Chamber and committees

No guidance has been issued by the Scottish Government to local authorities or NHS boards on the use of 03 telephone numbers as a main point of contact.

The Scottish Government currently uses a non geographic number, 0845 774 1741, as its published central contact number for the Scottish Government and its directorates. Use of this non geographic number ensures that calls from anywhere in the UK, using the same provider, are charged the same rate regardless of the callers location. There is no revenue sharing on calls to this number.

The telephony services within the Scottish Government are centrally managed by the Information Services and Information Systems (ISIS) division. ISIS is following the advice of the communications regulator, OFCOM, and is in the process of implementing the use of non geographic 030 numbers for calls to the Scottish Government. Numbers in the 030 range are for the exclusive use of public sector and not-for-profit organisations. All calls to these numbers are charged at no more than the national rate.

We have not issued guidance to local authorities or NHS boards on the use of non-geographic telephone numbers.

We understand, however, that the industry regulator, Ofcom, is currently carrying out a review of all non-geographic call services and they will be considering the use of such numbers by our public bodies and the impact this has on consumers.

The Scottish Government has not made any investigations into the impact on individuals using mobile phones and pay-as-you-go phones of the cost of using 0845 telephone numbers. We understand, however, that the industry regulator, Ofcom, is currently carrying out a review of all non geographic call services, including 0845 telephone numbers, and that the issue of the impact of the cost of calls on mobile only pre-paid customers will be considered as part of this review.

The number of occupied bed days in NHS Fife 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 Fife connected with an assault by sharp object³, patient discharged during year ending 31 March 2005-09:

Financial Years	Total Number of Bed Days4
2004-05	93
2005-06	13
2006-07	90
2007-08	58
2008-09	55

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.

4. The number of bed days can be influenced by the severity of the injury received and hence total bed day figures do not necessarily reflect the underlying number of admissions.

For information; the numbers of admissions connected to assault by a sharp object in NHS Fife 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 requirements of the national uniform contract in terms of quality, timeliness, volumes required, price and technical expertise determined that the contract should be awarded on a sole supplier basis.

The estimated annual value is approximately £3 million, dependant on health board uptake.

All suppliers who notified an interest to the published contract notice and were able to demonstrate capability to meet the above requirements were invited to submit tenders. The business was awarded to the supplier whose tender scored highest against the published scoring criteria.

It is not possible to provide a more detailed breakdown under the terms listed because this information was not recorded in every case.

Under the Energy Assistance Package, it is possible to have an intermittently working or unreliable boiler replaced if the house has a SAP (Standard Assessment Procedure) rating of less than 55, provided the household is eligible by having lived in the dwelling for at least 12 months and by being either over 75, or in receipt of specified benefits and over 60, pregnant, with a child under five, or with a disabled child under 16. Someone with an intermittently working or unreliable boiler would have been excluded entirely from help under the old central heating programme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32144 on 16 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.

An essential aspect of self management is that people have access to the information they need about their condition and the services available, whether through the NHS and its partners, or the voluntary sector. The work of third sector organisations such as Arthritis Care Scotland on self management has helped inform the principles set out in Gaun Yersel'', the national self management strategy developed by the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland.

People with musculoskeletal conditions will benefit from the range of initiatives now being developed through grants from the Self Management Fund administered by the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government''s ALISS (Access to Local Information to Support Self Management) project, aims to strengthen this approach by equipping people to track down the local resources that can help them live with their condition. The Long Term Conditions Alliance is fully involved in this initiative. This approach also underpins the development of NHS Inform, which NHS24 is taking forward with a range of third sector stakeholders.

SIGN Guideline 71 on the management of osteoporosis also highlights the importance of providing information to people living with osteoporosis on preventative measures such as eating a calcium-rich diet and taking appropriate regular exercise, as well as taking medication.

SIGN Guideline 48 on the management of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) recommends that patient education should be undertaken by all members of the multidisciplinary teams in both primary and secondary care, and also that patients should be provided with an information leaflet, and if possible, one-to-one education.

The Scottish Government is also developing a range of web based and tele-rehabilitation support to ensure people get appropriate evidence-based information to help with self management of long term conditions. For example, the Working Backs Scotland website aims to be a point of reference for patients and healthcare professionals who are looking for information on how to manage conditions affecting the back. The site is currently being updated and will be relaunched on 12 May 2010.

http://www.workingbacksscotland.scot.nhs.uk/index.htm.