Seòmar agus comataidhean

NHS boards must involve the communities they serve in planning and developing the health and care services they provide. Involving patients, carers and the public is an important aspect of the Government’s ambitions for improving the quality of service provided by NHSScotland.

Scottish Government guidance introduced in February 2010 sets out NHS boards’ responsibilities to inform, engage and consult with their patients and the wider public and how that process should work. The guidance applies to all NHS boards, who are supported in their involving people practices by the Scottish Health Council. The Council has been working to ensure that patient focus and public involvement is embedded in the culture of the NHS. boards’ practices, which are assessed against the National Participation Standard.

This information is not currently held centrally.

Under the legal framework for service provision, NHS boards are responsible for ensuring the provision of primary medical services for their areas. In discharging these statutory obligations NHS boards are required to put in place those services which they consider necessary to meet all reasonable requirements for their areas.

NHS boards have more than one service option at their disposal. As well as securing the provision of services through independent contractors under the nationally negotiated General Medical Services contract; or through contractual agreements under Section 17C of the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978, NHS boards can choose to provide services directly themselves under Section 2C of the 1978 Act.

NHS boards are accountable for all service provision as part of the annual review process.

National criteria were developed by the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland (EAGISS) in 2000. These guidelines were subsequently reviewed and in 2007 further recommendations were made to raise the upper age limit for treatment and updated information was produced on timings between treatments.

All NHS boards in Scotland use these guidelines, but variations in provision do exist. The National Infertility Group was set up, in April 2010, to address this inequity of access to IVF treatment across Scotland, and will submit its final report to Ministers by the end of December 2012.

The National Infertility Group was set up, in April 2010, to address the inequity of access to IVF treatment across Scotland and will submit its final report to Ministers by the end of December 2012. Ministers will then consider the report and its recommendations in order to meet the Scottish Government commitment to a 12 month maximum waiting time for IVF treatment, for eligible patients.

In addition, the Scottish Government has recently announced investment of £12 million over the next three years to help NHS boards meet the waiting time by 31 March 2015.

The National Infertility Group will submit its report, with recommendations, to Ministers by the end of December 2012. Ministers will consider these recommendations and any proposals for implementation, to ensure equity of access to IVF treatment for eligible patients across Scotland.

The National Infertility Group, set up in April 2010, is considering the provision of infertility services across NHS Boards in Scotland. The Group will submit its report, with recommendations, to Ministers by the end of December 2012.

Methods for measuring (a) waiting times for treatment, (b) the number of cycles of treatment provided and (c) the number of couples seeking treatment, will be considered as part of the implementation planning in order to meet the Scottish Government commitment to a 12 month maximum waiting time for IVF treatment, for eligible patients, by 31 March 2015.

A “shovel ready” project is defined as a project which is in a position to commence construction in the next twelve months, and which is either currently not funded or only partly funded and could therefore benefit from additional capital allocations.

A table providing full details of the organisations and the amounts of funding they will receive from the Autism Development Fund can be found at SPICe (Bib. number 54416).

The government is taking action in a number of areas which seek to change behaviours and develop supportive environments to improve physical health including those set out in the Prevention of Obesity Route Map, the Smoking and Prevention Action Plan, the Physical Activity Strategy and the Alcohol Framework for Action.