COVID-19. National Records of Scotland have recently published statistics on Deaths Involving Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland, which can be found by following this link: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/statistics/covid19/covid-deaths-report-week-18.pdf . The Scottish Government also does not hold the intensive care information requested by the member.

Question reference: S5W-28938

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many independent care home residents have been tested for COVID-19.

Question reference: S5W-28948

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what risk assessments have been carried out by the NHS regarding the potential impact of COVID-19 on the care home sector, and whether the results have been shared with care home residents and/or their relatives.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting every care home in Scotland whether or not an outbreak has been experienced.

Health and Social Care Partnerships developed local mobilisation plans in response to the COVID-19 emergency. These plans, which are generally aligned with emergency planning arrangements of local councils and NHS Boards, identify key risks and challenges posed by COVID-19, including those in the care home sector, and outline appropriate responses to ensure that vulnerable people are protected.

Locally, partners are undertaking risk assessments of individual care homes to ensure that staff and residents are protected. This is being led by the Directors of Public Health who have been asked to provide enhanced clinical leadership working in partnership with the Health and Social Care Partnership and the Care Inspectorate. Local risk assessment work is constantly evolving and residents and relatives will be informed of any relevant actions coming from this work in an appropriate and timely manner.

Question reference: S5W-28935

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 07 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 26 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of hospital-acquired COVID-19 have been reported in each NHS board.

Due to the prolonged incubation period of COVID-19, it has not so far been possible to report with the accuracy required how many cases of healthcare associated infection (HCAI) involving COVID-19 have occurred in each NHS board.

The normal definition of a HCAI is an infection, not present or incubating on admission, which then arises after 48 hours from admission. Current estimates for COVID-19 suggest a median incubation period from 5–6 days, with a range from 1–14 days. This means that COVID-19 arising before day 14 in hospital may not be HCAI.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) is however working with UK counterparts, taking into account recent discussions at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, to establish UK-wide HCAI definitions for COVID-19. It is hoped then to publish information about data collected in NHS Boards based on these definitions as soon as is possible, and I will write to the member when this information is available.