- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 19 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide funding to set up a helpline to assist women who have been given a defective Johnson & Johnson Ethicon TVT-O implant.
Answer
NHS Inform provides a health information service which is able to respond to enquiries regarding transvaginal mesh surgery. They can be contacted online or by telephone.
The Scottish Government will write to NHS Inform following publication of the patient information booklet, currently being developed by the expert working group set up to address the issues affecting women who have undergone transvaginal mesh surgery.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 19 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on delivering the 2007 SNP manifesto commitment to introduce “health checks and individual health plans for all men and women when they reach the age of 40 with the aim to extend this initiative to Scots reaching retirement age.”
Answer
This Government believes in preventative action on health.
We are targeting scarce resources on those most at risk. We have introduced Anticipatory Care Plans through the GP contract and have launched the Links Worker pilot programme in selected Deep End Primary Care practices to support those with complex and multiple needs.
Work is being taken forward by NHS 24 and the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives to develop a web-based resource that will be targeted at people of working age providing advice on health and wellbeing as well as on returning to work from sickness absence.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 19 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government whether the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has written to GPs informing them of the potential adverse effects associated with mesh implants.
Answer
The Chief Medical Officer wrote to all GPs, through Medical Directors, on 11 July 2013 and 20 December 2013 regarding the investigation and management of patients being treated for urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, including the management of patients with vaginal mesh and tape products.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the health of people aged 40 and above.
Answer
The Scottish Government is taking forward a wide range of policies to improve the health and wellbeing of the population of Scotland, improving healthy life expectancy.
Many of our initiatives aim to improve the health of all, such as the promotion of physical activity. Others are targeted at specific groups. Older people, particularly those 40 years or older will benefit from our Detect Cancer Early and Bowel Cancer Screening programmes.
The Scottish Government is working with NHS24 and NHS Health Scotland to develop a new, web-based source of information for people of working age. This advice will include details of how to promote health and wellbeing in the workplace as well as return-to-work advice. The new web-based service is expected to launch next year.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on the NHS programme, Keep Well, and how many people have participated in it.
Answer
The mainstreaming process for Keep Well began in 2011. Between March 2011 and March 2014 128,240 checks have been delivered to people living in the most deprived communities in Scotland.
The budget allocation to NHS boards for the delivery of the Keep Well programme between March 2011 and April 2014 was £33.4 million.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government which of the country’s poorest communities use the NHS programme, Keep Well, and what progress it has made on delivering the 2011 SNP manifesto commitment to extend the programme “to cover all of Scotland’s poorest communities by 2012.”
Answer
The Keep Well health checks are targeted at all people aged 40-64 living in Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) one and two which are the most deprived communities of Scotland.
An audit carried out by NHS Health Scotland showed that nearly 85 per cent of health checks in 2012-13 were delivered to individuals who live in SIMD one and two.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 12 May 2014
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 13 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent reclassification of mesh implants as high risk in the United States, when mesh implants will be banned in the NHS in Scotland.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 13 May 2014
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) NHS and (b) NHS 24 staff are employed on so-called zero-hours contracts.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. NHS boards determine their requirement for any staff bank services and the use of this service therefore remains primarily a matter for NHS boards as employers.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 April 2014
-
Current Status:
Answered by Alex Neil on 6 May 2014
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the NHS uses so-called zero-hours contracts.
Answer
NHS Scotland use ‘as and when required’ contracts in staff bank services to great effect. These arrangements have the dual benefit of providing a safe and reliable temporary workforce who can help NHS Scotland respond to unexpected circumstances, and allowing those who require it, the flexibility to continue to work without a fixed commitment that other contractual arrangements could not provide.
- Asked by: Neil Findlay, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
-
Date lodged: Monday, 28 April 2014
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2014
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is on media reports that "hospital beds in Scotland are disappearing at a faster rate than in almost any country in the western world".
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 1 May 2014