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No. Healthy start is open to pregnant women and families with children under the age of four who are on income support, income-based jobseekers'' allowance or child tax credit (but not working tax credit unless their family is receiving working tax credit run-only) with an income of £16,040 a year or less.

All pregnant women under the age of 18 also qualify for the scheme, whether or not they are on benefits.

In Scotland the precise term dementia specialist nurse is not recognised as such; rather there are clinical nurse specialist and nurse consultants as registered nursing professionals who have also acquired additional knowledge, skills and experience, together with a professionally and/or academically accredited post-registration qualification in a clinical specialty. They practice at an advanced level and may have sole responsibility for care episode or defined client/group such as those with dementia.

NHS boards'' nurses specialising in dementia have a range of roles which will include helping to improve the experience of those with dementia in accessing acute health services.

Nationally, there are three posts funded by Alzheimer Scotland for specialist nurses to work in accident and emergency and acute care, to lead the development and delivery of an individually focused service to people with dementia in those settings. Other approaches to provision in acute care include the Dementia Champions being set up in several NHS boards in Scotland, and The University West of Scotland is piloting a programme wherein general nurses from acute care undertake training in dementia and lead change in their area.

We will set out future plans for dementia service development and improvement in the National Dementia Strategy which will be published in April.

Funding over the three year period is being allocated in an annual lump sum to NHS health boards. It is for them to determine how best to use that funding to meet local needs, within the broad criteria set out in CEL 36.

Details of the allocation were outlined in CEL 36(2008) Nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged areas, which can be found at:

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2008_36.pdf.

NHS (e) Tayside has implemented some of the updated criteria but patients are returned to the waiting list after each unsuccessful cycle of infertility treatment. NHS (c) Greater Glasgow and Clyde offers two cycles of treatment, instead of the recommended three. However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde include suitable frozen embryos within a cycle of treatment, whilst many other NHS boards do not.

NHS (a) Fife, (b) Forth Valley and (d) Lothian have still to implement the updated criteria from the 2007 Review of Infertility Services.

Infertility Network Scotland is working directly with NHS boards to ensure that the voices of patients are heard at a local level in the planning of infertility services in Scotland. The charity will concentrate their initial work on NHS boards not compliant with national guidance.

Two cases of suspected Guillain-Barr© syndrome (GBS) have been reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), following H1N1 vaccination in the UK to date. There is no evidence across Europe of any vaccine-associated GBS. GBS is a naturally occurring condition and it is inevitable that cases will occur not long after vaccination, without the vaccine playing a role. This is particularly so over the winter period when pathogens that may cause GBS are circulating.

The MHRA does not provide information on the location of these cases, given the very small numbers may mean that individuals could be identified.

The number of new cases of Guillain-Barr© syndrome (GBS) diagnosed in acute hospital care in Scotland in the last 10 years is as follows. Information on the number of cases of GBS is only available until year ending 2008.

1999	92
2000	99
2001	86
2002	95
2003	97
2004	111
2005	71
2006	88
2007	110
2008	109

 

The asset management system will be rolled out to NHS boards on a phased basis between 19 January 2010 and 31 March 2010.

Guillain-Barr© syndrome (GBS) usually develops quickly, over a few days, but can sometimes develop gradually over a period of up to four weeks. Symptoms first appear one to three weeks after a minor infection, such as a cold or sore throat.

Initial symptoms tend to start in the feet and hands and include tingling, numbness, unsteadiness and progressive muscle weakness. These symptoms soon spread up the limbs, affecting the legs and arms a few days later. Some people only have a mild form of the condition and their symptoms do not get any worse than a general feeling of weakness.

In some cases, the muscle weakness progresses to temporary paralysis of the legs, arms and face, temporary paralysis of the respiratory muscles that control breathing, difficulty with eye movement and speech, difficulty with chewing or swallowing, difficulty with bladder control or digestion and slow heart rate or low blood pressure.

The extent of paralysis varies with each case of GBS but the most serious cases can paralyse respiratory muscles and stop the patient from breathing.

The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) monitor all reports of side effects and publish weekly reports outlining these cases. There have been two suspected cases of Guillain-Barr© syndrome (GBS) reported in the UK to-date following H1N1 vaccination. Further information is awaited in order to fully assess diagnostic certainty. There is no evidence across Europe of any vaccine associated risk of GBS.

The current condition of the two patients is unknown, however these cases were reported as not fatal. Eight in 10 people with GBS make a full recovery within a few weeks or months. One in 10 people become wheelchair-bound, or have permanent weakness or numbness. There is a 5% mortality rate from GBS.

Guillain-Barr© Syndrome (GBS) affects approximately 1,500 people in the UK every year. The trend in the number of new cases of GBS diagnosed in Scotland does not show a statistically significant increase between 1999 and 2008. Complete data for 2009 is not yet available.