Chamber and committees

Local health councils have formed a national association, the Scottish Association of Health Councils, as a membership organisation entirely funded by its members' subscriptions. Currently, 14 out of the 15 Scottish health councils have chosen to be members.The consultation paper on A new public involvement structure for NHSScotland, launched on 4 March, proposes that the Scottish Health Council should be established within NHS Quality Improvement Scotland as a national body with a local presence in each NHS board area. Copies of the consultation paper are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 26830).

Improving Health in Scotland - the Challenge was launched today at the third Healthy Scotland Convention held in Edinburgh. I also refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34705 today. 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/search_wa.

Information, Management and Technology Strategies are agreed at NHS health board level together with associated local investment plans, which will include provision for systems such as hospital appointments systems. The Health Department intends to investigate with the service new ways of making appointments which will bring a closer involvement for the patient in the appointment process and may involve the use of contact centres for hospitals.

Full details about projects funded by the Health Improvement Fund across Scotland, between 2000-01 and 2003-04, is given in the Investment Report Putting the Pieces in Place. This is available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 19606) or from the Scottish Executive website www.scotland.gov.uk.

The overall financial effect of the integration of the Health Education Board for Scotland and the Public Health Institute of Scotland will be cost neutral.

The Executive issued a resource pack with information on occupational health to approximately 77,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in December 2001. This includes guidance on the development of workplace drug and alcohol policies.Scotland's Health at Work (SHAW) provides free policy advice and guidance to help and support organisations to develop health promoting workplaces. SHAW will receive funding of £750,000 in 2003-04 and is targeted with doubling the participation of small- and medium-sized enterprises within its scheme.

Reliable information on the number of NHS patients treated in non-NHS institutions is not available centrally. However, the Information and Statistics Division, part of the Common Services Agency in NHSScotland, are currently working with the Scottish Executive, NHS boards, trusts and the independent sector to improve data coverage and data quality.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not held centrally.

A large number of NHS patients in Scotland already receive treatment in hospitals outside their NHS board areas of residence. Arrangements are already in place for the planning and funding of these out of area treatments. The number of out of area treatments undertaken as a result of NHS boards ensuring that waiting guarantees are met is expected to represent a relatively small addition to existing patient flows. Individual NHS boards receive funding to enable them to meet their responsibility for forecasting and meeting the health care needs of their residents, including arranging and paying for treatment in neighbouring NHS board areas.The key objective is that the longest waiting times experienced by NHS patients in Scotland are reduced to meet the Executive's targets, as made clear in Partnership for Care published on 27 February.