Chamber and committees

The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) will receive £47.5 million in 2003-04 to support research into health and health care needs in Scotland. The strategic direction of that research over the next five years, will be determined by CSO's new research strategy, which is currently the subject of public consultation.

When we set out our proposals in Partnership for Care to dissolve the remaining NHS trusts, our primary objective was not to achieve financial savings, and nor have we identified any direct cost implications. Rather, changes to the governance of local NHS systems should be seen as part of our drive to develop integrated, decentralised health care services that devolve management authority to the front line of patient care.Nevertheless, by consolidating around 15 NHS boards with minimal structural change and disruption, unnecessary bureaucracy will be reduced, and resources will be freed up and redirected towards improved patient care.Specifically, the removal of the remaining trusts will support a whole-system approach to financial management, accountability and planning which maximises the return on additional investment, simplifying the way money flows in the local NHS system and allowing greater flexibility for financial planning over the longer term.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not held centrally.

A total of £86.071 million was allocated in 2002-03 to the four Scottish teaching boards to meet the additional costs to the NHS of teaching being carried out in hospitals. It is for the four teaching boards to arrange for distribution of this funding to those hospitals carrying out teaching.

The Scottish Executive is taking action to build capacity in NHSScotland. Return to Practice schemes are an important part of that and some examples are given:£2 million has been allocated to NHS boards, spread over 2002-03 and 2003-04 to fund Return to Practice for nurses and midwives who have taken a break from their careers. This should allow between 400 and 600 nurses and midwives to return to NHSScotland.£100,000 has been allocated for Return to Practice for the Allied Health Professions in the next financial year. Programmes to support this will need to be developed and funding will be reviewed thereafter.The on-going recruitment and retention package announced for dentistry includes the introduction of an enhanced "return to work" scheme under the Scottish Dental Access Initiative to encourage dentists who have taken career breaks to return to general dental practice and provide NHS dental services on a sessional basis. Under the previous scheme, a returning dentist could earn up to £2,000 for working up to 200 NHS sessions in the year following return, with an equivalent payment for the practice owner. The revised scheme will enable the returner and practice owner to earn up to £6,750 each where the returner works up to 450 sessions. The revised scheme is also open to dentists returning to NHS orthodontic practice.

Reliable information on the number of NHS patients treated in non-NHS institutions is not available centrally. However, the Information and Statistics Division, part of the Common Services Agency in NHSScotland, are currently working with the Scottish Executive, NHS boards, trusts and the independent sector to improve data coverage and data quality.

A large number of NHS patients in Scotland already receive treatment in hospitals outside their NHS board areas of residence. Arrangements are already in place for the planning and funding of these out of area treatments. The number of out of area treatments undertaken as a result of NHS boards ensuring that waiting guarantees are met is expected to represent a relatively small addition to existing patient flows. Individual NHS boards receive funding to enable them to meet their responsibility for forecasting and meeting the health care needs of their residents, including arranging and paying for treatment in neighbouring NHS board areas.The key objective is that the longest waiting times experienced by NHS patients in Scotland are reduced to meet the Executive's targets, as made clear in Partnership for Care published on 27 February.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34008 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34008 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.