- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a hospital case can be treated other than as in-patient, day case or out-patient.
Answer
The terms in-patient, day case and out-patient denote the type and level of resource used to treat a patient during a particular contact with hospital services. These terms are formally defined by ISD Scotland in its Definitions and Codes manual, which can be accessed at the following web address. Other defined terms include day patients, ward attenders, accident and emergency attenders and nurse only clinic attendances.
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/isd_services/NHSiS_services/National_data_standards/defsmanual.htm.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that those who currently have unmet need for free personal care are identified and receive the services they need.
Answer
The Spending Review 2002 settlement reflects the Care Development Group's costing assumptions for free personal care. These assumptions estimated an increase in demand from unmet need and a shift from informal to formal care of approximately 12% building up over the first two years of the policy to 2004-05. Within that framework, identification of individuals in need of care is a matter for local authorities. The Scottish Executive has provided the necessary resources.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest technologies available for the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) are and how much it plans to invest in these technologies in each year to 2005-06.
Answer
The treatment of coronary heart disease is a continuously advancing field. Our CHD and Stroke Strategy, which we will publish shortly, will set out arrangements designed to make sure that people in Scotland who suffer from CHD can benefit at as early a stage as possible from those advances.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest technologies available for the treatment of strokes are and how much it plans to invest in these technologies in each year to 2005-06.
Answer
Stroke medicine is a continuously advancing field. Our Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke Strategy, which we will publish shortly, will set out arrangements designed to make sure that people in Scotland who have had a stroke can benefit at as early a stage as possible from those advances.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what building and information technology (IT) projects currently under development are likely to benefit from the investment of at least #750 million referred to in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys; which of these building projects are likely to cost under #5 million, and which of these IT projects are likely to cost under #1 million, over the period to 2005-06.
Answer
Following the changes introduced to the Capital Planning and Approval processes in April this year, it is anticipated that the majority of the £750 million will be allocated directly to NHS boards to undertake those improvements already under way or planned as part of the board's Capital Investment Programme.Those building projects currently under development include the provision of appropriate facilities for mental health; ambulatory care and diagnostic facilities; reconfiguration of services arising from completed or on-going acute services reviews; improved primary care and community hospital facilities, and investment in and the upgrading of medical equipment. IT projects costing under £1 million are managed under delegated authority by the NHS boards and trusts. Projects managed by NHS boards and trusts costing over £1 million are subject to business case approval by the Health Department. These projects are likely to include the development of electronic integrated care records and systems supporting accident and emergency and ambulatory care and diagnostic services. Such investments will be directed in line with the national Information Management and Technology (IM&T) strategy and the health board IM&T Action Plans currently under development.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to provide new drugs where clinically appropriate as stated in the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys.
Answer
Substantial additional resources are being made available to the NHS in Scotland over the years of the spending review as announced on 12 September 2002, with an average annual increase of 8.7% over the years 2003-04 to 2005-06 rising to £8.6 billion a year by the end of the period. Within these substantially increased resources, NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that patients residing in their areas have access to clinically appropriate treatment, including new drug treatments. At Scottish level, the Health Technology Board for Scotland reviews new drug treatments and provides guidance on their use. NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from the HTBS and ensure that recommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need. At local level, Area Drug and Therapeutic Committees are responsible for giving advice to clinicians and for ensuring consistent application of national and local guidelines.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has contributed financially to adopting medical advances since 1999-2000; whether it will give examples of instances where any such advances were most beneficial to the extent that they are now used or have been put in place by every NHS board, and how much funding it will allocate to the future adoption of medical advances in each year to 2005-06.
Answer
The national clinical effectiveness organisations, for example the Health Technology Board Scotland, the Scottish Inter-Collegiate Guidelines Network and the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, are funded to evaluate the clinical and cost effectiveness of health technologies and develop evidence-based clinical guidelines and standards. NHSScotland is expected to take account of advice and evidence from these organisations so that effective medical advances are quickly adopted as mainstream practice across Scotland. NHS boards are expected to allocate their funds so as to meet national and local priorities, including taking account of clinical advances where relevant. NHS boards' allocations for future years will be announced around the turn of the year, and we expect those to be sufficient to meet pay and price increases and clinical advances.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it gave to increased demand on NHS services and constraints on the time of NHS staff and on the availability of space within NHS out-patient departments in reaching its target that no patient should wait longer than six months for a new out-patient appointment by 2006 as stated in target 7 of the health and community care section of Building a Better Scotland - Spending Proposals 2003-06: What the money buys, and whether it will publish details of such consideration.
Answer
In setting the new national maximum waiting time target of six months for a first out-patient appointment, we have taken account of record levels of investment in the NHS which will enable more resources to be deployed to meet growth in demand, for example by increasing numbers of consultants and nurses and making substantial investment in buildings and IT equipment. Moreover, the Centre for Change and Innovation will support and facilitate new and innovative ways of working. The Executive believes that NHS boards and trusts will meet the new target by 2006 and that the people of Scotland will welcome this commitment to reducing out-patient waits.
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out or commissioned to compare Scotland's health provision with European levels over the next three years and whether it will publish any such research.
Answer
The Scottish Executive do not currently have plans to commission research of this nature. A study to compare health care systems in the United Kingdom with seven other countries (mostly European) was commissioned by HM Treasury and published in April 2002. The report,
Health care systems in eight countries: trends and challenges, is available at:
- Asked by: Nicola Sturgeon, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 17 September 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Frank McAveety on 1 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will increase the amount of funding allocated to free personal care in the light of the prediction in the General Registrar for Scotland Annual Report 2000 that by 2006 the population aged over 65 will have increased by 30,000 since 1998.
Answer
The Care Development Group acknowledged that the cost of the policy would be affected by changes in demography and specific account has been taken of this in allocating resources.
