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The National Advisory Group for Breast and Cervical Screening advice is to maintain the current age range for the Scottish Breast Screening Programme.

The group will consider any new evidence provided by the age extension in England and provide further advice on the age range in Scotland in due course.

The Scottish Ministers accept the recommendation directed at the Scottish Government relating to the use of the care programme approach (CPA). Guidance was issued on the use of CPA in CEL 13 (2007) and CEL 19 (2008). The guidance indicated that whilst CPA is mandatory for restricted patients, CPA should be used for cases where there are concerns about the risk to others posed by a patient. Health boards were asked to identify a senior manager responsible for providing the assurances on the quality of the operation of the care programme approach.

It is our intention to write shortly to health boards asking them to provide evidence that a senior manager has been appointed, that an audit into the use of the CPA has been carried out and will also ask for a copy of the results of that audit.

All NHS boards publish reports on their websites using the HAI reporting template introduced in January 2009. The content and substance of each report varies by board but, as a minimum, all NHS boards publish Clostridium difficile and Staphylococcus aureaus Bacteraemia data by month and by hospital.

A short-life working group has been established by NHS Scotland to review the structure and presentation of the HAIRT and to consider what changes are necessary in order to make the information, as presented, more consistent across NHS boards and easier to understand. This group will report the outcomes of its finding in the New Year. I expect their recommendations to be adopted and implemented in full by all NHS boards. It is anticipated that the revised mandatory template will be rolled out from March 2010.

The review of the role of the senior charge nurse (SCN) was completed in 2008, with the key aim of creating a modern role which maximised the SCNs contribution to delivering safe and effective care. Leading Better Care, launched in June 2008, established a national role framework for SCNs working in hospital settings across NHS Scotland. The framework for the role includes four core responsibilities:

Ensuring safe and effective clinical practice (including responsibilities for tackling healthcare associated infection),

Enhancing the patient experience,

Managing and developing the performance of the team and

Contributing to the delivery of the organisation''s objectives.

The national progress reporting process is demonstrating that Leading Better Care is providing NHS Scotland with SCNs who are visible, approachable and empowered clinical leaders, who are being supported in fulfilling their role as guardians of care quality and clinical standards. SCNs also have a key role in implementing clinical quality indicators (CQIs) for nursing and midwifery which cover food, fluid and nutrition, falls, pressure ulcer prevention and in monitoring of infections within their clinical area “ a key element of Scotland''s patient safety programme.

Leading Better Care set out the aim that the framework for SCNs and the CQIs should be fully implemented within NHS boards by December 2010.

Yes, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body does allow paid time off for employees to attend the mobile blood transfusion service when it visits the Parliament.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body is aware of this good practice and already allows its staff paid time off to attend the mobile transfusion service when it visits the Parliament.

Efficiency savings are a key component of financial plans contributing to the overall financial performance of NHS boards. All boards, including the Scottish Ambulance Service, have savings plans. The Scottish Ambulance Service is forecasting to deliver £6.9 million in-year efficiency savings (2009-10).

Information provided by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland advises there are 12 endoscopy clinics in primary care settings.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway	Galloway Community Hospital
NHS Fife	St Andrews Memorial Hospital
NHS Grampian	Inverurie Hospital and Huntly Community Chalmers Hospital and Turriff Hospital Kincardine Community Hospital and Aboyne Community Hospital Peterhead Community Hospital
NHS Highland	Caithness General Hospital Lawson Memorial Hospital MacKinnon Memorial Hospital (Skye) Lorne and Island District Hospital
NHS Lothian	Roodlands General Hospital Leith Community Treatment Centre

 

All women aged between 50-70 years of age are invited for breast screening every three years. Women aged 70 and over are able to request breast screening by contacting their local breast screening centre.

The Scottish Cancer Taskforce has discussed how awareness raising could be improved and further action will be considered at a workshop to be held early in 2010.

Whilst research has been undertaken into light-induced fluorescence endoscopy, no such systems are currently available to patients in NHS Scotland.