- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of the medicine, Sativex, in the NHS.
Answer
Sativex is currently licensed to treat patients with moderate to severe spasticity due to Multiple Sclerosis. In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides advice to NHS Scotland on the clinical and cost effectiveness of all new medicines. They do this following submissions made by the manufacturer. For Sativex, whilst the manufacturer does hold a product licence, they have not yet made a submission to the SMC to have Sativex considered for routine availability on the NHS in Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it will develop the national social isolation strategy, committed to in its Programme for Government, and what consultation will take place in its development.
Answer
Following on from the Programme for Government, we committed in the Fairer Scotland Action Plan, to developing a new approach to social isolation over 2017. We intend that this will build on existing work, that it will draw on the findings of the previous Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee’s Inquiry into Social Isolation and Loneliness as well as the Befriending Networks Summit held in September 2016 and that it will be informed by the best available evidence and research. We will engage with partners and a wide range of interests in the development of our approach.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to produce guidance on specific cancers as part of its cancer strategy and, if so, which types of cancer will be covered.
Answer
Our ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ strategy and the accompanying £100 million investment over five years, serves as a blueprint for the future of cancer services in Scotland, improving the prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of people affected by all types of cancer.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many "never events" there have been in the NHS in each year since 1999.
Answer
NHS Scotland operates independently from the rest of the UK and does not refer to Never Events for data capturing purposes.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many people with drug addictions have been supported to cease drug use completely in each year since the Road to Recovery strategy was launched in 2008.
Answer
It is not possible to say how many people have ceased drug use completely since the publication of The Road to Recovery as this information is not held centrally. The Scottish Government is currently working closely with Information Services Division Scotland, national commissioned organisations, ADPs and services to develop a new data collection system (Drug and Alcohol Information System ) which will collect and report on drug and alcohol treatment and outcomes information, including abstinence.
Recovery for some individuals is not the same as abstinence. The Road to Recovery set out the importance of developing a system of care which ensured that individuals were offered a treatment and recovery package that best met their needs and aspirations.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how often methadone users are offered a review of their treatment.
Answer
Decisions on the type of Opioid Replacement Therapy (ORT), including methadone, to prescribe are for clinicians, in close discussion with their clients. The use of ORT is done in line with UK guidelines on the Clinical Management of Drug Misuse and Dependence. These guidelines state that for those individuals who are in receipt of longer-term prescriptions, that they should be reviewed at regular intervals (usually at least three-monthly), and should be part of a broader programme of care planned social and psychological support.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 2 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support veterans.
Answer
The Scottish Government places great importance on veterans and their families. We established a state-of-the-art National Prosthetics Service, committed over £5 million from 2015 for world-class specialist mental health services and provided almost £4 million for veterans housing. We have appointed a Scottish Veterans Commissioner – the first such position in the UK.
I have published a fresh strategy, “Renewing Our Commitments” setting out priorities on healthcare, housing and jobs. Earlier this month I announced a partnership with Standard Life, bringing our Scottish Veterans Fund to total £600,000 over three years. We also want the private sector to treat veterans as an asset to bridge skills gaps; that is why I was delighted to launch the Supporting Veterans into Employment initiative with HRH The Duke of Rothesay at Dumfries House on 24 October 2016.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses participating in the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme have more than ten employees.
Answer
940 organisations participating in the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme have more than 10 employees.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many calls were made to the Healthy Working Lives Adviceline in the last three years, and how many of these calls were regarding mental health advice.
Answer
The following table shows the number of enquiries to the Healthy Working Lives Adviceline including calls and emails.
Date
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Total enquiries
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Calls
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Mental Health Calls
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E-mails
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Mental Health e-mails
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01-4-2013 – 31-03-2014
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2284
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1712
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91
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572
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14
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01-04-2014 – 31-03-2015
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3672
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2466
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119
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1206
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18
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01-04-2015 – 31-03-2016
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3812
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2696
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167
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1116
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17
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01-04-2016 – 30-09-2016
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2170
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1571
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82
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599
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12
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Mental Health calls are recorded under a variety of sub-categories as follows - Mental Health & Wellbeing-Anxiety-Depression-Distress-Stress.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 October 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 1 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses participate in the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme, broken down by bronze, silver and gold awards.
Answer
The number of organisations currently registered to take part in the Healthy Working Lives Award Programme is 1048. This includes organisations that are working towards the Bronze Award.
The number of organisations currently holding a Healthy Working Lives Award is:
Bronze 205
Silver 132
Gold 213
Total 550