Chamber and committees

NHS Dumfries and Galloway are conducting an appropriate consultation of their proposals, and are currently welcoming patient feedback on their preferred option.

The board developed a patient engagement plan in collaboration with the Scottish Health Council. Clinic staff, independent dental contractors and other stakeholders were consulted on proposed options regarding the future provision of routine General Dental Services from each clinic site. Patient information leaflets, posters and comment forms were also made available at each of the clinics explaining the options being considered and the preferred option.

Table 1 and 2 provide available data for liver-related deaths among those diagnosed with hepatitis C in Scotland, and by age group, for the period 2007 to 2012. Data on age-standardised deaths from hepatitis C, and by parliamentary constituency is not available. Data for 2012 are provisional as they are not yet published.

Table 1: Number of liver-related deaths* among those diagnosed with hepatitis C in Scotland each year 2007-2013

* Deaths were defined as related to liver disease if the underlying cause of death was either (a) viral hepatitis, (b) liver cancer, (c) alcoholic liver disease or (d) non-alcoholic liver disease, or the contributing cause of death was either (b), (c) or (d).

** Data for this year are provisional.

Table 2: Number of liver-related deaths* among those diagnosed with hepatitis C in Scotland each year 2007-2013, by age group

There is no programme on studying screening for hearing loss jointly funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Chief Scientist Office (CSO).

The MRC and CSO jointly fund the Scottish Section of the Institute of Hearing Research which is located at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. CSO funding for the institute is currently £368,172 per annum.

A study led by the University of the West of Scotland and published in 2012 (Hepatitis C Prevalence and Incidence among Scottish Prisoners and Staff Views of its Management, Taylor et al), included an assessment of awareness raising activities within Scottish prisons. The study reported that a confidential blood borne virus service, incorporating hepatitis C (HCV), is available to all prisoners within the Scottish Prison Service. This service includes immunisations, HCV testing and counselling, HCV treatment and harm reduction awareness-raising such as awareness sessions regarding HCV (and other BBV) risk behaviour awareness training

The report also concluded that the Scottish Prison Service “is to be congratulated for having introduced a comprehensive range of interventions…. designed to reduce injecting, prevent transmission of infection and provide treatment, care and support for those already infected with HCV.”

The majority of prisoners at risk of hepatitis C infection within Scottish prisons are people who inject drugs (PWID) carrying out short sentences and who may also have been made aware of HCV through community based awareness programmes.

In 2013-14 the Scottish Government, through the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), contributed £8.09 million to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). This allows Scottish-based researchers to bid competitively for funding available through a number of the NIHR administered funding schemes.

CSO does not contribute directly to the funding of the Medical Research Council or similar bodies, although occasionally contributes small amounts of funding to initiatives that are co-funded. However in line with UK agreements CSO also invests £42 million annually in the NHS to meet the additional costs of hosting research from these external funders of research.

We are working with NHS boards to deliver commitment 12 of the Mental Health Strategy to reduce admissions of under 18s to adult wards, with a new commitment to reduce figures across Scotland to a figure linked to current performance in the South of Scotland area during delivery of the strategy timeframe 2012-15. To support this we have:

Made a significant investment (£13.5 million from 2009 to 2014) to deliver faster access to specialist child and adolescent mental health services in the community; and in the CAMHS workforce which has seen the overall clinical workforce increase by 44% since 2008.

We have with ISD and the CAMHS regional tier 4 network, developed a data set to track progress in developing intensive community treatment teams and how the adolescent inpatient units are working. We are continuing to work with the CAMHS regional tier 4 networks to ensure that tier 4 services for children and young people are operating effectively and safely.

To meet the needs of children and adolescents, the North of Scotland are building a new 12 bed inpatient unit to replace the current 6 bed unit. This will increase the national bed base from 42 to 48 beds, and improve the quality of the estate.

There are some reasons why it may not always be possible for a young person to be admitted to a specialist child and adolescent bed, for example, a crisis admission out of hours where there are concerns for the young person’s safety, or where a specialist facility might be a considerable distance from family support that could help recovery.

In the course of developing the Hepatitis C Phase 1 Action Plan, Health Protection Scotland estimated the costs of the current and future burden of chronic hepatitis C disease on the NHS in Scotland. This work was completed in February 2007.

Health Protection Scotland estimated that the annual health service costs associated with the monitoring, management and treatment of people with diagnosed chronic hepatitis C disease in Scotland was £11.8 million in 2005. This figure included £2.8 million for antiviral therapy for hepatitis C.

The same work also estimated potential future costs, assuming uptake of hepatitis C antiviral therapy by around 1,000 former injecting drug users a year. In this scenario it was estimated that costs would rise to around £22 million in 2015, comprising around £13 million for the costs associated with the management of chronic hepatitis C disease and around £9 million for the costs of antiviral therapy. (These costs do not take account of inflation and were calculated based on 2005 prices).

There is a requirement on NHS boards to ensure that NHS general dental services are provided by independent contractors where possible, and are not duplicated by the Public Dental Service.

The £25,000 recruitment allowance is only payable in the three island board areas, where recruitment has historically been challenging.

The Scottish Government does consider that the investment of £7.6 million in the building of Broxden Dental Centre represents a sound investment.

It is not the case that Broxden Dental Centre is massively underused. It is the only Public Dental Service Clinic serving a population of more than 150,000 people in Perth and Kinross. It also carries out undergraduate outreach work, provides vocational training for young dentists unable to obtain positions in independent practice; caters for patients with special needs or requiring special care; and delivers Childsmile.

These services are not being privatised.

Any shift in service provision from the Public Dental Service to independent contractors providing NHS dental services does not constitute privatisation.