Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government will continue to provide any appropriate guidance for NHSScotland as and when necessary.

The Scottish Government has not said that it would publish new guidance on access to medicines in May 2014. As part of implementation of policy changes to increase access to new medicines for patients in Scotland, the Scottish Government will continue to provide any appropriate guidance for NHSScotland as and when necessary.

No. Changes to access to medicines policy have already been introduced and hundreds more patients throughout Scotland are already accessing new treatments. These changes are being closely monitored to determine what further action may be required.

Data received by the Scottish Government does not categorise treatment of patients in this way.

Data received by the Scottish Government does not categorise treatment of patients in this way.

In 2012-13, 125 requests were made and 84 approved. In 2013-14, 83 requests were made and 60 approved. From 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014, 52 requests were made and 44 were approved.

This data relates to the number of individual patient treatment requests approved for patients resident in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board area and does not include requests approved for residents of other NHS board areas. Information on requests approved is held by NHS board residency.

In NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde board area and throughout Scotland there has been a significant increase in the approval rate of individual patient treatment requests in the transitional period ahead of a body of decisions by the Scottish Medicines Consortium under their new process. In 2011-12, the approval rate for individual patient treatment requests in Scotland was 66%. From 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014, the approval rate of individual patient treatment requests in Scotland was 92%.

Data for 2014 is subject to further verification at the end of 2014-15.

As has been stated previously, this paper is part of the regular discussions among NHS leaders to plan proactively for future healthcare provision, so as to ensure that we maintain the delivery of quality care and treatment within boards’ allocated funding. Budget planning enabled NHS to make efficiency savings of 3% per year for the last six years – releasing more than £1.5 billion to be redirected to fund frontline NHS services.

For 2015-16 there is a planned overall increase of £256 million in health resource spending. This will see the resources allocated to territorial NHS boards, those who deliver direct patient care, increase by 2.7 per cent. This is an above real terms increase, and represents the sixth above-inflation increase in a row. Every territorial board will see their budgets increased.

Additional capital funding will take the overall increase to £288 million in 2015-16, bringing the total health budget to £12.16 billion.

This is primarily a matter for the individual health board, although NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has indicated that the opening budget for the West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership is still in the process of being finalised.

The board and local authority are currently working to confirm the budgets from which the health and social care partnership budgets will be derived.

In each partnership area, it is the responsibility of the health board and local authority to delegate functions to the integration joint board, and budgets relating to those functions.

Each health board and local authority will agree an integration scheme, setting out their integrated arrangements for health and social care, and this will include their method for determining budgets to be delegated to the integration joint board. The integration scheme is subject to ministerial approval.

No, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have confirmed that health and social care partnerships will not be subject to a 10% reduction in 2015-16 or 2016-17.