Chamber and committees

This will be an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. However, a programme board is being established to ensure a smooth implementation of the new arrangements. Current ambulance policy commits the service to ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate treatment. This is delivered by paramedics and other appropriately trained clinical staff and this mix of provision is likely to be reflected in the recruitment plan.

This is a matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. The information is not held centrally.

Emergency (999) calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service are categorised as A, B and C.

The national response time target for category A calls (life threatening) across mainland Scotland is that 75% of all incidents should be reached within eight minutes.

The national response time target for category B calls (serious but not life threatening) across mainland Scotland is that 95% of all incidents should be reached within 14, 19 or 21 minutes depending on population density.

The remaining calls (neither life threatening nor serious) are described as category C. Where an ambulance response is required that will generally attend within one hour. Many category C calls do not require an ambulance to attend, patients might be transferred to NHS 24, offered advice or referred to alternative pathways of care.

It is planned that the posts will be filled within 18 months. However, recruitment activity is already underway and it is anticipated that a large proportion of the staff should be in place more quickly than that.

The Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland, through its administration of the Self Management Fund over the last three years, has allocated a total of £1,089,841 to projects which support people to live with chronic pain in Scotland.

Coastguards at Clyde Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) do not routinely attend incidents. Clyde MRCC performs a search and rescue co-ordination function. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency search and rescue records show the number of incidents at Erskine Bridge reported to Clyde MRCC each year since 2007 as follows:

Precise accounting information would need to be sought from the Scottish Ambulance Service direct but there are some 2,400 staff who were eligible for the £250 availability and the £100 ignore payments. Paying the availability payment on a pro-rata basis for three months therefore works out at £156,250. Figures supplied to us by the Scottish Ambulance Service as part of the regular monitoring arrangements show that there were 1,130 incidents where staff were disturbed during rest breaks between 10 October 2011 and 8 January 2012 (the most recent date for which we have validated data). A total of 2,100 disturbs of individual staff members resulted from these. This therefore amounts to some £210,000 in disturb payments.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has advised that overtime payments covering hours worked between April and December 2011 total £6,218,303. Overtime is generally paid one month in arrears so overtime incurred in December is paid in January.

The provision of HIV prevention services are a matter for local NHS boards. The role of government is to ensure that our policy priorities of fewer new blood-borne virus infections and fewer STIs are achieved, and that individual are not adversely affected by any local commissioning decision.

NHS Grampian has informed us that there has been no gap in the provision of HIV prevention services since 1 December 2011, and they have continued to undertake a range of prevention activities. We will continue to monitor this closely.

The provision of HIV prevention services are a matter for local NHS boards. The role of government is to ensure that our policy priorities of fewer new blood-borne virus infections and fewer STIs are achieved, and that individual are not adversely affected by any local commissioning decision. NHS Grampian has informed us that there has been no gap in the provision of HIV prevention services since December and we will continue to monitor this closely.

NHS Grampian has continued to provide and support a range of prevention activities since December, including promotion of the HIV Wake Up call campaign; the promotion and distribution of condoms across Grampian, and ongoing promotion of Sexual Health and Relationships Education (SHARE) in schools. NHS Grampian is also undertaking an HIV needs assessment to shape and inform future services.