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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-17069

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 2 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that there is appropriate availability of equipment and staff to roll out a scanning facility for post mortems in each health centre.

No forensic pathologists in Scotland utilise solely MRI or CT scanning for the purpose of carrying out post mortem examinations on behalf of the procurator fiscal. A research project is ongoing in Lothian, funded by Lothian Health Board for radiology research purposes, in which scanning is undertaken as an adjunct to full post mortem examination. There are no facilities elsewhere in Scotland which make provision for MRI or CT scanning in the context of post mortem examination. MRI and CT scanners are located within NHS facilities. They are operated by radiographers and the scans are interpreted by radiologists who are NHS staff, and not by pathologists. It is understood that these scanners are operating to capacity in examinations on living patients. Were it to be considered appropriate to use scanning for the purpose of post mortem examinations in death investigations in Scotland, this would require the provision of additional resources by way of equipment and staff.

I am advised that the efficacy of scanning as a means of undertaking post mortem examination is a matter of debate amongst professional pathologists in Scotland, and that many pathologists take the view that scanning would only be a suitable means of establishing the cause of death in cases where pathologists currently undertake non-invasive view and grant examinations.

A view and grant examination is a non-invasive process, consisting of a careful and detailed examination of the body and consideration of the medical records. The procurator fiscal will always consider whether a view and grant examination would be sufficient. However, it is a matter for the pathologist, who has a professional responsibility to certify the cause of the death, and to do so in a manner which can, if necessary, be professionally justified, whether a view and grant examination will suffice.

Question reference: S5W-17063

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by James Wolffe QC on 2 August 2018

To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what percentage of deaths that were reported to a procurator fiscal were then referred to a pathologist in each of the last five years, broken down by health centre.

The following table shows the number of deaths reported to the Procurator Fiscal in the financial years 2013 to 2018 along with the number and percentage of post mortem examinations carried out as a subset of that total.

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) does not hold information about the health centre areas however the table shows a breakdown of the figures for each of the SFIU area teams.

			Post Mortem Examinations
Financial Year	SFIU Area	Death Reports Received	Total PM examinations	as a % of total death reports received
2013-14	EAST	3,334	1,797	54%
	NORTH	2,082	1,367	66%
	WEST	4,133	2,765	67%
	Total	9,549	5,929	62%
2014-15	EAST	3,301	1,959	59%
	NORTH	1,724	1,387	80%
	WEST	4,148	2,992	72%
	Total	9,173	6,338	69%
2015-16	EAST	3,298	2,120	64%
	NORTH	1,944	1,426	73%
	WEST	4,337	3,073	71%
	Total	9,579	6,619	69%
2016-17	EAST	3,168	1,693	53%
	NORTH	2,825	1,190	42%
	WEST	4,938	2,889	59%
	Total	10,931	5,772	53%
2017-18	EAST	3,124	1,730	55%
	NORTH	2,460	1,243	51%
	WEST	5,272	2,862	54%
	Total	10,856	5,835	54%

Question reference: S5W-17061

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths were recorded by each health centre in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S5W-17684

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made on a no-fault compensation scheme for clinical injury since the publication of its response to the consultation on this issue in April 2014.

We consulted on draft outline proposals for a no-blame redress scheme between March and August 2016.

Since then, we have established an Openness and Learning Unit in the Scottish Government's Quality & Improvement Directorate. The Unit is working with health and care professionals to create a health and social care environment that uses knowledge from adverse events to inform continuous improvement to health and care services in a culture that embraces openness and learning without fear when things go wrong.

When harm occurs the focus must be on personal contact with those affected; support and a process of review and action that is meaningful and informed by the principles of learning and continuous improvement. The Duty of Candour Procedure (Scotland) Regulations place, which we introduced on 1 April, place this on a legal footing.

I am considering the responses to the redress consultation and how a scheme would contribute to openness, learning and continuous improvement, a key element of any redress arrangements. The Scottish Government’s response to the consultation will be published in the autumn.

Question reference: S5W-17683

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 July 2018
Current Status: Answered by Jeane Freeman on 31 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of it being introduced in England and Wales, whether it will introduce an NHS indemnity for GPs in Scotland.

Question reference: S5W-17369

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what its position in on the effectiveness of NHS Tayside’s approach to dealing with the hepatitis C virus, and whether it is considering asking the other NHS boards to adopt a similar approach.

Question reference: S5W-17242

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many hepatitis C virus tests have been offered in each prison in each of the last three years, also broken down by how many (a) were (i) accepted and (ii) declined and (b) resulted in a prisoner being tested positive for the virus.

Question reference: S5W-17241

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 July 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of the recent meeting between the Minister for Public Health and Sport and the NHS Tayside blood-borne virus managed clinical network leads.

My predecessor in this role, Aileen Campbell MSP, greatly valued the opportunity to see first-hand the excellent work being done by NHS Tayside. Health Protection Scotland is developing advice for the Scottish Government on how hepatitis C infection could be eliminated in Scotland and once I have received this expert advice I will give further consideration to a strategy to eliminate hepatitis C infection.

Question reference: S5O-02260

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 June 2018
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the media industry regarding the role that it can play in challenging Islamophobia.

Question reference: S5W-16900

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 01 June 2018
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 June 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, in the light of the US National comprehensive clinical updated guidelines on using F-18 fluviclovivine (Axumin) in diagnostic imaging in men with recurrent prostate cancer, whether it will recommend that clinicians should consider using Axumin in positronic emission tomography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging in helping to determine the best treatment.

The Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) assesses the effectiveness and proven benefit to patients of new technologies, and they advise NHS Scotland where there is a convincing evidence base.

In 2017, SHTG found limited evidence supporting the use of Axumin for the detection of a suspected recurrent prostate cancer. The evidence base will be reviewed again in 2019, if not sooner should substantial new evidence become available.