- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it can confirm the finding in the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution, that NHS expenditure per 100,000 population in Scotland would have been about £180 million in 2005-06.
Answer
According to HM Treasury Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis, the identifiable expenditure on health in Scotland in 2005-06 was £1,681 per head. This equates to £168 million per 100,000 population.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s approval in 2008-09 of grants to the value of £3,055,082 out of its annual budget of £4,629,000 to organisations linked to members of its board.
Answer
The Scottish Government expects all non-departmental public bodies, including B²rd na G idhlig, to have a clear process and approach to deal with conflicts of interest relating to board members. The Scottish Government''s expectations are set out in
Guidance on Corporate Governance and the
On Board, Guide for Board Members. The Scottish Government is satisfied that B²rd na G idhlig has a sound and transparent process in place for the allocation and approval of grant to Gaelic ORGANISATIONS, and for dealing with the declaration of any conflicts of interest where B²rd members may have relevant personal or business interests This includes a published register of interests and processes to ensure that b²rd members do not participate in discussions relating to organisations in which they have an interest. Audit Scotland concluded following its audit of 2008-09 that B²rd na G idhlig financial statements were in accordance with any guidance issued by Scottish ministers including on conflict of interest procedures.
I understand that the Chair of B²rd na G idhlig wrote to the member on 17 January 2010 offering a full and detailed response to this question and has offered to discuss these matters with the member for the Highlands and Islands. The figure of £3,055,082 quoted in the question refers to provisional grant allocations over three years, and not annual grant allocation amounts. B²rd na G idhlig''s total annual budget in 2009-10 stands at £5.459 million.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the finding in the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution, that Scotland had almost 50% more nurses per capita than the north east of England in 2005-06.
Answer
At a recent meeting between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD), the Scottish Government and the Nuffield Trust, ONS acknowledged there were errors in some of the source data on NHS workforce that was used in the Nuffield Trust report. This had been taken from UK statistical publications produced by ONS, with input from the four countries. However, workforce data had been lifted directly by ONS from the ISD website. These data were not comparable with the rest of the UK and this had not been picked up during peer review. ONS are in the process of revising this data. It also was agreed that the Nuffield Trust made comparisons of the four countries and over time using published data on hospital activity that was not directly comparable between the four UK countries, or through time, due to differences in the publication definitions. Nuffield Trust have said that they will consider whether they might revise their report and findings once revised workforce data is published and more comparable hospital activity data is made available for the four countries.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the assertion that only comparative statistics that could be measured in the same way were used to compare health issues in Scotland and the north east of England in the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution.
Answer
At a recent meeting between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD), the Scottish Government and the Nuffield Trust, ONS acknowledged there were errors in some of the source data on NHS workforce that was used in the Nuffield Trust report. This had been taken from UK statistical publications produced by ONS, with input from the four countries. However, workforce data had been lifted directly by ONS from the ISD website. These data were not comparable with the rest of the UK and this had not been picked up during peer review. ONS are in the process of revising this data. It also was agreed that the Nuffield Trust made comparisons of the four countries and over time using published data on hospital activity that was not directly comparable between the four UK countries, or through time, due to differences in the publication definitions. Nuffield Trust have said that they will consider whether they might revise their report and findings once revised workforce data is published and more comparable hospital activity data is made available for the four countries.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been successfully treated for oesophageal cancer in each of the last five years.
Answer
Observed survival statistics for patients diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in Scotland in the period 2003-07 are shown in the following table, with successfully treated being defined as surviving for at least five years following diagnosis:
Cancer of the Oesophagus (ICD-10 C15), Proportions of Patients Alive1 at One and Five Years2 following Diagnosis for those Diagnosed in 2003-07
| Year of Diagnosis | Number of Diagnoses | Year 1 (Number) | 1 Year (%) | 5 Year (Number) | 5 Year (%) |
| 2003 | 812 | 269 | 33.1 | 54 | 6.7 |
| 2004 | 871 | 286 | 32.8 | * | * |
| 2005 | 822 | 297 | 36.1 | * | * |
| 2006 | 838 | 301 | 35.9 | * | * |
| 2007 | 830 | 297 | 35.8 | * | * |
Source: Scottish Cancer Registry, NHS Information Services Division.
* - Not yet available.
Notes:
1. Some patients may have died from unrelated causes.
2. Follow-up to 31 December 2008.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any inaccurate Scottish Government figures were provided or put in the public domain and used by the Nuffield Trust to make comparisons between health services in Scotland and the north east of England.
Answer
The Scottish Government did not provide or publish inaccurate figures that were used by the Nuffield Trust in their report.
At a recent meeting between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD), the Scottish Government and the Nuffield Trust, ONS acknowledged there were errors in some of the source data on NHS workforce that was used in the Nuffield Trust report. This had been taken from UK statistical publications produced by ONS, with input from the four countries. However workforce data had been lifted directly by ONS from the ISD website. These data were not comparable with the rest of the UK and this had not been picked up during peer review. ONS are in the process of revising this data. It also was agreed that the Nuffield Trust made comparisons of the four countries and over time using published data on hospital activity that was not directly comparable between the four UK countries, or through time, due to differences in the publication definitions. Nuffield Trust have said that they will consider whether they might revise their report and findings once revised workforce data is published and more comparable hospital activity data is made available for the four countries.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the finding in the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution, that the north east of England delivered 18% more outpatient attendances, almost 40% more day cases and over 50% more inpatient admissions than NHS Scotland in 2005-06.
Answer
At a recent meeting between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD), the Scottish Government and the Nuffield Trust, ONS acknowledged there were errors in some of the source data on NHS workforce that was used in the Nuffield Trust report. This had been taken from UK statistical publications produced by ONS, with input from the four countries. However, workforce data had been lifted directly by ONS from the ISD website. These data were not comparable with the rest of the UK and this had not been picked up during peer review. ONS are in the process of revising this data. It also was agreed that the Nuffield Trust made comparisons of the four countries and over time using published data on hospital activity that was not directly comparable between the four UK countries, or through time, due to differences in the publication definitions. Nuffield Trust have said that they will consider whether they might revise their report and findings once revised workforce data is published and more comparable hospital activity data is made available for the four countries.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the analysis of the Nuffield Trust that the north east of England is a better benchmark for comparisons with NHS Scotland than England as a whole given its similarly sized population, similar levels of income, deprivation and unemployment and similar health status and life expectancy.
Answer
There are some similarities between the North East of England and Scotland, in terms of population size, levels of income, deprivation and unemployment and health status and life expectancy. However, a comparison of Scotland with a Government Office Region of England will always have limited usefulness. For example, no Government Office Region of England is as sparsely populated as Scotland. The population density of the North East Government Office Region stood at 300 per square kilometre, versus a Scotland figure of 66 per square kilometre, both in 2007. In addition, vast areas of Scotland have a very low population density, and to a much greater extent than NE England. Another example of the limited usefulness in comparing Scotland with a Government Office Region of England is that the data used for comparison purposes will for Scotland include the whole of the health system, including headquarters and related infrastructure and staff, but may not necessarily do so in the English regional data. Country-level, system-wide comparisons may be more appropriate.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the accuracy of the assertion in the summary briefing of the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution, that “In 2006, Scotland had the highest levels of poor health, the highest rates of expenditure, the highest rates of hospital doctors, GPs and nurses, and yet the lowest rates of inpatient admissions and crude productivity for hospital doctors and nurses.”
Answer
At a recent meeting between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD), the Scottish Government and the Nuffield Trust, ONS acknowledged there were errors in some of the source data on NHS workforce that was used in the Nuffield Trust report. This had been taken from UK statistical publications produced by ONS, with input from the four countries. However workforce data had been lifted directly by ONS from the ISD website. These data were not comparable with the rest of the UK and this had not been picked up during peer review. ONS are in the process of revising this data. It also was agreed that the Nuffield Trust made comparisons of the four countries and over time using published data on hospital activity that was not directly comparable between the four UK countries, or through time, due to differences in the publication definitions. Nuffield Trust have said that they will consider whether they might revise their report and findings once revised workforce data is published and more comparable hospital activity data is made available for the four countries.
- Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 01 February 2010
-
Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 February 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the finding in the Nuffield Trust report, Funding and performance of healthcare systems in the four countries of the UK before and after devolution, that Scotland had 70 more hospital doctors than the north east of England in 2005-06.
Answer
At a recent meeting between the Office for National Statistics (ONS), National Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD), the Scottish Government and the Nuffield Trust, ONS acknowledged there were errors in some of the source data on NHS workforce that was used in the Nuffield Trust report. This had been taken from UK statistical publications produced by ONS, with input from the four countries. However workforce data had been lifted directly by ONS from the ISD website. These data were not comparable with the rest of the UK and this had not been picked up during peer review. ONS are in the process of revising this data. It also was agreed that the Nuffield Trust made comparisons of the four countries and over time using published data on hospital activity that was not directly comparable between the four UK countries, or through time, due to differences in the publication definitions. Nuffield Trust have said that they will consider whether they might revise their report and findings once revised workforce data is published and more comparable hospital activity data is made available for the four countries.
