Chamber and committees

At that stage, NHS 24 employed 23 frontline nurses (headcount) and now, between its three main contact centres and the five smaller satellite centres, there are 491 nurses (headcount) which equates to 294.0 whole time equivalent.

Details of the number of nurses (whole time equivalent and headcount) providing frontline NHS 24 services for each year since 2002 are listed in the following table:

* Figures provided by NHS24, as at 30 June each year. The numbers are taken from NHS 24’s monthlymanagement information report and refer to frontline nurses – they do notinclude Team Leaders, Clinical Service Managers or PracticeEducators/Facilitators who are non-frontline or nurses who are employed in amanagement post.

** The 2002 headcount figureis an average figure for June 2002, based on whole time equivalent numbers.

These datashould be treated with great caution. Detailed information on healthcareassociated infections (HAIs) as a cause of death from specific infections canbe difficult or impossible to interpret safely. As at the end of 2005, therewas no international code in use for recording MRSA as a cause of death and theMRSA data above were obtained by analysing the original written text recorded onthe death certificate by certifying doctors.

Recording ofspecific HAIs as a cause of death is often influenced by the general level ofprofessional and public awareness of that HAI at the time and may reflect anincrease in awareness, rather than a real change in the actual number of deathsin which the HAI was an underlying or contributory factor. It is also importantto note that these figures are not set in the context of the total number ofpatients treated in the NHS. Reportsfrom national surveillance of serious MRSA infections in Scotlandprovide evidence that MRSA rates have remained stable in recent years.

Table 1 (Bib number 40166)shows the number of discharges from hospitals with an explicit diagnosis ofalcoholic liver disease each year from 1996.

Table 2 (Bib number 40167)shows the number of deaths from liver disease each year since 1996.

ISD Scotland is workingclosely with the Executive and NHSScotland on the development andimplementation of a data collection system for waiting times for key diagnostictests and procedures. Central data collection is scheduled to begin in theAutumn, and it is expected that provisional information will be available earlynext year.

In June last year, Iannounced a maximum 9-weeks waiting time for 8 key diagnostic tests. Thiscommitment will come into effect from the end of 2007. Meantime, NHS Boards areworking to reduce diagnostic waiting times for patients through serviceredesign, investment in capacity and more efficient working to ensure that thetarget is met.