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It is not within the remit of the Scottish Chemotherapy Advisory Group to assess geographical variations in the use of Scottish Medicines Consortium approved drugs. The remit of the group is to ensure that cancer medicines are delivered within a safe and quality assured framework.

A chief executive letter is currently being drafted which outlines how NHS boards should approach the introduction of newly licensed medicines into NHS Scotland and it will be the responsibility of boards to ensure this new guidance is implemented.

The pay award and bonus arrangements for which ministers have responsibility vary considerably across the public sector, depending upon the business needs of the public body or sector. In the main, annual pay awards incorporate three main elements: a basic pay award; a progression or consolidated performance payment, and where eligible, a performance bonus. Generally, the first two elements are consolidated into basic pay and as such are included in the calculation of final pension. Bonuses are defined as non-consolidated payments that are not consolidated into base pay. They are not pensionable and are used to reward exceptional performance.

Patient Transport Service (PTS) journeys have only been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions where access was significantly compromised or where patients or staff were placed at risk and every effort has been made by the Scottish Ambulance Service, working very closely with local NHS Boards, to convey as many patients as possible to clinics and appointments. In all but the most extreme conditions the service has continued to convey renal, oncology and other high priority or at risk patients.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has provided the following table which shows the number of cancellations of PTS journeys due to bad weather conditions. The figures are broken down for a three week period and are also shown as a percentage of total planned journeys.

Week	Bad Weather Cancellations
w/c 21 December 2009	2,918	9.9%
w/c 28 December 2009	1,058	4.7%
w/c 4 January 2010	3,931	13.7%

 

The Scottish Ambulance Service is working with NHS boards and individual clinics to ensure any necessary rescheduling is undertaken as soon as possible.

Yes.

The number of award holders and the associated funding allocated to the NHS boards in Scotland in the three most recent financial years is as follows:

Financial Year	Number of Award Holders	Funding allocated to boards for Distinction Awards (£)
2007-08	524	24,164,310
2008-09	552	26,460,756
2009-10	578	27,961,798

 

Not all Senior Charge Nurses (SCNs) have direct responsibility for the routine deployment of cleaning staff. In some areas this responsibility lies with Domestic Supervisors. However, Domestic Supervisors will respond to requests from SCNs to address any specific issues identified through their role of promoting a clean and safe environment for staff, patients and visitors.

Centrally collected, validated statistics do not carry information on the reasons why scheduled operations or procedures are cancelled or delayed.

In the event that an operation or procedure is cancelled by the service, for whatever reason, the patient would be made a further, reasonable offer as soon as possible which should not be detrimental to the patient''s waiting time.

Official statistics relating to cancellations of outpatient attendances and inpatient/day case treatment are published as part of the quarterly update to the waiting times and waiting lists section of the Information Services Division''s (ISD) website (http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/3454.html).

The next publication is scheduled for 23 February 2010 and will include cancellation statistics up to the quarter ending 31 December 2009 derived from the National Waiting Times Data Warehouse.

The subsequent publication is scheduled for 25 May 2010 and will include statistics up to the quarter ending 31 March 2010.

NHS pensions including pensions for consultants are the responsibility of the Scottish Public Pension Agency (SPPA). Distinction Awards are consolidated into consultant salaries and so SPPA does not hold the information in the detail requested.

People with hypothermia may be treated in a number of different health care settings (for example; accident and emergency (A&E) departments, acute hospitals).

The number of patients admitted to general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of hypothermia during this period will be available on publication of the acute hospital care section of ISD''s website scheduled for 28 September 2010. This publication will include detailed age and diagnosis specific information for hospital admissions based on SMR01 patient level discharge records up to the year ending 31 March 2010.

According to management information, during the period 21 December 2009 to 3 January 2010, NHS boards reported around 55 patients attended A&E departments with a provisional diagnosis of hypothermia across NHSScotland. Approximately 50% of these were patients aged 60 or over.

It should be noted that the management information quoted above is likely to be incomplete as the ability of A&E data systems to capture diagnosis based information varies between NHS boards. Interpretation should be made with caution.

The Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA) a non-departmental public body, acts on behalf of Scottish ministers in deciding which individual medical and dental consultants in the NHS in Scotland should receive distinction awards for outstanding professional work.

Members are appointed by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and they must adhere to a code of conduct and ethical standards in public life. Basic details of SACDA Committee Members and Advisers together with their professional status can be found on the SACDA website at http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/sacda. More details on the committee members are published within the annual report which is also available on the SACDA website under the section called annual report.