Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-16185 on 18 September 2008. 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.

The Scottish Ambulance Service anticipate that the additional member of staff will be trained and in post before the end of this calendar year.

The Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish Government will continue to collect information and monitor performance across all parts of Scotland, including rural areas.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15580 on 10 September 2008. 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.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced on 22 May that she was prioritising the new applications of the central heating programme (CHP) with immediate effect to give priority to the fuel poor and allow headroom for reform of the Programme. This decision was supported by Lindsay Scott of Help the Aged who said the universal scheme was unsustainable. With rising energy costs it is more important than ever that it is targeted at those who are in fuel poverty.

Households currently having their applications processed under the priority arrangements announced by the Cabinet Secretary are:

those over 60 who have no central heating system;

those aged 60 to 79 with a systems that has broken down, who are in receipt of the guaranteed element of Pension Credit, and

over 80s with a systems that has broken down.

The actual and average number of applications to the programme from January 2007 until August 2008 are shown in the following table.

Period	Total Applications Received	Average in Each Quarter	Average Over the Year
January 2007	2,514
February 2007	2,721
March 2007	2,605
Total	7,840	2,613	N/A
April 2007	2,838
May 2007	2,951
June 2007	2,755
Total	8,544	2,848
July 2007	2,362
August 2007	2,292
September 2007	1,910
Total	6,564	2,188
October 2007	2,581
November 2007	2,554
December 2007	1,340
Total	6,475	2,158
January 2008	2,320
February 2008	2,364
March 2008	2,100
Total	6,784	2,261	2,364
April 2008	2,327
May 2008	2,067
June 2008	914
Total	5,308	1,769
July 2008	871	-
August 2008	671	-
Total	1,542	N/A

Note:

1. Prior to the Cabinet Secretary''s announcement of 22 May 2008 information on the number of people applying who may have been in the priority group is not known.

2. Average provided for the year is based on financial year i.e. 1 April to 31 March.

For (i) Stobhill Hospital and (ii) Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14688 on 24 July 2008, and for (iii) Vale of Leven Hospital, I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-14687 on 24 July 2008. 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.

The Scottish Ambulance Service baseline budget for 2007-08 was £177.794 million and for 2008-09 was £183.394 million. The increase represents a 3.15% uplift.

Budgets for forward years have not yet been set.

Regular meetings take place between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Scottish Government Officials. The Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will provide progress reports to the chief nursing officer on a monthly basis. Greater Glasgow and Clyde will also discuss progress at their monthly cycle of board meetings. A report will come monthly to either the Performance Review Group or NHS board.

A critical issue in the surveillance of Clostridium difficile cases is in identifying when the number of cases in any one ward breaches an agreed control level in a defined period of time, which would indicate the need for an outbreak control team to be established. Until May 2008 and including the period between January to April 2008 when there was a peak in the new Clostridium difficile cases at the hospital, although daily monitoring of Clostridium difficile prevalence was in place, there was no agreed upper levels to alert local staff of an excess of new cases over a period.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that the group is chaired by the chief executive and includes the board''s medical director, The board''s nurse director, the chief operating officer for the acute division, the head of nursing for acute services, the board''s infection control manager, the Clinical Director for the Public Health Protection Unit and the nurse consultant in infection control. This group is responsible for preparing and providing their progress reports referred to in the answer to question S3W-15692 on 17 September 2008. 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.