Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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-06995

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns regarding (a) district nurse vacancies and (b) an ageing district nurse workforce.

Question reference: S5W-06782

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time has been for (a) children and (b) adults to see an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

The information requested is provided in the following tables. It should be noted that data prior to the introduction of New Ways of Defining and Measuring Waiting Times in 2008 is from Scottish Morbidity Records (SMR00) and are not directly comparable.

MEDIAN WAITS (DAYS) FOR A FIRST OUTPATIENT CONSULTATION IN ENT FOR PATIENTS UNDER 16 YEARS BY NHS BOARD FOR THE YEARS 1999 TO 2007

Board

Median Waits (Days) : Patients Age Under 16 Years

��	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Ayrshire and Arran	30	25	45	43	46	49	70	76	47
Borders	85	107	121	59	45	84	90	84	92
Dumfries and Galloway	39	44	65	70	44	33	21	41	44
Fife	84	61	64	79	82	90	70	70	46
Forth Valley	57	49	58	70	75	63	77	82	45
Grampian	70	71	76	73	82	59	65	93	48
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	69	61	70	68	111	40	52	86	53
Highland	46	46	58	57	55	47	59	85	100
Lanarkshire	73	72	93	104	117	75	67	92	95
Lothian	16	18	18	30	40	54	50	28	87
Orkney	24	31	33	49	42	53	50	69	76
Shetland	36	41	41	58	71	62	47	68	63
Tayside	49	54	66	55	50	52	43	44	43
Western Isles	78	45	49	52	72	121	124	105	95
NHSScotland	53	52	63	63	68	50	56	68	58

Source : ISD SMR00

MEDIAN WAITS (DAYS) FOR A FIRST OUTPATIENT CONSULTATION IN ENT FOR PATIENTS 16 YEARS AND OVER BY NHS BOARD FOR THE YEARS 1999 TO 2007

Board

Median Waits (Days): Patients Age 16 Years and Over

��	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Ayrshire and Arran	49	49	73	50	56	107	85	70	40
Borders	67	72	53	35	35	48	46	49	76
Dumfries and Galloway	41	42	66	66	45	36	19	39	35
Fife	80	45	53	76	79	83	64	52	41
Forth Valley	54	49	54	62	63	68	73	62	42
Grampian	84	92	99	121	111	106	119	105	106
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	48	54	60	58	63	49	52	44	41
Highland	44	46	54	48	41	41	50	60	69
Lanarkshire	70	69	86	94	104	109	105	78	70
Lothian	69	63	61	65	55	57	63	66	84
Orkney	24	38	35	40	47	58	63	65	70
Shetland	40	40	42	47	52	62	36	46	60
Tayside	53	74	76	83	53	59	56	46	56
Western Isles	62	41	45	43	69	85	93	99	77
NHSScotland	56	56	63	66	64	61	62	56	53

Source : ISD SMR00

MEDIAN WAITS (DAYS) FOR A FIRST OUTPATIENT CONSULTATION IN ENT FOR PATIENTS UNDER 16 YEARS BY NHS BOARD FOR THE YEARS 2008 TO 2016

Board

Median Waits (Days) : Patients Aged Under 16 Years

��	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Ayrshire and Arran	57	54	54	44	62	74	82	110	131
Borders	66	50	50	63	73	76	84	73	88
Dumfries and Galloway	38	42	44	21	38	44	40	40	43
Fife	42	40	44	36	37	42	41	42	47
Forth Valley	52	49	36	58	68	99	45	63	78
Grampian	66	55	72	81	74	63	60	108	133
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	45	48	53	40	42	50	55	60	69
Highland	81	61	52	56	62	80	87	118	88
Lanarkshire	48	24	44	76	80	77	75	70	81
Lothian	76	69	64	42	67	75	83	126	96
Orkney	59	57	44	41	30	54	57	67	51
Shetland	81	50	68	58	62	58	75	72	120
Tayside	36	37	52	49	46	50	56	60	68
Western Isles	77	45	57	59	49	85	66	39	63
NHSScotland	51	49	55	44	52	58	61	66	71

Source: ISD Waiting Times Warehouse

MEDIAN WAITS (DAYS) FOR A FIRST OUTPATIENT CONSULTATION IN ENT FOR PATIENTS 16 YEARS AND OVER BY NHS BOARD FOR THE YEARS 2008 TO 2016

Board

Median Waits (Days) : Patients Aged 16 years And Over

��	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Ayrshire and Arran	53	47	56	65	78	73	82	78	57
Borders	53	38	36	43	55	61	74	62	46
Dumfries and Galloway	32	34	35	14	29	24	28	38	41
Fife	34	34	33	28	27	28	26	26	30
Forth Valley	51	42	31	44	58	83	40	55	66
Grampian	79	68	40	27	31	38	35	39	55
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	35	36	37	40	43	48	55	59	55
Highland	46	34	31	35	41	50	59	78	76
Lanarkshire	45	40	47	49	58	73	75	70	59
Lothian	48	45	54	35	51	70	49	52	42
Orkney	57	45	41	32	32	51	63	69	50
Shetland	71	44	60	54	58	45	74	62	84
Tayside	25	38	43	43	42	48	44	45	36
Western Isles	56	35	51	56	46	62	47	32	48
NHSScotland	43	41	41	37	43	49	49	51	49

Source: ISD Waiting Times Warehouse

Question reference: S5W-07315

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the recent study into the impact of vitamin D use on respiratory conditions by Queen Mary University of London, and whether it has any plans to support additional research into the impact of vitamin D on such conditions.

The Scottish Government has noted the results of this study. Current advice on vitamin D is based on recommendations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). As part of their recent review on vitamin D, SACN concluded that there was insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions on the impact of low vitamin D levels for non-musculoskeletal health outcomes, including acute respiratory tract infections.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to support additional research on the impact of vitamin D supplementation on acute respiratory tract infections at this time. A number of other organisations fund research and we will continue to monitor further research that emerges on vitamin D.

Question reference: S5W-07158

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 6 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration has been given to the provision of Oncotype DX genetic testing for women in Scotland.

The Scottish Molecular Pathology Evaluation Panel provided an advice note in Oncotype DX in January 2016 which states that, “should a clinician consider that the molecular pathology test would assist in a decision on case management for a patient within the indication specified then the test should be undertaken”.

NHS Boards are responsible for providing services to meet the assessed needs of their resident populations taking into account relevant frameworks and guidance and within their annual allocations.

Question reference: S5W-06792

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Ambulance Service will consider establishing a cadet force, similar to that operated by St John Ambulance in England.

Question reference: S5W-06994

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the report, Workforce Update: District Nursing, which was presented to the Edinburgh Integration Joint Board (EIJB) on 20 January 2017, and what action it is taking to support NHS Lothian and the EIJB to address (a) district nurse vacancies and (b) its ageing district nurse workforce.

It is for NHS Boards to plan and deliver clinical services and ensure that they have appropriate staff in place to meet the needs of their services and ensure high quality patient care. As part of this, we expect NHS Boards to have robust workforce plans and recruitment and retention policies in place which take account of district nursing vacancies and retirements.

To make sure our NHS has the right skills mix, we will introduce national and regional workforce planning. On 1 February 2017 we launched the National Health and Social Care Workforce Planning Discussion Document. We are inviting responses to this consultation by 28 March 2017. The Discussion Document will inform the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan, which will be published in Spring 2017. The consultation is available at the following link:-

In recognition of the flexibilities that differing retirement ages will bring, the NHSScotland Working Longer Group has been working on a number of tools and products which will help employers in Scotland profile their workforce by age at all levels and embed discussions about retirement plans within the yearly appraisal process.

In addition the Scottish Government will increase student nursing and midwifery intakes for 2017-18 by 4.7%, the fifth successive rise, bringing us a step closer to delivering our commitment to create 1,000 extra nursing and midwifery training places over the course of this Parliament. The increase is part of an overall package of measures to support and strengthen our nursing and midwifery workforce.

Question reference: S5W-07164

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 10 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 3 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many NHS psychiatrists there have been in each year since 2003.

Question reference: S5W-06978

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to encourage more men to become health visitors.

The Scottish Government is committed to equality and diversity, and that commitment extends to ensuring that these values are fully respected by, and reflected in the operation of NHSScotland. This includes the recruitment of all staff, including the recruitment of health visitors.

We are committed to attracting a diverse range of individuals into nursing careers, including health visiting. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) continues to work with NHS boards and universities to develop resources that promote positive messages of nursing, for both men and women and to widening participation in nursing education. We continue to monitor equality and diversity nationally for all students on nursing and health visiting programmes and this monitoring includes gender.

We are engaging with stakeholders to develop a 2030 Vision for Nursing in Scotland. One of the themes being explored is modernising the public image of nursing to ensure that it is an attractive career choice for all genders and individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our nationally agreed Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy “Embracing Equality, Diversity and Human Rights” was published in December 2013. The policy is available at .

Question reference: S5W-07014

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce geographic variation in transition services from paediatric to adult care for young people with long-term conditions.

The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to have well-structured transition arrangements in place, which meet the needs of their local population, regardless of where in Scotland the young person lives, as outlined in Better Health, Better Care: Hospital Services for Young People in Scotland published on 5 May 2009.

Additionally, The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 contains duties and provisions in relation to developing and delivering statutory Child’s Plans. Guidance will be developed to support transition throughout the life course within and between services for children that require a Childs Plan. It is good practice for the Child’s Plan to proactively plan for transition and the management of transition. Health boards and partners will be required to develop policies, procedures and practice to meet the duties and provisions prior to them coming into force.

The National Clinical Strategy sets out why the NHS in Scotland needs to adapt in the face of increasing and changing demand, along with significant constraints in terms of workforce and finances. The strategy sits alongside the Health and Social Care Integration and GIRFEC to ensure that there is a comprehensive approach to both improving the health of the population, and the healthcare available.

Its foundation is to provide care as locally as possible through a whole-team, community-based approach which is vital to the future of the NHS, allowing people to continue to be treated close to home, or in their home, in the majority of cases.

Question reference: S5W-06957

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 February 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 2 March 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-02629 by Aileen Campbell on 27 September 2016, how it ensures that the SIGN guidance is enforced, and whether this has led to a reduction in incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

SIGN guidelines are distributed within the NHS in Scotland via a network of Guideline Distribution Coordinators in each NHS board. Implementation is the responsibility of each individual NHS board and local ownership of the implementation process is crucial to success in changing practice.

It is not possible to answer, from centrally held information, whether SIGN guidance has directly led to a change in venous thromboembolism (VTE) incidence, the collective name for Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and Pulmonary Embolism (PE).