Questions and answers

Question reference: S3W-28835

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 23 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many accident and emergency departments there were per head of population in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board.

Accident and emergency (A&E) departments are generally sited in large hospitals. In addition to the service offered at these A&E departments, most boards also provide A&E services in smaller hospitals and through minor injury units. The following tables show the number of A&E departments per 100,000 population in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Table 1 shows the number of A&E departments per 100,000 population, for the years 1999 to 2006. The numbers of smaller hospitals offering A&E services and minor injury units are not available for this period.

Table 1: Number of A&E Departments^a per 100,000 population - 1999 to 2006

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Scotland	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.65	0.66
Argyll and Clyde^c	0.94	0.95	0.95	0.96	0.96	0.96	0.97	-
Ayrshire and Arran	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.55
Borders	0.95	0.94	0.94	0.93	0.92	0.92	0.91	0.91
Dumfries and Galloway	0.67	0.68	0.68	0.68	0.68	0.68	0.67	0.68
Fife	0.58	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.56	0.56	0.56
Forth Valley	0.72	0.72	0.72	0.72	0.72	0.71	0.70	0.70
Grampian	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.57	0.57
Greater Glasgow^c	0.69	0.69	0.69	0.69	0.69	0.69	0.69	0.76
Highland^c	0.48	0.48	0.48	0.48	0.48	0.47	0.47	0.65
Lanarkshire	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.54
Lothian	0.39	0.39	0.39	0.39	0.38	0.38	0.38	0.50
Orkney	5.15	5.18	5.20	5.21	5.18	5.13	5.10	5.06
Shetland	4.44	4.51	4.55	4.56	4.57	4.56	4.55	4.57
Tayside	0.51	0.51	0.51	0.52	0.52	0.52	0.51	0.51
Western Isles	3.68	3.73	3.78	3.82	3.83	3.81	3.79	3.80

Notes:

A. All A&E departments. Smaller hospitals offering A&E services and minor injury units are not included.

B. Calculated using the latest 2008 mid-year population estimates (source: GROS).

C. On 1 April 2006, Argyll and Clyde was dissolved and restructured into Greater Glasgow and Highland. Greater Glasgow was renamed as Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Table 2 shows both the number of A&E departments (core sites) and the number of smaller hospitals offering A&E services and minor injury units (non core sites) per 100,000 population, for the years 2007 to 2009.

Table 2: Number of A&E Departments and Other A&E Services Per 100,000 Population “ 2007-09

	2007		2008		2009^a
	A&E Departments	Other	A&E Departments	Other	A&E Departments	Other
Scotland	0.66	1.05	0.66	1.08	0.66	1.14
Ayrshire and Arran	0.54	0.54	0.54	0.82	0.54	0.82
Borders	0.90	3.59	0.89	3.56	0.89	3.56
Dumfries and Galloway	0.67	2.70	0.67	2.69	0.67	2.69
Fife	0.55	0.55	0.55	0.55	0.55	0.55
Forth Valley	0.69	0.00	0.69	0.00	0.69	0.00
Grampian	0.56	2.62	0.56	2.59	0.56	2.59
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	0.75	0.00	0.75	0.00	0.75	0.00
Highland	0.65	5.83	0.65	5.49	0.65	5.49
Lanarkshire	0.54	0.36	0.53	0.36	0.53	0.36
Lothian	0.49	0.00	0.49	0.24	0.49	0.24
Orkney	5.04	0.00	5.03	0.00	5.03	0.00
Shetland	4.56	0.00	4.55	0.00	4.55	0.00
Tayside	0.51	1.52	0.50	1.51	0.50	2.27
Western Isles	3.80	7.60	3.82	7.63	3.82	7.63

Notes:

A. Calculated using the latest 2008 mid-year population estimates (source: GROS).

B. Other includes all smaller hospitals offering A&E services and minor injury units.

Question reference: S3W-28831

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 19 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were diagnosed with autism in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board.

This information is not held centrally.

In March 2008, the Scottish Government published and disseminated guidance for commissioners of services for people on the autism spectrum in local authorities and health boards, which sets out recommendations for planning appropriate services. This guidance can be found at the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/27085247/0.

Annex A of the above guidance sets out a national diagnostic standard for autism spectrum disorder diagnostic standards.

Question reference: S3W-28834

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were on waiting lists and what the waiting times were for child and adolescent mental health services in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board.

Historically this information was not recorded centrally, but we are currently working with NHS boards to put in place by April 2010 a referral to treatment waiting time target for specialist child and adolescent mental health services.

This waiting time target means that by March 2013 no one will wait longer than 26 weeks from referral to treatment for specialist child and adolescent mental health services.

The work with NHS boards includes ensuring that appropriate systems are in place to properly monitor their performance. Data definitions and systems will be piloted from January to March next year to give a final baseline for setting the trajectories to be achieved from April 2010.

Question reference: S3W-28833

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 16 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides there were in each year since 1999, also broken down by NHS board area.

Question reference: S3W-28580

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS complaints have been referred to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) NHS board and (b) outcome of referral.

The data held by the Office of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman goes back to 2003. Since then, I am advised that 1,423 cases have been referred to the Ombudsman, broken down in the following table:

NHS Board	Closure Year	Report issued: complaint fully/ partly upheld	Report issued: complaint not upheld	Premature	Out of Jurisdiction/ Discontinued/ Not pursued	Total
Unknown	Total	23	16	30	112	69
Ayrshire and Arran	2004	2	0	0	3	5
	2005	2	0	4	2	8
	2006	2	1	5	5	13
	2007	8	1	0	6	15
	2008	2	2	2	10	16
	2009	2	1	2	10	15
	Total	18	5	13	36	72
Borders	2004	0	0	0	3	3
	2005	0	0	0	1	1
	2006	3	0	3	1	7
	2007	1	0	2	2	5
	2008	2	0	0	13	15
	2009	0	0	0	5	5
	Total	6	0	5	25	36
Dumfries and Galloway	2004	0	0	0	1	1
	2005	0	0	2	0	2
	2006	1	0	0	1	2
	2007	0	2	1	4	7
	2008	0	0	2	6	8
	2009	0	0	0	4	4
	Total	1	2	5	16	24
Fife	2003	0	0	0	4	4
	2004	0	0	0	4	4
	2005	0	2	1	2	5
	2006	1	1	4	5	11
	2007	3	2	1	9	15
	2008	6	2	1	9	18
	2009	1	0	0	12	13
	Total	11	7	7	45	70
Forth Valley	2003	0	0	0	1	1
	2004	1	0	0	1	2
	2005	1	1	0	1	3
	2006	1	5	2	2	10
	2007	4	2	4	3	13
	2008	5	2	0	7	14
	2009	3	2	2	9	16
	Total	15	12	8	24	59
Grampian	2003	0	0	0	5	5
	2004	1	0	0	11	12
	2005	2	1	3	6	12
	2006	2	6	3	7	18
	2007	8	2	3	9	22
	2008	1	0	0	13	14
	2009	4	0	1	12	17
	Total	18	9	10	63	100
Greater Glasgow and Clyde/Argyll and Clyde	2003	0	0	0	1	1
	2004	0	0	0	17	17
	2005	2	2	8	9	21
	2006	15	9	18	21	63
	2007	32	11	7	31	81
	2008	18	2	7	43	70
	2009	13	1	3	40	57
	Total	80	25	43	162	310
Highland	2003	0	0	0	1	1
	2004	0	0	0	3	3
	2005	0	0	4	1	5
	2006	2	3	6	4	15
	2007	1	3	2	5	11
	2008	4	3	1	13	21
	2009	0	0	0	16	16
	Total	7	9	13	43	72
Lanarkshire	2004	0	0	0	3	3
	2005	0	3	6	6	15
	2006	8	2	1	4	15
	2007	3	4	3	9	19
	2008	7	1	0	8	16
	2009	3	1	0	8	12
	Total	21	11	10	38	80
Lothian	2003	0	0	0	10	10
	2004	1	0	0	12	13
	2005	8	9	5	8	30
	2006	7	6	12	10	35
	2007	14	8	7	22	51
	2008	8	3	3	37	51
	2009	3	0	4	36	43
	Total	41	26	31	135	233
Orkney	2005	0	0	1	0	1
	2006	1	0	1	0	2
	2007	0	0	0	1	1
	2008	0	0	0	3	3
	Total	1	0	2	4	7
Shetland	2005	0	0	2	0	2
	2006	0	2	0	0	2
	2007	0	0	0	1	1
	2008	0	0	1	0	1
	2009	2	0	0	1	3
	Total	2	2	3	2	9
Tayside	2003	0	0	0	1	1
	2004	1	0	0	2	3
	2005	3	2	4	8	17
	2006	3	5	7	13	28
	2007	14	5	2	15	36
	2008	9	4	6	23	42
	2009	3	0	2	23	28
	Total	33	16	21	85	155
Western Isles	2005	1	0	0	1	2
	2006	0	1	1	1	3
	2007	1	3	0	0	4
	2008	2	1	0	1	4
	2009	0	0	0	2	2
	Total	4	5	1	5	15

Question reference: S3W-28581

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how it monitors satisfaction levels among patients who have made a complaint against the NHS and whether it will publish the results of any statistical analysis of satisfaction levels undertaken in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

There is no statistical analysis held centrally on patient satisfaction with regard to NHS complaints. Better Together, the Scottish Government''s Patient Experience Programme, has been introduced to support NHS boards, frontline staff and patients in driving forward service improvement. The Programme is developing ways to collect experiences of healthcare from people and can be accessed at:

http://www.bettertogetherscotland.com/bettertogetherscotland/CCC_FirstPage.jsp.

Research around the barriers to making an NHS complaint, commissioned by the Scottish Health Council and recently completed, has identified that one of the main reasons that people complain is for the benefit of future patients. Complaints should be welcomed by NHS Scotland as a valuable tool in reviewing and improving the care and services it provides. My officials are now considering how best to implement the research recommendations, including those around patient information and feedback.

Whether a complaint is resolved locally or has been before the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), the complainant receives an apology from the relevant NHS service provider for any shortcomings and is advised of the steps that are being taken to address the concerns that have been raised.

Question reference: S3W-28619

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 13 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many paediatric intensive care beds there have been in each month since May 2007 and how many were (a) occupied and (b) vacant during each month.

The provision of paediatric intensive care (PICU) is operated as a single national service from the two paediatric intensive care units in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

There were 20 PICU beds in Scotland between May 2007 and November 2007, this capacity increased to 21 beds in November 2007. In April 2007, the PICU capacity increased to 23 beds and increased to 24 beds in December 2008.

Occupancy for the two units over the period is detailed in the following table:

Month	PICU Occupancy¹		Total PICU beds
Month	Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh	Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow	Total PICU beds
May 2007	81.67%	85.94%	20
June 2007	90.00%	64.82%	20
July 2007	58.33%	79.18%	20
August 2007	93.33%	82.94%	20
September 2007	51.67%	71.52%	20
October 2007	103.33%	104%	20
November 2007	77.14%	102.14%	21
December 2007	78.57%	112.86%	21
January 2008	85.71%	118.57%	21
February 2008	71.43%	102.43%	21
March 2008	71.43%	94.86%	21
April 2008	72.86%	95.00%	23
May 2008	67.14%	79%	23
June 2008	55.71%	92.50%	23
July 2008	75.71%	95%	23
August 2008	60.00%	80.63%	23
September 2008	47.14%	91.25%	23
October 2008	90.00%	96.88%	23
November 2008	105.71%	93.75%	23
December 2008	86.25%	96.88%	24
January 2009	86.25%	80.63%	24
February 2009	71.25%	89.63%	24
March 2009	77.50%	82.69%	24
April 2009	69.13%	73.13%	24
May 2009	75.00%	72.50%	24
June 2009	62.50%	90.63%	24
July 2009	63.75%	81.25%	24
August 2009	75.00%	71.88%	24
September 2009	81.25%	76%	24
October 2009	85.00%	91.88%	24

Question reference: S3W-28579

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints the NHS has received in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

The number of complaints that NHS boards have received with regard to hospital services; community services and family health services in years 1999-2000 to 2008-09 is set out in the following table:

	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09
Scotland	9,855	10,174	10,705	11,143	11,556	11,143	10,768	10,371	10,365	10,079
Argyle and Clyde	483	559	653	669	818	509	502	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ayrshire and Arran	518	588	607	491	595	614	538	524	533	528
Borders	275	303	264	270	274	237	288	221	245	223
Dumfries and Galloway	268	372	322	346	339	300	390	343	320	353
Fife	792	670	595	633	576	650	642	586	615	659
Forth Valley	392	444	402	430	413	436	532	653	559	500
Grampian	963	1,191	1,370	1,384	1,585	1,6191	1,385	1,467	1671	1,582
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	2,103	1,991	2,003	2,217	2,267	2,032	1,846	2,280	2,173	2,216
Highland	312	305	289	288	349	376	416	476	595	501
Lanarkshire	738	717	1,135	1,090	1,007	845	825	771	691	723
Lothian	2,026	2,057	2,251	2,458	2,387	2,407	2,251	2,050	1,969	1,898
Orkney	33	29	11	18	28	21	24	17	17	26
Shetland	20	25	41	29	45	48	41	32	45	38
Tayside	897	891	717	755	814	987	1,028	891	838	770
Western Isles	35	32	45	65	59	62	60	60	92	62

Source: ISD (Scotland) NHS Scotland complaints.

Note: Following the dissolution of Argyll and Clyde NHS board in 2006, the Argyle and Clyde complaints are shown under NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland as appropriate.

Question reference: S3W-28620

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it cost to police (a) Glasgow Airport and (b) Glasgow Prestwick Airport in the most recent full year for which figures are available and from whose budgets these costs were met.

Question reference: S3W-28582

Asked by: Jackson Carlaw, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 02 November 2009
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 12 November 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what tailored support is available to people who have experienced (a) fertility problems, (b) miscarriage, (c) ectopic pregnancy and (d) stillbirth.

Health professionals from Maternity Units, Primary Care teams, or Gynaecology Services provide tailored care and support to people who have experienced (a) fertility problems, (b) miscarriage, (c) ectopic pregnancy and (d) stillbirth, as required.

This support may include further investigation or counselling, but should be tailored to the individual needs of each patient.

Additionally, a patient may be referred to the appropriate voluntary sector organisation.

Chamber and committees