Chamber and committees

NHS 24 have provided the following table which sets out the total overtime hours worked by NHS 24 staff in each year since 2007, and the monthly average for each year:

Year	Total Annual Overtime Hours	Monthly Average
2007	11,969	997
2008	9,923	827
2009	11,477*	956
2010	1,887	157
2011	4,145	345
2012	4,977	415
2013	2,251	188

* In 2009, NHS 24 were involved in the Scottish Government/NHS response to the H1N1 pandemic and operated the Scottish Flu Response Centre which required additional staffing resource.

NHS 24 staff are employed under the terms of the UK wide Agenda for Change agreement. Agenda for Change allows for all staff working more than 6 hours to be allowed an unpaid rest break during their shift, this is in line with the European Working Time Directive.

NHS 24 advise that their staff will work a range of contracted hours and shifts to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and person centred care. The average number of hours worked across the service is 7.5 hours per day for full time staff and 6 hours per day for part time staff.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20023, on 13 March 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/39875.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20038, on 13 March 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/39875.aspx.

The role of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is to further improvement in the quality of healthcare provided by NHSScotland and independent healthcare services. They support healthcare providers to deliver high quality, evidence-based, safe, effective and person-centred care; and to scrutinise those services to provide public assurance about the quality and safety of that care.

HIS also carries out a programme of inspections to provide assurance that the care of older people in acute hospitals is of a high standard. HIS are also responsible for the inspection and regulation of all independent healthcare services in Scotland.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland is independent from the NHS boards and independent healthcare services which it inspects.

No action has been taken to amend the official report in respect of the comments made by me on 17 December 2013.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20061 on 18 March 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

<>On page 572 of Scotland’s Future: your guide to an independent Scotland (available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/11/9348) the Scottish Government states: ‘The current Scottish Government proposes that, from the date of independence, the Scottish Parliament will keep its current single chamber structure. This is similar to other comparable states which also have single chamber parliaments, such as New Zealand, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.’

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20061 on 18 March 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-20053 on 17 March 2014. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx