Chamber and committees

For clarity, recapturing anaesthetic vapour is an engineering solution, not a medical technique.

NHS Scotland currently has no plans to pilot an engineering solution that recaptures anaesthetic vapour in Scotland, though we remain open to new ideas being tested in other countries. However, NHS Scotland anaesthetist teams are proactive in this area and since 2012, Health Facilities Scotland estimate that they have reduced emissions in anaesthetic gases by more than one third. This has been achieved through the combination of the use of low-flow anaesthesia techniques, and using oxygen / air as a primary carrier for anaesthetic agents rather than Nitrogen oxides.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27696 on 11 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

 After a sample has been taken it is sent to the Scottish lab for testing. Test results should be known within 24 – 48 hours depending on clinical demand. Scotland currently have testing facilities in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The lab in Glasgow is now in a position to carry out confirmatory tests for presumed positives meaning they no longer need to be sent to Colindale for confirmatory testing.

Average per-pupil spending on additional support for learning in Scotland was £3,286 in 2018-19.

Data detailing spending on additional support for learning is collected from local authorities via the Local Financial Returns (LFR). This per-pupil spend figure shows gross revenue expenditure on additional support for learning in primary, secondary and special education from the local financial returns (£653,080), divided by the number of pupils identified as having additional support needs recorded in the 2018 Pupil Census.

Local authorities are asked to provide this LFR data in line with relevant guidance to ensure returns are completed on a consistent basis to allow for a reasonable degree of comparability. However, these figures may be affected by variations in local accounting practices and Education strategies. It is important to consider these factors when making comparisons between local authorities and years.

This data also cannot capture the full detail of the support provided to pupils, as a result of provision made for the whole pupil population, from which children and young people with additional support needs also benefit.

LFR data for 2017-18 (revised) showed that local authorities spent £633 million on additional support for learning (on pre-primary, primary, secondary and special education). Compared with £661 million in 2018-19, this represents a 2.2% increase in real terms (4.3% in cash terms).

Sources:

1. Local Financial Returns – Education (LFR 01) statistical return provided by local authorities to the Scottish Government (2017-18 and 2018-19).

2. Pupil Census – published annually - for further details go to: https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/School-Education/dspupcensus/dspupcensus18 .

The average waiting time to see a dermatologist is available for new outpatients and inpatient/day cases quarterly, since December 2012 and NHS Board on ISD’s website. Please find the following link to the NHS Waiting Times Stage of Treatment publication where the data files are available:

https://beta.isdscotland.org/find-publications-and-data/healthcare-resources/waiting-times/nhs-waiting-times-stage-of-treatment/ .

The Scottish Cancer Registry registers only the first basal cell carcinoma per patient. For squamous cell carcinomas, the Scottish Cancer Registry attempts to collect all new independent primary cutaneous carcinomas for a given individual (except for patients with Ferguson-Smith disease).

ISD have not carried out any cancer incidence projections on non-melanoma skin cancer.

ISD publish annual cancer incidence figures for non-melanoma skin cancer. The latest published figures using data from the Scottish Cancer Registry are for data up to 2017. 2018 data is due to be published on 28-04-2020. Annual cancer incidence figures for non-melanoma skin cancer are available on the ISD website split by sex and NHS Board at: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2019-04-30/i_cancer_skin.xls . Five-yearly cancer incidence figures for non-melanoma skin cancer are available on the ISD website split by sex, age group and NHS Board. Figures by age group and NHS Board are produced for five-yearly figures only to protect patient confidentiality. The following annual and five-yearly figures are also available for Basal cell carcinoma of the skin and Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin at these links. Information on stage at diagnosis is not available in the Scottish Cancer Registry for non-melanoma skin cancer. https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications/2019-04-30/si_cancer_skin.xls

Health Boards are implementing a range of different methods for people in their areas to access coronavirus testing.

This ranges from testing in contained areas at local health centres, to community testing in the home, and ‘drive-through’ testing in some areas.

NHS Boards have measures in place to allow them to collect samples from possible cases within 24 hours of initial assessment.