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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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S6F-00343

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the First Minister, in light of this being Libraries Week, what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that some libraries remain closed.

Question reference: S6F-00341

Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the announcement that the SQA has entered a two-year agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to improve equalities practices after the Commission established that the SQA was not routinely assessing the impact of its policies and practices against the three needs of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Question reference: S6F-00327

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6F-00326

Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 04 October 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 7 October 2021

Question to be taken in Chamber.

Question reference: S6W-02304

Asked by: Alexander Stewart, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme 2021 national report, what it considers the impact on stroke (a) mortality and (b) recovery would be if all NHS boards achieved their targets for stroke bundle provision, and what its position is on whether achieving these bundle provision targets represents an acceptable level of stroke care.

There is evidence that achieving the stroke bundle reduces mortality and increases the chance of patients returning to their usual place of residence after stroke.

There are a number of other factors in achieving an acceptable level of care for people with stroke. However, the stroke bundle is a simple metric which has been shown to be associated with improved outcomes. The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme Team will continue to support NHS Boards to achieve the Stroke Bundle as well as supporting improvements across the stroke pathway.

Question reference: S6W-02426

Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people in (a) East Lothian, (b) Midlothian and (c) the Scottish Borders have been given COVID-19 vaccination appointments for their (i) first and (ii) second dose outwith their local authority area.

Question reference: S6W-02403

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government when the NHS Recovery Plan will be published.

In response to the pressures on NHS services caused by the pandemic over the past 18 months, the First Minster launched the NHS Recovery Plan, on the 25 August. The Plan sets out the Scottish Governments key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next 5 years.

While it is important to stress that recovery is the immediate task, this Plan is fundamentally about ensuring that the process of recovery focusses on alternatives pathways of care that allow people to be treated more quickly closer to home and also delivers long term sustainability. The plan is backed by more than £1 billion of investment over the next five years.

Question reference: S6W-02310

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what work it is doing to increase public awareness of (a) melanoma and (b) other skin cancers (i) among people under 35 and (ii) in general.

Our Detect Cancer Early (DCE) Programme is aimed at increasing early diagnosis rates of Scotland’s most common cancers while reducing health inequalities. Following an options appraisal exercise, melanoma was selected as the next tumour type for inclusion in the DCE Programme in 2016.

DCE’s website (getcheckedearly.org) and digital channels help to increase awareness of symptoms of a number of tumour groups, including melanoma, on an ongoing basis. The Programme also works closely with third sector to share patient experience stories, to prompt others to take action.

DCE launched a new overarching campaign – Survivors - in September 2018 to reduce fear of cancer and empower people to act early, if they noticed any possible signs of cancer. The NHS Recovery Plan, published 25 August 2021, commits a further £20 million investment to the DCE Programme which will include additional public awareness campaigns.

Question reference: S6W-02561

Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding whether digitised patient health records can be easily accessed by different bodies within the NHS, such as GP clinics, NHS boards and dentists.

We continue to work with key partners across Scotland to ensure that relevant information from patient health records is available to healthcare staff when and where they need it. Significant investment in national IT systems, such as those for GP practices and the TrakCare hospital patient management system in secondary care, has improved the flow of information across different healthcare settings and services. In addition, the availability of Regional Clinical Portals, the roll out of HEPMA ( Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration ) and availability of the patient Emergency Care Summary (ECS) to Community Pharmacists, Dentists and Optometrists have all improved the accessibility and quality of electronic patient information available to frontline staff.

Further improvements will be made including the implementation of Office365 across the entire NHS. This will include the rollout of single identities for NHS staff which will simplify secure access to relevant patient information. The refreshed Digital Health & Care Strategy, scheduled to be published in September 2021, will set out ambitions for greater access to medical information both for staff and the public.

Question reference: S6W-02218

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Monday, 23 August 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 4 October 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many people were waiting for (a) brain surgery, (b) treatment for gynaecological conditions, (c) eye treatment, (d) ear, nose and throat treatment, (e) gastroenterology services, (f) ophthalmology services, (g) trauma treatment and (h) orthopaedic services in May (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, and (iii) 2021, and what the longest waiting time was in each of these categories in the same three months.

The figures provided below include patients waiting to have their initial appointment with a consultant (new outpatient) and patients who were waiting to be admitted for treatment (inpatient or day case) within select specialties relating to the question.

In the field of orthopaedic medicine, trauma is categorised as a severe injury to the elements of the musculoskeletal system (muscles, joints, ligaments, bones, and soft tissue). These trauma injuries are often the result of a sudden accident, such as a fall or car accident, and so the patient requires immediate medical attention. Consequently, no waiting times are provided here.

Table 1 shows the total number of patients waiting for a new outpatient appointment across NHS Scotland at 31 May 2019, 31 May 2020 and 31 May 2021, broken down by specialty. Note that 95 th percentile waits have been provided rather than the longest wait as a more robust measure. This is due to the likelihood of the longest wait for each specialty being a data quality issue as opposed to a true waiting time.

Table 1: Total waiting for a New Outpatient appointment and 95 th percentile waits, 31 May 2019, 31 May 2020, 31 May 2021; NHS Scotland

Specialty	Indicator	31/05/2019	31/05/2020	31/05/2021
Ear, Nose & Throat	Number on list	29,648	23,901	34,454
	95th Percentile (days)	245	292	524
Gastroenterology	Number on list	20,701	10,856	16,880
	95th Percentile (days)	644	377	563
Gynaecology	Number on list	20,487	17,094	33,691
	95th Percentile (days)	227	202	437
Neurosurgery	Number on list	3,774	3,153	2,998
	95th Percentile (days)	282	339	495
Ophthalmology	Number on list	30,400	13,286	9,831
	95th Percentile (days)	205	289	538
Orthopaedics	Number on list	19,126	26,146	49,630
	95th Percentile (days)	260	332	497

Source: PHS Waiting Times Datamart

Note: The 95th percentile (days) measure indicates that 95% of patients had been waiting less than the number of days shown and 5% had been waiting longer.

Table 2 shows the total number of patients waiting to be admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case across NHS Scotland at 31 May 2019, 31 May 2020 and 31 May 2021, broken down by specialty.

Table 2: Total waiting to be admitted as an inpatient or day case and 95 th percentile waits, 31 May 2019, 31 May 2020, 31 May 2021; NHS Scotland

Specialty	Indicator	31/05/2019	31/05/2020	31/05/2021
Ear, Nose & Throat	Number on list	6,873	7,142	7,966
	95th Percentile (days)	349	396	656
Gastroenterology	Number on list	178	208	282
	95th Percentile (days)	77	143	455
Gynaecology	Number on list	4,421	4,823	5,739
	95th Percentile (days)	303	310	581
Neurosurgery	Number on list	850	1,104	1,392
	95th Percentile (days)	246	389	640
Ophthalmology	Number on list	11,090	13,286	9,831
	95th Percentile (days)	205	289	538
Orthopaedics	Number on list	19,126	22,715	29,606
	95th Percentile (days)	263	356	633

Source: PHS Waiting Times Datamart

Note: The 95th percentile (days) measure indicates that 95% of patients had been waiting less than the number of days shown and 5% had been waiting longer.