Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-10989

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been notified of any funding surpluses in the operation of the concessionary fares scheme and, if so, what such surpluses are, broken down by local authority area.

The information requested is set out in the following table.

	GAE Allocation 2003-04 (£000)	Provisional Outturn 2003-04 (£000)	Difference 2003-04 (£000)
Aberdeenshire	3,916	2,394	-1,522
Angus	2,259	1,190	-1,069
Argyll and Bute	2,025	2,012	-13
Clackmannanshire	893	587	-306
Dumfries and Galloway	3,406	1,198	-2,208
East Lothian	1,821	1,248	-573
Eilean Siar	625	438	-187
Fife	6,789	6,461	-328
Highland	4,202	1,905	-2,297
Midlothian	1,453	1,359	-94
Moray	1,689	933	-756
Orkney	406	125	-281
Perth and Kinross	2,970	1,997	-973
Scottish Borders	2,439	1,115	-1,324
Shetland	370	-89	-459
Stirling	1,611	1,091	-520
Scotland	36,874	23,964	-12,910

Question reference: S2W-10988

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Nicol Stephen on 26 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been notified of any funding deficits in the operation of the concessionary fares scheme and, if so, what such deficits are, broken down by local authority area.

The information requested is set out in the following table.

	GAE Allocation 2003-04 (£000)	Provisional Outturn 2003-04 (£000)	Difference 2003-04 (£000)
Aberdeen, City	3,830	4,160	330
Dundee	3,045	3,153	108
East Ayrshire	2,385	2,651	266
East Dunbartonshire	2,125	2,338	213
East Renfrewshire	1,675	1,870	195
Edinburgh, City	8,076	8,794	718
Falkirk	2,720	2,963	243
Glasgow	10,557	12,838	2,281
Inverclyde	1,637	1,905	268
North Ayrshire	2,700	3,122	422
North Lanarkshire	5,708	6,333	625
Renfrewshire	3,265	3,625	360
South Ayrshire	2,530	2,804	274
South Lanarkshire	5,496	6,070	574
West Dunbartonshire	1,713	1,910	197
West Lothian	2,293	2,331	38
Scotland	59,755	66,867	7,112

Question reference: S2W-10274

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average post-operative survival rate has been for patients undergoing a (a) heart-lung, (b) heart and (c) lung transplant in each year since 1999.

Because of the small numbersinvolved, and on grounds of patient confidentiality, it is not possible to providethe information in the form requested specifically for patients in Scotland.

The 1 year transplant survivalestimates following heart‑lung transplants in the UK between1999 and 2002 is set out in the following table:

Transplant Type	Number in Analysis	% Survival
Heart/lungs	128	68.7%
Heart	737	82.1%
Lung(s)	394	79.9%

Source: UK Transplant

Question reference: S2W-11047

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 21 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-10193 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 September 2004, whether it will list (a) information that has previously been provided by the Scottish Key Indicators Package for Performance (SKIPPER) which is not currently duplicated in some form on the ISD website and (b) information that has previously been provided by SKIPPER that it does not plan to make available on the web.

The information published in SKIPPER was split into 11 broad groups each of which contained a variety of analyses as listed in the table below. The tables below show the definition of each category of analysis, whether it is currently available from another source and relevant comments. The final release of SKIPPER includes details of alternative sources of information available on the ISD website.

ISD continually work with all stakeholders across NHSScotland to ensure theinformation published is relevant and accurate, undertaking reviews as necessary.

The only areas where ISD has made a decision not to provide the information on the website are where the SKIPPER presentation no longer reflected theorganisational structure of NHSScotland, or where improved information isalready available on the web site.

Detailed tables, by topic, are shown on the following pages.

Activity

Category of Analysis	Currently Available	Comments
NHS BOARDS
Deprivation Category -Inpatients, Outpatients Treated	No	There is deprivation information available on specific topic areas on the web site, for example, http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/publications/isd/deprivation_and_health/
Discharge Rates by Principal Diagnosis	No	Discharge Information is available on specific topic areas.
Discharge Rates by Principal Operation Procedure	Yes	Only numbers (not rates) on web. Breakdown by board not available.
Inpatient, Day Case Episodes - SMR01	Yes	Less detail available. Figures on web not shown at specialty level.
Specialty: NHS Board Residents by Trust of Treatment	No	Acute activity information on the web is currently under review.
Specialty: Discharge Rates & New OP Appointment Rates	Yes	Only numbers (not rates) on web. Less detail available. Figures on web not shown at specialty level.
Hospital Activity - ISD(S)1	No	Scottish figures on acute activity website for beds and quarterly inpatients & day cases & outpatients by NHS Board. Information on web under review – plans to increase information available on web.
Day Patient Activity: HB Comparison	No	Scottish figures on mental health area. Information on web under review – plans to increase information available on web.
Professions Allied to Medicine (PAMs) (now known as Allied Health Professionals) : HB Comparison	No	Community PAMs (now known as Allied Health Professionals) on data development area. Information on web under review – plans to increase information available on web.

NHS TRUSTS <>Trust level data for the following categories were produced on SKIPPER but, as Trusts no longer exist, data are no longer produced at this level. Some of the categories are produced at Health Board level.
Average Length of Stay Distribution
Case Mix Adjusted - Average Length of Stay
Case Mix Adjusted - Day Case Rate
Day Case Procedures	Presented at NHS Board level not Trust on the web.
Deprivation Category -Inpatients, Outpatients Treated
Geriatric Long Stay - Hospital Admissions
Hospital Activity - ISD(S)1	See notes for ISD(S) 1 under NHS Board. (previous section)
Inpatient, Day Case Episodes - SMR01	Less detailed organisation breakdown available on the web.
Non Attendance Rates - New Outpatient Appointments	Less detail available on the web. At Scotland and specialty level only.
Non Attendance Rates - Specialty Mix Adjusted
Obstetric Episodes - SMR02

Cancer

Breast Screening Uptake	Yes	Although not exactly the same – only percentages are provided.
Cervical Screening	Yes	Only for target age group – no age breakdown supplied.
Standardised Incidence Ratios	Yes	General incidence & mortality information available. Level may vary.
Standardised Mortality Rate	Yes	General incidence & mortality information available. Level may vary.
Survival Rates	Yes	General survival information available. Level may vary.

Child Health

Accidents to Children - Emergency Admissions to Hospital	Yes	Level of information presented will vary
Breast Fed Babies	Yes	Information might vary slightly
Children Free from Dental Caries	No	Current data are held by DHSRU. There is a link to their website from the ISD website.
Childhood Mortality	Yes	No board breakdown on the web but probably available from GROS
Immunisations	Yes
Infant Mortality Rate	Yes	Information presented may vary slightly but in general information is available on the web.
Teenage Pregnancy	Yes

Clinical Outcomes - this information is available on the clinical governance website:

ClinicalOutcomes Indicators December 2000 report

Standardised % First Births by Caesarean Section	Yes	Tables were not updated every year in SKIPPER.
First Delivery by Caesarean Section Second Delivery Vaginal	Yes	Tables were not updated every year in SKIPPER.
Live Births Admitted to Neonatal Unit	Yes	Tables were not updated every year in SKIPPER.
Termination of Pregnancy at <=9 weeks="" by="" medical="">	Yes	Tables were not updated every year in SKIPPER.

Finance

NHS Board
NHS Board Management Costs per Head of Population	No	Data no longer available due to a change in Board annual accounts.
Expenditure by Head of Population	Yes
Trust – Provision of Healthcare Expenditure
Total Expenditure – All Services	Yes
Acute Services	Yes
Maternity Services Geriatric Assessment Services	Yes
General Psychiatry Services	Yes
Learning Disabilities Services	Yes
Geriatric Continuing Care Services	Yes
Younger Physically Disabled Services	Yes
Other Community Services	Yes
Family Health Services	Yes
Hospital
Hospital Running Costs	Yes

Heart Disease

Directly Standardised Mortality Rate - HB Comparison	Yes	Will be available on updated CHD website release on 29^th October 2004
Discharge Rates by Principal Diagnosis	Yes	Will be available on updated CHD website release on 29^th October 2004
Operation Procedures - HB Comparison	Yes	Will be available on updated CHD website release on 29^th October 2004
Procedures Within 2 Years of Emergency Admission	No	May be added to future updates of the Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) website

Mental Health

Admissions by Diagnosis	Yes	Some information available but for discharges rather than admissions and not at the same level of detail (only broad diagnostic groups – hidden in the age/sex breakdown category!). The most recent year for which we have complete data on psychiatric admissions and discharges for all health boards is 2001 This is because of data extraction problems due to the introduction of new computer systems.
Admissions - Learning Disabilities	No
Admissions by NHS Board of Residence by Trust of Treatment	Yes	Some information available but not at the same level of detail.(available for NHS board of residence but not trust of treatment)
Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR) - GP Consultation Rates	Yes	GP consultation, incidence and prevalence rates for depression and anxiety for 2003, available at: www.isdscotland.org/isd/general_practice_info
Discharges from Hospital	Yes	Some information available but not at the same level of detail (destination on discharge; discharges by NHS board/local authority of residence; by diagnosis group)
Standardised Admission Rates by NHS Board	No
Suicides - Years of Life Lost by Age Group	No

Primary Care Services

Dental
Number of General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) per 1000 population	Yes	Is currently available on web (as number of GDPs per 100,000 population, at 31/3/2004), but is not likely to be updated more than once per year.
Patients Registered with a GDP by Age Group	Yes	Is currently available on web (at 31 December 2002 and 31 March 2003), but is not likely to be updated more than once per year.

Medical
Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR) - GP Consultation Rates (annual)	Yes	GP consultation rates by age and sex for 2000 - 2003, available at: www.isdscotland.org/isd/general_practice_info
GPs per 1000 Practice Population	No	Will probably be added to the web – after accessing stakeholder demand for information.
GP Practice Average List Size (Trust / Local Health Care Cooperative (LHCC)	Yes	Level of information presented may vary on the web.
GP Practice Populations (Trust / LHCC)	Yes	Information presented at NHS Board level on the web.
Prescribing
Expenditure(£) – Trust / LHCC Comparison	No	Monthly reports are sent to interested parties (HBs and GPs).
Prescriptions & Ingredient Cost – Trust Comparison	Yes	Scotland level only, but a greater level of information available on the web.

Public Health

Births
Births by Maternal Age	Yes
Live Births by Gestation & Weight Group	Yes
Communicable Diseases
Notifiable Disease Rates	Yes
Genito Urinary Medicine - New Patients Seen by Age Group	Yes
Mortality Rates
Mortality Targets - Year 2010	Yes	Information on performance against targets is available on the Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) PAF link
Directly Standardised Rates NHS Board Comparison	No	Standardised mortality Information is available on specific topic areas.
Years of Life Lost NHS Board Comparison	No	Information is available on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy on the GROS and ISD web sites.
Populations
Estimates - NHS Board Annual Trend	Yes	On GROS website
Projection - NHS Board Annual Trend	Yes	On GROS website
Deprivation Categories - HB Comparison	Yes	There is deprivation information available on specific topic areas on the web site, for example, http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/publications/isd/deprivation_and_health/

Waiting Times

NHS Board
Inpatients, Day Cases on Waiting List	Yes	Level of presentation different
Inpatients, Day Cases Treated - Time Waited	Yes	Level of presentation different
Deferred Inpatient Day Case Waiting List	No	The deferred waiting list was abolished on 1^st April 2003 it is therefore not possible to update this information any more. See more detailed note below table.
Outpatients by Time Waited	Yes	Level of presentation different
Trust
Inpatients, Day Cases on Waiting List	Yes	Level of presentation different
Inpatients, Day Cases Treated Time Waited	Yes	Level of presentation different
Deferred Inpatient Day Case Waiting List	No	The deferred waiting list was abolished on 1^st April 2003 it is therefore not possible to update this information any more. See more detailed note below table.
Outpatients by Time Waited	Yes	Level of presentation different
Accident & Emergency
Accident & Emergency Waiting Times	Yes	Distribution of times may vary

Changes arising from the abolition of the Deferred Waiting List (DWL)

The Scottish Executive advised NHSScotland that the DWL would be abolished on 1 April 2003. In order to meet this commitment NHS Trusts have been required to carry out a review of patients on the deferred waiting list in the period up to that date.

Following review, these patients will either be:

· added to the true waiting list and assigned an appropriate Availability Status Code (ASC). In such cases the patients will be included in the headline true waiting list number but will be excluded from those figures measuring progress towards the national waiting time standards, or

· added to the true waiting list without an ASC. In this case the patients will be included in the figures measuring progress towards the waiting time standards, or

· removed from the waiting list because, for example, they no longer require treatment

Workforce

Staff Summary
Staff in post – all staff groups	Yes
Staff Turnover - all staff groups	No	Considering adding this information to future website releases. Will assess demand.
Medical and Dental
Staff in post	Yes
Vacancy survey	Yes
Junior doctors and dentists hours	Yes
Nursing and Midwifery
Staff in post	Yes
Vacancy survey	Yes
Agency usage	Yes
Bank usage	Yes
Agency v. Bank nurse usage	Yes
Professions Allied to Medicine (PAMs) (now known as Allied Health Professionals)
Staff in post	Yes
Vacancy survey	Yes

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Question reference: S2W-10945

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 20 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Justice to Dr Norman Watson on 15 September 2004 regarding posthumous pardons for convicted suffragettes, what information it has on why such pardons are, according to Home Office officials, not appropriate for use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and what measures it will take to recognise the achievements of the women’s suffragette movement.

A decision to recommend the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy to grant a free pardon is limited to cases where no court based remedy is available, or where new evidence, not previously heard by the courts, has arisen which demonstrates beyond any doubt that no offence was committed, or that the person concerned did not commit the crime. The effect of a free pardon is that the conviction is disregarded to the extent that, as far as possible, the person is relieved of all penalties and other consequences of the conviction. Only the courts have the power to quash a conviction, and the criteria adopted in considering whether to make a recommendation to Her Majesty to grant a free pardon have proper regard to the constitutional position that the courts decide whether a person is guilty of an offence, and not the Government.

The First Minister has asked for consideration to be given to an appropriate way of recognising the contribution made by the Women’s Suffrage movement to the development of democracy as we know it today. Options are currently being considered by Ministers.

Question reference: S2W-08993

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 12 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8689 by Mr Tom McCabe on 3 June 2004, whether NHS Borders applied for capital funding to support the development of premises for the provision of NHS dental facilities and, if so, for what projects and why the bid was unsuccessful.

Question reference: S2W-09958

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 12 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what change there has been in the number of call-outs for GPs in NHS board areas where NHS 24 is in operation, in total and broken down by area.

Question reference: S2W-08359

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 11 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8226 by Susan Deacon on 18 January 2001, what information and publicity materials are given to young people to alert them to the dangers of drug-assisted sexual assault and rape and where such material is made publicly available.

The Executive is currently running an awareness campaign on Drug Assisted Sexual Assault through its Know the Score communications strategy. The campaign is supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

This campaign – Who’s Keeping An Eye On Your Drink? – was prompted by increased police and public concern about the problem of drug assisted sexual assault. The first phase of the campaign ran over Christmas and New Year. Posters were displayed in licensed premises across Scotland and leaflets were distributed in town and city centre pubs and clubs.

An educational cd:rom, video and drink cover/straw holder have now been developed to take forward the campaign and these will be made available shortly through the Know the Score information line 0800 587 5879 and website (www.knowthescore.info). Posters and leaflets also remain available.

Question reference: S2W-10257

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average number of days is that a patient waits between requesting an appointment and seeing a GP, broken down by (a) GP practice and (b) NHS board.

Question reference: S2W-09770

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 19 July 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 1 October 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of administration staff to the total number of beds was in the NHS in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board area.

The following table shows the number of whole-time equivalent (WTE) administrative and clerical staff, expressed as a ratio of the average number of NHS hospital staffed beds. The figures for each NHS board area include staff employed in community health settings. The Scotland figures also include staff employed by Special Health Boards.

The ratio is based on a comparison over the period from September 1994 to March 2004, between the number of whole time equivalent administrative and clerical staff, which increased from 17,758 to 21,541 to the average number of available staffed beds in Scotland, which decreased from 42,340 to 28,879.

The decrease in the number of beds over this period reflects the shift towards providing patient care within the community. New treatments and procedures are allowing patients, who may have previously been treated in the acute sector, to be treated as day cases, outpatients or within primary care settings.

Administrative staff are defined as comprising all administrative clerical staff in Whitley Grades 1-10 (for example ward receptionists, ambulancecontrol staff, medical secretaries, clinical support staff, payroll staff and medical records staff). These staff are vital to the successful delivery of modern healthcare in a range of settings by multidisciplinary teams. They ensure that clinical and nursing staff alike are free to spend as much time as possible on what they are trained to deliver - direct patient care.

Ratio of WTE Administrative Staff¹ per Average Staffed Bed²

	At 30th September	At 31 March
	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Scotland³	0.42	0.43	0.43	0.45	0.47	0.50	0.54	0.59	0.66	0.72	0.75
Argyll and Clyde	0.39	0.36	0.35	0.34	0.37	0.38	0.40	0.44	0.49	0.53	0.58
Ayrshire and Arran	0.33	0.37	0.37	0.38	0.41	0.41	0.44	0.48	0.53	0.59	0.63
Borders	0.38	0.40	0.39	0.38	0.39	0.47	0.48	0.48	0.56	0.55	0.55
Dumfries and Galloway	0.37	0.42	0.42	0.42	0.40	0.45	0.56	0.62	0.67	0.65	0.71
Fife	0.38	0.38	0.38	0.39	0.41	0.44	0.45	0.51	0.56	0.60	0.60
Forth Valley	0.28	0.30	0.30	0.31	0.33	0.34	0.40	0.44	0.51	0.59	0.60
Grampian	0.36	0.36	0.34	0.35	0.35	0.38	0.41	0.45	0.46	0.49	0.49
Greater Glasgow	0.44	0.46	0.48	0.49	0.51	0.53	0.55	0.62	0.70	0.73	0.76
Highland	0.36	0.39	0.40	0.40	0.43	0.45	0.49	0.51	0.58	0.64	0.67
Lanarkshire	0.31	0.34	0.35	0.37	0.38	0.39	0.41	0.48	0.54	0.57	0.58
Lothian	0.41	0.43	0.44	0.47	0.50	0.52	0.55	0.55	0.56	0.63	0.65
Orkney	0.21	0.23	0.24	0.25	0.30	0.39	0.46	0.59	0.66	0.70	0.72
Shetland	0.41	0.44	0.46	0.56	0.65	0.65	0.66	0.73	0.84	0.85	0.89
Tayside	0.37	0.39	0.38	0.42	0.45	0.47	0.51	0.59	0.61	0.69	0.71
Western Isles	0.29	0.27	0.31	0.31	0.32	0.36	0.38	0.44	0.48	0.49	0.50

Notes:

1 At 30 September each year except 2004 which is at 31 March – all staff in Administration and Clerical (A and C) grades.

2 Average staffed beds during year 30 Sept 1994-2003 and ending 31 March 2004.

3 Includes Special Health Boards.

Part of the increase since 1997 can be attributed to a reclassification of some staff on “senior managers” grades to “administrative and clerical” grades.

Trends in “senior managers” and “administrative and clerical” grades are show on table G1 on the Scottish Health Statistics web page at http://www.isdscotland.org/.

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