Chamber and committees

Call-off contracts are contracts awarded under the terms and conditions set out in a framework agreement with a service provider or number of service providers. The establishment of a framework agreement allows a public body to make individual purchases without repeating many of the stages of a competitive tendering process.

The Scottish Government recognises that the use of framework agreements can be appropriate in the context of social care procurement. The forthcoming guidance on social care procurement will provide information on the establishment of framework agreements and the award of call-off contracts under a framework agreement.

The Scottish Government is aware that a number of local authorities in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK have established framework agreements for the procurement of social care services. However, we do not hold a central record of framework agreements established by local authorities. We are seeking further examples of good practice in relation to the establishment of framework agreements in this context to accompany the forthcoming guidance on social care procurement.

The Mental Health Collaborative is working closely with the NHS boards to ensure implementation of this target. This includes the development of good systems and processes needed to increase the number of people with a diagnosis as well as measures around the quality of the support offered.

Support with this agenda is also offered in the twice yearly performance management reviews with NHS boards and partners by the Scottish Government''s Mental Health Delivery and Services Unit.

A range of local actions are in train to support the readmissions target, which is designed to help drive improvements in community mental health services (notably in crisis and out-of-hours services), including patient pathways and effective discharge planning.

NHS boards are working with others, and are supported by The Mental Health Collaborative, to support and meet this target. Actions include: mapping current services; gathering and analysing local data on readmissions; staff training; involving service users and carers in service improvement; and improving data systems.

The NHS in Scotland is currently exceeding the readmissions target according to the latest available figures, with an overall decrease of 26%.

Government officials have met with representatives of the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) on several occasions to ensure their input to the development of the Commonwealth Games 2014 legacy plan. Since the launch of the plan, officials have been working closely with SAMH to ensure integration of their plans for 12 pilot projects to support delivery of the Get Active campaign, with the current roll out of the Community Sports Hubs network legacy project.

In addition the Scottish Government has a long history of providing support and significant funding to SAMH in recognition of the valuable contribution they make to promoting, campaigning and delivering services for those with a mental health problem, their carers and families.

This HEAT target is measured by the number of people with a diagnosis of a dementia on the GP Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) dementia register and NHS boards are working towards a target of 39,582 which equates to approximately 61% of the expected number of people in Scotland with Dementia as predicted by the European Community Concerted Action on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Dementia Group (Eurodem). Latest available data for March 2009 shows that the overall Scotland position requires a 13% increase.

The Mental Health Collaborative has been supporting NHS boards to develop and put in place new systems and approaches to increase the number of people diagnosed. We expect the numbers to increase at a faster pace as these are fully implemented.

The NHS in Scotland is currently exceeding the readmissions target according to the latest available figures, with an overall decrease of 26%.

This target will be tracked through to December 2010.

This is a matter for Tayside Health Board and I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28959, on 1 December 2009, which demonstrates the steps being taken by Tayside to secure positive outcomes for the staff affected by the decision by Netcare not to renew this contract.

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.

No.

No.