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In 2009, 12 patients from Scotland were transferred to England for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

The National Planning Forum (NPF) reviewed the costs associated with these transfers, as part of its review of TAVI, earlier this year. The NPF found that from a sample of six cases, costs varied from £25,009 to £70,778, with an average cost of £44,213 per procedure.

This variation in cost is primarily due to varying length of stay within an intensive treatment unit following the procedure.

The Scottish Government is committed to providing economic security for the public service workforce in these challenging times. In March 2011 it announced the continuation of the existing no compulsory redundancies agreement for a further year to 31 March 2012 and is committed to extending coverage to other parts of the public sector.

Scottish ministers have no statutory powers to intervene in local government staffing matters but the Scottish Government will continue to work with and support local authorities who want to provide the assurance of no compulsory redundancies, to their staff.

Whilst the government maintains its commitment to keeping services local, I have always been clear that patient safety and the quality of care remains my paramount concern.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s decision has been informed by a review of paediatric neurosurgery and craniofacial surgery at the Southern General and Yorkhill Hospitals carried out by the Royal College of Anaesthetists in November 2010. A key recommendation of the review was to consolidate the paediatric neurological service at Yorkhill as an interim move, ahead of the relocation of the children’s hospital to the new south Glasgow hospital site in 2015.

It was the unanimous view of the Royal College review team that this interim change is necessary to provide the safest and most clinically appropriate service for children until the new hospital opens in 2015.

Quarterly data on the number of staff employed by the Scottish Government is published at (see tables 6a and 6b):

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment/PSEwebtables/Q/forceupdate/on.

The latest time period for which data is published is Q4 2010 (end of December 2010). Data for Q1 2011 (end of March 2011) will be published on 15 June 2011.

NHS boards continue to ensure that local arrangements are in place so that people with severe aortic stenosis get access to appropriate clinical treatment. As part of those arrangements, where it is considered clinically appropriate by their doctors, patients can get access to transcatheter aortic valve implantation treatment through consideration by an individual case panel.

It should be noted that conventional aortic valve replacement surgery in appropriate cases remains a clinically proven and cost effective treatment for aortic stenosis.

Information on the cost of voluntary redundancies is not held centrally and would have to be requested from individual NHS boards in Scotland.

Information regarding the total number of civil servants taking voluntary redundancy in these years is not held centrally.

The following table shows the number of staff who have taken early retirement/severance in 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 and whose costs will be paid for by the core Scottish Government. This may include some staff employed by Scottish Government agencies.

The costs do not represent the cash amounts actually paid out in the financial years specified as the Scottish Government is invoiced on an ongoing basis for staff who have retired in previous years. However all costs from the date of leaving the organisation to the normal retirement age are accounted for in the year the individual accepts an offer to retire. It should also be recognised that the cost does not represent what individuals actually receive by way of pension and lump sum as there are costs borne by the Scottish Government in relation to the costs of bringing forward the payment of early retirement/severance benefits which do not relate to payments made to individuals.

Scottish Government Funded Early Retirements/Severances

In 2010, 163 patients required revision for an elective primary hip that had been replaced within the previous five years, and 184 patients required revision for an elective primary knee that had been replaced within the previous five years. A five-year timescale was chosen because revision of a hip or knee replacement within five years generally indicates some problem or failure of the implant ahead of the usual 10+ years lifespan of the implant. These figures exclude repeat revisions of an implant in the same joint.

As well as revision of failed implants, revision arthroplasty surgery also occurs in order to replace implants that have worn out over time (10+ years implant lifespan), and to revise implants that are already themselves revisions. In 2010 the total number of hip and knee arthroplasty revisions from all sources was 832 and 530 respectively.

Data for the financial year 2010-11 are not yet available.

At its last meeting on 15 March 2011, the National Scrutiny Group concluded that while it had essentially fulfilled its initial remit, there continued to be a need for a group to set strategic direction at national level and to check operational delivery against that. How best to take that forward, is currently under active consideration in partnership between the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland boards and staff side representatives. In light of that, no date has yet been set for a further meeting of the National Scrutiny Group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-338 on 9 June 2011 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.