Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14657 on 4 July 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.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) established a project steering board consisting of the three pilot boards and key stakeholders. The steering board regularly meets to discuss progress with the pilot programme in the three pilot areas and will do so until the pilot programme is completed. HPS will provide a report of its interim findings to the Scottish Government by 31 March 2009 which will enable us to begin rolling out a well planned, properly costed and structured national MRSA screening programme across NHS Scotland.

For Scottish Government main employees (the core Scottish Government and certain agencies and associated departments) sick absence records capture only stress as a reason for absence. Scottish Government records do not capture the assessed reasons for stress-related illness. This is not generally provided on medical certificates completed by general medical practitioners.

No compensation has been paid to Scottish Government staff for stress-related absences.

The total number of days employees within Scottish Government main reported stress-related absences during 2007-08 was 2,921 at a cost of £327,000.

Within Scottish Government main employees are provided with opportunities under the Healthy Working Lives scheme to participate in a range of health related activities that promote good physical and mental health well being. The 2008-09 budget available to fund these activities is £50,000.

Stroke remains one of the clinical priorities of NHSScotland. Stroke managed clinical networks operate in each NHS board area and work together with the voluntary sector to deliver and improve services for stroke patients.

The current revision of the CHD and Stroke Strategy recognises the wide ranging and often devastating effect stroke can have on physical and mental wellbeing, including long-term problems such as aphasia. We expect to issue our revised strategy shortly on a consultative basis.

We have also made available funding to help provide training which will allow those who have had a stroke to take part in the work of the stroke managed clinical networks. This will allow people to make a direct contribution, based on their own experience, to the development of stroke services.

Information on the number of patients with a diagnosis of stroke and identified as having speech problems as a result of their stroke is not available from central statistical sources.

The final report of the Aphasia in Scotland Project, commissioned by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, highlighted the difficulty in obtaining robust data on prevalence and incidence of aphasia.

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Speech and Language Therapists Employed by NHS Board (Head Count)

	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NHS Borders	18	20	26	26	26
NHS Fife	53	65	70	70	71
NHS Lothian	166	172	174	181	199
NHS Highland	35	39	40	61	72
NHS Grampian	113	102	105	119	133
NHS Orkney	4	5	5	5	5
NHS Tayside	73	76	80	78	86
NHS Western Isles	9	6	7	9	11
NHS Shetland	3	3	3	3	4
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	58	62	61	61	68
NHS Argyll and Clyde*	77	81	88	N/A	N/A
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde	N/A	N/A	N/A	248	274
NHS Greater Glasgow*	167	168	166	N/A	N/A
NHS Lanarkshire	117	117	118	117	129
NHS Forth Valley	69	66	67	63	72
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	26	24	32	30	39
Total	988	1,006	1,042	1,071	1,189

Source: Information Services Division Scotland (ISD); Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS).

Note: *The dissolution of NHS Argyll and Clyde took effect from 1 April 2006. From 2006, staff from NHS Argyll and Clyde transferred to NHS Highland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

This information is not recorded by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

As with all other NHS boards, the SAS works in accordance with the NHS Scotland Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland monitor compliance with infection control standards across Scotland.

The latest information available is set out in the following table:

NHS 24 Staff Head Count

	Full-Time					Part-Time
Year	Total	Male	% Male	Female	% Female	Total	Male	% Male	Female	% Female
2001	11	3	27.3	8	72.7	0	0	0.0	0	0.0
2002	249	46	18.5	203	81.5	141	4	2.8	137	97.2
2003	365	83	22.7	282	77.3	425	30	7.1	395	92.9
2004	396	93	23.5	303	76.5	520	53	10.2	467	89.8
2005	421	115	27.3	306	72.7	761	81	10.6	680	89.4
2006	472	136	28.8	336	71.2	860	92	10.7	768	89.3
2007	433	134	30.9	299	69.1	832	84	10.1	748	89.9

Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard Service.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46122)

There is no ministerial statement planned on cervical cancer screening.