Chamber and committees

No decisions have been takenon the possible passporting of exemption from prescription charges as a consequenceof the welfare reforms proposed by the UK Government. We will await the outcomeof both the consultation on those proposals and the currently on-going consultationon the review of prescription charges in Scotland.

Information on waiting timesfor emergency or routine treatment in the general and community dental service isnot available from central statistical returns.

The Children’s Cancer Services in Scotland Working Group was set up as a short-life working group to report to the Children and Young People’s Health Support Group (CYPHSG) and is no longer meeting. Children’s cancer services in Scotland will now be considered as part of a national review of specialist children’s services as set out in Delivering for Health. It is expected that an Option Appraisal on children’s cancer services will be completed by the end of 2006.

I refer the member to thequestion S2W-22949 answered on 6 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forwhich can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Audiology services do notfall under the current remit of the National Waiting Times Unit as audiology isnot a consultant-led service or defined as a speciality. The AudiologyModernisation Project Board, however, set its own national targets for waitingtimes as a tool to measure NHS boards’ progress towards modernisation of theservice and identify regional variations in service delivery and standards. Itis the aim of the Modernisation Project Board that all NHS boards shouldachieve a high quality service with a maximum waiting time of 26 weeks fromreferral to fitting.

Between 1999 and 2002, information on waiting times at accident and emergency (A&E) departments was recorded centrally via a series of annual week-long surveys. The survey was reduced to three days duration in 2003 to minimise the workload of busy A&E Departments, as many departments completed the survey manually. The surveys specifically measured the waiting times from arrival in A&E to: time to triage; time to be seen by a doctor, and time to completion of treatment.

The survey in April 2002 was undertaken during a seven-day period specifically identified by the Health Department. The surveys in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001 were undertaken during a four week period identified by the Health Department, with each hospital deciding on the specific seven-day period of the survey. The 3-day survey period for 2003, 2004 and 2005 was set by the Health Department. Average A&E attendances per survey day increased from 3,007 in 1999 to 3,636 in 2005 – a rise of 21%.

Median waiting times from arrival to completion of treatment for individual NHSScotland accident and emergency departments in each of the years requested are set out in the table. Due to the changes in the timing and duration of the surveys from which the information is derived, year on year results may not be directly comparable.

The Executive gave a commitment, in Fair to All, Personal to Each, published in December 2004, that from the end of 2007, patients will wait no longer than 4 hours between arriving at A&E and admission, transfer or discharge. The Health Department is working with NHS boards to ensure that they are able to meet this target for the benefit of patients throughout Scotland.

NHSScotland: Accident And Emergency Waiting Times Surveys 1999–2005. Median Wait Times from Arrival at A&E Reception to Completion of Treatment

	Median Waiting Time (Minutes)
	19991	20001	20011	20022	20033	20043	20053
NHS Argyll and Clyde	61	62	73	76	79	94	79
Inverclyde Royal Hospital	51	68	68	84	75	133	78
Lorn & Islands District Gen Hospital	x	x	x	45	45	55	40
Royal Alexandra Hospital	70	64	84	81	96	94	106
Vale of Leven District General Hospital - Medical Assessment Unit	x	x	x	x	x	x	103
Vale of Leven District General Hospital - Minor Injuries Unit	x	x	x	x	x	x	60
Vale of Leven District General Hospital	58	54	68	65	75	46	x
NHS Ayrshire and Arran	88	78	82	91	73	110	90
Crosshouse Hospital 4	x	73	85	85	x	113	103
The Ayr Hospital	88	83	77	99	73	103	80
NHS Borders	52	72	98	112	96	64	109
Borders General Hospital	52	72	98	112	96	64	109
NHS Dumfries and Galloway	37	51	56	56	46	79	94
Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary	37	51	56	56	46	79	94
NHS Fife	62	79	57	85	90	120	103
Queen Margaret Hospital	51	73	60	78	118	121	126
Victoria Hospital	76	83	55	95	65	120	88
NHS Forth Valley	60	70	87	115	72	85	93
Falkirk and District Royal Infirmary	65	65	120	135	83	79	100
Stirling Royal Infirmary	55	80	65	94	64	95	85
NHS Grampian	71	55	90	91	89	79	90
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary	85	60	110	109	104	87	111
Dr Gray’s Hospital	45	50	55	75	72	105	70
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital	42	38	36	44	60	58	62
NHS Greater Glasgow	69	78	87	91	91	100	90
Glasgow Royal Infirmary	94	89	100	125	115	145	127
Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow	107	131	116	103	90	88	88
Southern General Hospital	80	82	114	92	128	123	103
Stobhill Hospital	88	86	98	99	75	91	95
Victoria Infirmary	32	45	46	55	52	70	54
Western Infirmary/Gartnavel General	62	73	90	102	111	125	149
NHS Highland	46	46	80	88	62	124	73
Raigmore Hospital	46	46	80	88	62	124	73
NHS Lanarkshire	62	79	94	91	79	102	133
Hairmyres Hospital	68	96	110	99	68	90	141
Law Hospital	45	54	79	x	x	x	x
Monklands Hospital	74	95	101	90	66	107	134
Wishaw General Hospital	x	x	x	85	100	103	127
NHS Lothian	89	95	113	90	102	107	102
New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh	x	x	x	x	x	x	162
Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh	72	78	64	74	65	64	69
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh	113	112	139	92	132	131	x
St John’s Hospital At Howden	61	80	99	106	98	118	82
NHS Orkney Islands	28	25	20	30	25	35	25
Balfour Hospital	28	25	20	30	25	35	25
NHS Shetland Islands	49	35	48	45	48	35	60
Gilbert Bain Hospital	49	35	48	45	48	35	60
NHS Tayside	65	56	65	73	72	96	94
Ninewells Hospital	75	70	75	78	92	102	95
Perth Royal Infirmary	49	37	46	63	48	85	88
NHS Western Isles	40	40	55	35	60	45	60
Western Isles Hospital	40	40	55	35	60	45	60
All Participating Departments	67	74	84	88	84	99	97

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR30C.

Notes:

x - Not available

Small numbers: When medians are based on a small number of cases, there is a risk that their value is potentially misleading as only one or two cases may significantly alter the “typical” wait implied by the median. Therefore, where the number of valid cases is less than 15, medians have been replaced by “*”.

Where the number of valid cases is more than 14 but less than 50, medians have been italicised.

1. A&E waiting times survey undertaken during a seven-day period identified by the Scottish Executive Health Department

2. A&E waiting times survey undertaken during a four-week period identified by the Scottish Executive Health Department, with individual hospitals deciding on the specific seven-day period of the survey.

3. A&E waiting times surveys undertaken during a three-day period identified by the Scottish Executive Health Department

4. Data for Crosshouse Hospital in 1999 and 2003 is unavailable

The following table showsthe proportion of males to females, who received tuition fee support from theStudent Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), graduating at first degree orpostgraduate level in an information technology-related discipline in each yearsince academic year 1999-2000.

Academic Year	Total Information Technology Graduates (at First Degree and Postgraduate Level) Receiving SAAS Support	Male Graduates	Female Graduates	Proportion of All Graduates who are Male
1999-2000	1,190	880	310	74.0%
2000-01	1,075	800	275	74.4%
2001-02	1,325	975	350	73.5%
2002-03	1,445	1,110	335	76.8%
2003-04	1,510	1,190	320	78.8%

Source: Higher EducationStatistics Agency and Scottish Funding Councils.

All numbers in this table(other than percentages) are rounded up or down to the nearest 5.

This answer relates only tothose students who receive tuition fee support primarily from SAAS, as this isthe only available information that can be linked with graduate information.

All NHS boards are in the process of assimilating nursing staff in NHS Scotland on to the Agenda for Change pay bands, and substantial progress has been made. It is expected that most nurses will be on the Agenda for Change scales by the end of May 2006.

The implementation of Agenda for Change has been taken forward in partnership with staff side representatives to ensure proper application of the new arrangements.

Information on the ratio of males to females who have gained National Qualifications at Standard Grade or equivalent; Higher Grade and Certificate of Sixth Year Studies/Advanced Higher from 1999 to 2005 has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 38616).

Careers Scotland provide a wide range of high quality and impartial advice and guidance services to clients of all ages, including pupils in schools. They assist individuals to make well-informed career and learning choices which will enable them to take advantage of current and future labour market opportunities.

Within schools, information technology is studied in the context of a broad curriculum where the Executive seeks to promote equal access to all curriculum subjects. National 5-14 Guidelines for information and communications technology (ICT) and the associated Guides for Teachers and Managers provide advice and assistance to education authorities and schools in developing all pupils’ skills, knowledge and informed attitudes to ICT.

In addition, the Executive is continuing to implement a range of measures as part of its commitment to science engineering and technology outlined within A Science Strategy for Scotland. £10 million has been made available to education authorities over the past three years to enable teachers to undertake high quality professional updating as well as providing additional laboratory, ICT and other equipment for schools.