Chamber and committees

The Scottish Ambulance Service have advised that they do not use private ambulance services, or other private sector transport (including taxis), in place of ambulances or patient transport.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has a Memorandum of Understanding with the British Red Cross Society (BRCS), which helps the Service respond to patient needs, for example, during adverse weather. The BRCS make ambulance vehicles available should these be required. The Service also works with the BRCS during periods of anticipated high demand, such as the festive period and other key dates during the year such as pay days. This arrangement delivers an additional layer of resilience and support at times of peak demand.

The Service works with approximately 200 volunteer car drivers across the country, who undertake patient transport journeys where this is clinically appropriate, particularly in remote and rural areas.

The Scottish Government believes that out-of-hours primary care services are working effectively in Scotland. However, there are a range of reasons why people choose to attend an Accident and Emergency Department. We are developing a national framework on directing people towards appropriate services.

This is supported by broader work by the Unscheduled Care Expert Group on communication and engagement with the public, including recommendations on how all aspects of the system, including out-of-hours Primary Care Services can be provided and what the role of the proposed 111 number should be in supporting access.

There are no inspectors in the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate with the Regulation of Care Award. The Regulation of Care Award is a qualification required by inspectors regulating social care services. This qualification is not required for inspectors working in healthcare services.

All Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspectors are appropriately qualified. Inspectors in the programme of inspections for the care for older people all have a clinical qualification and inspectors working with the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate (HEI) are required to have qualifications in health, public health and environmental health.

Officials are working with colleagues in National Services Scotland to identify options for implementing an implant register starting with hip replacements and which could be used for a range of implants.

NHS Health boards do not re-direct patients away from A&E. Medical staff offer the option to be treated at the hospital or go back to their GP, based on their professional clinical judgement.

Under the “Reducing A&E Attendances (T10) HEAT” Target, the Scottish Government Policy is to reduce the numbers of people attending A&E Departments in order to improve the quality of patient care and to promote patient safety.

Please note that specific coding for transvaginal mesh implant procedures was introduced in 2006. Annually complete data is only available since 2007-08.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-14279 on 30 April 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is not a special health board. HIS was set up under the terms of the Public Services Reform Act (2010) as a health body, independent of the organisations it inspects (both NHS and non NHS) and reports independently of Scottish Government.

National Procurement, which is part of NHS National Services Scotland, has confirmed that it supplies some transvaginal mesh devices to health boards through the National Distribution Centre. These devices are not included in a national contract but are supplied in response to catalogue requests from NHS boards for specific makes and type of device.

As the value and volume of products supplied through National Procurement is relatively low there are no plans to move this to a National Contract.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-14279 on 30 April 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.