Chamber and committees

NHS boards are responsible for decision making in relation to creating capacity to deliver their commitments to patients, including use of the independent sector where this is deemed appropriate. However, we would expect that NHS boards will always maximise the use of NHS capacity before turning to the private sector.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the independent committee which gives advice to the UK government and devolved administrations, considered the merits of vaccinating boys against human papilloma virus (HPV) based on an assessment of the impact on cervical cancer and genital warts. The committee recommended that HPV vaccination for boys would not be cost-effective.

The Scottish Government has made clear that NHS boards can use existing private sector capacity, but that we will not invest taxpayers'' money to fund new private sector capacity.

1. The number of physiotherapists employed on an agenda for change (AfC) band 5 is 439 (head count) and 398.3. (whole-time equivalent) as at 30 September 2007. This will include newly qualified physiotherapists and staff who have been in post for more than a year.

2. As part of their workforce planning, NHS boards have forecast an increase in qualified Physiotherapists by 6.9% over the next three years.

3. Information about the number of physiotherapy students who will graduate in the next 10 years is not available. The Scottish Government Health Directorates neither commission nor control the numbers of physiotherapists in training in Scotland. It is higher education institutions (HEIs) who determine the final numbers. NHSEducation for Scotland (NES) is, however, working with HEIs to determine a structured approach to supporting undergraduates clinical placement numbers through a Memorandum of Understanding at national and local level.

4. The number of physiotherapists (AfC band 5 and above) as at  30 September 2007, aged between 50 and 59, who will reach the age of 60 in each year from 2008 to 2017 is shown in table 1. Please note that there are 65 physiotherapists (AfC band 5 and above) aged 60 and over as at  30 September 2007.

Table 1 - Physiotherapists (AfC Band 5 and Above) who will Reach the Age of 60 in¹

Source: ISD Scotland, ISD Ref. IR2008-00416.

Note: 1. Includes physiotherapists (AfC band 5 and above) ages 50 to 59, inclusive, as at 30 September 2007

Information on how many junior physiotherapists will be required by the NHS over the next 10 years and how many newly qualified physiotherapists will graduate over the same period is not available centrally.

5. We are working with NHS Education Scotland and other stakeholders, including the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (CSP), to make sure employment opportunities for newly qualified physiotherapists are maximised. In particular, the National Solutions Group which includes the CSP, is taking forward a range of solutions including the development of a pan-Scotland AHP Bank to provide wide ranging and flexible job opportunities for newly qualified AHPs to work in a community care setting and developing the NES Ready4Work Programme which will be online from April and aims to keep graduates work ready.

His response is as follows:

The collection of attempted suicide and self-harm statistics will commence in April 2008. The Scottish Prison Service definitions are not aligned with the data protocols of NHS Information Services Division.

For NHS patients treated by independent hospitals in Scotland, information is required to be submitted as part of standard national data returns. However, submissions for independent hospitals are known to be considerably under-reported and thus figures are not published. The Information and Statistics Division of NHS National Services Scotland is working with the Scottish Government, NHS boards, and the independent health care sector to resolve this issue, and data collection is improving.

For NHS patients seen by independent hospitals in England and Wales, information is required to be submitted to the NHS England Information Centre. The quality of information on Scottish residents treated in independent hospitals in England, Wales or Northern Ireland is not known.

The Scottish Government has made clear that NHS boards can use existing private sector capacity, but that we will not invest taxpayers'' money to fund new private sector capacity.

The Scottish Government has made clear that NHS boards can use existing private sector capacity, but that we will not invest taxpayers'' money to fund new private sector capacity.