Chamber and committees

Details of research undertaken by the Mental Welfare Commission and Health Improvement Scotland can be found online at:

a) Health Improvement Scotland:

http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/about_us/what_we_do/research.aspx

There has been no centrally commissioned or funded research to monitor outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer who breach the 62-day referral to treatment and 31-day decision to treat to treatment cancer access standards.

This government introduced tougher new cancer waiting times targets in 2010 with over 1,000 more patients now being treated each quarter. The 31-day standard has been consistently achieved with, on average, cancer patients starting treatment within six days of a decision to treat.

However, the pathway to diagnosis and staffing can be complex involving several medical investigations and decision-making processes and we continue to scrutinise performance across NHS Scotland and are actively supporting NHS boards where there are challenges to sustained delivery against the 62-day standard backed by additional funding of £4.05 million in 2015-16.

Through the local delivery planning process, the Scottish Government engages extensively with a wide range of stakeholders, including the royal colleges, medical and nurse directors and chief executives and COSLA in considering the performance standards for the NHS in Scotland.

We are also actively engaged with the Scottish Partnership Forum on the performance management principles for the NHS in Scotland. These principles are promoted widely and recognise the importance of local clinical decision making and that all staff should be engaged in performance measurement setting and delivery. In addition, a nationwide consultation on the future of health and social care services which I launched earlier in August 2015 aims to involve the views of as many patients and their families when thinking about the future of health services and what support they need to lead healthier lives.

Data is not held centrally on the number of GPs in Scotland offering patients access to (summary) medical records electronically. However, this service is not believed to be currently offered by any GP practice in Scotland. Patients can see their records at any time on request, as a print out, or viewed on screen at the GP practice.

The Scottish Government has recently allocated £6 million to a three-year digital services development fund to support and accelerate the use of digital services by GP practices in Scotland. This will include funding for wider activation of online appointment booking and repeat prescription ordering, and to promote a range of enhanced digital services, which should include access to summary medical information and access to correspondence.

NHSScotland is working to provide everyone in Scotland with access to an integrated summary of their electronic health record drawn from a range of relevant clinical IT systems, not just GP IT systems. The aim is to develop such a summary incrementally so that every person in Scotland has access via a digital health and care portal service by 2020.

Further to my answer to S4W-26956 on 14 August 2015, the guidance also advises boards that it is critical that job plans and job planning strike the right balance between direct clinical care commitments, contractual and regulatory requirements such as appraisal and revalidation and other important activities undertaken in support of professionalism and excellence in medicine.

The balance of all PAs – both direct clinical care and supporting professional activities – should be agreed between the consultant and their manager and is subject to at least an annual review through a well monitored, fair and appropriate job planning process.

NHS boards are also investing in job planning technology which is aiding with the creation of intelligent and responsive job plans, making this process much more efficient and user friendly.

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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government was a full negotiating partner in the UK talks to secure new contractual arrangements for doctors in training. The British Medical Association (BMA) withdrew from these talks in October 2014 without prior notice. Following this, all parties were invited to submit evidence to the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) in order that they could review the work to date and give their opinion on the potential make up of a new contract for doctors in training. The Scottish Government asked the DDRB for observations only. The BMA were informed of our course of action.

On 27 March 2015 Paul Gray, Chief Executive of NHSScotland, wrote to NHS board chief executives endorsing the guidance on consultant job planning issued by NHSScotland employers Management Steering Group. This guidance asks boards to ensure that full time consultant posts are advertised on the basis of 10 programmed activities with applicants being advised of the fixed clinical care sessions allocated with the post in the job pack accompanying the advertisement.

Currently there is no service which collects pseudonymised data from IT systems by all GP practices.

No global unique identifier number is applied to patients in NHS GP practices using the EMIS IT system. The community health index number is the only unique identifier that is used across all NHS Scotland IT systems. Patients and practices can opt out of providing patient-identifiable information for research purposes.

The treatment time guarantee has been in place since October 2012, such research would normally require a number of years data and this is something which will be considered. The Scottish Government does however cooperate regularly with a range of independent research, including recent reports on waiting times, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report Waiting Time Policies in the Health Sector: What Works? and the Nuffield report The four health systems of the UK: How do they compare?. Waiting times throughout Scotland emerge in a positive light within these reports.

The Scottish Government expects health boards to take all appropriate action to comply with their legal obligation to ensure eligible patients who are due to receive planned inpatient or day case treatment are treated in accordance with the treatment time guarantee. If a patient has not received their treatment within the 12 week maximum waiting time period they should immediately contact their health board so that an appointment can be made to treat them without delay.