- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what the latest data is on what percentage of individuals admitted to NHS Scotland are assessed for venous thromboembolism.
Answer
It is not possible to provide the percentage of individuals admitted to NHS Scotland who are assessed for venous thromboembolism (VTE) as this data is not routinely recorded.
The General/Acute and Inpatient Day case Dataset (SMR01) contains records where pulmonary embolism and phlebitis and thrombophlebitis of the lower extremities are listed as the primary diagnosis.
These conditions are usually recorded in an inpatient setting, on the SMR01. The structure of the International Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems 10 revision (ICD10) does not allow for easy identification of Venous Thromboembolism.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many prisons there are and what percentage of those have dedicated mental health professionals; and how many (a) additional mental health professionals in prisons have been recruited under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 and (b) mental health professionals in total are based in prisons, as of 1 April 2022.
Answer
There are 15 prisons located throughout Scotland, 2 of which are managed privately.
Responsibility for providing prison healthcare was transferred from Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to NHS in 2011, and as such the Scottish Government does not hold data on the mental health workforce.
Data such as the number of staff in post or vacancies is collected on specific job roles but not within specific settings such as prisons.
While the Scottish Government provides funding for recruitment under Action 15, workforce and service planning is conducted by Integration Authorities according to the needs of their populations.
Under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27, 54.4 whole time equivalent (WTE) mental health posts have been recruited to in our prisons.
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on exploring a potential extension of the Waverley railway line to Carlisle via Langholm.
Answer
Potential extension of the Waverley line, to Carlisle via Langholm, and other route variations, was appraised as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). Whilst the outcome was that the extension of the line was not included within the 45 draft recommendations, there does remain a path for regional or local rail projects to come forward, and Transport Scotland will consider these subject to a strong business case being developed in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and suitable funding being available. The Scottish Government have committed up to £5 million through the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal to enable regional partners to assess the benefits and challenges of extending the Borders Railway, and continue to work with partners to implement that commitment.
- Asked by: Emma Harper, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government when the joint £10 million of funding from the Scottish and UK governments, as committed to in the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, will be released for the borders rail extension feasibility study.
Answer
Through the Borderlands Inclusive Deal the Scottish Government have allocated up to £5 million to assess the benefits and challenges of extending the Borders Railway. That funding will be released on the achievement of agreed milestones, in line with the usual business case and governance processes that apply to all growth deal projects. As this is a joint funding commitment, the Scottish Government are currently awaiting the outcome of internal UK Government discussions on governance procedures to be able to align advice to partners and move things forward.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what specific criteria it is using to prioritise those who are most in need of treatment as it addresses the NHS Scotland backlog, and what is the evidence used to determine the criteria.
Answer
The Scottish Government has recently announced a new set of ambitious targets to eliminate long waits, with an initial focus on long waits over two years for new outpatients by August 2022 and for inpatients and day case procedures by September 2022.
We have recently stepped down the Clinical Prioritisation Framework that was in place since November 2020 to help Boards prioritise waiting lists throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
This move is a return to pre-pandemic approach of treating patients on an urgent and routine basis, giving Health Boards and clinicians full flexibility to manage waiting lists with a focus on eliminating long waits, as well as continuing to treat the most clinically urgent patients.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many A&E departments there are and what percentage of those have dedicated mental health professionals; and how many (a) additional mental health professionals in A&E departments have been recruited under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 and (b) mental health professionals in total are based in A&E departments, as of 1 April 2022.
Answer
There are 91 locations providing A&E services across Scotland. Of these, 30 are classed as Emergency Departments - larger A&E services that typically provide a 24 hour consultant led service.
The requested data on the number of mental health workers in A&E departments is not centrally collected. Data such as the number of staff in post or vacancies is collected for specific mental health professional groups in the NHS, but cannot be broken down by settings such as A&E.
Under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27, an additional 179.2 whole time equivalent mental health posts have been created in A&E departments.
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what plans are (a) in place and (b) planned to extend access to antiviral treatments or COVID-19 boosters to people who are clinically vulnerable with neurological conditions who are not currently listed as eligible for such treatments.
Answer
There are additional treatment options for selected groups of people with COVID-19 who are thought to be at high risk with a prioritised clinical condition, as well as those taking part in registered clinical trials related to COVID-19. The high risk group does include those with rare neurological conditions such as:
- multiple sclerosis
- motor neurone disease
- myasthenia gravis
- Huntington’s disease
The decision on whether to prescribe a medicine for a patient is entirely for their clinician. Information on the arrangements for direct access to COVID-19 treatments in Scotland can be found at: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Treatments | NHS inform .
High risk individuals who have been diagnosed with chronic neurological disease are now included in the clinical risk group of the autumn/winter booster programme as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The following groups will be offered an additional booster dose from Sept 2022:
- residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
- frontline health and social care workers
- all adults aged 50 years and over
- those aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women
- those aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
- carers aged 16-49 years
Letters will be sent out to the first eligible groups next month with appointments beginning in Sept. Discussions on the details of the delivery timetable are underway with health board partners. More information will be made available in due course.
- Asked by: Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent data from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit showing that in NHS Lothian the number of stroke admissions rose by 9.5% and the proportion of stroke patients that received thrombolysis fell by 4.3%.
Answer
The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to provide the best possible care for those who have experienced a stroke, including thrombolysis where considered clinically appropriate.
The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP) report, published on 28 June and available at: https://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/index.html , notes a clear effect of the waves of COVID-19 on hospitals.
Stroke admission numbers often fell during the early waves of the pandemic, with patients possibly avoiding seeking medical attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this may help explain the increase in stroke admissions between 2020 and 2021. The trend of increased stroke admissions between 2020 and 2021 is not unique to NHS Lothian and was observed across Scotland.
The proportion of patients who received thrombolysis in NHS Lothian in 2021 (8.9%) was broadly in line with the proportion of stroke patients who received thrombolysis across Scotland (9.1%).
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many people affected by the transition from Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance to Adult Disability Payment have been informed of the transition.
Answer
As of 19 July 2022 we had issued 79 letters to people receiving Personal Independence Payment to let them know the transfer of their award to Adult Disability Payment has begun. These cases were selected as part of our small Personal Independence Payment to Adult Disability Payment pilot. Once Adult Disability Payment launches nationally on 29 August, we will begin selecting large numbers of Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment awards for transfer.
We have also developed and are delivering a strategic communication and engagement plan for case transfer. This includes a series of stakeholder roadshows to key stakeholders as well as stakeholder newsletters. We have also included case transfer messaging in our Adult Disability Payment communications such as media releases, opinion pieces, social media posts on Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland channels and paid for marketing campaigns that have run in the pilot areas. Paid for activity has covered radio, social media, digital and print. We will continue implementing this communication and engagement plan as the case transfer process continues.
- Asked by: Fiona Hyslop, MSP for Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 9 August 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what regular formal engagement has been established with the private early learning and childcare sector in developing the curriculum for children up to the age of three and other operational matters.
Answer
Regular open and constructive engagement with the early learning and childcare sector continues to be a vital part of our approach to policy development. This includes engagement with the sector representative bodies, and through the Childcare Sector Working Group, which last met on 16 June 2022.
Scottish Government and Education Scotland’s ‘Realising the Ambition – Being Me’, the national practice guidance on supporting young children’s learning, was published in 2020. Private providers contributed to its development via sector representative bodies and through a series of consultation events held across Scotland in order to seek the views of practitioners working in the public, private, third and childminding sectors.