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It would also help if certificates of completion were issued after site visits, rather than negotiated over the telephone because of a shortage of staff.
Labour investment has resulted in a significant increase in the number of nurses, midwives, occupational therapists and doctors. In fact, compared with 1979, we now spend an extra £902 on the health of every man, woman and child in Scotland.
One of the features of the committee that I have particularly valued is that, with one or two exceptions, our business has proceeded on a non-partisan basis.
We should get some kind of answer from the Executive about how it intends to ensure that rule 10 is not going to be common or standard practice and will be used only in exceptional circumstances. It would be reasonable for both parties to an appeal to agree that the hearing can go ahead if one panel member is absent, but it should not be a regular practice....
It would be wrong of me to go much beyond that on the record, except to say that, at our initial level of contacts, the officials have a framework for asking for the information to mutually agreed timetables.
Secondly, trusts need to ensure that all patients understand their waiting list status, and the implications of the use of so-called deferred waiting lists and guaranteed exception codes. Thirdly, trusts need to have in place rigorous monitoring to provide early warning of patients whose waiting times risk breaching the guarantees.
We acknowledge that breast cancer is the most common cancer in Scots women and we know that throughout Scotland, except in the Lothians, waiting times for urgent out-patient referrals range from 48 hours to two weeks.