Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12752 on 28 February 2013. 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/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

Emergency Departments (EDs) were defined by the British Association of Emergency Medicine (now the College of Emergency Medicine) in The Way Forward (2005) as “those hospitals with new patient attendances of greater than 40,000 per annum.

The principles for EDs in this type of hospital are as follows: Departments must have immediate access to the key supporting specialties to allow an ED to function safely. The following should be available on site: intensive care, anaesthetics, acute medicine, general surgery, orthopaedic trauma. There should be rapid easy access to child health (preferably on-site), 24-hour access to imaging (including CT scanning) and laboratory services available on site. In these circumstances, such departments can provide high quality emergency care around the clock for any patient presenting to the department. For those patients requiring regional centre expertise, then safe stabilisation and transfer protocols must be in place. These principles apply to such hospitals whether in metropolitan, urban or rural areas.”

In addition, ISD Scotland has historically classified Emergency Departments as either core or non-core sites. Core sites include all Emergency Departments within large hospitals. It is important to note that, according to this classification, some core sites are large minor injuries units, such as the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

Notes: Forth Valley Royal Hospital opened during 2011-12 - attendances based on partial year.

This is additional funding to the territorial NHS boards and will be met from efficiencies/reprioritisation within our central portfolio budgets and will fund around ten full time consultants. NHS boards will be allocated £1,000,000 in 2013-14, £500,000 in 2014-15 and £250,000 in 2015-16.

The Scottish Government has supported NHS boards to increase the number of consultants working in Scotland’s accident and emergency departments, with the number of consultants increasing from 75.8 consultants whole time equivalent (WTE) in September 2006 up to 144.4 consultants (WTE) in September 2012.

Over and above this additional funding, NHS boards will continue to review their projections for their consultant workforce going forward.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12752 on 28 February 2013. 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/Apps2/MAQASearch/QAndMSearch.aspx.

The Participation Statement published in September 2012 to accompany the preparation of National Planning Framework 3 (NPF3) sets out that the Scottish Government would assist communities to get involved in the preparation of NPF3. Further details will be available in the next iteration of the Participation Statement which is to be published alongside the Main Issues Report.

The Scottish Government will publish its position on the independent evaluation on health board elections and alternative pilots once it has considered the information contained in the report.

The Scottish Government has received the independent evaluation on health board elections and alternative pilots and will take this issue in to account as it considers its position.

The average salary of a consultant working in NHS Scotland is £87,500. This is based on the latest figures available for the financial year April 2011 to March 2012.

It is not possible to provide the average salary of a consultant working in an NHS accident and emergency department as this information is not held centrally.

Further information on Workforce Statistics can be found on the website at: www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

The Scottish Government will announce its position on the independent evaluation on health board elections and alternative pilots once it has considered the information contained in the report.

The vast majority of GP practices operate as independent contractors within the NHS and are contracted locally by territorial Health boards to provide general medical services. Practices are contracted under the terms of either The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as amended, or The National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, as amended.

Both sets of Regulations prohibit a service provider from using a practice telephone number which patients and others are required to call in relation to its NHS services that starts with the digits 087, 090 or 091; or is a number starting 070 and followed by a further eight digits.

Both sets of Regulations also require contractors to comply with all relevant legislation and to have regard to all relevant guidance issued by the Health board and the Scottish Ministers.

On 22 February 2011, the then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing wrote to the Chief Executives of Scottish NHS boards setting out the Scottish Government’s policy that patients should not incur charges above the equivalent of a local call when contacting their GP practice.

NHS boards were asked to draw this policy to the attention of all GP contractors working in their areas and to encourage them to ensure that telephone calls to their practice incur as low a charge as possible; to ensure that no new premium rate contracts are entered into; and for any existing premium rate numbers that Boards review these arrangements with each individual contractor and aim to reduce any premium rate charge to the equivalent of a local call.

Note: the local call tariff patients pay will vary depending on the call provider chosen by the individual and the terms and conditions of the telephone contract which they as an individual have opted to enter into with the telephone provider of their choice.