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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.

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Question reference: S5W-11628

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Highland has carried out a review of how many radiologists it requires based on population and work requirements.

Question reference: S5W-11626

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government for how many weekends in 2017 has NHS Highland had no radiologist cover arranged by midday on the Friday before.

While the Scottish Government sets strategic policies for the NHS in Scotland, it is the responsibility of NHS Boards – including NHS Highland – to plan their workforce to ensure that enough professional staff and facilities are available to provide the best possible care for patients in a variety of settings.

Information on NHS Board staffing rotas is not held centrally. Specific local information may be available from NHS Highland.

Question reference: S5W-11630

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on there being enough radiologists in NHS Highland to deliver services, including on-call services, should there be any further resignations in the region.

The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS Highland to support improved performance of its Radiology service and are taking forward a comprehensive range of actions to address concerns around staffing levels.

We have welcomed the Royal College of Radiologists’ offer to support clinical leadership with Consultants in NHS Highland and more widely in the North of Scotland, with the aim of maximising recruitment potential and to develop effective cross-Board regional working for Radiology.

Steps are being taken to ensure there is capacity to accommodate demand, including the development of an evidence-based staffing model in order to support the Radiology service in NHS Highland in future.

We have also asked NHS Education for Scotland to examine the distribution of Radiology trainees in the North region to ensure maximum value and optimal utilisation of the training potential within NHS Highland.

In addition to these measures, an independent review into the number of Radiologists required by NHS Highland to meet the needs of their local population is currently being undertaken.

Furthermore, the National Radiology Implementation Programme will see radiology information systems connected across every NHS Board in Scotland over the next
1-2 years. The programme will rely on NHS Boards working together in a joined-up service approach to maximise available services.

Question reference: S5F-01631

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 26 October 2017

To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to hold to account NHS boards that do not meet their waiting times targets.

Question reference: S5O-01348

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what recent meetings the cabinet secretary has had with community representatives in Caithness regarding concerns about the removal of services.

Question reference: S5W-11577

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 16 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to raise awareness of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Scottish Government works closely with third sector organisations to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). We have provided funding to the MS Society Scotland this year to support a project aimed at boosting and promoting physical activity in people with MS which is the first of its kind in Scotland. Last year funding was also provided to Revive MS Support towards the development of their new facility at Moorpark Court in Glasgow.

We are currently in the early stages of developing Scotland’s first National Action Plan on Neurological Conditions, which will aim to raise awareness and drive improvements in outcomes for people with a range of neurological conditions including MS.

Question reference: S5W-11578

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 16 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each NHS board area are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), and how many MS specialist health professionals each board employs.

This information is not centrally held.

However, the Scottish MS Register, operated by NHS National Services Scotland’s Information Services Division (ISD) and supported by Scottish Government funding, gives a figure of 3,243 people who reported to the Register within the period January 2010 to December 2016. It should be noted, however, that the MS Register refers to new diagnoses only and is therefore not reflective of the total number of people who live with MS in Scotland.

The following figures, published on 12 September 2017, give a breakdown of the 3,243 figure by NHS Boards (it is also important to note the data caveats below the table).

Year of Diagnosis

Board	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	17	28	34	36	33	36	41
NHS Borders	8	7	7	7	7	7	6
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	12	16	15	25	17	13	5
NHS Fife	28	28	33	40	34	52	41
NHS Forth Valley	17	23	25	26	28	38	34
NHS Grampian	54	49	61	64	53	58	63
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	94	83	83	83	77	98	78
NHS Highland	36	23	30	39	45	41	47
NHS Lanarkshire	48	30	46	29	26	64	50
NHS Lothian	60	54	50	74	67	77	63
NHS Orkney	5	*	5	*	*	*	6
NHS Shetland	*	6	*	*	*	*	*
NHS Tayside	42	42	57	51	59	60	52
NHS Western Isles	*	*	*	*	0	*	*
Total	430	396	450	481	450	546	490

3 patients, residing under the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (2) and NHS Fife (1) Board areas, were excluded from this table due to an incomplete/missing date of confirmed diagnosis.

*Note: Following ISD Statistical Disclosure Control Protocol, any cells with count values of 4 or less have been redacted in order to protect the confidentiality of potentially personally identifiable information.

The information on the numbers of MS specialist health professionals for each board is not held centrally. However, information on the number of specialist nurses who are responsible for the delivery of MS care is published by ISD Scotland and is available at the following link:-https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-09-05/Nursing_and_Midwifery_Vacancies_J2017.xls

Question reference: S5O-01339

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve road safety on the North Coast 500 route, in light of a reported increase in accidents.

Question reference: S5W-11295

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 September 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on including the experiences of cancer patients under the age of 16 in the next Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

Question reference: S5W-11154

Asked by: Edward Mountain, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 08 September 2017
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 21 September 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that payments have been allocated to bank accounts under its various agricultural support schemes since 2016 that do not specify under which scheme refer to; what action it is taking to ensure that the people and businesses in receipt of such payments are advised of (a) what the payment was for and (b) how the calculation was made, and by what date all such advice will be given.

We have issued Payment Notification letters detailing the payment amount for each scheme where a payment has been made since 2016. The letters clearly define the scheme(s) to which they apply.

The Reduction and Exclusion letter demonstrates to customers how we have established the payment figure, detailing any adjustments made to their claim to reach the final payment amount. Unfortunately this letter has not yet been issued for all payment schemes and we regret any difficulty that has caused to our customers. We are undertaking final testing of the necessary IT functionality to ensure that letters are accurate and reflect the most up to date land information.