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The Scottish Government does not centrally hold the cost of a brain natriuretic peptide test.

The 2012-13 Scottish Health Service Costs (Costs Book) publication provides a cost per examination for ultrasonics (£42.87) and for ‘other radiology’ (£54.79), which includes conventional x-rays:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/Costs/Detailed-Tables/Radiology.asp). The cost of chest x-rays is not separately identified.

Information on the number of qualified nurses can be found through Information Services Division.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the role, a qualified nurse may work in more than on specific speciality, however only one specialist area is recorded for each nurse.

Heart failure services are covered by the Scottish Government 18 weeks to referral to treatment waiting time standard. To deliver this standard all parts of the patient pathway, outpatient consultation, diagnostic test and treatment, must be as short as possible. If a patient goes on to inpatient and day case treatment they will also be covered by the 12 weeks legal treatment time guarantee. However, within the standard and guarantee we would expect that the more urgent patients will be seen much quicker.

There are no waiting time targets for follow up appointments as the timing of such appointments need to reflect each individual patients condition and treatment. We would expect clinicians to keep patients fully informed of their care and the frequency of any follow-up care.

Since 1999-2000 Borderline has received more than £1.4 million from the Scottish Government to provide assistance to Scottish people in London who find themselves homeless.

Funding has been provided through the Scottish Government’s Housing Voluntary Grant Scheme. Application forms for the 2015-16 grant scheme will shortly be sent to all interested organisations, including Borderline. All submitted applications for funding will be evaluated with a view to announcing successful recipients by 31 December 2014.

Since 1999-2000 the Scottish Government has provided £1.4 million to Borderline in 2014-15 to assist homeless Scots in London. Borderline is a charity that provides support and assistance to homeless Scots in London.

If someone is homeless and approaches a Scottish local authority they will be assessed under the homelessness legislation. If they are unintentionally homeless they will be entitled to settled accommodation

In England a homeless person can approach an English local authority for homelessness assistance. The local authority will then assess the case against the English homelessness legislation

Professor Henry Dargie completed an audit of heart failure services in Scotland in 2008-09.

This was undertaken as part of NHS QIS (HIS) Heart Disease Improvement Programme, the report of which was published in September 2011.

This work helped to inform the development and subsequent implementation of a Heart Failure Care Bundle which is an integral part of the current Acute care workstream of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland published the Heart Disease Services: Take Heart – A National Overview in September 2011. This publication covers heart failure and the development and subsequent implementation of a Heart Failure Care Bundle. This is an integral part of the current acute care work stream of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

Information on numbers of qualified nurses, which increased in this government by 4%, or by 1654.4 whole-time equivalent (WTE) to 42,680.6 WTE, is available via ISD Scotland.

Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the role, a qualified nurse may work in more than one specific specialty, only one of which is recorded by ISD Scotland for each nurse.

A letter to all local authorities was issued jointly from the UK and Scottish Governments on 25 June 2014. A copy of that letter was shared with the Welfare Reform Committee and can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/67206.aspx.