Chamber and committees

Traffic flows on the trunk road section of the A83 range from an Average Annual Daily Flow (AADF) of 5,027 vehicles per day between Arrochar and Tarbet to 2,805 vehicles per day at Castleton, north of Tarbert. It is not possible to quantify the volume of traffic that uses the entire A83 as the flow of traffic varies along the route.

War pensions are treated like all pension income and since 1 August 2008 have counted as income in the assessment of student support in both higher and further education. This is in line with the policy of other UK Government Departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions.

The issue of war pensions is currently being considered by the Scottish Government.

It is not currently possible to have a waiting time guarantee for IVF as NHS boards do not report this information to Information Services Division as the patient data belongs to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

Scottish Government officials are in preliminary discussions with colleagues in Information Services Division to consider whether it is possible to develop definitions and data to enable the reporting of patient access to infertility services without breaching the HFEA guidelines.

Section 45(1) of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 places an mental health officer (MHO) under a duty to interview a patient before the granting of a short-term detention certificate. This is reinforced in Volume 2, Chapter 2 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Code of Practice, which provides guidance and best practice as regards the full duties on the MHO, including their interview with the patient, ascertaining the name and address of the patient''s named person, and informing the patient of independent advocacy rights.

Two pilot announced inspections were undertaken in the Beatson Oncology Centre (NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde) and Perth Royal Infirmary (NHS Tayside) during June and July 2009.

It is always a matter of regret if any patient experiences a serious adverse event associated with medication. The risks associated with medicines must be considered against the potential benefits of the treatment and antipsychotics are extremely effective medicines for the treatment of serious conditions including schizophrenia, agitation, anxiety, mania and aggression. The decision to treat a patient with an antipsychotic drug is primarily based on clinical judgement taking into account the patient''s condition as well as the risks and benefits of treatment.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the expert independent scientific advisory group the Commission for Human Medicines continuously monitor the safety of all medicines available on the UK market. The MHRA ensures that all medicines are supplied with product information which accurately reflects current knowledge and contains the necessary information to aid the safe use of medicine. This includes information about risk minimisation measures for important risks and, where appropriate, also as advice about how patients should be monitored and under what circumstances consideration should be given to stopping the medicine.

More generally, it is important to note that the occurrence of an adverse event may not necessarily mean that it was caused by the medicine. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships, including the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the patient''s underlying condition.

Two pilot announced inspections were undertaken in the Beatson Oncology Centre (NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde) and Perth Royal Infirmary (NHS Tayside) during June and July 2009. The key learning points were published on:

http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/6710.140.1366.html.

This information is not collected centrally. Complaints from individuals about being subject to compulsory measures of treatment under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 are made locally to the appropriate NHS board.

For short term detention certificates (STDCs), statistics in relation to those who challenge their having been made subject to the certificate may be inferred by the numbers who appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal against the STDC. An individual can appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal for a revocation of a STDC, and Volume 2, Chapter 2 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Code of Practice provides guidance on this. Approximately 100 applications for revocation of a STDC are made each quarter, of these around 50% are withdrawn before being heard and between 10 to 25% are revoked. Source Mental Health Tribunal quarterly statistics:

http://www.mhtscotland.gov.uk/mhts/files/Quarterly%20Report%20April%20to%20June%202009.pdf.

For Compulsory Treatment Orders (CTOs), these longer term orders may be made directly by the tribunal on the application of a mental health officer, and following a Tribunal hearing at which the patient will have been involved to give their view. Again, the most recent Mental Health Tribunal quarterly statistics (for April to June 2009) provide an indication of the percentages of CTOs made by the tribunal (around 77%) of those applied for. Thereafter, statistics in relation to those who continue to object to the CTO having been granted by the Tribunal might be inferred from the number of appeals made to the Sheriff Principal under the statutory mechanisms. In the period September 2008 to August 2009 inclusive the tribunal was served with 14 appeals to sheriff principals, not all of which went to full hearings having been dismissed as incompetent or because the appellant no longer wished to appeal; it should also be noted that not all of those appeals from the tribunal will have been made by patients, some may have been made by health boards.

There are, at present, two established international classification systems for mental disorders - ICD.1O and DSM-IV which have specific criteria laid down which have to fulfilled to enable a diagnosis to be made.

Sometimes a diagnosis may change e.g. an individual may appear to have a psychotic condition such as schizophrenia, due to drug taking, which then disappears after treatment and drug withdrawal.

Also throughout a lifetime an individual''s diagnosis may change as different symptoms emerge.

If an individual has concerns that they have been misdiagnosed then there are a range of options open to them, including that: they may ask for a second opinion; they may apply to the tribunal for revocation of the order; or they may contact the Mental Welfare Commission to look into their complaint.

Volume 2, Chapter 7 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Code of Practice provides guidance on the processes involved in preparing an application for a compulsory treatment order. This includes guidance on the involvement of the Mental Health Tribunal which determines the application and on the individuals who will be allowed to give evidence at a hearing.

The Mental Health Tribunal has a wide discretion in terms of its powers to allow a patient''s solicitor to examine the responsible medical officer and the mental health officer''s evidence. The tribunal also has wide powers of its own to inquire into the evidence available. Scottish ministers would expect that a patient''s legal representative would have the opportunity to examine the evidence before the tribunal and that the tribunal would otherwise probe the evidence itself.