- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it will introduce to assist NHS trusts to adequately review follow-up arrangements for out-patient appointments and discharge policies, as referred to in the Audit Scotland report, Outpatients Count.
Answer
The White Paper
Partnershipfor Care sets out plans for a programme of service redesign to help ensure morestreamlined access to services and more effective and timely communicationswith patients.
The Centre for Change andInnovation is driving the implementation of the Outpatient Action Plan, whichI launched on 13 June 2003. The plan includes a requirement for NHS boards and truststo review follow-up and discharge policies, which should help reduce anyunnecessary visits to specialist clinics. In addition, the centre willfacilitate the spread of good practice and the promotion of knowledge transfer througha series of good practice events, to help improve out-patient services acrossNHSScotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to investigate the reasons behind Did Not Attend (DNA) rates in each NHS board area in light of DNA rates costing approximately #20 million, as identified in the Audit Scotland report, Outpatient Count - Results of a census on outpatient activity.
Answer
The Audit Scotland Report
OutpatientCount – Results of a census on outpatient activity recommends that NHS trustsshould examine the causes of DNA rates in their respective clinics and takeaction to reduce these.
The Executive believes thatthe best way to reduce the number of patients who fail to attend NHSappointments is through more effective and timely communications with patientsand more streamlined access to services. The White Paper Partnership forCare sets out plans for a programme of service redesign that will supportthese objectives. On 13 June 2003, I launched the out-patient action plan, whichincludes a commitment to piloting new arrangements for booking out-patientappointments. Pilot sites will be launched this month and their impact on DNArates monitored.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to set up a national review of out-patient management with a view to the creation of a minimum data set capable of supporting national strategic and operational management needs, as recommended in the Audit Scotland report, Outpatients Count.
Answer
The White Paper
Partnershipfor Care includes a commitment to improve the collection of information tomore accurately reflect NHSScotland out-patient activity, which will bettersupport strategic and operational management needs.
ISD Scotland are currently takingthis commitment forward through their data development programme, and areworking with NHSScotland to review data requirements for managing out-patients.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the partnership between Macmillan Cancer Relief and Airdrie Citi'ens Advice Bureau that provides financial advice and support to people affected by cancer.
Answer
The provision of relevant informationincluding financial and benefits advice is a vital part of the overall supportfor people affected by cancer.
Discussions are under waywith Citizens Advice Scotland about the possibility of establishing a strategicpartnership with NHSScotland to ensure that up-to-date benefits information isavailable to all patients irrespective of their illness and also for carers.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether cancer patients would benefit from the type of service provided by the partnership between Macmillan Cancer Relief and Airdrie Citi'ens Advice Bureau, where people affected by cancer receive financial advice and support as part of their care, were the service to be made available in communities across Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3559. 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: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 17 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how tests for resource use and energy consumption as key indicators of progress in the development of transport on a sustainable basis, as referred to in paragraph 24 of its consultation paper Scotland's Transport - Proposals for a New Approach to Transport in Scotland, are being applied with regard to the business case for the reinstatement of the Borders railway.
Answer
The Borders railway businesscase, will be appraised in accordance with the Scottish Transport AppraisalGuidance (STAG). The guidance considers a range of sustainability issues,including the impact of proposals on the environment and energy consumption.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33495 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 5 February 2003, when the remit and timescale of Professor James McEwen's review of the current provision of chronic pain services will be announced.
Answer
The remit for the review,which was agreed after consultation with interested parties including the CrossParty Group on Chronic Pain, is:
Through a process thatincludes consultation with key stakeholders, including NHS boards, the PainAssociation and Pain Concern (as representatives of the interests of patients),the Scottish Network for Chronic Pain Research, the Physiotherapy PainAssociation, Aberdeen Pain Research Group and individual clinicians withparticular expertise, which includes some members of the Cross Party Group onChronic Pain, to produce a report that:
1. reviews referral protocols forthe treatment of chronic pain
2. reviews the current range ofservices in each of the health boards for treating chronic pain
3. draws conclusions about the levelof service for treating chronic pain across Scotland, compared to therecommendations made by the 1994 report by a working group of the NationalMedical Advisory Committee on the Management of Patients with Chronic Pain andthe 2000 Clinical Standards Advisory Group report on Services for Patients withPain
4. makes recommendations on how toimprove the level of service across Scotland.
The review is now well inhand. Professor McEwen expects to be in a position to make his report beforethe end of the year.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 14 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when a nationwide concessionary fares scheme will be operational, as referred to in paragraph 19 of its consultation paper Scotland's Transport - Proposals for a New Approach to Transport in Scotland.
Answer
As outlined in
APartnership for a Better Scotland, the Executive is committed to extendingconcessionary fares schemes on public transport, including a national freeoff-peak bus scheme for older people and people with disabilities; andprogressively introducing a scheme of national bus, rail and ferryconcessionary travel for young people, initially for all in full-time educationor training.
Work is taking place toprogress these commitments, including discussions with key stakeholders. Thiswill be followed by a formal consultation process and substantial research andimplementation work. We will be in a position to make a decision on the precisetiming of the introduction of the schemes once the formal consultation processhas been completed.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 27 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 14 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will evaluate whether local authorities meet community needs in respect of transport issues, as referred to in paragraph 22 of its consultation paper Scotland's Transport - Proposals for a New Approach to Transport in Scotland.
Answer
Scotland’s Transport – Proposals for a New Approach toTransport in Scotland seeks comments on the best way of widening publicinvolvement in the planning of transport services in Scotland. Thepaper suggests that a community planning approach could provide a basis forensuring that transport services offered meet the needs of the community. It istoo early to put in place evaluation methods, which will depend on the form oftransport organisations which emerge from the consultation.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking on the development of direct referral to physiotherapy services as recommended by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in Scotland in light of a pilot project in Dundee that demonstrated that such a system produced a saving of one months' consultation time a year in an average GP practice.
Answer
It is important to build ongood practice and the Dundee pilot project suggests that it is possible to reducewaiting times for physiotherapy, which is good for patients. As part of its nationalprogramme, the Centre for Change and Innovation is undertaking a modernisationof out-patient services which will certainly build on the kind of workdemonstrated by physiotherapists in Dundee.
In addition to the Dundee pilot,a further study involving all health board areas in Scotland andGP practices in a wide range of locations, is currently under way to considerfurther the scope for the provision of direct access. This nationalmulti-centred study will show whether provision of direct access is appropriatein all locations irrespective of deprivation and setting.
