Chamber and committees

The information requested is not available centrally.

The information requested is not collected centrally.

The specific information requested is not available centrally.

The provision of local healthcare services is primarily a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has assured us that patients who require a routine brain scan have been re-routed to other hospitals within the board area. The board advise us that there is cohort of 57 patients who will require a NeuroSPECT scan as part of their epilepsy pathway, although not all are ready for scanning at this point in time as there are a number of processes to go through before patients are clinically ready. This is a highly specialised service, provided by no other facilities in the UK.

The fault that has occurred with the scanner in Glasgow is unprecedented and the manufacturers have sent an engineer from central Europe to work on a solution. I understand that progress is being made and the board advise us that scanning will commence this week.

The following table shows the latest figures for the number of discharges from mental health hospitals (SMR04) that have a subsequent readmission to a mental health hospital within 28 days.

Notes:

It should be noted that due to the implementation of a new patient management system, information for NHS Ayrshire and Arran for the year to 31 March 2012, is not available

*Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure

These statistics are derived from data collected from psychiatric hospitals (SMR04) in Scotland.

These statistics are based on continuous stays of treatment in the same hospital and specialty and may be made up of one or more episodes.

Days to readmission are calculated from the day of discharge for one stay to the day of admission for a subsequent stay.

Readmission rates should interpreted with caution, where the number of discharges are small.

Patients resident in Scotland.

There are no centrally collected figures which count the number of people consulting a GP practice for sleep apnoea. However, estimates are available from a sample of general practices in Scotland taking part in the Practice Team Information (PTI) scheme (Table 1).

Taking account of the sample size, the best estimate of the number of patients who had a face-to-face consultation with a GP practice in Scotland because of sleep apnoea each year varied between 2,400 and 2,900 (Table 1). However, taking account of the sample methodology, the conclusion is that the figures have not shown a statistically significant change between the years.

Patients exclusively treated by specialist services or outwith primary care are not included in these figures. People with sleep apnoea who did not consult during the year are not included. The figures represent the number of consultations for sleep apnoea and are not a valid measure of the total prevalence of sleep apnoea in Scotland.

Table 1 – Estimated numbers of patients in Scotland consulting a GP or practice nurse¹ for Sleep Apnoea², with corresponding 95% confidence intervals³; for financial years 2008-09 to 2011-12⁴

1. Estimates of patients consulting are based on the number of people with a face-to-face contact with either a GP or a practice-employed nurse in practices participating in Practice Team Information (PTI). This sample of Scottish general practices covers the full range of age, sex, deprivation and urban/rural classes existing in Scotland.

2. To be included in these figures patients had at least one contact where ‘Sleep Apnoea’ was indicated as (one of) the reason(s) for that contact in that year. Sleep Apnoea is defined by the following Read codes:

Fy03. Sleep apnoea

Fy04. Sleep-related respiratory failure

H5B.. Sleep apnoea

H5B0. Obstructive sleep apnoea

R0051 [D]Insomnia with sleep apnoea

R0053 [D]Hypersomnia with sleep apnoea

3. As the estimates are based on data from a sample of practices, 95% confidence intervals are included to indicate the accuracy of these estimates.

4. The sample included 58, 60, 59 and 59 PTI practices that submitted complete GP and practice nurse data for the years ending 31 March 2009 to 2012 respectively.

5. The NHS Choices website states that Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is relatively common and affects more men than women. In the UK, it is estimated that around 4 in 100 middle-aged men and 2 in 100 middle-aged women have OSA. Studies have also shown that 60% of people over 65 years old have OSA. The condition often goes undiagnosed, and it is estimated that up to 5% of adults have undiagnosed OSA.

There are no centrally collected figures which count the number of people consulting a GP or a practice-employed nurse for sleep disorders. However, estimates are available from a small sample of general practices in Scotland taking part in the Practice Team Information (PTI) scheme (Table 1).

Taking account of the sample size, the best estimate of the number of patients who had a face-to-face consultation with a GP or practice nurse in Scotland because of sleep disorders each year ranges from 48 thousand in 2009-10 to 40 thousand in 2011-12. However, taking account of the sample methodology, the conclusion is that the figures have not shown a statistically significant change between the years.

Patients exclusively treated by specialist services or outwith primary care are not included in these figures. People with sleep disorders who did not consult during the year are not included. The figures represent the number of consultations for sleep disorders and are not a valid measure of the total prevalence of sleep disorders in Scotland.

Table 1 – Estimated numbers of patients in Scotland consulting a GP or practice nurse¹ for sleep disorders², with corresponding 95% confidence intervals³; for financial years 2009-10 to 2011-12⁴

1. Estimates of patients consulting are based on the number of people with a face-to-face contact with either a GP or a practice-employed nurse in practices participating in Practice Team Information (PTI). This sample of Scottish general practices covers the full range of age, sex, deprivation and urban/rural classes existing in Scotland.

2. To be included in these figures patients had at least one contact where a sleep disorder was indicated as (one of) the reason(s) for that contact in that year. Sleep disorders are defined by the following Read codes:

Fy0..    Sleep disorders (including all child codes)

E274.   Non-organic sleep disorders (including all child codes)

Eu51.   [X]Nonorganic sleep disorders (including all child codes)

H5B..    Sleep apnoea (including child code)

R005.   [D]Sleep disturbances (including all child codes)

3. As the estimates are based on data from a sample of practices, 95% confidence intervals are included to indicate the accuracy of these estimates.

4. The sample included 60, 59 and 59 PTI practices that submitted complete GP and practice nurse data for the years ending 31 March 2010 to 2012 respectively.

We are aiming to publish the consultation responses early in the New Year. We will outline the next steps around the same time.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09418 on 20 September 2012. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The number of accident and emergency incidents the Scottish Ambulance Service attended each year was as follows:

This information is published annually in the Information Services Division Scotland Cost Book and can be found at http://www.isdscotland.org/.