Chamber and committees

The provision of short break or respite care services that are relevant and accessible to all sections of the community is a shared responsibility of local authorities, the NHS and housing agencies. In recognition of the importance of respite care we are providing local authorities with significantly increased resources over the next three years to develop an extra 22,000 weeks of short breaks a year across Scotland by 2003-04. The NHS may provide respite and rehabilitation care where there is a clinical need. There is no age limit to NHS care. An expert group under the Chief Medical Officer is currently looking at the journey of care for older people in hospitals and in the community to see what improvements can be made, and this group will also investigate allegations of ageism within the NHS in Scotland.

There are long-standing Europe-wide negotiated arrangements for elective health care delivered in another member state. These follow established E112 procedures that include prior agreement, not least involving the clinicians in the referring and receiving facilitates. The same procedures apply for overseas patients referred under these arrangements for care in this country.Emergency health care is also provided on a reciprocal basis.

The New Contract for Doctors in Training implemented on 1 December 2000 requires that NHS Trusts demonstrate clearly that all Pre-Registration House Officer (PRHO) posts are fully compliant with the hours limits of the New Deal from 1 August 2001. Information contained within returns due from NHS Trusts at the end of August 2001 will show the level of progress that has been made.The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has confirmed to all NHSScotland Trusts that the UK agreement for Doctors in Training does not allow for any discretion in the achievement of PRHO compliance and that postgraduate Deans will be expected to enforce this requirement.The New Deal Implementation Support Group (ISG) formed as a partnership between the Scottish Executive Health Department and the Scottish Junior Doctors Committee of the British Medical Association continues to provide support to Trusts at local level in resolving issues of non-compliance.

I indicated in my answer to question S1W-11219 that incentives to secure compliance with the New Deal have been incorporated into the New Contract for Doctors in Training introduced on 1 December 2000. These take the form of incremental pay band multipliers which reward the most hard pressed junior doctors and financially penalise trusts that fail to take the necessary steps to reduce hours of work.I also refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17446 regarding the steps that are to be taken in respect of Pre-Registration House Officers (PRHO) posts deemed non-compliant in August 2001.

No. The New Contract for Doctors in Training was introduced in December 2000. This requires that from 1 August 2001 all Pre-Registration House Officer (PRHO) posts and from 1 August 2003 all Senior House Officer (SHO) and Specialist Registrar (SpR) posts must fully comply with the hours limits of the New Deal. Trusts which fail to meet this requirement will be in breach of contract.The New Deal Implementation Support Group (ISG), formed as a partnership between the Scottish Executive Health Department and the Scottish Junior Doctors Committee of the British Medical Association, continues to provide support to trusts at local level in resolving issues of non-compliance.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17446 which confirms that postgraduate deans will be expected to enforce the requirement that all Pre-Registration House Officer (PRHO) posts comply with the hours and rest requirements of the New Deal from 1 August 2001. This will mean PRHO posts deemed non-compliant will be withdrawn from service delivery. Arrangements on the procedures for doing so will be subject to local discussion and negotiation between NHSScotland trusts and postgraduate deans.

The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) expects all employers locally to work within current employment and health and safety legislation. Compliance with contracted hours is a matter for individual Trust employers and is not information that is held centrally by SEHD.

On 27 April 2001 I announced funding for an additional 375 junior doctors. This followed my announcement of 100 extra junior doctors on 28 June 2000. These will be targeted at areas with an identified need for additional resources.In 2001-02 health boards received an average increase in unified budgets of 6.5%, which represents a cash increase of over £270 million. In addition, boards are to receive average increases of 6.5% and 7.4% in 2002-03 and 2003-04 respectively. It is the responsibility of health boards to determine local priorities for the use of these funds including meeting the targets and standards of the New Deal for Junior Doctors.

The Health Technology Board for Scotland has not yet completed a health technology assessment. It announced its first three assessment topics in January 2001 after wide consultation. Each assessment will take about one year to complete due to the large amount of evidence considered and the board's open and inclusive consultation process.

I refer the member to the answer to question S1W-17576.