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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: S5W-19254

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2018
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 22 October 2018

To ask Scottish Government how it will ensure that proposed domiciliary dental care, which is set out in the Oral Health Improvement Plan, will be compatible with the General Dental Council’s standards document.

Question reference: S5W-19255

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 05 October 2018
Submitting member has a registered interest.
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 22 October 2018

To ask Scottish Government how it will ensure that the proposed payment change to encourage dentists to give more advice to patients, which is set out in the Oral Health Improvement Plan, will not result in dentists being penalised if patients do not follow that advice.

The Oral Health Improvement Plan sets out a programme of phased introduction of Oral Health Risk Assessments (OHRA) for adult patients. The purpose of these assessments is to ensure that patients receive personalised care plans in relation to oral cancer, gum disease and decay according to their degree of risk.

The intention would be to link any future payments to actual care and treatment provided by GDPs, in this case the assessment, and any related treatment. In developing the OHRA cognisance will be taken of the need to the train dentists in effective communication skills.

Question reference: S5W-19088

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 17 October 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential for self-sampling to increase coverage of cervical screening.

The Scottish Government takes advice from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises Ministers and the NHS in the four UK countries about all aspects of screening policy.

The UK NSC are currently reviewing the evidence for HPV self-sampling as an additional test to address non-attendance within the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. We await advice from the UK NSC and will carefully consider any recommendations provided.

Question reference: S5W-19229

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-18315

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many Scotland-domiciled (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students have enrolled at medical schools in Scotland in each of the last 10 years, also broken down by the percentage of medical students that this represented.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects, processes and
publishes data about Higher Education delivered at Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) in the UK, including at both undergraduate and
postgraduate level.

The following two tables show the total number of Scottish domiciled
medical students (both pre-clinical and clinical) who were enrolled at
Scottish HEIs over the last 10 years, the total number of medical
enrolments, and also the percentage that are Scottish domiciled. This is
shown for undergraduates in Table 1 and postgraduates in Table 2.

Table 1: Medicine undergraduate enrolments to Scottish HEIs

Year	Number of Scottish domiciled enrolments	Total number of enrolments	% that are Scottish domiciled
2007-08	2,655	4,630	57%
2008-09	2,650	4,610	58%
2009-10	2,640	4,610	57%
2010-11	2,640	4,685	56%
2011-12	2,680	4,870	55%
2012-13	2,630	4,840	54%
2013-14	2,595	4,845	54%
2014-15	2,535	4,795	53%
2015-16	2,495	4,760	52%
2016-17	2,535	4,735	54%

Source: HESA Student data, SG analysis

Enrolments cover all years of study

Numbers are full-person equivalent

Numbers rounded to nearest 5

Medicine includes JACS codes pre-clinical (A100) and clinical medicine (A300)

Table 2: Medicine postgraduate enrolments to Scottish HEIs

Year	Number of Scottish domiciled enrolments	Total number of enrolments	% that are Scottish domiciled
2007-08	835	1,305	64%
2008-09	870	1,455	60%
2009-10	860	1,540	56%
2010-11	795	1,365	58%
2011-12	760	1,335	57%
2012-13	835	1,470	57%
2013-14	875	1,630	54%
2014-15	840	1,630	52%
2015-16	775	1,590	49%
2016-17	730	1,510	48%

Source: HESA Student data, SG analysis

Enrolments cover all years of study

Numbers are full-person equivalent

Numbers rounded to nearest 5

Medicine includes JACS codes pre-clinical (A100) and clinical medicine (A300)

‘Medicine’ subject codes at postgraduate level cover a range of study at Masters
and PhD level, and over a wide range of courses at clinical medicine (including
Child Health, Surgical Sciences and Cardiovascular Sciences to name a few),
and pre-clinical medicine (including Physician Associate Studies).

Question reference: S5W-18316

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 27 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of Scotland-domiciled students at medical schools in Scotland in each of the last 10 years found subsequent employment in NHS Scotland.

The information requested is not available in entirety.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects, processes and publishes data about Higher Education delivered at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK, including at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

HESA introduced a question in 2016-17 in the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey that records whether a recent leaver from University is working for the NHS. This information, combined with location of work, can provide an estimate of the proportion of leavers working for NHS Scotland. As the DLHE is an optional survey of leavers, numbers reflect only those students who have responded to the survey –typically around 80% for leavers from medicine courses.

The following table has been split into ‘first degree clinical medicine’ leavers (typical medical graduates) and ‘All’ leavers which will include other undergraduate and postgraduate study.

Destinations of known Scottish domiciled first degree leavers in a medicine subject,

6 months after leaving in 2016-17

	NHS and working in Scotland	NHS and working elsewhere in UK	Other	Total
First Degree Clinical Medicine Leavers	335	70	5	410
First Degree Clinical Medicine Leavers	81%	17%	NA	100%
All Medicine Subject Leavers	420	75	105	600
All Medicine Subject Leavers	70%	12%	17%	100%

Source: HESA Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE)

Notes:

Data based on DLHE sample survey, 6 months after leaving, and represents around 80% of leavers from medicine courses.
Scottish domiciled students at Scottish HEIs
Numbers rounded to nearest 5, percentages based on unrounded numbers, but supressed if relating to less than 22.5 leavers.
Results based on HESA variable NHSORG
Those working and involved in further study have been counted as working.
Other Destination includes ‘Further Study’, 'Unemployed', 'Other Destinations’ and ‘Unknown’'.

‘All Medical Subject Leavers’ includes all pre-clinical and clinical undergraduate and postgraduate leavers. Pre-clinical undergraduate leavers will typically be from St Andrews University who will undertake clinical medicine at a separate university. At postgraduate level this covers a range of study at Masters and PhD level, over a wide range of courses at clinical medicine (including Child Health, Surgical Sciences and Cardiovascular Sciences to name a few), and pre-clinical medicine (including Physician Associate Studies).

Question reference: S5W-18441

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Department for Education's recent announcement regarding mandatory CPR training in schools in England and the British Heart Foundation's campaign on the issue, what its position is on introducing such training in Scotland's schools, and what its response is to reported international evidence suggesting that such an approach can increase survival rates.

Unlike in England and Wales, the curriculum in Scotland is not statutory, and is therefore not prescribed by the Scottish Government. It is therefore not possible for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to be introduced in the Scottish Curriculum in the same way, although under Curriculum for Excellence schools have the flexibility to provide CPR training.

It is for schools and local authorities to decide if and when to best deliver CPR learning opportunities and many do. Work with schools to support CPR learning is a priority for Save a Life for Scotland, the partnership in increasing CPR skills informed by international evidence. We welcome schools and local authorities commitment for young people to learn CPR. The Scottish Government recognise that in many schools across Scotland CPR learning is already embedded.

Question reference: S5W-18770

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 September 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government when the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service last met Blood Bikes Scotland.

Question reference: S5T-01233

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 September 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 25 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what arrangements it is making for ordering the enhanced flu vaccination for the forthcoming immunisation programme.

Question reference: S5W-18445

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 August 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 20 September 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with experts who have developed strategies in other countries that have improved survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.