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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: S6W-00869

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many mesh removal surgeries have taken place in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-00868

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) hernia and (b) rectopexy mesh surgeries have been performed in each of the last 10 years.

Question reference: S6W-00855

Asked by: Willie Rennie, MSP for North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-32985 by Joe FitzPatrick on 23 November 2020, whether it will provide an update on the figures to date.

Further to the information highlighted by Mr Fitzpatrick in answer S5W-32985, please see the updated figures below as requested:

Purple and Red Incidents Attended, 01-01-2017-31-05-2021

		2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Purple	Incidents Attended	8,677	9,591	13,547	15,091	6,987
	>8 Minutes	2,544	2,874	4,463	6,278	2,978
	>8 Minutes %	29.3%	30.0%	32.9%	41.6%	42.6%
	>10 Minutes	1,623	1,826	2,903	4,243	1,992
	>10 Minutes %	18.7%	19.0%	21.4%	28.1%	28.5%
	>15 Minutes	542	604	1,028	1,518	790
	>15 Minutes %	6.2%	6.3%	7.6%	10.1%	11.3%
	>20 Minutes	206	230	376	608	314
	>20 Minutes %	2.4%	2.4%	2.8%	4.0%	4.5%
Red	Incidents Attended	55,549	67,535	80,867	70,105	32,923
	>8 Minutes	21,214	28,568	37,101	36,495	17,529
	>8 Minutes %	38.2%	42.3%	45.9%	52.1%	53.2%
	>10 Minutes	13,933	19,238	25,877	26,043	13,042
	>10 Minutes %	25.1%	28.5%	32.0%	37.1%	39.6%
	>15 Minutes	5,293	7,632	10,610	10,989	6,006
	>15 Minutes %	9.5%	11.3%	13.1%	15.7%	18.2%
	>20 Minutes	2,339	3,381	4,783	4,931	2,804
	>20 Minutes %	4.2%	5.0%	5.9%	7.0%	8.5%

Emergency Incidents Attended, 01-12-2020-31-05-2021

		Purple	Red	Amber	Yellow	Green
2020	December	1,414	6,547	16,092	17,877	127
2021	January	1,457	6,390	15,927	18,107	112
2021	February	1,149	5,756	14,644	15,620	191
2021	March	1,307	6,455	16,671	17,134	115
2021	April	1,375	6,564	16,199	18,220	117
2021	May	1,699	7,758	18,580	18,151	184

With regards to publishing demand figures, this is something undertaken by SAS which is produced and made available on their website on a bi-monthly basis.

Question reference: S6W-00844

Asked by: Pauline McNeill, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what the efficacy is of each of the COVID-19 vaccines that are in use in Scotland, broken down by (a) first and (b) second dose.

Due to the presence of new and emerging COVID-19 variants of concern, vaccine efficacy is continuously monitored and assessed. Public Health England (PHE) monitors the efficacy of COVID 19 vaccinations currently approved for use in the UK.

On 14 June PHE published its most recent analysis on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against hospital admission with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, first identified in India. The analysis suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after 2 doses.
‎ Note: These data remain subject to peer review.

Table 1: Estimated vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation

		Alpha			Delta
Vaccination status		OR vs symptomatic disease	HR vs hospitalisation	VE vs hospitalisation	OR vs symptomatic disease	HR vs hospitalisation	VE vs hospitalisation
Any vaccine
	Dose 1	0.51 (0.48-0.55)	0.44 (0.28-0.70)	78% (65-86)	0.69 (0.64-0.75)	0.37 (0.22-0.63)	75% (57-85)
	Dose 2	0.13 (0.1-0.15)	0.64 (0.24-1.72)	92% (78-97)	0.20 (0.18-0.23)	0.29 (0.11-0.72)	94% (85-98)

Pfizer
	Dose 1	0.53 (0.47-0.58)	0.32 (0.14-0.73)	83% (62-93)	0.64 (0.54-0.77)	0.10 (0.01-0.76)	94% (46-99)
	Dose 2	0.06 (0.05-0.08)	0.88 (0.21-3.77)	95% (78-99)	0.12 (0.1-0.15)	0.34 (0.10-1.18)	96% (86-99)

Astrazenica
	Dose 1	0.51 (0.48-0.55)	0.48 (0.30-0.77)	76% (61-85)	0.70 (0.65-0.76)	0.41 (0.24-0.70)	71% (51-83)
	Dose 2	0.26 (0.21-0.32)	0.53 (0.15-1.80)	86% (53-96)	0.33 (0.28-0.39)	0.25 (0.08-0.78)	92% (75-97)

OR =odds ratio. HR = hazards ratio. VE = vaccine effectiveness. OR vs symptomatic disease. HR and VE vs hospitalisation adjusted for age, clinically extremely vulnerable groups, ethnicity and test week

These findings indicate very high levels of protection against hospitalisation with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant with 1 or 2 doses of either vaccine.

PHE has previously published analysis showing that one dose is 17% less effective at preventing symptomatic illness from the Delta variant, compared to the Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, first identified in the UK. However, there is only a small difference after 2 doses.

For further information and data on this analysis please see:

Individuals who received the Moderna vaccine were not included in this efficacy analysis on the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, as this was a very small number.

In clinical trials with a Phase 3 placebo controlled testing in over 30,000 volunteers, the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine showed a vaccine efficacy of 94.1% (95% CI: 89.3-96.8%). Efficacy was similar in those over 65 years. Vaccine efficacy against severe COVID-19 was 100% (95% CI: 87.0-100%). Note: Trial data do not reflect efficacy against variants as Table 1. For further information on trial-based efficacy for other vaccines currently available in Scotland please refer to COVID-19: the green book, chapter 14a - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question reference: S6W-00885

Asked by: Monica Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the use of single-use plastic in medical settings.

NHS Scotland National Procurement works with NHS Boards to assess and evaluate all supply requirements, this includes an assessment of product substitution and material choice. Where replacement of a single use item is practical and meets infection control and regulatory requirements, then this is undertaken. Where product substitution is not possible, National Procurement works with manufacturers and suppliers to look at increasing recyclability and circular supply systems, ensuring the value in the material is maintained.

Question reference: S6W-00893

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many patients have contracted COVID-19 while attending the (a) Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, (b) Royal Alexandra Hospital and (c) Vale of Leven District Hospital.

Question reference: S6W-00896

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many times the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Infection Prevention and Control Team and the Health Protection Team have met to review occurrences of organisms or conditions, other than COVID-19, at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital since 17 March 2020, broken down by (a) date of and (b) reason for meeting.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Information relating to meetings between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Infection Prevention and Control Team and the Health Protection Team, is held by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The Scottish Government are only notified of incidents when they are reported by the NHS National Services Scotland, Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection Service, by means of the Outbreak Reporting System .

Question reference: S6W-00888

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 June 2021
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 19 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government how many cases of (a) aspergillus and (b) cryptococcus infection have been identified at (i) the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and (ii) any other hospital in Scotland in each of the last five years.

Question reference: S6W-01139

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government, further to discussions with the (a) Maritime and Coastguard Agency and (b) vessel’s owner, whether it will provide an update on the safety of the MV Pentalina for operation on Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service routes.

Question reference: S6W-01168

Asked by: Katy Clark, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2021
Current Status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 July 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that the time chartering of ferries for publicly subsidised routes is consistent with the commitment made in the Fair Work: action plan to increase the number of workers covered by collective bargaining.