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The Airdrie to Bathgate Railway improvement is currently planned to open on 12 December 2010 which is in line with the original schedule given by the project sponsors, Network Rail.

A copy of the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) report has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 48082).

The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be accountable to report to Scottish ministers through the board of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. The reports, findings and recommendations of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be made public.

Interviews for the post of Chief Executive of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will take place on Friday 8 May 2009 the earliest practicable date for the selection panel to meet. The date on which the new chief inspector takes up post will be confirmed following the selection process.

A learning disability liaison nurse will help support people with a learning disability to access acute health services and promote appropriate health care for the individual.

They will work with the individual, their families or carers and health staff to promote positive experiences, outcomes and co-ordination of care for the person.

This information is not held centrally.

However, information provided in boards'' fatal accident inquiry action plans indicates the following liaison nurses for people with a learning disability are in post.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran	3 acute liaison nurses
NHS Borders	1 acute liaison nurse
NHS Fife	1 acute liaison nurse
NHS Forth Valley	1 acute liaison nurse
NHS Grampian	1 acute liaison nurse
NHS Highland	1 acute liaison nurse
NHS Lanarkshire	1 acute liaison nurse
NHS Lothian	2 acute liaison nurses
NHS Tayside	Consultant nurse with 50% clinical time for acute liaison

 

These plans also indicate other areas are considering the appointment of liaison nurses or other ways of delivering better care in general and acute hospitals.

We have no information on where the current posts are based.

The Fair for All agenda seeks to ensure that whatever the individual circumstances of people''s lives, they have access to the right health services for their needs.

Guidance entitled Achieving fair access was produced and issued to the NHS by the Fair for All “ Disability team in April 2007 and is available at http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/2033.aspx.

Section 4 of the guidance covers Accessible service delivery and Section 4.4 provides advice on Admission to health services.

The six strands of the Fair for All initiative were mainstreamed within NHS Health Scotland with effect from 1 April 2008.

The Scottish Government is supporting NHS boards to take forward a change programme to address the health inequalities facing people with a learning disability and/or autism spectrum disorder. A learning network of NHS boards will give them a forum to share learning and good practice including the role and effectiveness of liaison nurses.

Pilot visits are anticipated to commence in May 2009 with the visit schedule fully operational from September 2009. All acute hospitals will receive at least one announced and one unannounced visit within a three year cycle.

The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will operate independently of the Scottish Government and of NHS boards which will be the subject of its inspections. The reports, findings and recommendations of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will be published independently.

The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate will require NHS boards to publish an improvement plan to ensure all necessary action is taken. There is a clear intention to ensure rigorous follow-up on findings and recommendations through scrutiny and challenge of NHS board action plans and on the basis of further announced and unannounced visits to provide necessary levels of assurance and accountability. The chief inspector will be able to raise specific concerns directly with Scottish ministers and an escalation process will be in place.