- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 31 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients who refuse treatment with a private contractor of NHS services will be moved to the end of the relevant waiting list.
Answer
An offer of treatment arranged by the NHS under contract with an independent health care sector is an offer of treatment from the NHS.
As we announced in Fair to All, Personal to Each, published on 15 December 2004, from the end of 2007 patients who refuse a reasonable offer of treatment will be moved to the end of the waiting list. By the end of 2007, that will mean a maximum wait of 18 weeks.
There is no reason why an offer of treatment arranged by the NHS under contract with an independent healthcare provider should be regarded any differently from treatment provided by the NHS.
Technical definitions of what constitutes a reasonable offer of treatment are being prepared and will be used from the end of 2007.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 20 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures will be used to implement its policy of returning patients who miss appointments to the end of the relevant waiting list and what safeguards will be put in place to avoid exclusion of disadvantaged groups of people and any inequalities in health care.
Answer
I announced in
Fair to All,Personal to Each, published on 15 December 2004, that a new system for recording NHS waiting times will be introduced bythe end of 2007. The new approach will be fairer, more open to scrutiny, and moreunderstandable than the present approach under which patients can be excluded fromthe Executive’s waiting times guarantee in certain circumstances. The new approachwill also help to put patients at the centre of their care.
A key aspect of the new approachwill be to balance the responsibility of the NHS to provide care and treatment quicklywith the responsibility of patients to accept and keep a reasonable offer of anout-patient consultation or hospital admission for treatment. Where an appointmenthas been agreed in advance and the patient does not turn up without giving priorwarning, they will return to the start of the waiting queue, unless there are clinicalor other compelling reasons for them to be treated more quickly.
Technical definitions for andguidance on the use of the new waiting times recording system are being preparedand will be ready in advance of implementation at the end of 2007.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether contracts with the private sector providing services to the NHS will involve guaranteed numbers of patients and procedures and what length of contracts will be entered into.
Answer
Under the proposed contracts with the independent health care sector set out in Fair to All, Personal to Each, published on 15 December 2004, we will ensure that terms - including numbers of patients and procedures and contract duration - are negotiated to provide value for the taxpayer and a quality service to NHS patients. In this way, NHS patients will benefit from faster diagnosis and treatment, whether this is provided directly by the NHS or arranged by the NHS under contract to the independent sector.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive whether private contractors will have priority for patient investigations and treatments in order to meet any guaranteed patient number and income requirements, including in circumstances where local hospitals are able to carry out such procedures.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-13100, answered on 19 January 2005. 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.
Increased diagnostic and treatment capacity for NHS patients, whether within the NHS or available to the NHS under contract, must and will be managed operationally in a way that safeguards the interests of patients and taxpayers.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 January 2005
To ask the Scottish Executive what tariffs will apply to each procedure, investigation and treatment undertaken by private contractors with contracts with the NHS.
Answer
The NHS in Scotland does not operate a tariff-based financial system. Under the proposed contracts with the independent health care sector set out in Fair to All, Personal to Each, published on 15 December 2004, we will ensure that terms are negotiated that provide value for the taxpayer and a quality service to NHS patients through a rigorous and competitive procurement process. In this way,NHS patients will benefit from faster diagnosis and treatment, whether this isprovided directly by the NHS or arranged by the NHS under contract to theindependent sector.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 08 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 24 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Social Work Statistics Branch Audit of Services for People with Autistic Spectrum Disorder which found that over 3,400 children have been identified as having autistic spectrum disorder and given that the condition was previously significantly less prevalent, what action is being taken to introduce medical treatments as part of the alleviation of the condition.
Answer
Information from this baselinestudy indicated that over 3,400 children and young people were identified as havingbeen diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. The figures provided produce a prevalencerate of 35 children per 10,000, which is less than the estimated prevalence rateof 60 per 10,000 in the
Public Health Institute of Scotland’s Autistic SpectrumDisorders Needs Assessment Report.
Officials are working with membersof the Cross Party Group on Autistic Spectrum Disorders on plans for a conferenceto consider a range of medical interventions for people on the autistic spectrum.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 December 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 16 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken to ensure the implementation and monitoring of the recommendations of Why Mothers Die 2000-2002 and, given that some of these recommendations have been made in previous reports and not universally implemented, what steps it will take to prevent the need for the same conclusions and recommendations to be reached in the future.
Answer
The findings and recommendations of the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths (CEMD),
Why Mothers Die 2000-2002, are relevant to all health care professionals responsible for the planning and provision of care to pregnant and recently delivered women. All NHS organisations and individual staff are advised to consider the recommendations within the CEMD Report and to develop action plans for change where needed in their local services or individual practice.
The Framework for Maternity Services (2001) and the report of the Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services (2002) addresses many of the recommendations that the CEMD has made. NHS boards have been asked to adopt the principles in both these documents. The Scottish Executive monitors implementation of these through the Maternity Services Performance Assessment Framework.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 19 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 15 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11167 by Mr Andy Kerr on 8 November 2004, what discussions it has had with, and communications it has received from, the Health and Safety Executive regarding Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Answer
Improving the cleanliness of hospitals and combating the occurrence of health care associated infection is a key priority for the Executive and for the NHS in Scotland.
We have regular discussions with the Health and Safety Executive as part of a number of initiatives that have been put in place to tackle the problem. There have been no discussions or communications specifically regarding the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 26 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Rhona Brankin on 13 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the Social Work Statistics Branch Audit of Services for People with Autistic Spectrum Disorder which found that over 3,400 children have been identified as having autistic spectrum disorder and given that the condition was previously significantly less prevalent and is now more common than all other serious childhood conditions combined, what urgent steps are being taken to address this issue and whether these steps include the introduction of treatment protocols.
Answer
Information from this baseline study indicated that over 3,400 children and young people were identified as having been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. The figures provided produce a prevalence rate of 35 children per 10,000, which is less than the estimated prevalence rate of 60 per 10,000 in the
Public Health Institute of Scotland’s Autistic Spectrum Disorders Needs Assessment Report.Officials are working with members of the Cross Party Group on Autistic Spectrum Disorders on plans for a conference to consider the health needs and a range of medical interventions for people on the autistic spectrum.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 25 November 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 10 December 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive under what legislation it plans to contract out health provision to the private sector.
Answer
Arrangements for health provision, including contracting with the private sector, may be made by the Executive, health boards and special health boards under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 under functions given to them in that act or in orders made under that act.
