- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 April 2015
To ask the Scottish GovernmentÌýhow many medical emergencies Community First Responders have responded to in each year since their introduction, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided information relating to Community First Responder activity back to 2006.
| NHS Health Board Territory | | Community First Responder Scheme Activity | | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | TOTAL | |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 130 | 166 | 114 | 82 | 147 | 191 | 442 | 607 | 638 | 2517 |
| Borders | 0 | 38 | 94 | 129 | 102 | 68 | 92 | 128 | 174 | 825 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 29 | 37 | 56 | 87 | 48 | 55 | 89 | 194 | 396 | 991 |
| Fife | 3 | 47 | 390 | 131 | 209 | 262 | 223 | 159 | 284 | 1708 |
| Forth Valley | 290 | 308 | 316 | 362 | 483 | 388 | 237 | 244 | 235 | 2863 |
| Grampian | 1247 | 1763 | 1660 | 924 | 1015 | 627 | 694 | 678 | 941 | 9549 |
| Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 0 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 75 | 85 | 232 | 280 | 458 | 1179 |
| Highland | 57 | 269 | 434 | 410 | 468 | 569 | 530 | 525 | 741 | 4003 |
| Lanarkshire | 1 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 362 | 287 | 190 | 179 | 181 | 1272 |
| Lothian | 169 | 307 | 555 | 670 | 489 | 539 | 698 | 683 | 551 | 4661 |
| Orkney | 0 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 83 | 72 | 72 | 52 | 33 | 338 |
| Shetland | 0 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 20 | 33 | 25 | 29 | 9 | 140 |
| Tayside | 0 | 70 | 303 | 328 | 1045 | 169 | 366 | 457 | 269 | 3007 |
| Western Isles | 16 | 50 | 89 | 148 | 129 | 112 | 95 | 71 | 70 | 780 |
| No Health Board Specified | 25 | 46 | 64 | 57 | 74 | 94 | 82 | 97 | 151 | 690 |
| TOTAL | 1967 | 3108 | 4094 | 3473 | 4749 | 3551 | 4067 | 4383 | 5131 | 34523 |
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 31 March 2015
To ask the Scottish GovernmentÌýhow much it costs to start a Community First Responder scheme and what the annual running cost is for training and equipment.
Answer
The information requested is broken down in the following table:
| Item | Cost including VAT |
| Total initial start-up cost of a community first responder scheme excluding vehicle costs or expenses claims | Costs vary depending on number of volunteers per scheme – however for a scheme of six members the initial direct costs will be £4000 (approximately). |
| Annual Training Costs Band 3 ambulance staff member visiting a Community First responder Scheme to deliver and quality assure training. 10 hours with a 60 mile round trip including pre planning time. Ìý Band 7 Member of ambulance staff visiting a Community First responder Scheme to quality assure training. 10 hours with a 60 mile round trip including pre planning time. | £249 per visit Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý £462 per visit (Approximately 1-2 training visits are carried out per annum) |
| Equipment Costs Ìý | Airway / CPR manikin (2 x South West, South East, East Central and West Central Divisions, 4 for North for training – price varies dependant on company and model) £3000 each approx = £36,000 approx. initial costs Replacement lungs, chest skins servicing etc = est. £2000 annually (national) |
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 31 March 2015
To ask the Scottish GovernmentÌýhow many Community First Responder groups there are, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
There are currently 123 Community First Responder Groups throughout Scotland. The Scottish Ambulance Service has information as to how many groups there are broken down by the service’s operational divisions, and that is why the information is presented as such.
| Scottish Ambulance Service Divisional Area |
| North Division which includes NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Orkney, NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles. 41 Community First Responder and Co Responder Schemes |
| East Central Division which includes NHS Tayside, NHS Forth Valley and NHS Fife 24 Community First Responder and Co Responder Schemes |
| West Central Division which includes NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire 13 Community First Responder and Co Responder Schemes |
| South East Division which includes NHS Lothian and NHS Borders 25 Community First Responder and Co Responder Schemes |
| South West Division which includes parts of NHS Highland, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Dumfries and Galloway 20 Community First Responder and Co Responder Schemes |
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Maureen Watt on 27 March 2015
To ask the Scottish GovernmentÌýhow many public access defibrillators are available in each NHS board area.
Answer
There are no centrally collected figures on the number of public access defibrillators available in each NHS board area.
The Scottish Government will launch the Scottish Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy on 27 March 2015 which aims to improve all the key elements of the chain of survival, including defibrillation. This will include implementing effective arrangements to ensure that public access defibrillators are mapped to Ambulance Control Centres, maintained and accessible to the public.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 March 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 April 2015
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects minimum unit pricing of alcohol to be implemented.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 April 2015
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 January 2015
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve survival rates from brain cancers.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2015
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of funding for Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s Hear to Help service being withdrawn from March 2015,Ìýwhat contingencies it has introduced to deal with any (a) increase in demand and (b) impact on waiting times at audiology departments in NHS (i) Greater Glasgow and Clyde, (ii) Ayrshire and Arran, (iii) Tayside and (iv) Borders.
Answer
Funding for the Hear to Help service has not been withdrawn. The Scottish Government provided funding for the Borders project over the financial years 2007-10 with further funding made available to seven pilot projects in 2011-12.
The services provided by the Hear to Help initiative are complementary to those provided by NHS boards, and indeed other third sector organisations, and do not substitute or replace the services already provided by local NHS audiology departments. Individual boards determine what action is required to meet demand for services in their area.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 15 January 2015
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 23 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that people who have been provided with NHS hearing aids with the assistance of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s Hear to Help service will have their devices maintained or replaced after funding for the scheme is withdrawn in March 2015.
Answer
Funding for the Hear to Help service has not been withdrawn. The Scottish Government provided funding for the Borders project over the financial years 2007-10 with further funding made available to seven pilot projects in 2011-12.
The services provided by the Hear to Help initiative are complementary to those provided by NHS boards, and indeed other third sector organisations, and do not substitute or replace the services already provided by the NHS. People provided with NHS hearing aids will continue to be able to access maintenance and replacement services provided by their local NHS audiology department and from other third sector organisations where they provide a service.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 September 2013
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 16 January 2015
To ask the Scottish Government what the hospitality bill was for events held in (a) Bute House and (b) Edinburgh Castle in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.
Answer
The costs for Scottish Government hosted events at: a) Bute House; and b) Edinburgh Castle for: i) 2010-11; ii) 2011-12; and iii) 2012-13 are detailed in the following tables.
Bute House
| Financial Year | Total Cost |
| 2010-11 | £28,581.82 |
| 2011-12 | £23,322.50 |
| 2012-13 | £9,308.42 |
Ìý
Edinburgh Castle
| Financial Year | Total Cost |
| 2010-11 | £200,999.97 |
| 2011-12 | £71,335.17 |
| 2012-13 | £142,794.67 |
The Scottish Government use Bute House and Edinburgh Castle, which incur no facility fee, as a resource to host a range of meetings, dinners and receptions to conduct official business, showcase Scotland and to celebrate and recognise worthy causes.
For example, some events included in these costs are: a reception to recognise the work of Breast Cancer Care, as part of the charity’s 40th Anniversary celebrations during Breast Cancer Awareness Month; a dinner to celebrate the visit of Joyce Banda, the President of Malawi, during the bi-centenary celebrations of David Livingstone; a reception to celebrate the visit of the US Fulbright Scholars to Scotland; and the Brave@Heart Awards, recognising and celebrating extreme acts of bravery by the people of Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2014
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 19 December 2014
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it will allocate to the New Medicines Fund in each of its first five years, and for how long the fund will operate.
Answer
For planning purposes, the 2015-16 draft budget currently includes £40 million to be utilised for the New Medicines Fund for both 2014-15 and 2015-16. We anticipate that there will be an ongoing need for mechanisms such as the New Medicines Fund beyond April 2016. The Scottish Government is closely monitoring the impact of the New Medicines Fund and the associated changes to access to medicines policies and will review the impact of the fund to inform future budgetary decisions.
