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Obtaining better data on neurological conditions in order to improve service planning and quality is central to the Implementation and Improvement Support Plan which NHS Quality Improvement Scotland has published to accompany its clinical standards for neurological health services.

An early priority for NHS QIS is to develop the measures that will demonstrate the extent to which the standards are being achieved. This is likely to involve both the use of local tracking systems and existing national data sources, identifying new ones where required.

In addition, NHS QIS will work with the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland and the Neurological Alliance of Scotland to review the information available in the Multiple Sclerosis Register, set up with government provided funding of £70,000, for its use as a potential data source.

NHS Quality Improvement Scotland in the introduction to its clinical standards for neurological health services refers to estimates that 10 million people in the UK live with some form of neurological condition that has an impact on their lives. The Neurological Alliance of Scotland estimates that the figure for Scotland would be around 1 million people.

In Scotland, there are around 40,000 people with epilepsy, 300 people with Motor Neurone Disease and 10,000 people with Parkinson''s Disease at any one time.

http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5780.html.

The website includes data on:

prescriptions for cardiovascular diseases;

operations;

hospital admissions, and

consultations relating to heart disease with either a GP or a practice nurse.

NHS QIS clinical standards for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) are due for publication in April 2010. Discussions are currently under way with a range of stakeholders on the further work is needed. The outcome will enable NHS QIS to make decisions about the scale of the investment required to implement an improvement programme for its COPD standards.

In addition to its earlier work on the CHD clinical standards, NHS QIS is also investing some £165,000 in the first year of supporting implementation of its Coronary Heart Disease improvement programme.

The introduction to the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland clinical standards for neurological health services notes that neurological conditions currently account for one in five emergency hospital admissions and a high proportion of severe and progressive disability in the population.

The Neurological Services Task and Finish Group, the outputs of which were issued as CEL 3 (2010) on 4 February, considers it likely that an annual growth in demand of at least 5% a year will be seen over the next five years or so. Consideration is being given to commissioning a piece of public health work to gain a better understanding of the likely rise in future demand.

We continue to support the aim of the COSLA guidance and will continue to work with COSLA in joint partnership to achieve greater consistency, whilst allowing for local authority discretion in ensuring that charges are reasonable for each individual client.