- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS boards have adequate accommodation to conduct two-view mammography breast screening in order to meet the implementation deadline of April 2010.
Answer
The Scottish Government Health Department has made investment in capital projects to extend screening centres and procure additional mobile units to increase capacity for two-view mammography breast screening.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Healthcare Associated Infection Taskforce will review the guidance on trigger points in relation to the identification of cases of the 027 strain of Clostridium difficile.
Answer
Health Protection Scotland (HPS) guidance on how to set triggers was circulated to NHS Scotland in June 2009. It is not yet on the HPS website because of amendments that are being made to terminology and cross referencing to recently updated documents.
The Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) Trigger Tool, which describes the actions that should be taken in the event that a trigger is breached, can be found at:
http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/haiic/ic/publicationsdetail.aspx?id=42508.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee’s Fifty-second Report of Session 2008-09: Reducing Healthcare Associated Infection in Hospitals in England, whether it will publish its strategy and action plan on healthcare associated infections (HAI) such as pneumonia, skin infections, urinary tract infections and gastroenterological conditions other than Clostridium difficile, which the report indicates as accounting for 72% of HAI.
Answer
Our strategy to tackle healthcare associated infections (HAI) in Scotland is set out in our three year
HAI Task Force Delivery Plan for 2008-2011, which was published on 7 March 2008. The delivery plan can be found at
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/07110818/0.
The delivery plan was informed by the findings of the HAI Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) published in July 2007, which identified the type and prevalence of infections in Scottish hospitals. It describes the areas where action will be taken to reduce HAI and includes, for example, catheter related urinary tract infections, ventilator associated pneumonia and central venous catheter infections.
The delivery plan is, therefore, an extensive and wide-ranging programme aimed at tackling a range of conditions which can cause a HAI.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to provide training in sentinel node biopsy to NHS boards.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-29331 on 3 December 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that two-view mammography breast screening is implemented by the April 2010 deadline.
Answer
We are working closely with all NHS breast screening centres and they are indicating that two-view mammography breast screening will be implemented by April 2010.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards (a) have and (b) have not implemented two-view mammography breast screening.
Answer
(a) Two-view mammography has been implemented in NHS Fife, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Highland, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland, NHS Tayside and NHS Western Isles.
(b) Two-view mammography has not yet been implemented in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Borders, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian.
All NHS breast screening centres are indicating that two-view mammography breast screening will be implemented by April 2010.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to upgrade the website reporting on Clostridium difficile to ensure that the information is made available in real time and presented in a way that (a) is uniform and (b) can be readily understood by the public.
Answer
NHS boards are currently reviewing the structure and presentation of the HAI reporting template to consider what changes are needed to make the information easier to understand by the public. I expect this review to have concluded by March 2010.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the public is informed as soon as possible of future outbreaks of Clostridium difficile.
Answer
I have asked the HAI Task Force to urgently review the arrangements in place for notifying the public about outbreaks of Clostridium difficile at its next quarterly meeting of 8 December 2009 and provide me with their recommendations by end December 2009.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the use of alcohol gel is not an effective substitute for hand washing with appropriate soap or disinfectant in preventing Clostridium difficile infection and, if so, whether it will implement a public awareness campaign on the issue.
Answer
It is important that all staff, patients and visitors not only wash their hands with soap and warm water but combine this practice with the use of alcohol-based hand gels. This approach ensures that staff, patients and visitors are taking every precaution possible to reduce the risk of the spread of all avoidable infections. Hand gels are also available at hospital bedsides as a quick and effective way to protect patients and staff in between hand washing routines.
We recognise that tackling healthcare associated infection (HAI) is everyone''s business - staff, visitors and patients - and all have a part to play in driving down infection rates in hospitals. That is why a public awareness raising campaign involving TV and radio adverts ran earlier this year to educate the public on the importance of hand hygiene in reducing the spread of infections. I also launched a further awareness raising campaign aimed at NHS staff, consisting of posters and other supporting materials, in March this year. This is being widened out next year to include the community setting.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 4 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what Health Protection Scotland’s view is regarding the transmissibility and lethality of the 078 subtype of Clostridium difficile.
Answer
The national reference laboratory advise that although this ribotype exists in Scotland, there have not been any particular concerns raised about its transmissibility or lethality above those seen with other strains of Clostridium difficile.
Their expert advice is that all Clostridium difficile infections should be managed in accordance with the revised Health Protection Scotland Guidance on Prevention and Control of Clostridium difficile Infection (CDI) which was published in September 2009.
