- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will review the NHS dental contract.
Answer
The Executive recently concluded a major consultation, Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland, which included how NHS dental services should be provided and remunerated in the future. Responses to this consultation have now been analysed and we expect to issue a policy statement in the autumn.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that there is a seamless development of services delivering community equipment and adaptations and whether it will amalgamate the management and budget of these services in a single body within each NHS board area.
Answer
We already promote better integration of all community care services, including community equipment and adaptations, as part of the Joint Future agenda. The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 enables local authority and NHS partnerships to go further by delegating functions and pooling budgets.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 12 November 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the daily cost is of keeping a long-stay patient in an acute hospital bed.
Answer
Data is not held centrally thatwould differentiate the daily cost of a long‑stay patient from that of a short‑staypatient in an acute bed. For financial year 2002-03, the national average cost perday of an acute surgical inpatient was £462, an acute medical inpatient was £280and a geriatric long‑stay patient was £142. Further information on hospitalrunning costs is available in the annual Scottish Health Service Costs publication,which can be found at:
http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/info3.jsp?pContentID=2574&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had, and with whom, regarding the removal of public telephone boxes in rural and suburban areas.
Answer
I refer the member to question S2W-10710 answered on 29 September 2004. 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.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what language knowledge it accepts as a minimum standard for EU-qualified medical personnel for the purpose of patient safety.
Answer
Under European Union legislation on freedom of movement, doctors, dentists, nurses responsible for general care, pharmacists and midwives who are European Economic Association (EEA) nationals are entitled to automatic recognition. The freedom of movement laws prevent health regulatory bodies (for example, the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council) from language testing EEA nationals. However, employers are responsible for ensuring that the staff they employ have the competence and linguistic ability to carry out their duties of care.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce NHS one-stop treatment centres.
Answer
Partnership for Care made clear that the way NHS services are provided mustcontinually adapt to reduce waiting times and improve the quality of patient care.It is for NHS boards to determine how these improvements are best brought about.But NHS boards already have or plan to introduce a number of walk-in treatment centres. This includes Stracathro, Tayside (operational); Leith Community Treatment Centre, Lothian (operational); Stobhill and Victoria in Glasgow (planned), and Grampian (planned).
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12417 by Susan Deacon on 30 March 2001, what the median waiting times for all forms of cancer were in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board; what the reasons were for longer than average waiting times in any boards where patients waited for longer than the average median time, and what plans there are to reduce waiting times in all boards, in particular those where the waiting time is above average.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-9562 on 1 September 2004. The median waiting times for inpatient and day case cancer treatment, by NHS board area of residence, during the last five years, is given in the following table.
£25 million is being invested annually to support implementation of Cancer in Scotland. Investment plans concentrate on building capacity aimed at meeting waiting times targets and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland standards. Detailed plans are published at www.cancerinscotland.scot.nhs.uk.
An additional £1 million is also committed over three years to underpin the redesign of cancer services through the Cancer Service Improvement Programme.
NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for Hospital In-Patient and Day Case Admission for Treatment on Cancer1 by NHS Board of Residence
| | Median Wait (days) |
| NHS Board | Year Ended 31 Mar 2000 | Year Ended 31 Mar 2001 | Year Ended 31 Mar 2002 | Year Ended 31 Mar 2003 | Year Ended 31 Mar 2004P |
| Argyll and Clyde | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 12 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Borders | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
| Fife | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 |
| Forth Valley | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Grampian | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Greater Glasgow | 12 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 |
| Highland | 9 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| Lanarkshire | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Lothian | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Orkney | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| Shetland | 8 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Tayside | 19 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 14 |
| Western Isles | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| NHSScotland | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Source: ISD Scotland.
PProvisional.
Notes: 1. Cancer as defined as ICD10 C00-C97 as main diagnosis.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 29 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to replicate the decision of the Department of Health to reduce the regulation of entry into NHS pharmacy contracts.
Answer
There are no plans to replicate the Department of Health decision.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 September 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 29 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many beds are occupied by long-stay patients who are fit to move into a nursing or residential home, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The number of patients whose discharge from hospital was delayed and who were awaiting a placement in a care home at the time of the April 2004 census is shown in Table 1. Long-stay patients cannot be separately identified from the census.
Table 1 – Patients Ready for Discharge – Numbers Waiting for Care Home Placement by NHS Board as at April 2004 Census
| NHS Board | Number of Patients Waiting for a Care Home Placement¹ |
| Scotland | 795 |
| Argylland Clyde | 108 |
| Ayrshireand Arran | 48 |
| Borders | 15 |
| Dumfriesand Galloway | 3 |
| Fife | 85 |
| Forth Valley | 46 |
| Grampian | 104 |
| Greater Glasgow | 94 |
| Highland | 35 |
| Lanarkshire | 34 |
| Lothian | 141 |
| Orkney | 3 |
| Shetland | 0 |
| Tayside | 70 |
| Western Isles | 9 |
Since January 2002 and the launch of the first delayed discharge action plan, we have reduced the numbers delayed from 3,116 to 1,785 at April 2004. The number of patients delayed for more than six weeks has halved. The number of patients delayed for over 12 months has reduced by 68%. Furthermore, each local authority currently has vacant places in care homes for older people.
Note:
1. Number of patients ready for discharge where the principal reason was:
- awaiting place availability in local authority residential home, independent residential home or nursing home (not NHS funded);
- non-availability of public funding to purchase Residential/Nursing home place;
- patient exercising statutory right of choice, with one of the above as the secondary reason, or
- awaiting completion of social care arrangements in local authority residential home placement, independent residential home placement or nursing home placement (not NHS funded).
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 August 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Hugh Henry on 28 September 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish any plans to provide dedicated facilities for detoxification and rehabilitation for substance misuse in each NHS board area.
Answer
It is for local Drug and Alcohol Action Teams (DAAT) to design and deliver services in their areas tailored to local needs and circumstances. Local service planners and providers already have access to a range of clinical guidance and advice on good practice provided by the Executive.
According to DAAT returns to the Executive, detoxification and community rehabilitation services are already available in each NHS board area.
