- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the provision of ventilation and respiratory services and the monitoring and support of patients using these services is as good as possible and that there is equity of service across Scotland.
Answer
It is for each NHS board to ensure that they provide care that is safe, effective and person centred, taking into account local service needs, national guidance and clinical standards. There are Respiratory Managed Clinical Networks in place to ensure a co-ordinated approach to improving respiratory services locally.
NHS National Services Scotland commission services such as Respiratory Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) and the home oxygen service on behalf of all NHS boards in Scotland. NSS has a role in ensuring that the services provided are of the highest quality and can be accessed by patients from all parts of Scotland.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when parity for payments made in respect of children and adults in hospice care will be implemented.
Answer
<>The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring parity in public sector funding for adult and children’s hospices. An interim funding arrangement which reduces the gap has been agreed for 2016-17. We have initiated a review of hospice funding to report by December 2016 which will include proposals for achieving parity.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it will announce details of its support for three PhD research studentships on motor neurone disease.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00421 on 15 June 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 6 June 2016, Women urged to go for smear test, what steps it is taking to improve the uptake of cervical screening among women (a) over 50, (b) with learning difficulties and (c) in deprived areas.
Answer
Scottish Government officials meet cervical screening coordinators from all NHS boards on a quarterly basis to share best practice in promoting cervical screening services, development of initiatives to improve uptake and how best to communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
The Scottish Government is currently working with NHS Health Scotland, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, Cancer Research UK and the territorial boards to develop an awareness raising campaign which will aim to increase awareness of cervical screening among all women. During a second phase the campaign will be targeted towards women aged over 50. NHS boards have also sited information stalls at leisure centres and other community settings to target women over 50.
Recent local initiatives to increase the screening uptake for women with learning difficulties have included delivering training to day centre staff who work with people with learning difficulties and having dedicated staff working with women with learning difficulties, facilitating cervical screening and then assisting during appointments. We also encourage all NHS boards to utilise the information materials available to them in discussing cervical screening with women who have learning difficulties. In particular, the two easy read leaflets in NHS Health Scotland's 'Keep Yourself Healthy' series which deal with cervical screening, both of which are available to support people with learning difficulties in making an informed decision.
Initiatives which have taken place recently to increase uptake among women in deprived areas include events being held at local colleges; dedicated nurses working with the local homeless and travelling women to assist them with GP registration; and full health assessments including screening tests and evening clinics being held in GP practices in the most deprived areas.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as the primary test in the cervical cancer screening programme, following recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee.
Answer
The Scottish Government is currently working with NHS Scotland on the development of a business case on the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing to the cervical screening programme. This business case is expected to be submitted later in 2016 and Scottish Ministers will make a decision on the future use of HPV testing in the programme on the basis of the evidence and assessment it provides.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-29382 by Maureen Watt on 29 January 2016, during which month in 2017 it will introduce the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) as part of the bowel screening programme to replace the fecal occult blood test (FOBT).
Answer
The faecal immunochemical test (FIT) Implementation Group, which includes Scottish Government officials, is actively working to introduce FIT as a first line test in the Scottish Bowel Screening Programme, but a final date for implementation has not yet been confirmed. The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing this change to the programme in 2017.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 6 June 2016, Women urged to go for smear test, what recent assessment it has made of the reasons that women in different age groups might not attend cervical screening.
Answer
The Scottish Government commissioned NHS Health Scotland to undertake research with women into the reasons for non-uptake of the screening invitation in 2015. This research was carried out with women from both younger and older age groups and will be used to consider how we can deliver targeted communications to different age groups to improve uptake of cervical screening.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its news release of 6 June 2016, Women urged to go for smear test, what recent assessment it has made of the barriers that might deter women from attending cervical screening.
Answer
The Scottish Government commissioned NHS Health Scotland to undertake research with women into the reasons for non-uptake of the screening invitation at the end of 2015. A large part of this research focused on the facilitators and barriers to uptake. The results of this work has informed the communications strategy which supports the cervical screening programme and has fed into the development of an upcoming awareness raising campaign.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many cleaners have been employed in the NHS in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
While information on how many cleaning staff have been directly employed in each NHS board in each year since 1999 is not centrally held, information on the pre-agenda for change ancillary staff group from 30 September 1999 to 30 September 2006 is published by Information Services Division Scotland (ISD) and can be found in the following link:
http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Historic-Data/WFG01_HB_REG.xls
Information on the number of whole time equivalent staff working in hotel services from 30 September 2007 to 31 March 2016 is published by ISD Scotland and can be found in the following link:
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2016-06-07/Non-Medical_Trend_M2016.xls
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 June 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 24 June 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many heart auto pulse machines are available in the Scottish Ambulance Service and what plans it has to increase the number.
Answer
The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) are currently trialling three heart Autopulse machines in the south east of Scotland as part of their approach to Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). There are also two Autopulse machines available to SCOTstar, the national specialist transport and retrieval service.
SAS continually reviews the available evidence about the best way to respond to OHCA to give patients the best chance of survival and recovery, and reviews its training and equipment requirements based on this evidence.