- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many postgraduate medical students it anticipates will be admitted to Scottish universities in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025, broken down by medical school, and, of these, how many it anticipates will be Scottish-domiciled residents.
Answer
As postgraduate medical students do not form part of the controlled medical school intake the Scottish Government is unable to respond.
Universities are independent, autonomous institutions responsible for their own selection procedures and offers, with intake numbers and the breakdown of these a decision for each individual medical schools.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many undergraduate medical students it anticipates will be admitted to Scottish universities in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025, and, of these, how many it anticipates will be designated as Scottish funded entrants.
Answer
The Programme for Government (PfG) 2021 commits to expanding medical school places by at least 100 per annum over this lifetime of this Parliament and doubling the number of widening access places. The medical undergraduate intake for 2022-23 has been set at 1317, of which it is anticipated that 1,239 students will be Scots/UK/ROI or Gibraltar and 78 will be international including EU. This intake represents an increase of 200 places above the 2021/22 intake target of 1,117 thereby delivering the first two tranches of the PfG commitment.
The Scottish Government is committed to growing the number of Scottish domiciled students studying medicine at Scottish universities as a policy priority through widening access and other targeted interventions. Places reserved for widening access students are being increased by 30 (bringing the total to 90) and pre-medical entry places are being increased by 20 (bringing the total to 70 places) in 2022-23.
Intake targets for 2023-24 and 2024-25 have not yet been set but will be considered in light of the PfG commitment.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how many people have been prosecuted for elder abuse in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. The various charges that such crimes could be prosecuted under do not allow for the age of the abused to be determined.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 May 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 12 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the actions of Well Pharmacy, in light of reports that the company is insisting that staff who test positive for COVID-19 continue to work when they are in patient-facing roles and dealing with clinically vulnerable people.
Answer
We expect health and social care employers, including community pharmacies, to follow the guidance on managing staff with symptoms of a respiratory infection, or a positive COVID-19 test.
This specifies that if staff test positive for COVID/19, regardless of whether they have symptoms, they should not attend work for a minimum of 5 full days. If they work with patients or service users in face-to-face settings, they can return to work if they have had 2 consecutive negative LFD test results (taken at least 24 hours apart).’
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 May 2022
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using Scottish Water's reserves to fund a £100 rebate for customers.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 18 May 2022
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 28 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action is being taken to ensure that severely immunosuppressed people are not at risk of contracting COVID-19 following the lifting of restrictions.
Answer
Before we made the decision to lift remaining legal measures and close the Highest Risk list, we and our clinical advisers carefully considered the impact on people who are immunosuppressed or immunocompromised. There is strong evidence to show that the vaccine is offering significant protection and preventing the majority of people whose immune systems are suppressed or compromised from becoming severely ill if they are infected with COVID-19.
We know that the degree of protection offered by the vaccines wanes over time, which is why booster vaccinations are needed to maintain the best protection against COVID-19 for those at highest risk of the severe effects of the virus. Second booster appointments for people with suppressed immune systems have already started.
However, we are also aware that for some of this group, it is not possible to mount a full immune response due to their medication, treatment or health condition.
Many immunosuppressed or immunocompromised individuals lived with and managed the risk posed by other diseases and infections before the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to be advised by their GP and specialist clinical team, who best know their individual circumstances, on how to reduce their risk of infection from both COVID-19 and other viruses. We’ve also made new treatments available to those who are eligible for them who will benefit the most – including some people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed .
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 11 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to develop an occupational health improvement strategy for the NHS in Scotland similar to that which is reportedly in place in other UK nations.
Answer
We are currently working with the NHS to consider a national occupational health improvement strategy for Scotland.
While this work is carried out, we continue to complement the wellbeing support available at a local level through our national wellbeing resources. These include the National Wellbeing Hub, a 24/7 National Wellbeing Helpline, confidential mental health treatment through the Workforce Specialist Service and funding for additional local psychological support.
We are also providing further support for practical measures to aid rest and recuperation alongside additional resources such as Coaching for Wellbeing and grief and bereavement support.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been allocated from the Young Patients Family Fund for cancer patients in 2021-22.
Answer
Funding under the Young Patients Family Fund is available to eligible visitors of all young inpatients. Requirement for in-patient care can vary by condition and type of treatment, and some patients may have multiple conditions or treatments over time. For these reasons we do not collect data on individual conditions.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the first UK pilot study of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), which was recently launched by the University of Oxford, what steps it will take to incorporate SMA screening in Scotland once this study is completed.
Answer
Any decision on whether or not to introduce screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) in Scotland will be guided by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group which advises Ministers and the NHS in all four nations of the United Kingdom on screening policy. The UK NSC last reviewed SMA in 2018 and did not recommend screening for this condition.
The UK NSC is expected to review SMA screening later this year, taking into consideration the latest evidence since the previous recommendation in 2018. Should the UK NSC recommend screening for this condition, the Scottish Screening Committee, in consultation with medical experts in this field, will advise Scottish Ministers on the most appropriate future course of action for Scotland.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 April 2022
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 10 May 2022
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is considering a pilot newborn screening programme for spinal muscular atrophy, and, if so, what the aim of the pilot will be, and within what timescale.
Answer
Scottish Government officials have been involved in initial discussions with academics and clinicians about the potential for a Scottish research study of newborn screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and are awaiting a fully developed proposal. Any decision thereafter to run an SMA pilot will depend on the expert advice of the Scottish Screening Committee as well as the organisations that oversee implementation of any changes to the newborn screening programme.
