Chamber and committees

All staff in Ayrshire and Arran are being paid under the Agenda for Change system. Staff who were dissatisfied with their original pay banding, however, had the right to request a review. I understand that all the initial review panels in Ayrshire and Arran have now taken place, although there remains a small number of outcomes for which further work will be required. It is for boards and their staff side partners locally to take forward all aspects of Agenda for Change implementation and I am assured that these outstanding issues are being dealt with in full partnership. Scottish Government officials continue to monitor progress closely and all boards are very much aware of the need to finalise any remaining work around Agenda for Change implementation as quickly as possible.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran is responsible for ensuring that Girvan Community Hospital is designed in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act.

The hospital was designed and planned to fully comply with the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations, including relevant compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act. Its design specification included reference to five sets of relevant guidance on disability awareness and access issues, all of which were cross-referenced in the Health Facilities Scotland (HFS) Dementia Design Checklist.

The checklist, produced in association with The Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) and for use across all healthcare premises, was published in 2007 “ after the design process for Girvan Community Hospital was completed. HFS also produced a Dementia Audit Tool, in association with DSDC, in 2008.

The Scottish Government has no plans to provide a rail halt at Mauchline.

The number of occupied bed days in NHS Ayrshire and Arran where a diagnosis of assault by sharp object is recorded is presented in the following table.

Number of Acute Occupied Bed Days^1,2 in NHS Ayrshire and Arran Connected with Assault by Sharp Object³, Patient Discharged during Year Ending 31 March 2005-09

Financial Years	Total Number of Bed Days
2004-05	171
2005-06	162
2006-07	156
2007-08	173
2008-09	180

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01.

Notes:

1. Hospital admission data are derived from linked records on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland.

2. Bed Days are calculated using the length of stay variable.

3. Assault by sharp object connected incidents are defined as ICD-10 code X99 in any secondary diagnosis positions.

For information; the numbers of admissions connected to assault by a sharp object in NHS Ayrshire and Arran was provided in the answer to question S3W-32124 on 15 March 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Additional data and commentary on assault by a sharp object is published as part of ISD''s Unintentional Injuries publication http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5327.html.

The exact number of people who have been diagnosed with keratoconus in each of the last four years, broken down by NHS board area, is not available centrally.

The exact number of people who have been diagnosed with keratoconus and were treated privately with collagen crosslinking in each of the last four years, broken down by NHS board area, is not available centrally.

The exact number of people under 16 who have been diagnosed with keratoconus and were treated with collagen crosslinking in each of the last four years, broken down by NHS board area, is not available centrally.

The exact number of people under 16 who have been diagnosed with keratoconus in each of the last four years, broken down by NHS board area, is not available centrally.

We are not aware of any clinical trials involving NHS boards and its patients in Scotland that have or are examining the use of collagen crosslinking as a treatment for keratoconus. Although there is a body of literature reporting research studies on this treatment conducted outside Scotland, including clinical trials, it has not been possible to ascertain whether these have involved volunteers from Scotland. A similar situation exists with clinical trials that may be conducted privately in Scotland involving non-NHS patients.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued interventional procedures guidance on this treatment in November 2009 which was endorsed by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. The guidance which is available at http://guidance.nice.org.uk/IPG320/Guidance/pdf/English is based on published literature including a completed randomised control trial and case studies. The Scottish Government has no timetable for the results of any on-going clinical trials for this treatment. However, it is noted that NICE may review the procedure on publication of further evidence.