Chamber and committees

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that the acute physician appointments are to supplement the team of physicians based at the Royal Alexandria Hospital who will be providing acute care at the Vale of Leven Hospital on a rotational basis. The NHS board point out that these appointments are therefore not as locums to the Vale; the clinicians will play their part as members of the overall consultant team providing acute care at the Vale. The board has assured us that these arrangements are sustainable whilst the full complement of staff is put in place in a planned way to deliver the Vision for the Vale of Leven Hospital.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that, based on the likely dates of completion of training, they expect that substantive appointments to these posts will take place by the middle of next year.

The information requested is presented in the following table, as provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland.

Postcode	Location	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
(a) G81	(i) Christie Ward	*	*	*	*
	(ii) Other GG&C	131	134	137	126
	(ii) Other Highland	*	*	*	*
(b) G82	(i) Christie Ward	51	55	60	46
	(ii) Other GG&C	18	33	23	36
	(ii) Other Highland	9	*	*	*
(c) G83	(i) Christie Ward	36	30	45	31
	(ii) Other GG&C	12	11	19	6
	(ii) Other Highland	*	*	*	*
(d) G84	(i) Christie Ward	48	42	33	25
	(ii) Other GG&C	5	18	14	10
	(ii) Other Highland	6	*	*	*

Source: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland

Notes:

The data relates to the following mental health admissions: Adult, Addictions, Rehabilitation and Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit. Elderly, Forensic and Learning Disability admissions are not included.

*Numbers of less than five have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality.

I understand that this will be discussed at the next Vale of Leven Monitoring Group on 30 August 2010. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde should be prepared to discuss all reasonable options with the Group in the first instance.

The fact that the ward is no longer operational will clearly affect the way both NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the monitoring group take forward their roles in relation to providing ministers with a further report on local demand for inpatient mental health services.

I am aware that the board has been sharing data on the local demand for inpatient mental health services with the monitoring group since its inception. My view is that it is reasonable for the group to expect that the local demand for inpatient beds continues to be monitored over a longer period in order to establish a meaningful trend. I also think such an extended period, of around eight to 10 months, would allow the group to monitor the efficacy of the enhanced community-based services put in place by the board.

The monitoring group''s conclusions will ultimately inform consideration of future service proposals at Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board. Following a board decision, Scottish ministers will take all the available information into account in coming to a final view on the future of local inpatient mental health services.

This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for setting the level of taxi and private hire car licensing fees for their area is a matter for individual licensing authorities.

Health Protection Scotland advise that the optimal time for pre-admission screening for MRSA is around 30 days prior to admission.

Health Protection Scotland advise that it is appropriate to screen patients six weeks prior to admission to allow adequate time for decolonisation and repeat tests for patients who test MRSA positive. However, the optimal time is 30 days.

A recent systematic review entitled Eradication of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage concluded that the success rate for MRSA eradication with nasal application of mupirocin ointment was approximately 90% at one week post decolonisation completion. The report can be viewed at:

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/597291.

NHS boards are advised in the Health Protection Scotland protocol for MRSA screening national rollout in Scotland that patients who have a planned admission date should be screened at the pre-admission stage or at outpatient clinics.

If this is not possible, NHS boards are advised that patients should be screened on admission to hospital and in these cases the patient would follow the screening pathway of an emergency patient.

This Government remains committed to Scotland''s Schools for the Future and the Scottish Futures Trust are continuing to work with each council to ensure delivery of their school in line with the timelines which have been confirmed.

The Scottish Government will provide a contribution of £12.1 million towards the replacement of Dumbarton Academy from Scotland''s Schools for the Future.