- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 1 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-29776 by Nicola Sturgeon on 22 December 2009, for what reason it can provide a substantive response to question S3W-24275 but not to S3W-29776.
Answer
Scottish Government statisticians have reviewed the approach which was previously taken to responding to such questions, in light of national statistics protocols.
For S3W-29776, NHS boards were approached for the data as no formal published hospital level statistics for the periods concerned were published or available. This was a time consuming and costly exercise, which involved substantial effort on the part of boards in collating the data, and moreover, the information collected was unvalidated.
In reviewing the approach to responding to such requests, Scottish Government statisticians have advised that parliamentary question responses should only be based on information which has been validated or formally published. Official Clostridium difficile statistics, prepared by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) following validation, including laboratory testing, are published by HPS on a quarterly basis.
The response to S3W-29776 refers to the web link where unvalidated hospital level infection data, published by NHS boards, can be found. For ease of reference this is:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/NHS-Scotland/19529/statistics/Local.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28777 by Shona Robison on 19 November 2009, whether it will publish the responses from NHS boards to the Infertility Network Scotland survey on infertility services.
Answer
Infertility Network Scotland has received responses from all NHS boards, and a table summary is being finalised and verified. I will arrange for the summary document to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49114) in due course.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28777 by Shona Robison on 19 November 2009, when the expert group examining infertility services was set up and what its membership is.
Answer
The NHS boards chief executives'' group is in the process of nominating a Chair for the National Infertility Group. Final membership of the group will be agreed with the chair.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 29 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider water affordability in future as part of the Scottish House Condition Survey.
Answer
The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) collects data on the cost of water rates and household income. Therefore statistics on water affordability, for example the percentage of income spent on water rates, can be produced by Scottish Government SHCS staff if requested. There are no plans to remove these indicators from the SHCS in the future.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the uptake of the Scottish Breast Screening Programme by the most deprived women, as defined by the Carstairs deprivation category, whose attendance is below 60%.
Answer
There are several Scotland-wide projects to help improve uptake including distribution of leaflets. For example NHS Fife produced a DVD targeted at women with learning difficulties and this has now been shared with all NHS boards. In addition to national activities all NHS boards undertake local awareness raising in the areas where the mobile units are planning to visit. GP practices also actively engage women when their patient list is to be screened.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether oncology services were suspended at Raigmore Hospital in December 2009 and, if so, for what reason.
Answer
NHS Highland has advised that chemotherapy and radiotherapy services were open throughout the entire period at Raigmore Hospital.
The only exception was the routine planned closure of the Macmillan outpatient chemotherapy unit and radiotherapy department on Christmas Day and New Year''s Day. The board has assured us that these closures are planned well in advance. Staff at the unit discuss treatment plans with the patients and can arrange for anyone still requiring chemotherapy on Christmas Day or New Year''s Day, to attend the Oncology/Haematology Ward for their treatment, as the ward is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 21 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 28 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many operations were cancelled by the NHS in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) from 1 April to 31 December 2009 and for what reasons.
Answer
The specific information requested is not available centrally.
Information, although limited, is available on the number of hospital stays where operation or procedure were not carried out following admission to hospital. The number of cancelled operations or procedures by NHSScotland in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and for the period 1 April to 30 September 2009, the latest available data is provided in the following table.
It is not possible from centrally held data to identify specific reasons for the cancellations. Operations may be cancelled due a number of reasons such as a particularly high level of emergency admissions, staff sickness, patient is unfit for treatment on admission or the patient has failed to follow pre-admission advice such as fasting before admission.
NHSScotland: Number of Cancelled Operations/Procedures1,2
| Date | |
| 2007-08 | 14,455 |
| 2008-09 | 15,932 |
| 1 April to 30 September 2009 | 7,922 |
Source: ISD Scotland - information derived from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals.
Notes:
1. Up to six diagnoses (one principal and five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. All six diagnoses positions have been used to identify cancelled operations. The following International Statistical Classifications of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD -10) code has been used to identify cancelled operations/procedures “ Z53; person encountering health services for specific procedure not carried out.
2. Cases were an operation or procedure was cancelled prior to the patient being admitted to hospital are excluded.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive, following the announcement by HM Government of £20 million for the Thalidomide Trust to support survivors of the effects of the drug, thalidomide, whether it plans to provide an equivalent contribution for survivors in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government will make proportionate funding available to contribute to the package of assistance being provided by the UK Government. I am happy to confirm that I am meeting with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust in February to open discussions on the best way to allocation these additional funds.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive when all children aged nought to five will have been offered the influenza A (H1N1) vaccination and what the uptake has been to date.
Answer
The second phase of the H1N1 vaccination programme, offering vaccination to all children over six months and under five years, has commenced and will continue over the coming weeks. We anticipate that this will be completed by mid-February with mop up activity continuing until the end of February.
Uptake figures for the second phase of the programme are not available at this early stage and will become available as the programme progresses.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 January 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 27 January 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason the Health Screening draft budget for 2010-11 has been reduced by almost £5.7 million, which is 40% less than the 2009-10 budget, as referred to on page 36 of Scotland’s Budget Documents 2010-11: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document.
Answer
The downward trend was always planned and this is due to the initial set up costs being funded in years 2008-09 and 2009-10 for some of the screening programmes including the introduction of two views screening into the Breast Screening Service.
