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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.

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Question reference: S6W-17535

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether any evaluation of the use of the High Risk Medicines Framework in NHS Scotland has been conducted, and, if so, what the result of any such evaluation was.

The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) has developed a number of tools and resources to improve medicines safety. One area of focus has been on developing resources around the use of high risk medicines, and within high risk situations. The high risk medicines framework and discussion tool has been reviewed by the clinical team supporting Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to ensure they remain up to date and beneficial. There are also some more in-depth evaluations and updates of specific resources. The sick day rule cards are being updated in collaboration with the Quality Prescribing and Therapeutics Division of the Scottish Government and will be included in polypharmacy guidance, and HIS has commissioned the University of Strathclyde to complete a national evaluation of the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) safety bundles. This evaluation will be completed in the coming months and a report will be issued outlining the findings.

Question reference: S6W-17533

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the roll-out of Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (HEPMA) in each NHS board, and when it expects that each NHS board will have HEPMA capability.

Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (HEPMA) has been rolled out in in seven Health boards including NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Lothian and The State Hospital.

The six North of Scotland Boards have worked collaboratively together to develop a regional HEPMA and have implemented capability for the region. NHS Grampian, NHS Highland, NHS Tayside and NHS Orkney have gone live and are now planning for a wider roll out across each of their estate. Both NHS Shetland and NHS Western Isles are finalising preparations for go live in the coming weeks.

Work is underway to rollout HEPMA systems in the remaining Health Boards of NHS Borders, NHS Fife and the Golden Jubilee National Hospital. We expect these implementations to begin in 2024.

Question reference: S6W-17536

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether the High Risk Medicines Framework is currently in use in NHS Scotland.

Reducing harm due to high-risk medicines has been identified as a priority by health boards across Scotland and the Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) has focussed on supporting teams to discuss and prioritise improvement activities related to high-risk medicines and high-risk situations around medicines.

The SPSP programme within HIS has developed a number of tools and resources which are publicly available via the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) website. These resources include the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) Safer Care Bundle, NSAID Communication Care Bundle, Medicines Sick Day Rule Cards, High Risk Medicines Framework and the High Risk Medicines Discussion Framework. All resources available on the HIS website are reviewed by the clinical team supporting HIS to ensure they remain up to date and beneficial, and are available for staff to use within their local settings.

Question reference: S6W-17626

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to help increase the number of people attending their breast screening in Ayrshire and Arran.

Question reference: S6W-17633

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, following the completion of the National Cancer Plan in March 2023, whether it will provide an update on the forthcoming publication of its new cancer strategy.

Question reference: S6W-17625

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 15 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what plans are in place to increase the number of people from the most deprived areas in Ayrshire and Arran to attend their breast screening, in light of recent evidence suggesting that they are less likely than those in the least deprived areas to attend a screening.

The Scottish Government welcomes the increase in uptake of breast screening, set out in the latest available data published by Public Health Scotland. However, we recognise that work is required to address the inequalities arising those from more deprived areas being less likely to attend for screening.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Public Health Team are currently examining the available data to establish areas where there are potential inequalities present that could reduce access to the Breast Screening Programme. This is likely to highlight areas of social and financial deprivation, and geographical isolation, which will allow for more targeted approaches to increasing uptake to take place.

The South West breast screening programme has an active social media campaign to raise awareness of the breast screening programme. In addition, appointments are available in the morning and evenings during the week to help accommodate access to screening. Alongside this, the Breast Screening Modernisation Programme and Equity in Screening strategy will consider inequality in uptake in the programme more generally.

Question reference: S6W-17532

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how the medicines reconciliation process for all inpatients is monitored within each NHS hospital.

Question reference: S6W-17540

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what policies and procedures are in place to support medicines reconciliation for all hospital inpatients upon (a) admission to, (b) transfer within and (c) discharge from hospital.

The medicines reconciliation process is set out at a national level, and the responsibility lies within each Health Board to enact and monitor adherence.

Board specific policies detail the roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals when completing and updating medicines reconciliation forms during admission, transfer, and discharge.

Arrangements may vary, therefore specific details could be obtained directly from the Health Boards.

Question reference: S6W-17539

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 28 April 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 11 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what policies and protocols are currently in place in NHS Scotland to ensure that people whose medicine is time-critical, such as those with Parkinson’s disease, receive their medication on time, every time, including when they are in hospital.

People living with Parkinson’s should be responsible for the administration of all their medicines, including during a stay in any health or care setting, unless a risk assessment indicates otherwise. There are several tools to help people to remember to take their medication, including using alarms on a digital watch, or setting a reminder on a smartphone, using medication reminder charts, using pill timer boxes and multi-compartment compliance aids. In health and care settings, including hospitals, organisational policies will define who can administer medicines, or the appropriate delegation of the administration of medicines, within that setting. This should include a policy for self-administration of medicines.

All registered healthcare professionals who administer medicines, or - when appropriate - delegate the administration of medicines, are accountable for their actions, and this includes recording when a dose of medication may have been missed. This is in line with professional and regulatory standards and guidance. Non-registered healthcare professionals are appropriately trained, assessed as competent and meet relevant organisational guidance on medicines administration.

The administration of Parkinson’s medications vary from person to person and does not always correspond with hospital ward medicine administration rounds for people who are not able to self-administer, and so the roll-out of a Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicine Administration (HEPMA) system across Scottish hospitals will help to reduce any missed doses, as well as providing a record of any omissions which provides data to support improvement in the administration of medicines. In addition, there are additional tools in use in some hospitals which can provide alerts as reminders to administer Parkinson’s medicines.

Question reference: S6O-02233

Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 17 May 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting the arts sector.