- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 25 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met officials of the other three UK health departments to discuss the new GP contract and which sections of the contract apply to the UK as a whole.
Answer
As part of theimplementation process for the new GMS contract, meetings between the NHSConfederation, UK General Practitioners Committee and officials from the fourUK Health Departments are held on a regular basis. The meeting took place on 17and 18 November.
The new GMS contract is aUK-wide agreed package, which applies, to the UK as a whole. There areelements such as the allocation formula which have been adjusted to reflectparticular needs in Scotland, however this does not detract from the point thatthis is essentially a UK contract.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next review income-related exemptions to NHS prescription charges.
Answer
There are no plans atpresent to review income-related exemptions to NHS prescription charges.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing a comprehensive diabetic retinopathy screening programme in each NHS board area.
Answer
Health Department Letter(2003)23 requires each NHS board to have a comprehensive diabetic retinopathyscreening programme in its area by March 2006. The Scottish Diabetes Group,which monitors the Scottish diabetes framework, considers that all boardsappear to be making satisfactory progress on this aspect of the framework.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how much diabetic kidney disease has cost the NHS in each of the last three years.
Answer
This information is notcollected centrally.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS board areas are providing annual reviews for people diagnosed with diabetes and what the average waiting time is for such reviews in each board area.
Answer
Annual reviews are providedfor people with diabetes in all parts of Scotland. Information on how each NHS board organises these isnot collected centrally.
The diabetes standardspublished by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland make provision for people withdiabetes to be offered an examination annually, or more frequently whereclinically indicated.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new cases of diabetic kidney failure were dealt with by the NHS in each of the last three years.
Answer
The following table providesinformation about the incidence of patients receiving renal replacement therapy(RRT) for end stage renal disease (ESRD) as a result of diabetic nephropathy(DN).
The information is drawnfrom the Scottish renal registry (SRR), a national registry of patients withrenal failure and other renal disorders.
Number of PatientsStarting RRT for ESRD with Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) 2000 to 2002
| Calendar year | Number of Incident Patients |
| 2000 | 102 |
| 2001 | 93 |
| 2002 | 99 |
Notes:
1. “Incident” refers to the number of patients who start RRT for ESRD inScottish hospitals each year.
2. Figures were extracted from the Scottish renal registry on 15 November 2003.
3. Some patients with DiabetesMellitus (DM) will have a cause of ESRD other than DN. Where this other cause isknown, it is recorded as the primary renal disease. The numbers of patientswith DM who started RRT will therefore be slightly higher than that shown inthe table.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland report into local diabetes services to be published.
Answer
I understand that NHSQuality Improvement Scotland expects to publish local and national reports on itsdiabetes standards in March 2004.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 10 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to address diabetic kidney disease.
Answer
NHS QualityImprovement Scotland (NQIS)’s renal standards acknowledge diabetes as one of the commonest conditions that can lead to renal disease. NQIS’s diabetesstandards contain a standard relating specifically to the management of renalproblems. Responsibility for implementation of these standards rests with NHS boards.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to ensure regular checks for diabetes for patients (a) in psychiatric units and (b) on antipsychotic drug treatment in the community, in light of recent warnings from the USA.
Answer
Patients can respond betterand perhaps faster to treatment if their mental health needs are addressedalongside their physical needs. A Scottish Needs Assessment Programme 2002report Liaison Psychiatry and Psychology underlined the importance weattach to identifying the whole person needs of all patients in this regard. Product information for all atypical antipsychoticdrugs has recently been updated to include warnings about the risk of hyperglycaemiaand exacerbation of pre-existing diabetes.
- Asked by: Mr David Davidson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 20 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cost would be to the public purse if the state was required to provide the same level of service as that currently carried out by unpaid carers.
Answer
The Executive acknowledges withgratitude the immense contribution made by Scotland’s carers. There is noestimate by the Executive of the notional cost of replacing this support withpaid employees financed by the state. However, Carers UK launched a report WithoutUs…? in 2002 which calculated the value of support provided by carers inthe UK at £57 billion a year.
