Chamber and committees

Health Protection Scotland has advised that chromogenic agar has a reported sensitivity of (0.98). Specificity was not used as a parameter

Health Protection Scotland has advised that the estimates for assumptions made within the NHS QIS Health Technology Assessment (HTA) model were peer reviewed and underwent public consultation according to NHS QIS process for the production of HTAs.

Many of the estimates made in the original modelling process have in fact been confirmed by subsequent data drawn from the Pathfinder Programme and the special studies.

The information subsequently used in the MRSA Screening Pathfinder version of the model was derived from the Pathfinder Study.

Health Protection Scotland has advised that current monitoring by the Scottish MRSA Reference Laboratory indicates no significant increase in mupirocin resistance within the Pathfinder boards.

This will be continued to be monitored. 

NHS Scotland Wheelchair and Seating Services are already fully compliant with NHS policy regarding the right to a second opinion.

NHS Scotland Wheelchair and Seating Services are already fully compliant with NHS complaints procedures.

The recommendations for further research into the screening of staff are as highlighted in section 13 of NHS Scotland MRSA Screening Pathfinder Programme Final Report Volume 3: Staff Patient Acceptability.

These have been shared with the Scottish Infection Research Network ensuring that the academic community are engaged with these discussions and will be considered by the HAI Task Force.

Health Protection Scotland published the reports on the clinical risk assessment study along with the study on acquisition / loss of MRSA colonisation during hospital admission on 23 February 2011. These reports are available at:

http://www.documents.hps.scot.nhs.uk/hai/mrsa-screening/pathfinder-programme/mrsa-pathfinder-discharge-2011-02-23.pdf.

On 23 February 2011, I announced that the revised policy for MRSA screening in acute hospitals would comprise a two-stage process involving first-line screening using a clinical risk assessment, followed by swab-based second-line screening test for those identified as being at higher risk of MRSA colonisation.

The study did not highlight these risk factors.

The single most important risk factor for infection was colonisation at the point of admission. Other risk factors included the specialty admitted to.

£4.5 million was made available to NHS boards to support local delivery of the smoking prevention action plan and in particular, to focus on reducing smoking uptake through health promotion related activity. No detailed breakdown of board expenditure is available centrally, although through ongoing dialogue with tobacco programme leads within NHS boards we are aware that the funding supports a range of activities. This includes, for example, activities to engage with children and young people within a broad holistic approach to health and wellbeing

The Lanarkshire Breastfeeding Initiative (LBI) is a charitable organisation which works in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire to promote breastfeeding in Lanarkshire and receives some funding from the board. We would expect NHS boards to evaluate any work which they commission.