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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: S5W-29956

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 15 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has sold, or allowed access to, COVID-19-related health data, including patients' personal medical information, to any third party and, if so, (a) what data, (b) to whom and (c) for what reason.

Question reference: S5W-30076

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 18 June 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 9 July 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to highlight the increased risks from stagnant water and Legionnaires' disease to businesses such as hotels and leisure centres that are currently closed due to COVID-19, and to inform the public of ways to minimise the risks of contracting the disease.

The Health and Safety Executive have published advice on the risk of Legionella in buildings which are closed or running with reduced occupancy during the COVID-19 crisis. This can be found on the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) website at https://rehis.com/story/legionella-risks-during-coronavirus-outbreak

Advice on mitigating the risks of legionella has not changed as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown period. The recent publication of advice is to serve as a reminder of the responsibilities of those in control of buildings which may have been out of use, to reduce the risk of a Legionnaire’s Disease outbreak.

Question reference: S5T-02267

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 15 June 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 16 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the review into the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Question reference: S5W-28901

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 2 June 2020

To ask the Scottish Government who the members are of its COVID-19-related scientific advisory group; when the minutes of the group's meetings will be published, and whether special advisers attend its meetings in an official or informal basis.

Question reference: S5W-28760

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether volunteers who have been recruited for the NHS and care sectors in response to the COVID-19 outbreak will be among those providing telephone support to the extremely vulnerable group of people being asked to shield at home.

In partnership with NHS Education for Scotland, the Scottish Government set up the Health and Social Care Covid-19 Accelerated Recruitment Portal at the end of March to enable those with relevant skills and experience to come forward and support health and social care services.

The Health and Social Care Portal is one of three strands of Covid-19 recruitment and volunteering encouraged by the ‘Scotland Cares’ campaign, hosted on the Ready Scotland website. As more than 76,000 applications have been received across all three strands, the campaign has been temporarily paused with effect from 30 April.

The returners and students who have registered with the Portal are being considered for paid positions within NHS Boards across Scotland and are unlikely to be among those providing telephone support to the extremely vulnerable group of people being asked to shield at home.

However the two other strands of “Scotland Cares” offer alternative options for individuals to offer a variety of health and care services in support of their communities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic:

- To help public services, individuals are directed towards the British Red Cross: Community Reserve Volunteer scheme;

- To help voluntary and community organisations, individuals are directed towards the Volunteer Scotland recruitment website.

The British Red Cross and Volunteer Scotland schemes connect to local authority and third sector activity in communities, creating a pool of volunteers for local organisations to draw upon and deploy as required. The roles already being undertaken by these volunteers include food-parcel distribution, shopping assistance, medicine delivery and making welfare calls.

All local authorities have established local helplines in order to identify and respond to the needs of shielded individuals in their area. Those who are advised to shield have been sent a letter setting out the support which is available to them, including details of local helplines.

Question reference: S5W-28758

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask Scottish Government how many people with blood cancer have had (a) CAR-T cell therapy and (b) a stem cell transplant in each of the last six months for which data is available, and what impact the COVID-19 outbreak has had on access to this.

Between 1 November 2019 and 30 April 2020, 15 adult patients who were thought by their local specialist to require further treatment for certain types of lymphoma were referred to and considered by the Scottish lymphoma CAR -T Multi-Disciplinary Team. 10 of these patients were considered to be suitable for treatment with one of the two currently licensed and SMC recommended CAR-T therapies. These patients were then referred for further assessment and treatment to either the Scottish adult CAR-T service in Glasgow or to a specialist centre in England. Referring and treating clinicians are considering the potential consequences of the pandemic and the risks of proceeding with treatment in the current climate versus the risk of either delaying or offering alternative treatments, with patients assessed on a case by case basis. Referrals to the adult centre in Glasgow and other providers in England have been accepted over the last 2 weeks.

The Scottish Cancer Registry has confirmed cancer registration data up to December 2018. CAR-T cell therapy is a treatment introduced after 2018. Therefore, Public Health Scotland do not have this registration information yet.

Table 1 shows information on the number of hospital admissions for patients who received a stem cell transplant and had a diagnosis of blood cancer in each of the last six months for which data are available.

Table 1:

Month	Number of patients
January 2019	23
February 2019	20
March 2019	17
April 2019	16
May 2019	27
June 2019	16

The information requested in section (b) of this question is not held centrally.

Question reference: S5W-28915

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether the recently-announced COVID-19-related death in service payment for the families of NHS staff will be funded by it directly and not from the NHS superannuation scheme.

Question reference: S5W-28902

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to (a) pregnant women and (b) new mothers in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and how services are linking up to ensure that (i) perinatal mental health is being prioritised and (ii) a message is relayed to mothers regarding how to seek any help that they might require.

Staying at home for a prolonged period of time can be difficult, frustrating and lonely for some people. Health visitors, midwives or GPs are the best sources of advice and should be contacted if pregnant women or new mothers feel they are struggling emotionally or if they have any concerns about their mental wellbeing and wellbeing.

The Scottish Government has produced two leaflets providing information on pregnancy, maternity care and care of a new baby during the COVID-19 outbreak. These are being distributed to all pregnant women and parents of new born babies via their midwife/health visitor.

In August 2019 we announced £225,000 for services to support new mums at risk of poor mental health, which was to help ‘build the third sector’. This was extended for a further five months in 2020 to provide continuation of services and to plan for scaling up and expansion in the next financial year. These organisations are being supported to work within Covid-19 limitations.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund was launched in May 2020 and will provide funding from August 2020 through to March 2023 of up to £1 million per year. The fund is open to third sector organisations working to support and promote perinatal and infant mental health in Scotland.

To increase awareness of available services, an online digital directory of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health services has been created. The primary audience is midwifes and health visitors however the tool can also be used by parents. The directory can be accessed here: https://www.inspiringscotland.org.uk/perinatal-mental-health-services/

Up to date information is also on NHS Inform, Ready Steady Baby, Parent Club and Clear Your Head sites. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) also issue guidance for women and for professionals, including information about perinatal and infant mental health during Covid-19.

Antenatal classes have been paused in most Health Board areas. To ensure that all pregnant women across Scotland continue to have access to antenatal information and advice, the Scottish Government has purchased a 6 month licence for the Solihull Approach online antenatal course. The course is free to access, provides expectant parents with practical information about pregnancy and birth and covers all of the information given in a traditional face to face antenatal class. This includes support on managing emotions and relaxation strategies.

The course went live online last month and has been well received by both pregnant women and midwives.

Question reference: S5W-28757

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many people with (a) chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, (b) myeloproliferative neoplasms and (c) other blood cancers have received a letter from (i) the Chief Medical Officer and (ii) their local clinical care team asking them to shield at home for 12 weeks from the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Scottish Government does not hold the specific breakdown of information requested. In total, there were 20,883 individuals on the shielding list that were requested to shield as part of the bloods cancers category the question refers to. This figure excludes non-Scottish residents. A specialist group of Haematologists in Scotland convened to further inform which patients should be considered at high risk. This work concluded on 14th April.

Question reference: S5W-28899

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 15 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what advice it offers on the prescribing of graded exercise therapy to people who are diagnosed with ME, and what impact the COVID-19 outbreak is having on access to this.