Chamber and committees

The key response timetargets which apply to the Scottish Ambulance Service differ according to the priorityattached to the call. The performance information requested is not broken down bylocal authority ward, however the ambulance stations which service the Vale of LevenHospital are Arrochar, Helensburgh and Vale of Leven and their performance is setout in the following table. Not all missions carried out from these stations willresult in the patient being taken to the Vale of Leven hospital, as that will dependon the condition of the patient and whether the Vale of Leven is the most appropriatehospital for them to be taken to.

Performance AgainstCategory A (Life-Threatening) and Category B (Serious but not Life-Threatening Calls)between 1 April 2007 and 25 November 2007.

Station	Category A Demand	Category A Met within 8 Minutes	Category B Demand	Category B Met within 21 Minutes
Arrochar	76	6(7.9%)	101	50(49.5%)
Helensburgh	500	269(53.8%)	1,167	1,073(91.9%
Vale of Leven	911	557(61.1%)	1,643	1,538(93.6%)

Note: *Informationsupplied by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

As I made clear inmy previous response, it is imperative that NHS boards engage with patients andthe public and that their views are fully taken into account as proposals for servicechange are developed. The remit of the Independent Scrutiny Panel (ISP) which Iset up to consider NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s (NGSCC) proposals included assessingthe degree to which the board’s pre-consultation proposals appropriately took accountof the views of local stakeholders. The ISP received an interim report from the Scottish Health Council on the board’s engagement process to inform this part oftheir work.

The ISP report waspublished on 4 December and is available on the panel’s website:

http://www.independentscrutinypanels.org.uk/index.html.

I expect NHSGGC totake full account of the findings of the ISP in developing its proposals for publicconsultation. As with any proposals for significant service change, final decisionswill rest with ministers. In making a decision I will take full account of all theavailable information, including the ISP report and the Scottish Health Councilreport on the board’s consultation process.

Thisinformation is not held centrally however, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Boardhave advised that they advertised four posts on 23 November 2007. The following table showsdetails of the posts advertised.

Post	Category	Grade/Band	Hours	Tenure
Domestic Assistant	Ancillary	Band 1	12.5	Fixed Term - 3 months
Health Care Assistant	Nursing	Band 2	8	Permanent
Nurse	Nursing	Band 5	72 (1.92 whole-time equivalent)	Permanent
Nurse	Nursing	Band 5	15	Permanent

 

There are noplans to publish any responses received as this might prejudice free and frankdiscussion between governments.

The ScottishMinisterial Code is the First Minister’s document and it sets out the standardsof conduct which he expects of government ministers. The First Minister is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviourexpected of a minister and the appropriate consequences in the event of abreach of those standards. Ministers will only remain in office for as long asthey retain his confidence.

GreaterGlasgow and Clyde NHS Board have advised that they last advertised for an Anaesthetist post on 13 November 2007. The advert was in the British Medical Journal andhas a closing date of 14 December 2007.

There are noplans to publish any responses received as this might prejudice free and frankdiscussion between governments.

The routinepost-election revision of the Scottish Ministerial Code is expected to concludein the near future and a revised version of the Code will be published shortlyby the First Minister.

No decisions willbe taken until our review of the Scottish Ministerial Code has concluded.

The Scottish Ministerial Code is being reviewed by Scottish Government officials and will be approved by the First Minister, as has been the case after each Scottish Parliament election.