Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12384 on 9 May 2008. 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/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12384 on 9 May 2008. 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/wa.search.

All 32 local authorities in Scotland have submitted draft single outcome agreements (SOAs) that set out how they will contribute to the agreed national outcomes in relation to education provision. Those drafts are currently the subject of discussion. We aim to complete the process of finalising all the Agreements for 2008-09 by 30 June. Subject to agreement with the authorities, all the finalised SOAs will be made publicly available shortly thereafter.

We are not currently stockpiling pneumococcal vaccines to prevent the spread of secondary respiratory infection in the event of a pandemic. Pneumococcal vaccination for children is currently provided as part of the existing childhood vaccination schedule and those over the age of 65 are also offered the vaccination along with the seasonal flu vaccination every year.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recently considered the need for a wider pneumococcal vaccination programme for an influenza pandemic. While supportive of the current pneumococcal vaccination programme, they concluded that the evidence of additional benefit from a wider programme in the event of a pandemic was not sufficient to support action, such as stockpiling of vaccines. They will continue to consider any evidence that emerges.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11606 on 18 April 2008. 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/wa.search.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that patients have rapid access to the full range of services they need from the NHS. Specific targets are in place for first out-patient appointments following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, for acute hospital admissions following a decision to place a patient on the waiting list, and for treatment for specific conditions, including heart disease and cancer. But the government is also committed to improving access and reducing waiting times for a broader range of services, and is supporting the NHS in Scotland to drive down waiting times for services not presently covered by waiting times targets.

We have published four targets for all NHS boards and 14 commitments for change and improvement in mental health services, incorporating reductions in re-admissions, anti-depressant prescribing and the rate of suicides, while also addressing increases in suicide assessment training and earlier diagnosis and support for those with dementia. The underlying commitments address specific measurable improvements across the range of mental health services, ages and needs.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-11601 on 23 April 2008. 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/wa.search.

While there are no specific plans to develop a national strategy for epilepsy and learning disability, a number of other actions have been taken.

SIGN Guideline 70 on the Diagnosis and Management of Epilepsy in Adults and SIGN Guideline 81 on the management of epilepsies in children and young people each has a section dealing with the management of those with learning disabilities and epilepsy, and we expect NHS boards to implement the recommendations in these guidelines through local protocols.

NHS Quality Improvement Scotland is developing clinical standards for neurological conditions, including clinical standards specific to epilepsy. These standards, once finalised, will be mandatory across NHSScotland.

The national review of learning disability services, The Same as You?, emphasises the importance of addressing the range of health care needs of people with learning disabilities who also have specific medical problems, of which epilepsy is one. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland assesses NHS boards'' performance against Learning Disability Quality Indicators, which include specific health needs such as epilepsy.

Published guidance on the management of waiting lists makes it clear that where for medical reasons a patient becomes unavailable while they are waiting for treatment, and is likely to be unavailable for more than seven days, then the patient''s waiting times clock will be stopped and re-started when the patient becomes available again.

The guidance further states that patients who are unavailable for treatment for medical reasons should be reviewed within 13 weeks. If no end date to the unavailability is known at that review, then the health care professional responsible for the patient''s treatment will decide whether the patient should remain on the waiting list or be returned to the care of their GP. This decision can be made only by the health care professional responsible for treating the patient, who will not remove a patient if it is clinically inappropriate to do so.

Arrangements for discussing a patient''s care and treatment with them, including their medical availability for treatment, are matters for the clinicians concerned. It would be good practice for the responsible clinician to discuss with a patient future arrangements for managing their condition, including any decision to return the patient to the care of their GP.

All personal information held by hospitals, including data about patients on waiting lists, is subject to the Data Protection Act. Under the act, anyone who has information about them stored has the right to see that information and to request that any inaccurate information is corrected.

I have reminded NHS boards of this and of the importance of ensuring that patients are well informed about their waiting status. In particular, I have asked boards to ensure that arrangements are in place so that patients can review the waiting times information held about them and, if necessary, have any inaccurate information corrected.