Chamber and committees

The current waiting time standard for a first outpatient consultation is that no patient should wait more than 12 weeks following a referral. Should the patient then require to receive inpatient and day case treatment they should wait no longer than 12 weeks.

NHS boards are currently working on patient pathways to ensure patients get appropriate access to secondary care services swiftly. Protocols and guidelines are currently being revised between primary and secondary care sectors to ensure the delivery of the 18 weeks referral to treatment time target by the end of December 2011. These protocols should ensure the patients journey from GP to any specialised services is seamless.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving nutrition for older people in care homes and to help deliver on this commitment funded the Promoting Nutrition in Care Homes Project. The project trained care home staff in ways to improve nutrition, food and eating practices. The Care Commission evaluated the project and published a report in 2009. The Scottish Government now plans to build on the project for the further benefit of older people in care homes.

At that time, there were also 3,300 earlier callers listed who were likely to have Band E dwellings. They were subsequently called to advise them of the forthcoming amendment to regulations. Of these, 1,186 (36%) had been translated into referrals to Stage 4 by 21 December. A few had to be contacted by letter, some were not interested, and some were not eligible for various reasons. The remainder had insulation or heating systems installed since they were last in contact.

A further 350 applicants had been rejected at survey due to a Band E energy rating, prior to the change in legislation. Scottish Gas attempted to contact all these applicants and, following the amendment, 301 applications were reinstated. Of these, by the end of February, 187 installations had been completed or are in progress, 50 were awaiting installation, and 46 had cancelled.

It is only possible to say how many households became eligible following the amendment to regulations for those households who had an eligibility survey undertaken, because until they are referred for this survey, the SAP rating is only estimated on the basis of the information they provide over the phone, rather than the property being visited and assessed by an accredited surveyor.

Also, eligibility is not a matter of the SAP rating alone, so some people with energy inefficient dwellings would not be eligible for other reasons, for instance because they did not have qualifying benefits or had not been living in the property for 12 months.

There were 4,145 referrals to Stage 4 between 21 December, the date of the coming into effect of the amendment to regulations, and 31 January. Of these:ªª

- 1,593 had been surveyed by the end of January;

ª- 2,204 were awaiting survey results;ª

- 348 had cancelled.

Οf the 1,593 that had been surveyed by the end of January:ªª

- 643 were confirmed as Band E;ª

- 549 of the households with Band E dwellings were accepted for stage 4 measures;ª

- 516 further households were accepted for stage 4 measures;ª

- 528 were rejected as ineligible, including 94 Band E dwellings;ª

- 338 of the rejections were on the grounds that the dwelling was not energy inefficient; the remainder, including all the Band E rejections, were on eligibility grounds, including proofs of eligibility missing or invalid or not eligible because not on benefits or not of eligible age.

Where proofs of eligibility are missing, the customer is given 28 days following notification of the result of the survey in which to provide missing information.

If a boiler is working at the time of the survey, it will contribute to the SAP rating and if this is 55 or higher, the dwelling is not eligible for Stage Four measures.

If the boiler is not working at the time of the survey, it will be discounted, which in most unimproved dwellings is likely to result in a SAP rating of less than 55.

The managing agent is happy to reassess and re-instate applications for any eligible applicant if they provide written evidence from an accredited engineer, for instance a Gas Safe registered installer, that the boiler is irreparably broken.

Eligible Applications (Confirmed at Survey) at 31 January 2010

Households Enquiring about Energy Assistance Package, to 31 January 2010