Audit Committee, 11 Jan 2005
Meeting date: Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Official Report
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“Better equipped to care?”
We are quorate, so rather than wait for other members to get back—I am sure that they are on their way—I will press on.
Agenda item 5 is on medical equipment. The committee will consider a response from the Scottish Executive to the committee's ninth report of 2004 on "Better equipped to care? Follow-up report on managing medical equipment". I invite members to comment on the Executive's response, then I will invite the Auditor General to make any comments that he wants to make.
I add that we have looked into the possibility of moving rooms. There is some difficulty in doing so, but it might be possible to do so when we move into private session, although members might think that there will not really be much point by then.
We will keep going with item 5. I invite members to comment on the Executive's response.
On first reading, it appears that the department has responded positively to some of the issues that we raised. Indeed, I was quite pleased with the response—for a change. It is not often that we can say that about a response from the Health Department.
From phrases such as "active monitoring", "engagement with" certain people, "consideration of … resources" and
"continuing to take positive action"
and the reference to developing various matters, it strikes me that this is on-going business and that the issue might be subject to a further report. The actions highlighted in the response are at least a move in the right direction.
Does the Auditor General have any comments to make?
Generally, we felt that the response was very positive. Barbara Hurst has gone through it carefully and is in a position to provide one or two more detailed comments.
As the Auditor General has pointed out, we were quite pleased with the response, which we found to be very positive.
I have one point of clarification. In our original report, we referred to a controls assurance system in England that the department might have wanted to use as a model. That system has been abolished, although an assurance framework has been retained. Although the issue is not centrally monitored in the same way, the principle remains and we believe that it still applies to the system in Scotland.
If members have no other comments, I ask the committee whether it is happy to note the Executive's response and content that no further action need be taken.
Members indicated agreement.