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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 545 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S5W-18444

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to tackle the socio-economic inequalities that impact on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.

Reducing inequalities in survival is a priority aim for the Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy (OHCA) for Scotland (2015).

Bystander cardiopulmonary (CPR) is where maximum impact on survival will be achieved. That is why Save A Life for Scotland was launched in 2015 to encourage people to learn CPR and raise awareness of OHCA. Save A Life for Scotland partners are working with multiply deprived communities across Scotland to increase CPR learning.

Incidence of OHCA is related to income inequalities and population health. That is why the Scottish Government is taking action focussing on addressing the underlying causes of inequalities: ending poverty, fair wages, supporting families, and improving our physical and social environments and to support people to live healthier lives.

Question reference: S5W-18439

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how the survival rate from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Scotland compares with the rest of the UK; what steps it is taking to improve survival rates, and, in light of its current strategy on this issue ending in 2020, what (a) plans it has for future public engagement and (b) approach it will take post-2020.

The Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) Data Linkage project report published on 13 March 2018 shows the 30 day survival rate from OHCA in Scotland rose from 6.2% in 2011 – 2014-15 to 8.3% in 2016-17. This is similar to that of 7.8% in England for data published in 2016.

The OHCA Reference and Delivery Groups will consider what steps to take regarding future public engagement and approach beyond 2020.

Question reference: S5W-18442

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what support it has provided to the British Heart Foundation's campaign to make CPR training mandatory on the school curriculum in each local authority.

The Scottish Government supports Save A Life for Scotland (SALFS) as the partnership for the Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy (OHCA) for Scotland (2015), working to encourage people to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and raise awareness of OHCA. Working with schools to support CPR learning is a priority for SALFS. It is up to individual schools and local authorities to decide if and how best to deliver this. In many schools across Scotland CPR learning is already embedded with support from SALFS partners.

Question reference: S5W-18445

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with experts who have developed strategies in other countries that have improved survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Question reference: S5W-18440

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards the target set out in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Strategy for Scotland of having "500,000 people equipped with CPR skills".

Question reference: S5W-18510

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 31 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it will put in place to ensure equitable access to thrombectomy procedures for patients across all NHS board areas.

A Directors of Planning Thrombectomy Advisory Group is developing a national planning framework for the provision of thrombectomy for Scotland. The development of the framework will consider all the elements required to deliver the service including for example: referral criteria and pathways for patients, workforce, facilities, training and education. It is anticpated the framework will be completed by spring 2019.

Question reference: S5W-18526

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 03 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 13 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what provision for children and young people with type 1 diabetes will be offered by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde after the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill fully closes, and whether it will provide an update on the board's proposed integrated type 1 service for 0 to 25-year-olds.

Planning is in progress for the relocation of services from the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill once it fully closes. Moving the service onto the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus is one of the options being considered. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are fully committed to engaging with patients and families during this planning process.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have made a number of incremental steps towards the '0 to 25 years old' service. For example, diabetes paediatric services extended from an age threshold of 13 to 18 years, and the service is supported by joint working between paediatricians and adult diabetes consultants. The Board has also created a "Transition" specialist role aimed at developing the transition pathway for young adults.

Question reference: S5O-02380

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure that the Scottish Ambulance Service has sufficient resources.

Question reference: S5W-17685

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 15 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether there is any funding scheme in Scotland for the securing of places of worship similar to the scheme recently announced by the UK Government.

We are clear that any form of hate crime or prejudice is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We are taking a range of steps to tackle hate crime as set out in our ambitious Tackling Prejudice and Building Connected Communities Action Plan, and have established a multi-agency Action Group to drive this work forward.

While there is no specific security funding scheme for places of worship, we are fully committed to working with Police Scotland and others to safeguard all communities and potentially vulnerable people and sites, and would encourage organisations with concerns about their security or the safety of their members to contact Police Scotland.

We are working to build inclusive, resilient and safe communities in Scotland where everyone feels connected, has a sense of belonging and feels valued.

Question reference: S5W-17069

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 2 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that there is appropriate availability of equipment and staff to roll out a scanning facility for post mortems in each health centre.

No forensic pathologists in Scotland utilise solely MRI or CT scanning for the purpose of carrying out post mortem examinations on behalf of the procurator fiscal. A research project is ongoing in Lothian, funded by Lothian Health Board for radiology research purposes, in which scanning is undertaken as an adjunct to full post mortem examination. There are no facilities elsewhere in Scotland which make provision for MRI or CT scanning in the context of post mortem examination. MRI and CT scanners are located within NHS facilities. They are operated by radiographers and the scans are interpreted by radiologists who are NHS staff, and not by pathologists. It is understood that these scanners are operating to capacity in examinations on living patients. Were it to be considered appropriate to use scanning for the purpose of post mortem examinations in death investigations in Scotland, this would require the provision of additional resources by way of equipment and staff.

I am advised that the efficacy of scanning as a means of undertaking post mortem examination is a matter of debate amongst professional pathologists in Scotland, and that many pathologists take the view that scanning would only be a suitable means of establishing the cause of death in cases where pathologists currently undertake non-invasive view and grant examinations.

A view and grant examination is a non-invasive process, consisting of a careful and detailed examination of the body and consideration of the medical records. The procurator fiscal will always consider whether a view and grant examination would be sufficient. However, it is a matter for the pathologist, who has a professional responsibility to certify the cause of the death, and to do so in a manner which can, if necessary, be professionally justified, whether a view and grant examination will suffice.