Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-26855

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 15 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 23 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it has taken to educate people who do not have HIV/AIDS about the illness.

The National Sexual Health StrategyRespect and Responsibility, published in January 2005, includes a number of recommendationson the importance of educating the general public on prevention of sexually transmitteddiseases such as HIV/AIDS.

NHS boards are delivering educationthrough their locally appointed Health Promotion Managers and Drug Action Teams.In addition, NHS Health Scotland is working with key stakeholders to support positiveSexual Health in the workplace in relation to HIV status.

NHS Health Scotland are alsoworking closely with the Executive on two programmes, “Healthy Respect” and “Respectand Responsibility” where HIV/AIDS is seen as being an important element in workaround promoting protection against all STIs, reducing stigma and discriminationand improving access to services for those people who are living with HIV/AIDS.

Question reference: S2W-26910

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 16 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 23 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25545 by Mr Andy Kerr on 17 May 2006, whether it will provide information about the number and rate of infants born with congenital heart anomalies in each year for which figures are available.

The information prior to 1995is contained in the following table. Information for 2004 is due to be publishedin autumn 2006 on the Scottish Health Statistics website as part of the annualScottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report.

SingletonsBorn in Scotland and Detected¹ with Anomalies of the Heart and CirculatorySystem at Birth or During Infancy²; Numbers and Rates Per 1,000 Birthsby Year of birth: 1987-94

		1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Heart and Circulatory System ^3,
	Number	432	412	450	462	484	524	549	490
	Rate	6.74	6.38	7.24	7.26	7.43	8.28	8.91	8.20
Heart
	Number	236	238	262	251	287	312	312	289
	Rate	3.68	3.69	4.21	3.94	4.41	4.93	5.07	4.83
Circulatory System
	Number	250	226	237	242	270	288	310	274
	Rate	3.90	3.50	3.81	3.80	4.15	4.55	5.03	4.58

Notes:

1.Anomalies have been located from the diagnostic summaries contained within the linkedsource data comprising profiles of neonatal and in-patient hospital discharge records,stillbirth notifications and death registrations.

2.All Infants followed up from birth for period of one year to allow detection ofanomalies from hospital in-patient records or General Register Office death registrations.

3. Singletons with more thanone congenital anomaly are only counted once in a category total. For example ifan infant was born with anomalies of both the heart and circulatory system, theanomalies would be recorded separately in each category, but only once in the totalfigure for Anomalies of the Heart and Circulatory System.

Question reference: S2W-26558

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 20 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to honour its commitment that, under new arrangements for the supply of stoma appliances, all stoma patients will continue to be able to choose to receive their stoma appliances from a community pharmacist or a specialist dispensing appliance contractor.

Question reference: S2W-26560

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 20 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure that all suppliers of stoma appliances comply with new service standards to protect and enhance the standard of care received by patients and whether suppliers failing to satisfy these requirements will not be allowed to continue to supply stoma appliances.

Question reference: S2W-26559

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 20 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the steering group which has overseen the introduction of new arrangements for the supply of stoma appliances will be invited to reconvene to oversee the scheduled review of these arrangements in the autumn and, if not, whether all members of the existing steering group will be invited to sit on any new group formed for this purpose.

Question reference: S2W-26597

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive what the current average waiting times are for the supply of insulin pumps to patients who require such pumps to manage their diabetes at home, broken down by NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-26598

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been supplied with insulin pumps to manage their diabetes at home in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

The following table, which hasbeen compiled from information supplied by the Diabetes Managed Clinical Networks,sets out the number of people with diabetes using an insulin pump in June 2006 ineach NHS board area.

NHS Board	No. of People with Diabetes Using an Insulin Pump
Ayrshire and Arran	1
Borders	5
Dumfries and Galloway	5
Fife	15
Forth Valley	8
Grampian	13
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	22
Highland	6
Lanarkshire	5
Lothian	45
Orkney	0
Shetland	0
Tayside	34
Western Isles	1
Scotland	160

Question reference: S2W-26010

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive how much local produce is used in preparing prison meals in each prison in Scotland.

Question reference: S2W-26561

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 June 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 19 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any funding shortfall for specialist stoma nurses which has arisen from the introduction of new arrangements for the supply of stoma appliances and, if so, whether it will provide funding to NHS boards to address the shortfall.

No. The new arrangements haveended the practice of specialist stoma nurses advising NHS patients being employedor sponsored by appliance contractors or manufacturers. Transitional funding fora period of two years, based on the historic level of sponsorship or employmentcost is, however, being made available by the industry to allow time for NHSboards to adjust to the new regime.

The ingredient cost of appliancescontinues, as previously, to be a call on NHS boards’ unified budget.

A sum of £2.5 million has beenadded to NHS boards’ unified budget in respect of dispensing fees which now fallto be met directly by NHS boards.

Question reference: S2W-26359

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 May 2006
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 13 June 2006

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any funding changes are proposed for the Caledonian Virtual Practice Development College.

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