I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11383 on 23 February.

Measures include:Scottish Dental Access Initiative grants to encourage practitioners to set up or expand NHS practices in areas of unmet patient demand or high oral health need, including rural and remote areas where pro rata grant may be offered for opening a part-time branch practice, anda scheme whereby fees may be paid to dentists travelling to remote or rural areas for loss of remunerative time spent on travel and to compensate the dentist where visits are cancelled at short notice.In areas of sparse population and in other areas where there are difficulties in attracting NHS dentists, health boards or primary care NHS trusts may apply to Scottish Ministers to approve the appointment of one or more dentists directly salaried by the NHS to provide dental services. The problems of NHS dental access in remote and rural areas are currently under review.

Dental schools in both Scotland and the rest of the UK see considerable educational benefit to undergraduate dentists visiting and working in a range of primary care dental services. Outreach education has already been established within the community dental service by Glasgow Dental School and Dundee Dental School are exploring how this could be extended to the General Dental Services through piloting such a development this year within Tayside. If this is successful Dundee will make recommendations on how such schemes could be used more widely in the education and training of both dental students and students of dental hygiene throughout Scotland.

Current training programmes are expected to produce sufficient trained staff to meet the projected increases in the number of consultants outlined in Our National Health: A plan for action; a plan for change. The Executive will also shortly undertake a fundamental review of medical workforce planning that will look at the many complex areas surrounding the supply of trained doctors to NHSScotland.

The Scottish Executive does not collect routine information centrally on the costs of specific operations in the NHS.

I am currently considering the position of the Scottish Heart Transplant Unit and intend to make an announcement in the near future. It will cover the points raised in the question.

GP morale is affected by many factors, some of which are beyond the scope of Government. However, the Scottish Executive values the work of all health professionals and is working closely with professional groups to ensure that their needs are addressed. A range of measures is set out in the Scottish Health Plan, Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change, which was published in December.

Medical devices, including operating theatre tables, are regulated at UK level by the Medical Devices Agency. Scottish Healthcare Supplies, which is a division of the Common Services Agency, acts on behalf of the Health Department to monitor the safety of medical devices in Scotland. I understand that Scottish Healthcare Supplies is currently investigating reports of a small number of recent incidents involving malfunctions of operating tables. No conclusion has yet been reached on potential risks to patients.

General anaesthesia for NHS dental treatment will be available only in a hospital setting from 1 April 2001.The main alternative means of treating dentally anxious patients is sedation. The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education receives funding from the Executive to run courses on sedation for general dental practitioners.

The Scottish Executive is tackling many of the problems which can cause children to run away. Examples of this include grant aid for Who Cares? Scotland to extend advocacy service throughout Scotland for young people who have experience of being looked after in public care, and the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland has key initiatives to address the specific needs of children and young people both in the provision of refuge and of support services. The Executive is also considering the recommendations in the Aberlour Trust's publication Missing Out - Young Runaways in Scotland.