Chamber and committees

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

The Terms of Service for General Practitioners are set out in schedule 1 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services)(Scotland) Regulations 1995. GPs are required to provide to their patients, or the patient's representative, free of charge certain medical certificates listed in the regulations. These are concerned with social security, welfare and health matters. Their NHS duties do not require GPs to issue reports to charitable organisations or others and where they are requested to do so they are entitled to charge for their services.

Processes classified as diversion of waste away from landfill are the Recovery Operations set out in Annex IIB of directive 75/442/EEC on waste as amended by directive 91/156/EEC. This can be found at:http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/consleg/pdf/1975/en_1975L0442_do_001.pdf.

The three NHS regional planning groups were asked to review provision of joint arrangements for the care and treatment of mothers suffering from post-natal depression and their babies, in the context of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) guideline on post-natal depression and puerperal psychosis published in June 2002. Each group has now responded. All boards have indicated that they are committed to meeting the guideline. Some boards intend to achieve this within their own facilities and resources. They emphasise the importance of caring for mothers and their babies as close as possible to the communities in which they live, and the use of appropriate care and treatment protocols. Boards in the west of Scotland are undertaking a review of needs and are considering plans for shared services. A short-life working group has been established by the department to produce guidance on appropriate hospital admission arrangements to enable mothers with post-natal depression to be admitted with their child. It is intended to produce guidance by December 2003, reflecting the full range of needs including access to specialist services where appropriate. The department will continue to monitor progress, taking account of the latest available guidance and the steps being taken by the boards.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network guideline on post-natal depression and puerperal psychosis (Bib. number 25439) was compiled over the period two years prior to its publication on 20 June 2002 and will be considered for review in 2004. The Scottish Executive guidance on services for women with post-natal depression (Bib. number 24358) was compiled over the five-month period prior to its publication on 18 March 1999. The guidance is kept under review for currency and relevancy. In this case decisions on revisions will be informed by the outcomes of the current audit of best practice funded by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland into primary and secondary care post-natal depression services in Scotland. A short-life working group has been established to produce a template for the best organisation of hospital admission arrangements to allow mothers with a post-natal depression to be admitted with their child. The aim is to produce guidance by December 2003 that reflects the full range of needs including access to specialist services where appropriate. Any issues arising from that consideration will further inform any revision of current guidance.

The Chief Scientist Office, (CSO), is currently funding a research project on the diagnosis of perinatal mental illness in women and their partners and is also funding a research fellowship on the treatment of post-natal depression. These projects are due for completion in July and September 2004 respectively, at which point final reports will be submitted to CSO for review. The Executive summaries from these final reports will be made available on the CSO website, (www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso), with contact details provided on where to obtain further information.

Prescription data available centrally are not patient-specific but relate to the numbers and cost of prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

Prescription data available centrally are not patient-specific, but relate to the numbers and cost of prescribed items dispensed in the community by community pharmacists and dispensing doctors.

The UK Committee on Safety of Medicine (CSM) has advised against the use of Seroxat in children and adolescents aged under 18 suffering from depressive illness. On 10 June 2003, the Scottish Executive Health Department issued the CSM advice to relevant health care professionals in NHSScotland. Product information for Seroxat is being updated to include the CSM advice. The revised Summary of Product Characteristics is now available on the Electronic Medicines Compendium website (www.emc.vhn.net) and will be sent to prescribers and pharmacists.The advice, together with other material such as a question and answer document, is now available on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency website www.mhra.gov.uk.

The Scottish Executive awarded ENABLE £50,000 to assist in the establishment of the Thistle Travel Card Scheme. The scheme is making a significant difference to the lives of many thousands of people who have difficulty using public transport and are prevented from enjoying a full, active and independent life in their community.