Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

I welcome Audit Scotland''s Review of orthopaedic services and the Scottish Government Health Directorates have already begun to implement several of the recommendations. We have established an Efficiency & Productivity programme, closely linked to our Quality Strategy, to improve productivity and the efficiency of services. Progress is already being made by shifting the balance of care to more community and team based services, improving benchmarking information and supporting boards to further increase rates of same day surgery.

The increasing demand on orthopaedic services for joint replacements has been significant. From 2000 to 2008, the number of knee replacements increased by 106% and hip replacements increased by 43%. The Scottish Government has continued to increase investment in orthopaedic services with £370 million dedicated towards this area last year alone and this report recognises that considerable improvements have been made. An area of significant improvement is in waiting times. NHS boards have exceeded their waiting time targets by effectively meeting the March 2010 targets in March 2009. This is a substantial achievement by NHS staff.

Service improvements related to orthopaedic services are being taken forward by the national and local NHS board 18 Weeks Improvement Teams and the focus of this activity will be targeted at the key areas within this report.

Scottish Enterprise is responsible for allocating any bonus payments.

I will ask its Chief Executive to write to you in this regard.

Local Delivery Plans are currently being prepared and approved by NHS boards and SGHD. Details will be made available on conclusion of this process which is expected to occur by the end of June.

NHS boards are given a formula capital allocation and it is for them to identify their capital spending requirements and prioritise these in line with available resources. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have been notified of a formula capital allocation of £83.887 million for 2010-11. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has not yet completed formal approval processes for the capital plan for 2010-11 and beyond. The plan is due to be discussed at the NHS board''s performance review group on 15 may 2010 and will be available thereafter.

No savings are anticipated.

The information requested is provided in the following tables.

Capitation Payments as at 1 September 2009

Patients Age	Dentist''s Fee per month1,2,3
0-2 years	£1.65
3-5 years	£2.18
6-12 years	£3.85
13-17 years	£4.96

 

Continuing Care Payments as at 1 September 2009

Patient''s Age	Dentist''s Fee Per Month1,2
18-64 years	£0.96
65 or over	£1.22

Notes:

1. The appropriate fee is doubled where the patient has a severe mental or physical disability or severe learning difficulties and where, to provide treatment, it is necessary for the dentist to spend at least double the normal amount of time for a patient of the same age.

2. Where the patient''s postcode of residence is in a Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation area 5 the dentist receives an addition to the capitation or continuing care fee of £0.21 per month.

3. Where the patient is aged 0-2 years the dentist receives an enhancement of the capitation fee according to the Deprivation Category (DEPCAT) of the practice postcode. The level of the enhancement depends on whether the practice is in a DEPCAT 1 + 2, DEPCAT 3 + 4 or DEPCAT 5 “ 7 area. Where the patient is aged 3-5 years the dentist receives an enhancement of the capitation fee if the practice postcode is in a DEPCAT 6 + 7 area.

With the introduction of non-time limited registration with effect from 1 April 2010 the capitation and continuing care fees payable will reduce to 20% of the appropriate fee for any patient who has not attended the dentist for three years or more. Payments will return to the full amount when the patient subsequently attends the dentist.

Information on the number of psychologists employed in NHSScotland is published on the National Services Scotland, Information Services Division (ISD) website under the psychology workforce planning project report available at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5381.html.

ESEP Ltd has a target of 10 working days to provide correct claims to the Scottish Government for payment. An extension to ESEP''s contract has recently been agreed which will ensure additional resources are put in place to help ensure claims are processed in a timely manner and ESEP will continue to work closely with all voluntary organisations to ensure correct claims are processed and passed to the Scottish Government.