Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-17979

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, patients with suspected cancer saw an NHS consultant within two weeks of referral in each of the last seven years, broken down by NHS board.

The information requested isnot available centrally. The relevant cancer waitingtimes target that has been set in Scotland covers the whole patient pathway from urgentreferral to treatment. The target is that by the end of 2005 the maximum waitfrom urgent referral to treatment for all cancers will be two months. Performancedata for breast, colorectal, lung and ovarian cancers is available from www.scotland.gov.uk.

Question reference: S2W-17367

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 16 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting times for accident and emergency cases in hospitals have been in each year since 1995.

Between 1994 and 2002,information on waiting times at accident and emergency (A&E) departments wasrecorded centrally via a series of annual week-long surveys. The survey wasreduced to three days duration in 2003 to minimise the workload of busy A&Edepartments, as many departments completed the survey manually. The surveysspecifically measured the waiting times from arrival in A&E to: time totriage; time to be seen by a doctor, and time to completion of treatment.

The surveys in November1995, June 1996 and April 2002 were undertaken during a seven-day periodspecifically identified by the Health Department. The surveys in the years 1997,1999,2000 and 2001 were undertaken during a four week period identified by theHealth Department with each hospital deciding on the specific seven-day periodof the survey. No survey was undertaken during 1998. The three-day surveyperiod for 2003 and 2004 were set by the Health Department. Due to changes inthe timing and duration of the surveys caution needs to be taken in comparing yearon year results.

The table below providesinformation on the average number of A&E attendances per survey day, thepercentage change in the average A&E attendances per survey day, the medianwait from arrival to completion of treatment and the percentage of patients whocompleted their treatment within four hours from arrival at A&E.

Fair to All, Personal to Each published in December 200four, includes a commitmentthat from the end of 2007, patients will wait no longer than four hours betweenarriving at A&E and admission, transfer or discharge. The 2005 survey willrecord the total patient journey from arrival to admission, transfer ordischarge consistent with the four hour commitment, the results of which willbe published by ISD Scotland on their website on 25 August 2005.

NHSScotland:The Average A&E Attendances Per Survey Day, The Percentage Change in the AverageA&E Attendances Per Survey Day, the Median Wait from Arrival to Completion ofTreatment and the Percentage of Patients Who Completed Their Treatment Within FourHours From Arrival At A&E

Survey Date	Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Percentage Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Median Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)	Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival
Nov 1995¹	2,828	-	60	97.8%
Jun 1996¹	3,327	+ 17.6%	59	98.6%

Survey

Date

Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day

Percentage

Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day

Median

Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)

Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival

Nov 1995¹

2,828

-

60

97.8%

Jun 1996¹

3,327

+ 17.6%

59

98.6%

Note: 1. Survey undertakenduring a seven-day period identified by the Health Department.

Survey Date	Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Percentage Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Median Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)	Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival
March 97²	3,063	- 7.9%	61	98.2%
Nov 1997²	2,767	- 9.7%	57	98.7%
March/ April 1999²	3,007	+ 8.7%	67	98.0%
April 2000²	3,263	+ 8.5%	74	96.8%
April 2001²	3,476	+ 6.5%	84	95.2%

Note: 2.Survey undertaken during a four-week period identified by the Health Departmentwith individual hospital deciding on the specific seven-day period of thesurvey.

Survey Date	Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Percentage Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Median Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)	Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival
April 2002¹	3,485	+ 0.2%	88	95.2%

Survey Date

Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day

Percentage

Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day

Median

Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)

Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival

April 2002¹

3,485

+ 0.2%

88

95.2%

Note: 1.Surveyundertaken during a seven-day period identified by the Health Department

Survey Date	Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Percentage Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day	Median Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)	Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival
April 2003³	3,374	-3.2%	84	94.8%
April 2004³	3,680	+ 9.1%	99	92.5%

Survey Date

Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day

Percentage

Change in Average A&E Attendances per Survey Day

Median

Wait from Arrival to Completion of Treatment (Mins)

Percentage of Patients who Completed Their Treatment within Four Hours of Arrival

April 2003³

3,374

-3.2%

84

94.8%

April 2004³

3,680

+ 9.1%

99

92.5%

Note: 3. Survey undertakenduring a three-day period identified by the Health Department.

Question reference: S2W-17475

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average call back time for NHS 24 has been in each month since the service was established.

At all times, clinicallyurgent calls are dealt with immediately by NHS 24 nurse advisers. During peaktimes, less clinically urgent calls are prioritised and the service endeavoursto achieve call back by a nurse adviser within specified target times – 60 minutesfor Priority 1 calls and 120 minutes for Priority 2 calls. The NHS 24 servicebegan rolling out across Scotland in May 2002 and was completed in November 2004. Thetable shows the average call back time each month since May 2002 and the Scottish population covered by NHS 24 in each of those months.

Month	Average Time to Call Back (minutes)	NHS 24 Population Coverage
May 2002	8	438,000
June 2002	5	438,000
July 2002	2	438,000
August 2002	2	438,000
September 2002	2	438,000
October 2002	3	438,000
November 2002	24	1,525,000
December 2002	22	1,525,000
January 2003	7	1,525,000
February 2003	5	1,525,000
March 2003	9	1,525,000
April 2003	10	1,525,000
May 2003	27	1,967,000
June 2003	29	1,967,000
July 2003	40	1,967,000
August 2003	23	2,017,000
September 2003	27	2,366,000
October 2003	33	2,366,000
November 2003	41	2,512,000
December 2003	46	2,569,000
January 2004	55	2,581,000
February 2004	20	2,581,000
March 2004	26	2,581,000
April 2004	26	2,693,000
May 2004	28	2,845,000
June 2004	29	3,042,000
July 2004	38	3,432,000
August 2004	53	3,718,000
September 2004	28	4,321,000
October 2004	47	5,180,000
November 2004	44	5,199,000
December 2004	52	5,199,000
January 2005	42	5,199,000
February 2005	58	5,199,000
March 2005	68	5,199,000
April 2005	47	5,199,000
May 2005	49	5,199,000

Question reference: S2W-17474

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been made by members of the public regarding the service they have received from NHS 24 and how many such complaints were upheld.

This information isavailable for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 and is set out in this table:

Year	Complaints received	Upheld	Partially upheld	Not upheld
2003-2004	88	27 (31%)	11 (12%)	50 (57%)
2004-2005	378	176 (46%)	59 (16%)	143 (38%)

The number of complaintsreceived may be considered against the numbers of calls answered by NHS 24 – 615,073calls in 2003-04 and 1,278,224 calls in 2004-05.

It should also be recognisedthat NHS 24 did not roll out to the whole of Scotland until November 2004.The number of complaints received may be expected to increase again in 2005-06as that will be the first full year of operation across the country.

Question reference: S2W-18132

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2005
Current Status: Awaiting answer

To ask the Scottish Executive what computerisation or IT failures have occurred in public sector projects in each year since 1999; what the contracted cost of each project was, and what estimate it has made of the direct and indirect costs of failure or breakdown in each case.

Question reference: S2W-17640

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by George Lyon on 26 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in women aged (a) 60 and over, (b) from 30 to 59 and (c) under 30 in each year since 1975.

The information requested is given in the following table.

Deaths from Cervical Cancer, Scotland, 1975-2004 Percentage by Age

	Age Group (Percentages)
	(a) 60 and Over	(b) 30-59	(c) Under 30
1975	55.3	43.9	0.8
1976	53.7	45.3	0.9
1977	56.4	43.6	0.0
1978	52.2	46.3	1.5
1979	58.5	39.3	2.2
1980	55.6	42.2	2.1
1981	62.7	35.8	1.5
1982	59.1	39.4	1.4
1983	61.5	36.6	1.9
1984	56.4	40.5	3.1
1985	57.5	41.1	1.4
1986	59.3	39.2	1.5
1987	60.6	36.2	3.2
1988	55.5	41.9	2.6
1989	52.2	43.9	3.9
1990	59.3	38.3	2.5
1991	54.9	41.7	3.4
1992	62.3	35.5	2.2
1993	55.9	42.4	1.8
1994	57.1	39.6	3.2
1995	60.5	38.8	0.7
1996	58.7	39.9	1.4
1997	60.4	38.9	0.7
1998	66.2	31.0	2.8
1999	54.1	44.3	1.6
2000	58.1	38.5	3.4
2001	55.8	42.5	1.8
2002	54.0	41.0	5.0
2003	51.7	48.3	0.0
2004	59.8	36.3	3.9

Note: Because of rounding, thefigures presented above may not add exactly to 100%.

Question reference: S2W-17451

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 26 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoner transport journeys to meet the personal needs of the prisoner, excluding health reasons or preparation for release but including (a) getting married, (b) attendance at a funeral, (c) appearance at court as an accused person, (d) appearance at court as a witness and (e) other reasons have been provided by the public purse since 1999 and what the total cost was of such journeys.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish PrisonService (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

The details requested are notheld by the SPS. Overall prisoner movements have been reported to and by the SPSsince the commencement of the contract with Reliance Custodial Services.

May I refer the member tothe answer to S2W-8431 on 8 June 2004 and to the SPS website at www.sps.gov.uk. All answersto written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, thesearch facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Question reference: S2W-17889

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 26 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether any antisocial behaviour orders have been (a) applied for and (b) granted in respect of persons living in social housing properties who are known to have a mental health problem.

The Scottish Executive does not collect the information requested. Collation of meaningful datawould be very difficult given patients’ rights to confidentiality and the difficultyof applying a consistent and widely agreed definition of a mental health problem.

Our Guidance on Antisocial BehaviourOrders does not preclude their use where a mental health problem exists and statesthat authorities should take account of local support strategies for people withparticular needs and seek medical advice, where appropriate. Decisions need to betaken on a case-by-case basis.

Question reference: S2W-17636

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive within what interest rate range, relative to the base rate, core funding for PFI and PPP contracts has been in each year since 1999.

Question reference: S2W-17639

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many press officers it employed and what their cost was in each year since 1999.

Information from 2002 onwardsis set out in the tables below. (It would only be possible to provide data priorto this date at disproportionate cost.) The information covers mainstream pressofficers. It does not include any staff working on support activities to the ministerialpress teams; e.g. staff working in strategic communications or media monitoringactivities.

Staff in post figures are shownas a 1 January snapshot each year and also include the position as at 1 July 2005.

As at:	Press Officers in Post
01/01/2002	44
01/01/2003	45.5
01/01/2004	42.5
01/01/2005	44
01/07/2005	44.8

Costs are salary costs, (whichinclude employers’ costs, but not overtime or any ancillary office costs; e.g. accommodation),in each financial year and also include the spend in the first two months of 2005-06.

Financial Year	Salary Costs
2002-03	£1,633,946
2003-04	£1,709,727
2004–05	£1,897,159
01/04/2005 – 31/05/2005	£316,051

The increase in spend reflectsthe Scottish Executive corporate pay increases each year. It is also worth commentingthat the spend in 2003-04 was slightly lower than expected because a number of postsfell vacant in the course of that year.

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