Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-13227

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 06 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Euan Robson on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12922 by Euan Robson on 22 December 2004, which measures within the retention strategy for recruitment for children"s panels have been implemented following advice by the Publicity Working Group.

The retention strategy was designed to address the principal reasons for resignation, i.e. failure of local authorities to implement supervision requirements; overstretch caused by too many hearings per session and poor facilities at hearings centres; late reports; lack of support from employers, and, lack of appreciation and support for the role played by the membersof the children’s panel.

In response the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 gave children’s panels the power to challenge local authorities through the courts where supervision requirements have not been properly implemented.

The Executive funded the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) to enhance its capital development programme. This will lead to a series of improvements to facilities at hearings centres, including family friendly improvements and property replacements.

SCRA has led the development of standards in the timing and management of children’s hearings, which will be implemented in 2005.

The Scottish Executive has refreshed the time intervals process to refocus on key standards so that agencies (police, SCRA and local authorities) can minimise the time it takes from referral of a child to implementation of hearings’ decisions.

The Scottish Executive has raised awareness amongst employers through an insert in the March 2004 Forum of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, short television programmes in 2004 as part of the Talking Scotland series and through individual approaches to employers to stress the benefits to business of the transferable skills of trained panel members. Further work with employers is planned for 2005.

Since 2002 the Scottish Executive has actively demonstrated the value it places on the contribution of panel members by implementing many aspects of the retention strategy, e.g.

introduced an indemnity scheme for volunteers in the hearings system where they might be;

held a reception for panel members at Edinburgh Castle in 2004, hosted by the First Minister;

introduced an annual long service event for panel members with awards for those serving 25 years (the next such event is planned for March 2005);

provided funding for laptop computers for panel chairmen and their deputies;

introduced an extranet on the children’s hearings website to improve sharing of training and best practice materials;

developed software to help panel chairs compile panel rotas;

rolled out IT training for panel chairs, and,

provided media training for panel chairs.

Question reference: S2W-13463

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to its news release of 8 September 2004 on the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy and given its target of helping 150,000 people by March 2006, how many people will be helped in each local authority area in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

The following table shows forecast figures for 2004-06 provided by the partnerships. There are currently no forecast figures available for the period after March 2006.

Local Authority	Forecast	Forecast	Total
2004-05	2005-06	2004-06
Aberdeen City	1,000	1,000	2,000
Aberdeenshire	1,100	898	1,998
Angus	880	605	1,485
Argyll and Bute	350	546	896
Borders	409	406	815
Clackmannanshire	327	346	673
Dumfries and Galloway	630	902	1,532
Dundee	1,237	1,607	2,844
East Ayrshire	367	258	625
East Dunbartonshire	291	355	646
East Lothian	780	626	1,406
East Renfrewshire	86	103	189
Edinburgh	5,100	4,397	9,497
Falkirk	560	662	1,222
Fife	2,398	2,433	4,831
Glasgow	4,746	5,250	9,996
Highland	760	891	1,651
Inverclyde	760	947	1,707
Midlothian	589	557	1,146
Moray	175	128	303
North Ayrshire	1,032	875	1,907
North Lanarkshire	3,000	3,000	6,000
Orkney	60	60	120
Perth and Kinross	353	367	720
Renfrewshire	950	1,000	1,950
Shetland	170	167	337
South Ayrshire	1,290	1,200	2,490
South Lanarkshire	1,755	1,969	3,724
Stirling	354	463	817
West Dunbartonshire	749	1,045	1,794
West Lothian	551	694	1,245
Western Isles	185	125	310
Totals	32,994	33,882	66,876

Question reference: S2W-13465

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 13 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Allan Wilson on 21 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-20130, S1W-25599 and S20-493 by Ms Wendy Alexander, Iain Gray and Mr Jim Wallace on 4 December 2001, 17 May 2002 and 25 September 2003 respectively and with reference to its news release of 8 September 2004 on the Scottish Adult Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, whether the remaining £28.5 million will still be allocated for literacy and numeracy in 2005 and 2006 and, if so, whether this funding will (a) form part of the aggregate external finance allocated to local authorities and (b) be ring-fenced.

Question reference: S2O-04938

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Peter Peacock on 20 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to promote learning and education among the most deprived communities.

Question reference: S2W-13034

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was allocated to addressing child poverty in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04 and what funding will be allocated for this purpose in each of the next two financial years.

The Scottish Executive, alongwith the UK Government is committed to eradicating child poverty within a generation.The Executive’s Closing the Opportunity Gap approach to tackling poverty works bothdirectly and indirectly across all its departments, and within numerous spendingstreams. Universal services such as health, education and child care benefit allchildren, with an emphasis on meeting the needs of the most vulnerable. Expendituretargeted on areas of deprivation such as the Community Regeneration Fund also hasan impact on children. A number of funding streams are specifically directed atdisadvantaged children such as Sure Start funding. The range of spending that hasan impact on children in poverty means it is not possible to give a total figurefor previous or future years.

Question reference: S2W-13033

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has calculated what share of economic growth would require to be redistributed to raise families currently living in deprived circumstances above the official poverty threshold.

Question reference: S2W-13035

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish figures on progress made in respect of its targets on child poverty for (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04, broken down by quarter and local authority area.

The following table presents the number and proportion of children living in low income households in Scotland from 1996-97 to 2002-03. Figures are produced annually and estimates for 2003-04 are not yet available. Estimates are available at Scotland level only, not by local authority area.

Proportion and Number of Children in Low Income Households, Below 60% of GB Median Income After Housing Costs, Scotland

	Absolute				Relative
	Before Housing Costs		After Housing Costs		Before Housing Costs		After Housing Costs
	%	Numbers	%	Numbers	%	Numbers	%	Numbers
	Thousands
1996-97	30	330	34	380	30	330	34	380
1997-98	27	300	30	330	29	310	31	340
1998-99	26	290	29	320	27	300	31	340
1999-2000	20	220	24	260	24	260	28	310
2000-01	18	190	21	230	25	260	30	320
2001-02	14	140	16	170	25	260	30	320
2002-03	12	130	16	170	23	240	27	280

The key low income results, above,are for 60% of both the relative and absolute GB median thresholds. Estimates onthe full range of income thresholds and explanation of how these estimates are calculatedare published in Households Below Average Income, 1994-95 – 2002-03, copiesof which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32212).

The relative low income measurecompares against the median of the same year. The absolute measure compares againstthe median in the baseline year of 1996-97, uprated to remove the effects of inflation.The figures are estimates based on a sample survey and are therefore subject tosampling variation. As such, small percentage changes are not significant when consideredon a year-on-year basis; identification of trends should be based on several yearsof data.

Question reference: S2W-10192

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 August 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9744 by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 August 2004, how many out-patients in each NHS board area were waiting for (a) less than nine, (b) less than 13, (c) less than 26 and (d) more than 52 weeks for an NHS appointment, broken down by individual speciality for the quarter to (i) March 1999, (ii) June 1999, (iii) March 2000, (iv) March 2001, (v) March 2002 and (vi) March 2003.

The information requested for NHSScotland is set out in the following tables.

Every year NHSScotland undertakes 4 million out-patient appointments, of which around 1 million of these are first out-patient appointments. Nearly 90% of patients receive their first outpatient appointment within 26 weeks.

I have arranged for the information requested for NHS boards to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number: 33875) as it runs to 80 pages.

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken Within Nine Weeks, 13 Weeks, 26 Weeks, and After 52 Weeks, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 1999.

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments undertaken
NHS Board	Specialty	Within 9 Weeks	Within 13 Weeks	Within 26 Weeks	After 52 Weeks
NHSScotland	All Specialties	177,437	212,443	256,456	897
	Anaesthetics	405	572	950	5
	Cardiology	5 907	6 839	7 458	16
	Cardiothoracic Surgery	467	492	499	-
	Chemical Pathology	3	4	5	-
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	1 023	1 168	1 297	9
	Clinical Genetics	114	182	281	2
	Clinical Oncology	454	459	464	2
	Clinical Radiology	6	6	6	-
	Dermatology	11,747	14,292	18,790	66
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	13,852	17,909	24,064	50
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	2,272	2,708	3,142	5
	Forensic Psychiatry	3	3	3	-
	Gastroenterology	2,309	3,372	4,313	9
	General Medicine	9,560	11,396	12,714	47
	General Practice	465	478	484	-
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	6,794	7,421	7,924	30
	General Surgery	29,496	34,306	39,112	85
	Geriatric Medicine	3,177	3,258	3,281	12
	Gynaecology	19,036	22,714	24,967	60
	Haematology	1,557	1,594	1,634	3
	Homeopathy	136	199	354	90
	Infectious Diseases	668	699	729	1
	Learning Disability (Mental Handicap)	63	64	64	-
	Medical Oncology	130	130	130	-
	Neurology	1,796	2,208	3,433	13
	Neurosurgery	560	668	895	4
	Obstetrics	12,991	13,223	13,335	39
	Occupational Medicine	3	3	3	-
	Ophthalmology	11,662	15,091	20,302	46
	Oral Medicine	301	553	693	-
	Oral Surgery	3,303	4,442	5,780	15
	Orthodontics	1,356	1,807	2,548	43
	Paediatric Dentistry	810	842	854	1
	Paediatric Surgery	1,070	1,500	1,989	6
	Paediatrics	4,644	5,294	5,672	10
	Palliative Medicine	26	26	26	-
	Plastic Surgery	2,664	3,342	4,815	36
	Psychiatry of Old Age	2,346	2,407	2,436	9
	Rehabilitation Medicine	407	480	550	2
	Renal Medicine	471	505	542	-
	Respiratory Medicine	3,227	3,410	3,541	11
	Restorative Dentistry	224	430	959	2
	Rheumatology	1,885	2,237	3,032	10
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	10,991	14,540	21,859	123
	Urology	7,056	9,170	10,527	35

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken within Nine Weeks, 13 Weeks, 26 Weeks, and after 52 Weeks, by Specialty¹, during the Quarter Ended 30 June 1999.

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken
NHS Board	Specialty	Within 9 Weeks	Within 13 Weeks	Within 26 Weeks	After 52 Weeks
NHSScotland	All Specialties	176,368	211,471	250,740	944
	Anaesthetics	368	515	915	17
	Cardiology	5,636	6,616	7,131	7
	Cardiothoracic Surgery	396	415	419	-
	Chemical Pathology	4	4	4	-
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	907	1,073	1,278	10
	Clinical Genetics	188	257	381	2
	Clinical Oncology	610	619	619	1
	Clinical Radiology	9	9	9	-
	Dermatology	11,347	14,643	18,312	68
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	14,084	17,670	22,814	75
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	2,341	2,929	3,470	8
	Forensic Psychiatry	4	4	5	-
	Gastroenterology	2,194	2,977	4,122	7
	General Medicine	9,647	11,645	12,823	59
	General Practice	539	561	576	2
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	6,567	7,242	7,671	16
	General Surgery	30,033	34,494	38,748	50
	Geriatric Medicine	3,226	3,289	3,319	2
	Gynaecology	19,207	22,505	24,418	26
	Haematology	1,515	1,582	1,618	-
	Homeopathy	173	230	370	63
	Infectious Diseases	642	679	688	-
	Learning Disability (Mental Handicap)	65	66	69	-
	Medical Oncology	149	151	152	-
	Neurology	1,854	2,318	3,446	28
	Neurosurgery	550	604	817	3
	Obstetrics	12,128	12,338	12,439	20
	Occupational Medicine	4	4	4	-
	Ophthalmology	12,225	15,743	20,397	40
	Oral Medicine	334	487	590	2
	Oral Surgery	3,392	4,412	5,696	16
	Orthodontics	1,063	1,521	2,390	102
	Paediatric Dentistry	881	916	934	3
	Paediatric Surgery	991	1,145	1,773	9
	Paediatrics	4,170	4,995	5,411	7
	Palliative Medicine	17	17	17	-
	Plastic Surgery	2,882	3,845	4,860	70
	Psychiatry of Old Age	2,175	2,222	2,243	11
	Rehabilitation Medicine	348	412	473	1
	Renal Medicine	485	558	592	2
	Respiratory Medicine	3,332	3,601	3,782	3
	Restorative Dentistry	330	520	907	4
	Rheumatology	1,646	2,107	2,713	5
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	11,185	15,122	21,137	153
	Urology	6,525	8,409	10,188	52

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken within Nine weeks, 13 Weeks, 26 Weeks, And After 52 Weeks, by Specialty¹, during the Quarter Ended 31 March 2000.

		Number of Appointments Undertaken
NHS Board	Specialty	Within 9 Weeks	Within 13 Weeks	Within 26 Weeks	After 52 Weeks
NHSScotland	All Specialties	167,216	202,497	252,778	1,408
	Anaesthetics	420	552	969	5
	Cardiology	5,791	6,663	7,580	22
	Cardiothoracic Surgery	390	404	408	-
	Chemical Pathology	2	2	2	-
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	906	1,099	1,286	4
	Clinical Genetics	147	208	336	4
	Clinical Oncology	570	577	585	1
	Clinical Radiology	9	10	10	-
	Dermatology	10,767	14,213	19,560	292
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	13,648	17,142	21,997	85
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	2,163	2,669	3,382	14
	Forensic Psychiatry	11	11	11	-
	Gastroenterology	2,076	2,729	4,000	31
	General Medicine	8,359	10,271	12,478	29
	General Practice	250	271	280	1
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	6,709	7,376	7,993	30
	General Surgery	27,726	32,465	38,547	117
	Geriatric Medicine	3,006	3,086	3,115	7
	Gynaecology	17,845	21,833	24,878	32
	Haematology	1,487	1,553	1,602	6
	Homeopathy	105	172	377	62
	Infectious Diseases	653	669	713	1
	Learning Disability (Mental Handicap)	65	69	73	-
	Medical Oncology	189	190	191	-
	Neurology	1,969	2,356	3,350	21
	Neurosurgery	544	575	803	1
	Obstetrics	12,531	12,748	12,862	22
	Occupational Medicine	1	1	1	-
	Ophthalmology	10,298	13,433	18,690	77
	Oral Medicine	123	299	539	-
	Oral Surgery	3,632	4,532	5,865	55
	Orthodontics	849	1,443	2,627	129
	Paediatric Dentistry	856	1,010	1,040	5
	Paediatric Surgery	1,038	1,090	1,858	12
	Paediatrics	4,534	5,106	5,555	5
	Palliative Medicine	20	20	20	-
	Plastic Surgery	2,329	3,191	4,665	96
	Psychiatry of Old Age	2,621	2,679	2,716	7
	Rehabilitation Medicine	330	404	528	-
	Renal Medicine	482	531	563	2
	Respiratory Medicine	3,310	3,544	3,779	8
	Restorative Dentistry	431	864	1,016	4
	Rheumatology	1,804	2,271	3,148	17
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	9,925	13,477	21,768	105
	Urology	6,295	8,689	11,012	99

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken within Nine weeks, 13 Weeks, 26 Weeks, And After 52 Weeks, by Specialty¹, during the Quarter Ended 31 March 2001.

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken
NHS Board	Specialty	Within 9 Weeks	Within 13 Weeks	Within 26 Weeks	After 52 Weeks
NHSScotland	All Specialties	158,571	193,151	242,239	2,617
	Anaesthetics	350	574	963	10
	Cardiology	5,970	7,005	8,121	19
	Cardiothoracic Surgery	470	482	489	-
	Chemical Pathology	4	5	5	-
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	735	931	1,134	20
	Clinical Genetics	193	263	339	5
	Clinical Oncology	628	632	639	1
	Clinical Radiology	288	297	303	-
	Dermatology	11,256	13,698	18,632	67
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	12,068	15,549	20,309	131
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	2,150	2,718	3,390	20
	Gastroenterology	2,130	2,768	4,168	22
	General Medicine	8,365	10,278	12,305	38
	General Practice	193	199	222	-
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	5,716	6,406	6,917	28
	General Surgery	26,329	31,288	36,657	202
	Geriatric Medicine	3,010	3,162	3,222	7
	Gynaecology	16,040	20,181	23,983	44
	Haematology	1,474	1,544	1,583	4
	Homeopathy	77	126	315	759
	Infectious Diseases	965	999	1,027	-
	Learning Disability (Mental Handicap)	60	60	64	1
	Medical Oncology	187	191	192	-
	Neurology	1,731	2,171	3,234	15
	Neurosurgery	589	707	821	8
	Obstetrics	12,622	12,785	12,854	20
	Ophthalmology	10,052	13,335	18,292	120
	Oral Medicine	310	438	733	3
	Oral Surgery	2,885	3,959	5,617	121
	Orthodontics	775	1,290	2,585	87
	Paediatric Dentistry	765	826	999	-
	Paediatric Surgery	1,037	1,121	1,251	114
	Paediatrics	4,040	4,965	5,436	23
	Palliative Medicine	25	25	25	-
	Plastic Surgery	2,178	3,084	4,191	310
	Psychiatry of Old Age	2,556	2,616	2,657	7
	Rehabilitation Medicine	275	353	437	-
	Renal Medicine	450	573	640	7
	Respiratory Medicine	3,178	3,542	3,727	15
	Restorative Dentistry	603	831	1,156	31
	Rheumatology	1,760	2,249	3,092	9
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	8,268	11,003	18,801	302
	Urology	5,814	7,922	10,712	47

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken within Nine weeks, 13 Weeks, 26 Weeks, And After 52 Weeks, by Specialty¹, during the Quarter Ended 31 March 2002.

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken
NHS Board	Specialty	Within 9 Weeks	Within 13 Weeks	Within 26 Weeks	After 52 Weeks
NHSScotland	All Specialties	145,890	178,868	230,170	3,886
	Anaesthetics	391	547	1,011	10
	Cardiology	5,573	6,751	7,701	35
	Cardiothoracic Surgery	439	446	452	-
	Chemical Pathology	1	1	1	-
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	744	869	978	30
	Clinical Genetics	257	339	494	9
	Clinical Oncology	708	720	722	2
	Clinical Radiology	416	425	427	-
	Dermatology	9,405	12,472	17,293	276
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	11,461	14,903	20,515	245
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	1,963	2,524	3,432	45
	Gastroenterology	2,458	3,118	4,752	44
	General Medicine	7,839	9,620	12,198	157
	General Practice	135	142	144	-
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	5,023	5,764	6,264	51
	General Surgery	24,841	28,975	34,811	218
	Geriatric Medicine	3,080	3,221	3,319	19
	Gynaecology	14,290	18,280	23,526	122
	Haematology	1,645	1,744	1,813	4
	Homeopathy	101	164	298	137
	Infectious Diseases	779	811	839	1
	Learning Disability (Mental Handicap)	56	60	64	1
	Medical Oncology	316	316	317	-
	Neurology	1,922	2,305	3,164	72
	Neurosurgery	509	587	680	2
	Obstetrics	11,202	11,380	11,471	35
	Ophthalmology	8,294	11,534	16,482	273
	Oral Medicine	304	427	516	11
	Oral Surgery	3,188	4,300	5,721	173
	Orthodontics	918	1,289	2,347	297
	Paediatric Dentistry	720	830	1,128	24
	Paediatric Surgery	1,040	1,140	1,294	359
	Paediatrics	3,642	4,484	5,274	13
	Palliative Medicine	20	21	21	-
	Plastic Surgery	1,727	2,675	3,745	325
	Psychiatry of Old Age	2,065	2,140	2,186	14
	Rehabilitation Medicine	336	415	482	5
	Renal Medicine	411	594	644	2
	Respiratory Medicine	3,151	3,426	3,708	29
	Restorative Dentistry	512	632	1,188	66
	Rheumatology	1,724	2,236	3,207	23
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	7,017	9,542	15,670	572
	Urology	5,267	6,699	9,871	185

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken within Nine weeks, 13 Weeks, 26 Weeks, And After 52 Weeks, by Specialty¹, during the Quarter Ended 31 March 2003.

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments undertaken
NHS Board	Specialty	Within 9 Weeks	Within 13 Weeks	Within 26 Weeks	After 52 Weeks
NHSScotland	All Specialties	144,760	175,430	224,217	7,697
	Anaesthetics	328	508	965	14
	Cardiology	4,775	5,967	7,228	16
	Cardiothoracic Surgery	425	455	461	2
	Chemical Pathology	8	8	8	-
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	586	708	839	27
	Clinical Genetics	232	301	446	27
	Clinical Oncology	630	634	635	-
	Clinical Radiology	414	422	424	9
	Dermatology	10,139	13,039	17,936	475
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	10,789	13,550	18,804	596
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	2,040	2,604	3,353	59
	Gastroenterology	2,206	2,721	4,204	66
	General Medicine	7,406	9,083	11,325	177
	General Practice	393	425	459	23
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	3,649	4,195	4,705	53
	General Surgery	24,613	28,783	34,164	246
	Geriatric Medicine	2,932	3,045	3,120	6
	Gynaecology	15,148	19,035	23,877	129
	Haematology	1,759	1,890	2,005	5
	Homeopathy	78	127	240	239
	Infectious Diseases	646	725	771	2
	Learning Disability (Mental Handicap)	16	16	18	-
	Medical Oncology	372	378	385	-
	Neurology	2,045	2,529	3,340	146
	Neurosurgery	477	571	669	1
	Obstetrics	12,100	12,327	12,438	29
	Ophthalmology	8,576	11,936	17,278	1,065
	Oral Medicine	165	187	310	90
	Oral Surgery	3,227	4,194	5,199	384
	Orthodontics	682	1,172	2,071	435
	Paediatric Dentistry	429	479	669	30
	Paediatric Surgery	970	1,078	1,265	588
	Paediatrics	4,304	4,896	5,386	15
	Palliative Medicine	21	21	21	-
	Plastic Surgery	1,583	2,195	3,749	219
	Psychiatry of Old Age	1,796	1,858	1,888	8
	Rehabilitation Medicine	262	316	377	1
	Renal Medicine	513	620	848	5
	Respiratory Medicine	3,378	3,641	3,847	125
	Restorative Dentistry	359	453	681	58
	Rheumatology	1,746	2,115	3,132	92
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	6,522	8,710	14,563	1,838
	Urology	6,021	7,510	10,115	397

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR00.

Note: 1. All specialties excludingaccident and emergency and genito urinary medicine are included in SMR00 returns.

Question reference: S2W-10221

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 02 September 2004
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9744 by Malcolm Chisholm on 12 August 2004, how many out-patients in each NHS board area were waiting more than (a) 18 months and (b) two years for an NHS appointment, broken down by individual speciality, in the quarters to (i) March 1999, (ii) June 1999, (iii) March 2000, (iv) March 2001, (v) March 2002 and (vi) March 2003.

The information requested for NHSScotland is set out in the following tables.

Every year NHSScotland undertakes 4 million out-patient appointments, of which around 1 million of these are first outpatient appointments. Nearly 90% of patients receive their first outpatient appointment within 26 weeks.

I have arranged for the information requested for NHS boards to be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number: 33876) as it runs to 19 pages.

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken after 18 Months and After Two Years, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 1999

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken After:
NHS Board	Specialty	18 Months	2 Years
NHSScotland	All Specialties	172	119
	Cardiology	3	2
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	2	2
	Dermatology	7	6
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	9	8
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	1	1
	General Medicine	17	10
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	8	5
	General Surgery	15	9
	Gynaecology	8	4
	Homeopathy	48	47
	Neurology	2	2
	Obstetrics	7	6
	Ophthalmology	7	4
	Oral Surgery	1	1
	Orthodontics	15	1
	Paediatrics	1	1
	Plastic Surgery	3	1
	Psychiatry of Old Age	3	2
	Respiratory Medicine	1	1
	Restorative Dentistry	1	-
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	5	1
	Urology	8	5

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken after 18 Months and After Two Years, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 30 June 1999

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken After:
NHS Board	Specialty	18 Months	2 Years
NHSScotland	All Specialties	161	70
	Anaesthetics	1	-
	Cardiology	5	4
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	3	3
	Dermatology	8	1
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	9	7
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	1	-
	Gastroenterology	1	1
	General Medicine	7	5
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	3	2
	General Surgery	16	10
	Gynaecology	10	6
	Homeopathy	8	5
	Neurology	2	2
	Neurosurgery	2	2
	Obstetrics	8	8
	Ophthalmology	2	-
	Oral Medicine	1	1
	Oral Surgery	2	1
	Orthodontics	45	-
	Paediatric Surgery	1	-
	Paediatrics	1	-
	Plastic Surgery	3	2
	Psychiatry of Old Age	7	2
	Rheumatology	2	2
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	8	4
	Urology	5	2

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken after 18 Months and After Two Years, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 2000

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken After:
NHS Board	Specialty	18 Months	2 Years
NHSScotland	All Specialties	250	91
	Cardiology	5	-
	Clinical Genetics	2	1
	Clinical Oncology	1	-
	Dermatology	54	2
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	4	2
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	2	-
	Gastroenterology	4	-
	General Medicine	5	2
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	4	2
	General Surgery	10	3
	Geriatric Medicine	3	3
	Gynaecology	3	1
	Homeopathy	20	9
	Neurology	7	-
	Obstetrics	4	2
	Ophthalmology	10	3
	Oral Surgery	4	1
	Orthodontics	53	44
	Paediatric Dentistry	2	1
	Paediatric Surgery	3	-
	Paediatrics	1	1
	Plastic Surgery	9	2
	Psychiatry of Old Age	3	1
	Renal Medicine	2	-
	Restorative Dentistry	3	2
	Rheumatology	5	3
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	10	4
	Urology	17	2

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken after 18 Months and After Two Years, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 2001

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken After:
NHS Board	Specialty	18 Months	2 Years
NHSScotland	All Specialties	1,022	675
	Anaesthetics	3	1
	Cardiology	3	3
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	3	1
	Dermatology	4	-
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	9	1
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	3	1
	Gastroenterology	2	-
	General Medicine	8	1
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	4	1
	General Surgery	48	3
	Geriatric Medicine	1	-
	Gynaecology	6	2
	Haematology	1	-
	Homeopathy	661	632
	Neurology	2	1
	Obstetrics	1	1
	Ophthalmology	18	7
	Oral Surgery	34	-
	Orthodontics	8	1
	Paediatric Surgery	24	1
	Paediatrics	5	-
	Plastic Surgery	149	15
	Respiratory Medicine	1	1
	Restorative Dentistry	2	-
	Rheumatology	1	1
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	14	1
	Urology	7	-

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken after 18 Months and After Two Years, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 2002

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken After:
NHS Board	Specialty	18 Months	2 Years
NHSScotland	All Specialties	607	148
	Anaesthetics	2	2
	Cardiology	12	8
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	1	-
	Clinical Genetics	1	-
	Clinical Oncology	1	1
	Dermatology	23	6
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	24	4
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	7	2
	Gastroenterology	17	-
	General Medicine	27	20
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	3	-
	General Surgery	60	7
	Gynaecology	8	1
	Haematology	1	1
	Homeopathy	68	12
	Neurology	2	2
	Obstetrics	2	2
	Ophthalmology	26	3
	Oral Medicine	1	-
	Oral Surgery	53	-
	Orthodontics	14	4
	Paediatric Surgery	14	-
	Paediatrics	2	1
	Plastic Surgery	141	53
	Rehabilitation Medicine	2	2
	Renal Medicine	1	1
	Respiratory Medicine	1	-
	Restorative Dentistry	2	-
	Rheumatology	3	-
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	71	8
	Urology	17	8

NHSScotland: Number of Consultant-Led First Out-Patient Appointments, Following Referral by a General Medical or Dental Practitioner, Undertaken after 18 Months and After Two Years, by Specialty¹, During the Quarter Ended 31 March 2003

NHS Board	Specialty	Number of Appointments Undertaken After:
NHS Board	Specialty	18 Months	2 Years
NHSScotland	All Specialties	1 711	426
	Anaesthetics	5	2
	Cardiology	2	1
	Child and Adolescent Psychiatry	4	-
	Clinical Genetics	4	-
	Clinical Radiology	4	3
	Dermatology	72	3
	Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)	34	4
	Endocrinology and Diabetes	37	1
	Gastroenterology	16	1
	General Medicine	92	69
	General Practice	8	-
	General Psychiatry (Mental Illness)	2	-
	General Surgery	51	23
	Gynaecology	6	3
	Haematology	1	-
	Homeopathy	202	64
	Neurology	4	-
	Obstetrics	2	1
	Ophthalmology	305	33
	Oral Medicine	11	9
	Oral Surgery	44	9
	Orthodontics	85	9
	Paediatric Dentistry	24	19
	Paediatric Surgery	47	17
	Paediatrics	4	1
	Plastic Surgery	85	25
	Psychiatry of Old Age	1	1
	Rehabilitation Medicine	1	1
	Renal Medicine	4	1
	Respiratory Medicine	12	-
	Restorative Dentistry	21	7
	Rheumatology	7	2
	Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery	334	116
	Urology	180	1

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR00.

Note: 1. All specialties excluding accident and emergency and genito urinary medicine are included in SMR00 returns.

Question reference: S2W-13323

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 January 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 19 January 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many special initiatives will be undertaken by Lothian and Borders Police in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03 and (c) 2003-04; how many are being undertaken in 2004-05, and how many are planned for 2005-06, broken down by divisional area.

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