Chamber and committees

Health Protection Scotland estimates that approximately 50,000 persons in Scotland have been infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) of whom some 20,000 have been diagnosed. The estimate of 50,000 is based on a wide range of HCV prevalence data which were generated through surveys of high and low-riskpopulations during 1996-2004. Numerous surveys of injecting drug users throughoutScotland have been performed and these indicate prevalences of between 30% and 80%. Other populations surveyed include pregnant women, genito-urinary medicine clinic attenders, prisoners, health care workers and blood donors.

The Scottish Executive announced an additional £4 million for smoking cessation services for 2005-06. This more than doubles the funding available for cessation services and will allow smoking cessation programmes to expand to meet the increased demand for services which is likely to stem from the implementation of the ban on smoking in public places.

Data is not available by maxillofacial unit. However, tables 1 and 2 provide figures for consultants in maxillofacial specialties (Surgery and Radiology) by NHS board. These figures are likely to be an undercount of all maxillofacial consultants because maxillofacial consultants working in oral surgery cannot be explicitly identified.

Table 1: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Consultants Employed in NHSScotland by NHS Board (as at 30 September 2003)

	Establishment		Staff in Post		Population	Whole-Time Equivalent Consultants in Post Per 100,000 Population
	Headcount	Whole-Time Equivalent	Headcount	Whole-Time Equivalent
Scotland	10	10.0	7	7.0	5,057,400	0.14
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	2	2.0	2	2.0	367,140	0.54
NHS Forth Valley	2	2.0	2	2.0	279,680	0.72
NHS Grampian	1	1.0	0	0.0	523,390	0.00
NHS Lanarkshire	1	1.0	1	1.0	553,440	0.18
NHS Lothian	4	4.0	2	2.0	780,010	0.26

Source: ISD Scotland.

Table 2: Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology Consultants Employed in NHSScotland by NHS Board (as at 30 September 2003)

	Establishment		Staff in Post		Population	Whole-Time Equivalent Consultants in Post Per 100,000 Population
	Headcount	Whole-Time Equivalent	Headcount	Whole-Time Equivalent
Scotland	2	1.6	2	1.6	5,057,400	0.03
NHS Greater Glasgow	1	0.6	1	0.6	866,370	0.07
NHS Tayside	1	1.0	1	1.0	386,550	0.26

Source: ISD Scotland.

Notes:

1. Staff in post and establishment figures are sourced from the Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

2. Population figures are mid 2003 estimates sourced from the General Register Office for Scotland.

This information is not held centrally.

A range of measures have been taken, including –

· allocating over £8 million annually to NHS boards for action to prevent the spread of bloodborne viruses, including hepatitis C;

· revising the Lord Advocate’s guidelines to permit a substantial increase in the number of needles and syringes, which can be supplied to drug misusers;

· issuing a range of information materials to drug services and prisons across Scotland to highlight the risks from injecting, including from hepatitis C;

· an additional £6 million, announced in October 2004, linked to Spending Review 2004. This brings the funding for drug treatment and rehabilitationto £32.5 million per annum from 2005-06;

· issuing hepatitis C materials for professionals and patients;

· funding the establishment of a national clinical database of patients diagnosed with hepatitis to help evaluate the effectiveness of treatment;

· giving grant towards the UK Hepatitis C Resource Centre Scotland, which is based in Glasgow and offers support and advice on testing and treatment to those affected by hepatitis C, and

· a number of research studies have been commissioned by the Executive’s Drug Misuse Research Programme which have increased our knowledge of injecting practices among drug users. The evidence produced by these studies will support the development of more effective interventions to prevent the transmissionof hepatitis C.

In addition, an action plan is being developed for issue in spring 2005, which will set out the action in train and proposed to tackle hepatitis C.

Good progress has been made in implementing the new consultant contract within NHSScotland.

NHS boards were asked to complete the job planning process by the end of May.  This has taken slightly longer than anticipated but the majority of boards have now completed this process.

Around 98% of consultants in Scotland gave a formal commitment to the new contract by 31 December 2003. Information shows that by September 2004, 95% of consultants, who gave a formal commitment to the contract by that date had received final job plan offers, 2% had decided not to move on to the new contract with a further 3% in the mediation process or had not a job plan offer. Further progress has been made since September but final figures are not yet available.

No. The new consultant contract includes a mechanism for prospective job plans to be agreed to reflect the service needs of the organisation and the requirements of the European Working Time Directive.

Employers therefore have to consider how they will deliver services in line with the European Working Time Directive, using service re-design or the recruitment of additional staff as options according to local need.

The latest estimates for Scottish Executive funding to Scottish science centres in 2004-05 are:

Glasgow Science Centre	£127,000
Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh	£838,256
Satrosphere, Aberdeen	£630,945
Sensation, Dundee	£544,000
Total	£2,140,201

 

Planned expenditure by the Scottish Executive in 2005-06 for the Science Centres Programme is £2.9 million. The allocation of this budget to individual centres will be decided on the basis of business plans yet to be submitted.

Health Protection Scotland estimates that approximately 90% of the estimated 50,000 persons in Scotland, who have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), are either former or current injecting drug users, and this population group is thus at greatest risk.

In consequence, since HCV testing became available in 1991, thousands of injecting drug users in Scotland have been tested for HCV in the context of guidelines, distributed by the Scottish Executive Health Department, which recommend that all injecting drug users should be offered an HCV test. Steps are being taken to increase awareness of HCV and HCV testing among current and former injecting drug users, and healthcare workers who would be involved in the HCV testing process.

No information about the terms and conditions of service for individual consultants has been collected by the Scottish Executive Health Department. This is confidential to NHS boards and the consultants.