Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-05729

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether NHS Scotland currently procures any pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics, from Aurobindo's UK subsidiary, Milpharm Ltd, and, if so, what the value of these is.

Central procurement of drugs and medicines on behalf of NHS Scotland is the responsibility of National Services Scotland National Procurement.

MilPharm Ltd (the UK subsidiary of Aurobindo) supply a number of medicines to NHS Scotland under the NHS Scotland Antibiotics and Genito Urinary medicines framework and the NHS Scotland HIV Generic Medicines framework. These were tendered through formal public procurement processes, in compliance with EU public procurement law.

The total value of MilPharm medicines under these frameworks is approximately £460,000 per annum.

Question reference: S5W-05513

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of A&E (a) admissions and (b) waiting times in 2016, broken down by (i) age profile and (ii) NHS board.

Question reference: S5W-05726

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether there are any sanctions for non-performance stipulated in the escort/transport contract between G4S and the Scottish Prison Service and, if so, what they are.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

I would advise that the information which answers the member’s question is accessible on the SPS website in Schedule D of the Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Services (CCPES) contract and Section 14 of the Minute of Agreement, held at:

http://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Publications/Contracts7.aspx

Question reference: S5W-05727

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether statistics on the performance of G4S regarding the Scottish Prison Service escort/transport contact are kept centrally and, if so, whether these will be published.

Question reference: S5W-05725

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 19 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what key performance indicators are stipulated in the escort/transport contract with G4S and the Scottish Prison Service.

Question reference: S5T-00307

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 January 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 10 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports of an increase in the number of people dying in hospital while waiting to be discharged because their care package had yet to be finalised.

Question reference: S5W-05312

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that the security measures specified by the UK Government for the transportation of controlled drugs are adhered to by (a) NHS boards and (b) private and independent pharmacies.

The Scottish Government issued guidance to NHS Scotland following the introduction of the Health Act 2006 by the UK Parliament and the governance arrangements for controlled drugs which the Act and subsequent relevant Regulations put in place:-

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2007_14.pdf

www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2008_07.pdf

The legislation requires all healthcare organisations holding stocks of controlled drugs to appoint Accountable Officers responsible for the safe, appropriate and effective management and use of controlled drugs.

In NHS Scotland, Controlled Drugs Accountable Officers (CDAOs) are responsible for ensuring the safe management and use of controlled drugs within their organisation. CDAOs should ensure that their own organisation, and those providing services to their organisation, have adequate and up-to-date Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in relation to controlled drugs. The CDAO Network publishes and updates guidance on good practice in the management of controlled drugs in primary care, including monitoring, auditing and reporting:-

www.knowledge.scot.nhs.uk/media/CLT/ResourceUploads/4055959/Primary_Care_Guide_Scotland_v.2.0_171114.pdf

In addition, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), the pharmacy regulator in Great Britain, sets standards for all registered pharmacies which includes requirements for medicines to be stored securely and supplied safely to patients, and for each pharmacy to identify and manage risks associated with the service they provide. GPhC inspections cover the full range of services a pharmacy provides, including any medicine delivery services.

The GPhC also shares intelligence and works collaboratively with various regulatory bodies and organisations across Great Britain, such as the Home Office, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and local Controlled Drug Accountable Officer Networks to help achieve collective patient safety and public protection aims.

Question reference: S5W-05313

Asked by: Anas Sarwar, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 December 2016
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 9 January 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that pharmacies are correctly auditing their couriers on a routine basis to ensure that they are fit for purpose, as specified in UK Government guidelines.

Question reference: S5W-05332

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

To ask the Scottish Government how many consultants each NHS board employs on a 9:1 contract, also broken down by how many were employed on this basis in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S5W-05331

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

To ask the Scottish Government how many district nurses each NHS board employs, also broken down by how many have been employed in each year since 2007.

	Sep-15	Sep-16
NHSScotland	1,054.0	1,051.4
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	51.7	50.6
NHS Borders	29.2	26.7
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	22.6	22.9
NHS Fife	87.5	88.5
NHS Forth Valley	45.2	52.3
NHS Grampian	110.5	104.8
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	242.2	233.4
NHS Highland	88.8	96.8
NHS Lanarkshire	116.3	127.4
NHS Lothian	138.5	132.9
NHS Orkney	10.4	10.4
NHS Shetland	18.4	15.6
NHS Tayside	85.3	81.4
NHS Western Isles	7.6	7.8

Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS).

Notes:

1. Includes district nursing staff on Agenda for Change band 6 and above only.

For completeness, Table 2 shows the reported number of District Nurses employed by NHS Board from 2007 to 2014. This data is not comparable with data from 2015 onwards.

Table 2. Number (whole time equivalent) of district nurses in post as at 30 September each year from 2007 to 2014

	Sep-07	Sep-08	Sep-09	Sep-10	Sep-11	Sep-12	Sep-13	Sep-14
NHSScotland	443.4	445.1	515.1	652.9	677.4	712.5	706.7	716.9
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	52.4	48.0	50.6	53.4	51.2	53.2	61.0	57.3
NHS Borders	32.4	31.7	29.2	25.3	22.9	22.7	21.2	20.8
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	30.7	29.5	22.9	20.2	17.3	20.1	20.9	17.6
NHS Fife	2.0	5.5	10.0	10.0	57.4	62.9	66.1	83.2
NHS Forth Valley	58.2	60.1	57.4	54.2	49.3	47.3	52.8	51.9
NHS Grampian	43.4	38.5	36.7	38.7	36.5	86.5	83.1	88.0
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	20.7	28.7	27.0	169.4	160.7	152.2	153.0	142.7
NHS Highland	28.8	28.0	28.7	30.1	32.7	28.9	23.3	23.5
NHS Lanarkshire	94.0	82.9	95.2	94.0	85.5	85.7	84.6	81.2
NHS Lothian	12.2	20.8	77.8	83.7	81.6	79.6	74.8	77.6
NHS Orkney	1.0	3.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.0
NHS Shetland		0.6	0.6	0.7	1.0	10.2	10.6	14.1
NHS Tayside	56.6	52.4	63.5	59.6	68.4	52.0	44.8	50.7
NHS Western Isles	11.0	15.4	13.6	11.8	10.6	9.2	8.6	7.4

Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS).

Notes:

1. Includes district nursing staff on Agenda for Change band 6 and above only.

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