Chamber and committees

Most pain clinics provide services to patients in an outpatient setting. Information about outpatient waiting times is collected centrally at speciality level only and does not differentiate between different types of clinics within the specialty. Consequently the information requested is not available centrally.

Most pain clinics provide services to patients in an outpatient setting. Information about outpatient waiting times is collected centrally at speciality level only and does not differentiate between different types of clinics within the specialty. Consequently the information requested is not available centrally.

There is emerging evidence on the use of transcatheter aortic valve implantation, and as agreed at the time of the original decision. I have asked for a further review to be carried out to assess whether this most up to date research provides more robust evidence about the clinical and cost effectiveness of the treatment.

The National Planning Forum has asked the Scottish Health Technologies Group to undertake a full analysis of the latest published research to enable further consideration of its current recommendation. The outcome of this will be announced due course.

There are no plans to change the monitoring arrangements. The Scottish Government has asked Information Services Division to continue with the Scottish Arthroplasty Project since the continued collection of information on the use of arthroplasty is a necessary part of our quality strategy at the present time.

Online planning guidance regarding onshore wind developments is available on the Scottish Government's website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/212607/0114118.pdf.

This does not address national parks or nature conservation areas specifically but does advise on the approach to be taken and issues to be addressed (including landscape and biodiversity) by Scottish ministers, planning authorities and developers in preparing policy or considering applications for planning consent. The Scottish Government's policy on wind farms can be found at paragraph 187-191 of Scottish Planning Policy, which is available on the Scottish Government's website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/02/03132605/12.

Scottish Natural Heritage are the Scottish Government’s advisors and statutory consultees on the impacts of windfarms on nature conservation areas. Further guidance on nature conservation areas is available in the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 which can be found at:

http://www.snh.gov.uk/protecting-scotlands-nature/protected-areas/.

In 2009, 12 patients from Scotland were transferred to England for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

The National Planning Forum (NPF) reviewed the costs associated with these transfers, as part of its review of TAVI, earlier this year. The NPF found that from a sample of six cases, costs varied from £25,009 to £70,778, with an average cost of £44,213 per procedure.

This variation in cost is primarily due to varying length of stay within an intensive treatment unit following the procedure.

Information on the cost of voluntary redundancies is not held centrally and would have to be requested from individual NHS boards in Scotland.

In 2010, 163 patients required revision for an elective primary hip that had been replaced within the previous five years, and 184 patients required revision for an elective primary knee that had been replaced within the previous five years. A five-year timescale was chosen because revision of a hip or knee replacement within five years generally indicates some problem or failure of the implant ahead of the usual 10+ years lifespan of the implant. These figures exclude repeat revisions of an implant in the same joint.

As well as revision of failed implants, revision arthroplasty surgery also occurs in order to replace implants that have worn out over time (10+ years implant lifespan), and to revise implants that are already themselves revisions. In 2010 the total number of hip and knee arthroplasty revisions from all sources was 832 and 530 respectively.

Data for the financial year 2010-11 are not yet available.

The data requested in respect of 2008-09 and 2009-10 is already published on the archived web site of the Information and Statistics Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland. The website can be reached at:

http://www.isdscotlandarchive.scot.nhs.uk/isd/2241.html.

Data for 2010-11 will be added in due course to the new ISD website which can be reached at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Publications/.

The approach of the Scottish Government and individual territorial health boards is to contain reimbursement costs for prescribed items, to encourage best practice, and to develop, in conjunction with the clinicians concerned, local prescribing budgets, which support evidence based prescribing and thus deliver optimal patient care and value for money.

The savings achieved since 2007-08 attributable respectively to improved prescribing in primary care and more effective drug purchasing in primary care are detailed in the efficiency outturn reports for 2008-09 and 2009-10. These can be accessed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/11/Outturn2008-09/Q/EditMode/on/ForceUpdate/on/Page/11, and

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/10/Outturn2009-10/Q/EditMode/on/ForceUpdate/on/Page/8.

A report for 2010-11 will be published in due course.