- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 22 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the withdrawal from Scotland of two of the three suppliers of portable oxygen and the difficulties experienced across Scotland in obtaining adequate supplies of lightweight, higher capacity oxygen cylinders with integrated regulators, what plans it has to review the Scottish procurement and pharmacy-based system which is completely different from other NHS regions in the United Kingdom.
Answer
I am currently considering the evidence gathered at this stage of the domiciliary oxygen therapy service (DOTS) review and am not yet in a position to announce decisions on the future shape of the Service. The review has been broad-ranging and has assessed a number of important issues.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 22 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of reducing numbers of blood donors, what steps it has taken, or is taking, to ensure that NHS boards are encouraged to maximise autologous cell salvage use of blood and what audit arrangements are in place to ensure that the use of such cell salvage blood is maximised.
Answer
The optimal use of donated blood involves a balanced approach between carrying out only necessary transfusions and implementing blood use avoidance strategies. The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) has invested in a wide range of optimal blood use strategies, co-ordinated within the Better Blood Transfusion Programme (BBTP), to encourage delivery within and by NHS boards.
The Scottish Clinical Transfusion Advisory Committee has considered cell salvage in some detail at meetings over the last 18 months. While acknowledging that perioperative cell salvage is an important part of the Better Blood Transfusion initiatives, it is likely to be applicable to a minority of blood recipients.
SNBTS actively supports and encourages the use of intra-operative cell salvage (IOCS) and provides £113,000 (recurring) funding for this purpose. Part of this allocation provides funding for a specialist practitioner in operating theatre blood conservation at NHS Lothian, who takes the national lead in Scotland on intra-operative blood matters. Over the past four years, several NHS boards have also used BBTP funds to purchase IOCS equipment.
The UK Cell Salvage Action Group, which SNBTS is actively involved with, is in the process of establishing a national audit database for IOCS.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 22 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what guarantees have been obtained from the British Oxygen Company with respect to the restoration of supply of lightweight modern portable oxygen cylinders with integrated regulators.
Answer
BOC supplies oxygen to NHS community pharmacies in Scotland. Manufacturing problems at the French company which supplies BOC have been the cause of a temporary shortage of portable cylinders across the UK. This shortage has affected supplies of the Drug Tariff-listed DD cylinders available to community pharmacies across Scotland, and PD cylinders which require separate headsets have been issued to some patients over the past few months.
We have been assured by BOC that the supply problems which led to this situation are easing. PD cylinders will be withdrawn as more of the integrated headset DD cylinders come on stream.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 June 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 21 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which wards have been closed as a result of clostridium difficile, broken down by (a) hospital and (b) month since January 2008.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14490 on 9 July 2008. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals offered primary angioplasty to suitable patients with a myocardial infarction in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.
Answer
The information requested regarding primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) is given in the following table.
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Aberdeen Royal Infirmary | Aberdeen Royal Infirmary |
| Glasgow Royal Infirmary | Glasgow Royal Infirmary |
| Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire | Golden Jubilee National Hospital |
| Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh | Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire |
| Western General Hospital, Edinburgh | Ninewells Hospital, Dundee |
| Western Infirmary Glasgow | Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh |
| | Western General Hospital, Edinburgh |
| | Western Infirmary Glasgow |
Source: Scottish Coronary Revascularisation Register.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available to NHS for (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.
Answer
The initial allocations for each health board for 2008-09 were:
| NHS Boards | 2008-09 £ Million |
| NHS Ayrshire and Arran | 546.7 |
| NHS Borders | 158.9 |
| NHS Dumfries and Galloway | 228.1 |
| NHS Fife | 479.7 |
| NHS Forth Valley | 375.5 |
| NHS Grampian | 646.3 |
| NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 1,790.9 |
| NHS Highland | 459.6 |
| NHS Lanarkshire | 760.5 |
| NHS Lothian | 963.0 |
| NHS Orkney | 29.7 |
| NHS Shetland | 34.9 |
| NHS Tayside | 566.4 |
| NHS Western Isles | 55.2 |
| NHS Boards Total | 7,095.4 |
| Special Health Boards | |
| Scottish Ambulance Service | 183.4 |
| National Services Scotland | 247.1 |
| NHS 24 | 53.4 |
| The State Hospitals Board for Scotland | 33.7 |
| National Waiting Times Centre | 40.0 |
| NHS Education for Scotland | 361.7 |
| NHS Health Scotland | 17.3 |
| NHS Quality Improvement Scotland | 16.2 |
| Special Health Board Total | 952.8 |
| NHS Scotland Total | 8,048.2 |
In addition to the initial general allocation, boards will have access to additional funding that will be allocated throughout the year, including a number of health priorities as set out in the Scottish Budget.
Allocations for 2009-10 onwards have not yet been determined, as they are calculated according to a formula that will be updated at the start of each financial year. However, the total net funding earmarked for health boards in 2009-10 is £8,305.8 million and for 2010-11 is £8,571.6 million.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of eligible patients received thrombolytic treatment for myocardial infarction within 60 minutes of a phone call in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.
Answer
This information is not held centrally in the form requested.
Progress is being made with implementation of the web-based software system, SCI-CHD-ACS, developed as part of a national initiative to capture information on patients admitted to hospital with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), including myocardial infarction. The system does not as yet cover the whole of NHSScotland, but the data which are available suggest that, in calendar year 2007, 70.3% of those who had had an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) received thrombolysis within 60 minutes of arriving at hospital.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients with a myocardial infarction received primary angioplasty in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08, also broken down by hospital.
Answer
The information requested is provided in the following table.
Number of Primary PCIs
| Hospital | 2006-07 | 2007-08 |
| Aberdeen Royal Infirmary | 26 | 43 |
| Glasgow Royal Infirmary | 64 | 77 |
| Golden Jubilee National Hospital | - | 18 |
| Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire | 33 | 46 |
| Ninewells Hospital | - | 5 |
| Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh | 135 | 348 |
| Western General Hospital, Edinburgh | 29 | 10 |
| Western Infirmary Glasgow | 95 | 109 |
| Total | 382 | 656 |
Source: Scottish Coronary Revascularisation Register.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary angioplasties were carried out in hospitals within 90 minutes of arrival at hospital in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08.
Answer
The information requested is not available centrally. However, a recent study of a hybrid programme of pre-hospital thrombolysis and primary PCI in NHS Lothian has demonstrated very positive results, with median ECG to primary PCI balloon times of 48 minutes.
As a result of the NHS Lothian pilot, and in line with the recommendations in SIGN Guideline 93 on Acute Coronary Syndromes, the roll-out of primary PCI across Scotland is now being discussed by NHSScotland’s Regional Planning Groups.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 July 2008
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 18 July 2008
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor the effect of the current and future reductions in prescription charges on the number of prescriptions issued.
Answer
We will receive regular reports to ensure that the effects of prescription charge price reductions are effectively monitored. The report will present analysis of a range of data including prescribing trends and volume of prescriptions dispensed. We will also continue to analyse trends in Wales following the abolition of prescription charges in 2007.
