- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 20 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the transition into the Modern Medical Careers System from the current system of senior house officer (SHO) posts will be a smooth one, given that those SHOs who have been able to secure a post under the current system by August 2007 will be in competition with those emerging from the new training programme for entry into the new specialist training programmes.
Answer
The Executive is committed to redesigning services and developing the workforce to deliver the health improvements and healthcare services that Scotland deserves.
Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) is a UK initiative which the Scottish Executive fully supports. The Executive is working with NHS boards and NHS Education for Scotland in planning the implementation of MMC in Scotland, which includes arrangements for smooth transition from the current system. The number of places and detailed selection arrangements for the new MMC specialty training programmes have yet to be determined. The Executive’s plans will include consideration of the range of potential selection and entry arrangements to ensure that they are appropriate to junior doctors competing for entry to these programmes from both MMC and pre-MMC training positions, and will incorporate transitional arrangements. The new competency-based approach of MMC will give due recognition to clinical experience acquired during training.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Tavish Scott on 20 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive how many rail passengers travelled from (a) Aberdeen to Edinburgh and (b) Edinburgh to Aberdeen in each of the last six years, broken down by month.
Answer
Information relating to passenger numbers is collected by the train operating companies using this route - GNER and First ScotRail. Information on passenger numbers on particular routes is considered to be commercially confidential.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in response to skills shortages identified in the North Sea oil and gas industry.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18976 on 15 September 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is for the development of local plans by NHS boards to implement financial savings through improvements in prescribing.
Answer
NHS boards were advised in February 2005 to draft local plans to deliver their share of the savings identified in the Efficient Government initiative related to more effective prescribing for the period 2005-08. A co-ordinating national plan has now been issued and it is for NHS boards to review local plans on a regular basis to ensure that they continue to be relevant and effective.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated savings through improvements in prescribing are for (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 (a) in total and (b) broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The target efficiency savings under the Efficient Government programme are as follows. The targets shown are the cumulative savings to be achieved in the year indicated by reference to the benchmark year of 2004-05.
Target Prescribing Efficiency Savings 2005-08 by Health Board
| Health Board | 2005-06 (£000) | 2006-07 (£000) | 2007-08 (£000) |
| Argyll and Clyde | 425 | 850 | 1,702 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 395 | 790 | 1,579 |
| Borders | 106 | 212 | 424 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 158 | 316 | 633 |
| Fife | 342 | 684 | 1,369 |
| Forth Valley | 276 | 552 | 1,104 |
| Grampian | 458 | 917 | 1,834 |
| Greater Glasgow | 916 | 1833 | 3,667 |
| Highland | 209 | 418 | 837 |
| Lanarkshire | 542 | 1084 | 2,171 |
| Lothian | 699 | 1399 | 2,798 |
| Orkney | 18 | 37 | 74 |
| Shetland | 19 | 38 | 77 |
| Tayside | 401 | 803 | 1,607 |
| Western Isles | 31 | 62 | 124 |
| Total | 4,995 | 9,995 | 20,000 |
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation has taken place by (a) its Health Department and (b) NHS boards in respect of savings through improvements in prescribing by adopting best practice and decreasing inappropriate prescribing.
Answer
During the preparation of its report on GP prescribing issued in June 2003, Audit Scotland consulted closely with NHS board prescribing leads and other interested parties and produced evidence based recommendations for more efficient prescribing which, were accepted by the Executive and which NHS boards and prescribers continue to pursue.
In February 2005 the Executive invited NHS boards to advise their proposals for on-going savings through more effective prescribing in the context of the savings targets within the Efficient Government initiative.
NHS boards are in continuous dialogue with prescribers to adopt best prescribing practice and reduce inappropriate prescribing.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what further steps it will take to ensure greater national consistency in prescribing practices.
Answer
Local prescribing behaviour should be in line with clinical guidelines which are set nationally. Implementation of guidance is a matter for NHS boards and individual clinicians in the light of the clinical need of individual patients.
There are also national initiatives which will encourage national consistency in prescribing behaviour such as the evidence based prescribing elements of the Quality and Outcomes Framework in the new GP contract, a greater role for community pharmacists in medicines provision for those with chronic conditions, and improved decision support for prescribers through enhanced IT.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to ensure that any financial savings made through improvements in prescribing do not reduce service provision or impact on the quality of clinical care for patients.
Answer
NHS board prescribing strategies seek to ensure more effective use of prescribing budgets. They are evidence based and reflect agreed clinical guidelines. They lead to savings in the use of some drugs and more intensive use of other therapies, where that has the potential to improve patient care. Savings in prescribing budgets remain within the NHS board concerned for reinvestment in patient care.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to conduct a review of generic prescribing and, if so, what the timetable is for the review.
Answer
The effective use of generic medicines is under constant review.
In its June 2003 report on GP prescribing, Audit Scotland recognised that the potential benefits of further generic prescribing were at that time marginal. NHS boards and individual prescribers continue however to target savings as generic copies become available for branded products newly out of patent protection.
The Executive also took steps during 2004-05 to ensure that NHS Scotland achieved better value from purchases of generic drugs used in Primary Care, and new reimbursement arrangements in respect of generic drugs are currently being phased in.
- Asked by: Nanette Milne, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 September 2005
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 September 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to evaluate the impact of the Scottish Medicines Consortium on (a) prescribing, (b) "postcode prescribing" and (c) the differential uptake of medicines by NHS boards.
Answer
A programme for the evaluation of SMC work has been agreed and the work will commence in October 2005. The evaluation will look at the impact of SMC advice on the use of medicines across the healthcare system and compare SMC budget impact forecasts with the actual use of NHS resources. The work will also support the linking of clinical information with that on medicines use to help monitor the effectiveness of medicines in day-to-day patient care. A report is expected by the end of 2007.
