Chamber and committees

Considerable progress has been made on the Modern Transport System proposals, which have been developed by the local authorities and other partners to the regional transport partnership (NESTRANS). The Executive is working with the partners on a number of proposals, and is funding the development and extension of the Transport Model for Scotland to include the North East.

Postgraduate medical and dental education has been managed by the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE) on behalf of the Scottish Office/ Scottish Executive since 1993 and is managed on a regional, rather than on an NHS Board basis. Details of allocations to postgraduate dental education by region are only available from 1995-96 and are detailed in the following table.

	2001-02 £000	2000-01 £000	1999-20001 £000	1998-99 £000	1997-98 £000	1996-97 £000	1995-96 £000
West Region	3,306	3,090	2,944	1,698	1,569	1,469	1,356
South East Region	2,124	2,150	2,062	927	792	763	729
East Region	1,409	1,074	977	624	584	565	466
North/North east Region	684	691	608	326	276	256	193
Total Allocation	7,523	7,005	6,5911	3,575	3,221	3,053	2,744

Note:1. From 1999-00 the allocation includes the salaries of the trainees.

There are three levels at which accreditation can be attained under the NHS Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme, and these can only be attained incrementally. Currently it is for individual NHS Trusts to decide when they wish to apply for accreditation. To date, 24 NHS Trusts have applied for Level 1 accreditation. Ten assessments have been undertaken, with six Trusts (60%) obtaining Level 1 status.

The number of written complaints about aspects of clinical treatment in hospitals can be found at:http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/complaints/index.htm. The rest of the information is not held centrally but I will write to the member with the details of possible sources for the information when this has been located. I will place a copy of my letter in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

I refer the Member to the answer given to question S1W-20340.

NHS Scotland has a widely recognised reputation for the quality and safety of its patient care. This is demonstrated in the work of the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland and the leading edge work being carried out by our other clinical effectiveness organisations. However, at present there are no direct ways of comparing standards of patient safety in England and Scotland.There would, however, be merit in pooling patient data from the two countries to provide more useful information for the benefit of Scottish and English patients. That is why we endorsed the principles of the Department of Health report An Organisation with a Memory (www.doh.gov.uk/orgmemreport/) and have initiated discussions with the Department of Health to ensure that their new National Patient Safety Agency can also work for the benefit of Scottish patients.

Matters involving international relations, as well as many of the individual issues likely to be discussed at next year's North Sea Conference, are reserved to Westminster. The Scottish Executive is, however, contributing to the preparations for the conference where policy has been devolved. We are currently considering arrangements for attendance at the conference by ministers and officials.

The recent Teacher Recruitment Advertising Campaign has the twin objectives of improving the public perception of teaching as a worthwhile and rewarding career, and increasing the numbers of talented people entering the teaching profession. Neither this campaign, nor any of the Executives teacher recruitment activity, is specifically aimed at attracting mature entrants to the profession. There have been no costs associated solely with attracting mature students. The overall cost of the Teacher Recruitment Advertising Campaign is £1.56 million over the two years.It should be noted that 70% of callers responding to the recent adverts and requesting further information on teaching and entry requirements were in the 25 to 44 age group.

A postgraduate dental facility has existed for many years at the Foresterhill complex in Aberdeen and will be upgraded and expanded over the next few months. Local general dental practitioners are very interested in and participate regularly in postgraduate activity at the centre.

General Professional Training (GPT) schemes comprise one year in general dental practice and, usually, six months in the Community Dental Service (CDS) and six months in the Hospital Dental Service (HDS). The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education have been seeking to establish such schemes in the Grampian region and are making progress. However, there have been problems in identifying suitable placements within the HDS to create substantive schemes. Vocational Training (VT) provides a year of supervised experience in general dental practice. Recruitment to VT schemes in Grampian is good and interest is growing. Following the VT year, postgraduate advisers assist the trainees to find appropriate placements in the CDS or HDS if they wish it, therefore creating ad hoc GPT arrangements.