Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-00585

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have attended the A&E unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in each of the last 12 months, and what information it has regarding what postcode area they live.

The number of monthly attendances at each A&E unit in Scotland is published by Information Services Division Scotland and can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Emergency-Care/Publications/data-tables.asp

The following table shows the number of people that have attended the emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Queen Elizabeth University Hospital was opened on 2 May 2015 and therefore the latest available information between 2 May 2015 and 30 April 2016 has been provided.

Number of A&E attendances at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital between 2 May 2015 and 30 April 2016. Figures are broken down by postal area and month of attendance.

Month	Glasgow postal area ("G")	Motherwell postal area ("ML")	Paisley postal area ("PA")	Other Scotland postal areas	Non Scotland postal areas	Not known	Total Attendances
May-15	4,271	43	510	110		56	4,990
June-15	6,375	46	455	104	1	92	7,073
July-15	6,385	48	441	131		142	7,147
August-15	6,826	66	465	156		136	7,649
September-15	6,423	59	465	145	2	102	7,196
October-15	6,549	61	436	168	2	102	7,318
November-15	6,358	51	405	140	1	91	7,046
December-15	6,649	57	450	137	2	109	7,404
January-16	6,919	58	463	129		96	7,665
February-16	6,591	52	441	122	1	80	7,287
March-16	7,183	77	501	141	1	109	8,012
April-16	6,821	66	417	158		106	7,568

Source: A&E Datamart, ISD Scotland

Question reference: S5W-00587

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have attended the A&E unit at the (a) Glasgow Royal Infirmary and (b) Royal Alexandra Hospital in each of the last 24 months, and what information it has regarding what postcode area they live.

The number of monthly attendances at each A&E unit in Scotland is published by Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland and can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Emergency-Care/Publications/data-tables.asp

The following table shows the number of people that have attended the emergency department at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The figures in the table provide the latest available information between 1 May 2014 and 30 April 2016.

Number of A&E attendances at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary between 1 May 2014 and 30 April 2016. Figures are broken down by postal area and month of attendance.

Month	Glasgow postal area ("G")	Motherwell postal area ("ML")	Paisley postal area ("PA")	Other Scotland postal areas	Non Scotland postal areas	Not known	Total Attendances
May-14	6,860	154	86	153	141		7,394
June-14	6,493	133	74	167	139		7,006
July-14	6,745	148	95	167	300	1	7,456
August-14	6,413	150	79	162	242	1	7,047
September-14	6,551	132	83	178	147	1	7,092
October-14	6,523	122	74	165	149	2	7,035
November-14	6,341	126	75	184	127	2	6,855
December-14	6,003	132	74	151	145	2	6,507
January-15	6,190	104	63	142	99		6,598
February-15	5,656	104	72	165	124	1	6,122
March-15	6,339	121	79	178	142		6,859
April-15	6,121	101	72	154	163	1	6,612
May-15	6,608	105	61	149	135		7,058
June-15	7,025	114	90	153	175	1	7,558
July-15	7,175	122	81	154	196		7,728
August-15	7,422	136	87	180	243	3	8,071
September-15	7,121	118	89	171	186	1	7,686
October-15	7,358	124	81	213	162	2	7,940
November-15	6,707	119	85	224	172	3	7,310
December-15	6,667	140	89	185	165	2	7,248
January-16	6,746	108	76	166	149		7,245
February-16	6,712	134	83	208	158	1	7,296
March-16	7,646	115	68	182	201	3	8,215
April-16	6,931	138	85	174	178	2	7,508

Source: A&E Datamart, ISD Scotland

The following table shows the number of people that have attended the Emergency Department at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. The figures in the table provide the latest available information between 1 May 2014 and 30 April 2016.

Number of A&E attendances at the Royal Alexandra Hospital between 1 May 2014 and 30 April 2016. Figures are broken down by postal area and month of attendance.

Month	Glasgow postal area ("G")	Motherwell postal area ("ML")	Paisley postal area ("PA")	Other Scotland postal areas	Non Scotland postal areas	Not known	Total Attendances
May-14	1,315	8	4,446	156	62	2	5,989
June-14	1,321	19	4,483	173	72		6,068
July-14	1,344	22	4,432	205	85		6,088
August-14	1,295	19	4,499	177	106		6,096
September-14	1,315	19	4,408	153	62		5,957
October-14	1,243	13	4,202	149	60		5,667
November-14	1,375	16	4,029	148	41		5,609
December-14	1,326	12	3,953	152	50		5,493
January-15	1,286	14	4,006	134	38		5,478
February-15	1,154	18	3,715	124	38	1	5,050
March-15	1,342	15	4,116	148	52	1	5,674
April-15	1,211	12	3,988	185	67		5,463
May-15	1,345	14	4,160	161	62		5,742
June-15	1,317	10	4,270	158	55		5,810
July- 15	1,262	15	4,084	167	71		5,599
August-15	1,367	17	4,401	187	102	1	6,075
September-15	1,224	22	4,218	167	54	4	5,689
October-15	1,337	20	4,084	150	59		5,650
November-15	1,210	10	3,829	139	53		5,241
December-15	1,328	7	3,854	137	51		5,377
January-16	1,285	14	4,122	153	26		5,600
February-16	1,282	15	3,876	143	44		5,360
March-16	1,473	14	4,443	160	47	1	6,138
April-16	1,281	18	4,147	144	47	1	5,638

Source: A&E Datamart, ISD Scotland

Question reference: S5W-00589

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 22 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many clinical nurse specialists are employed by the NHS.

As at 30 September 2015 there were 2,035.3 whole time equivalent (WTE) clinical nurse specialists in NHSScotland – an increase of 689.1 WTE, or 51.2 per cent under this government*.

In 2015-16 this government invested over £2.4 million of recurring funding to enhance access to specialist nursing and care, including the appointment of additional specialist nurses in NHS boards.

*(Source: 2006 ISD(M)50, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland; 2015 Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS); ISD Scotland)

Question reference: S5W-00658

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government which drug rehabilitation programmes it provides funding for, also broken down by NHS board.

The Scottish Government does not directly fund any drug rehabilitation programmes.

Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided funding towards Scotland's 30 alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs), embedded within existing community planning structures. ADPs have clear responsibility for developing local strategies and to make sure there is access to a range of appropriate treatment services to promote recovery according to local need and in line with the evidence base for effective treatment provision. £30.4 million was provided to NHS boards for frontline drug treatment services and support in 2015-16.

The following table provides a breakdown of the range of different treatment options offered across health boards between April 2014 and March 2015:

NHS Board	Total	Structured preparatory and motivational intervention	Prescribed drug treatment (including but not exclusively methadone)	Community based detoxification	Community based support and/or rehabilitation	Residential detoxification and rehabilitation
NHS Scotland	21523	9838 (46%)	3332 (15%)	263 (1%)	7572 (35%)	518 (2%)
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	1554	78 (5%)	350 (23%)	83 (5%)	1034 (67%)	9 (1%)
NHS Borders	236	158 (67%)	45 (19%)	7 (3%)	19 (8%)	7 (3%)
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	532	223 (42%)	70 (13%)	*	236 (44%)	*
NHS Fife	2031	785 (39%)	273 (13%)	*	960 (47%)	*
NHS Forth Valley	881	644 (73%)	150 (17%)	-	*	*
NHS Grampian	2002	980 (49%)	638 (32%)	-	339 (17%)	45 (2%)
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	5961	3732 (63%)	587 (10%)	*	1239 (21%)	*
NHS Highland	643	291 (45%)	173 (27%)	*	169 (26%)	*
NHS Lanarkshire	3171	1251 (39%)	276 (9%)	153 (5%)	1466 (46%)	25 (1%)
NHS Lothian	2728	939 (34%)	306 (11%)	*	1475 (54%)	*
NHS Orkney	14	*	-	-	*	-
NHS Shetland	52	*	*	*	15 (29%)	-
NHS Tayside	1641	688 (42%)	439 (27%)	*	511 (31%)	*
NHS Western Isles	77	43 (56%)	*	*	23 (30%)	5 (6%)

*Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure and to help maintain client confidentiality.

Data source: Information Services Division Scotland (ISD) Management Information – drug and alcohol waiting times treatment tables provided by ISD on 15 June 2016 – note that these figures were extracted from the database more recently than the latest published statistics available.

Question reference: S5W-00656

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been on the methadone programme since 2011-12, also broken down by NHS board.

In October 2015, information services division Scotland published analysis of individuals on methadone based on those prescriptions with a valid community health index (CHI) number. This analysis was published on the ScotPHO website, and can be accessed here, with the caveat that due to sub-optimal CHI capture rates, the estimates should be regarded as a minimum count of individuals on methadone hydrochloride in Scotland. The results of this analysis were:

In 2014-15, methadone 1mg/ml solution was prescribed at least once to 25,170 individuals (based on prescriptions with a valid CHI).

The number of individuals prescribed methadone 1mg/ml solution appears to have reduced from 26,202 individuals in 2011-12.

In 2014-15, 117,578 (or 27%) of prescriptions did not have a valid CHI number. It is not possible to determine how many additional individuals prescribed methadone 1mg/ml solution would have been identified had these data been complete.

Question reference: S5W-00654

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how much the methadone programme has cost (a) in total and (b) each year since 2011-12, broken down by NHS board.

Scotland does not have a methadone programme. Substitute prescribing, including methadone, is one component in a package of care, treatment and recovery that can be offered to individuals to help them recover from drug addiction. Decisions on the type of treatment to prescribe are for clinicians, in discussion with their clients.

The specific costs relating to the prescribing of methadone, including ingredient costs and supervision costs, broken down by NHS board and covering the requested years, are published regularly on the ScotPHO website and can be accessed here: http://www.scotpho.org/downloads/drugs/Drugs-prescribing-2014-2015.xls%20, table three provides the specific information requested.

Question reference: S5W-00659

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 09 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 20 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what drug-related abstinence programmes it has funded since 2011-12, also broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-00461

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding what drugs have been approved for use by the Scottish Medicines Consortium but not by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, also broken down by their intended use.

Question reference: S5W-00459

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many notifications it has received in the last year of GP practices being closed to new patients, broken down by NHS board.

NHS boards do not formally notify the Scottish Government when they agree with an independently contracted practice that it can temporarily close its patient list. We expect health boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate on these occasions to help manage the situation and ensure that all patients have access to GP services.

The following table shows the number of practices which were temporarily closed to new patients last year (2015 calendar year) by NHS board.

NHS Board	Closed to new patient registrations
Ayrshire and Arran	0
Borders	0
Dumfries and Galloway	0
Fife	0
Forth Valley	0
Grampian	0
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	4
Highland	0
Lanarkshire	3
Lothian	0
Orkney	0
Shetland	0
Tayside	4
Western Isles	0
Total	11

Question reference: S5W-00458

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 06 June 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 16 June 2016

To ask the Scottish Government how many full-time GPs there have been in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

The Primary Care Workforce Survey Scotland 2015, published 14 June 2016, shows that the estimated whole time equivalent number of GPs was 3,645 in 2015.

The Primary Care Workforce Survey does not collect data annually, however the table below shows GP headcount figures in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board (data are as at 30 September 2015):

Board/Year	2013	2014	2015
Ayrshire and Arran	329	335	331
Borders	118	120	117
Dumfries and Galloway	152	148	138
Fife	277	275	269
Forth Valley	270	268	265
Grampian	549	565	561
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	1,070	1,077	1,055
Highland	393	393	391
Lanarkshire	406	412	462
Lothian	851	852	891
Orkney	29	26	31
Shetland	26	28	31
Tayside	378	394	372
Western Isles	38	34	31
Scotland	4,881	4,921	4,938

Data source: General Practitioner Contractor Database, Information Services Division, NHS National Services Scotland, published in December 2015. http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/General-Practice/Publications/data-tables.asp

Please note that GPs may hold multiple posts simultaneously and therefore the Scotland total may not equal the sum of the different types of GP post or the sum of the headcount in the different boards.

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