Chamber and committees

Feedback from the joint local action plans on delayed discharge shows that all but three partnership areas either have rapid response teams in place or are developing them. We will continue to chart the development and expansion of these teams.Specific information on how many rapid response teams are attached to psychiatric units is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29419. 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.

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 such as the new atypical anti-psychotic drugs. At national level, the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) 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.

The grant schemes under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and section 16b of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 support a number of voluntary organisations, which provide support for people with mental health problems in Scotland, including the Glasgow area. Each organisation provides its own particular service and will differ in some respects from others in the field. Core funding is awarded through the section 10 and section 16b schemes and contributes towards the administration costs of the organisation.

The cost to date to the Scottish Executive of the children's panel national recruitment campaign is £395,000. £385,000 is for development, artwork and advertising costs and £10,000 for publication of literature. There are no discrete costs for staffing. Sifting and assessment of applications by Children's Panel Advisory Committees involves the volunteers on the committees with input from local authority staff. A separate budget meets the cost of the handling agency fee which is based on response levels. Local authorities meet the costs of any local advertising to augment the national campaign.

The information requested is not available. Available data relates to the number of prescribed items dispensed by either community pharmacists or dispensing doctors and are not patient specific.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29706 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.

The first four weeks of the campaign attracted 3,458 notes of interest. The details have been passed to the local authorities responsible for sifting and assessing applications arising out of these notes of interest. Children's Panel Advisory Committees will submit recommendations to Scottish ministers later in the year on who should be appointed as members of their children's panel. No recommendations have yet been received by Scottish ministers. The tables set out the position on gender and age of those expressing interest by local authority area.Table 1: Gender

Local Authority	Male	Female	Total
Aberdeen City	17	72	103
Aberdeenshire	12	75	99
Angus	9	31	47
Argyll and Bute	3	28	40
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar	1	2	3
Dumfries and Galloway	4	57	61
Dundee	24	82	106
East Ayrshire	15	62	77
East Dunbartonshire	15	57	72
East Lothian	16	33	49
East Renfrewshire	13	40	53
Edinburgh	95	264	359
Fife	39	148	187
Glasgow	93	352	445
Highland	28	61	89
Inverclyde	9	32	41
Joint CPAC	44	191	235
Midlothian	13	37	50
Moray	10	21	31
North Ayrshire	35	137	172
North Lanarkshire	77	219	296
Orkney Islands	0	0	0
Perth & Kinross	18	94	112
Renfrewshire	35	87	122
Scottish Borders	12	23	35
Shetland Islands	1	7	8
South Ayrshire	18	73	91
South Lanarkshire	62	215	277
West Dunbartonshire	7	76	83
West Lothian	36	127	163
Total	761	2,697	3,458

Table 2: Age Profile of National Recruitment Campaign

	18-30	31-40	41-50	51-59	60+	Total
Responses	934	1,237	808	364	115	3,458

The information requested is not readily available. Each NHS board is responsible for assessing the health care needs of its population and for putting in place arrangements to meet these needs. These arrangements may include sharing treatment and other facilities and services with partner agencies and neighbouring NHS board areas. Mental health is, along with cancer and heart disease, one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. NHS boards provide resources for mental health services from within their general financial allocation. These are growing at an average annual rate exceeding 7% in cash terms.

The available figures for depression are based on those from a sample of GP practices for the year ending December 2001.Estimated Number of Patients Seen for Depression, Year Ending 31 December 2001

Age Group (years)	Males	Females
0-14	350	750
15-24	8,200	22,800
25-44	31,400	84,150
45-64	24,400	54,200
65-74	4,900	13,150
75-84	2,750	8,250
85 and over	650	2,450

Source: GP Consultations: Continuous Morbidity Recording Database (CMR), based on submissions from a sample of 60 GP practices in Scotland from which national estimates are derived.