- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many clinics on the NHS Scotland waiting times website are for urgent referrals only and, of these, how many clinics have waiting times of less than four weeks for nine out of 10 patients, broken down by speciality and NHS board area.
Answer
Out-patient clinics whichdeal solely with urgent referrals, such as fracture clinics, are not included inthe national waiting times database because patients who access such clinicsgenerally do so for emergency assessment and treatment and not through referralby their GPs.The information provided onthe database (now available on the web at
http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/waiting/)is the expected waiting time (90th percentile) fora routine appointment at each consultant-ledout-patient clinic, following a GP referral. During the pilot period earlierthis year, GPs indicated that this information was most relevant to them and topatients, when considering referrals.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it has publicised the NHS Scotland waiting times website; what NHS Scotland documents publicise the website, and what other websites have links to the NHS Scotland waiting times website.
Answer
It is very important thatpeople in Scotland know about the national waiting times database so that theyand their GPs can use the information it contains to guide decisions aboutreferrals to out-patient clinics. That is why our publicity material such asposters and leaflets is concentrated on GP practices.
In addition, NHS HealthDepartment Letter (2003) 54, issued on 30 October 2003,(available at http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/publicationsind\ex.htm)provides guidance on the use of the database to NHS boards and trusts and localhealth councils.
The database is accessiblevia the Scotland Health on the Web (SHOW) homepage at
www.show.scot.nhs.uk. A large number oflinks to this page are available, including on the Scottish Executive website at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/?pageID=122.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the next planned wave of modernisation and enhancement of radiotherapy equipment is due for completion so that 24 linear accelerators will be provided.
Answer
It is estimated that the expansionto 24 fully commissioned and operational linear accelerators will be completeby 2005-06.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 17 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 2 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its policy is that all NHS boards must make available to patients all medicines that have been, or will be, approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium and, if so, whether there will be any exceptions to this policy and how the policy will be implemented.
Answer
NHS boards are required to takeaccount of advice and evidence from the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) andensure that recommended medicines are made available to meet
clinical need.NHS Scotland has beenadvised of a new strengthened role for SMC and new procedures for ensuring thenational implementation of innovative new drugs. Arrangements are being made toplace copies of the Health Department letter in the Parliament’s ReferenceCentre.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 25 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time equivalent radiotherapists there are in each NHS board.
Answer
Radiotherapists are alsoknown as Clinical Oncologists, which is the term used by ISD when collectingdata centrally.
The following table providesthe number of radiotherapists by NHS board, at 30 September 2002.
Clinical Oncologists by NHS Board
| Clinical Oncology | Whole Time Equivalent |
| Scotland | 36.3 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 1.1 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | - |
| Borders | 0.2 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 0.2 |
| Fife | 0.7 |
| Forth Valley | - |
| Grampian | 2.0 |
| Greater Glasgow | 15.9 |
| Highland | 2.0 |
| Lanarkshire | - |
| Lothian | 8.5 |
| Orkney | - |
| Shetland | - |
| Tayside | 5.6 |
| Western Isles | - |
| Common Services Agency | - |
| Golden Jubilee National Hospital | - |
| State Hospital | - |
| Special Health Boards | - |
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how often each electricity back-up generator is tested in each NHS hospital, grouped by NHS board area.
Answer
Information on the frequencyof tests of emergency electricity back-up generators in NHS hospitals is notheld centrally.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34480 by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 March 2003, how abolition of NHS trusts will result in the reduction of unnecessary bureaucracy with minimal structural changes and disruption.
Answer
Unnecessary bureaucracy willbe reduced through having fewer separate finance, human resources and supportservices functions in each NHS board area, and by winding up separate Trustseach with a chair and a board and each required to produce separate auditedaccounts. Several NHS boards have already moved to single system working, withminimal disruption.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) whole-time equivalent and (b) headcount reduction it estimates there will be in (i) senior management and (ii) administrative and clerical staff within the NHS following the abolition of NHS trusts, broken down by grade and trust area.
Answer
Information about estimatedfinancial savings from dissolution of NHS trusts is not collected centrally,since the achievement of financial savings is not an objective of the policy.Nevertheless savings are already being realised in NHS board areas where singlesystem working is in place. The Executive expects these savings to bereinvested in patient care. Following dissolution of trusts, all Trust staffare transferring to the relevant NHS board as the single NHS employer in thearea. The principles set out in the NHS National Organisational Change Policywill apply.
As was explained in theWhite Paper A Partnership for Care, published in February 2003, the moveto single system working through dissolving NHS trusts is intended to createsingle NHS organisations at local level with a common set of aims and valuesand clear lines of accountability. This will help to strengthen corporateworking and provide clear strategic direction.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-34480 by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 March 2003, whether it will outline criteria used to determine that the abolition of NHS trusts will reduce unnecessary bureaucracy within the NHS, given that no direct cost implications have been identified.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3617. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility forwhich can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 November 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports from expert groups have been published since May 1999.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally. However, many key reports from such groups are published onthe Scottish Executive website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/?pageid=1.
