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Every effort is made to ensure the codes and other software support needed for incorporation into GP clinical systems is available as quickly as possible following any changes to the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) at national level. Where Scotland specific codes or software are not available, we identify and agree alternatives with the Scottish General Practitioners Committee before sharing them with practices. All practices are now active on the QOF calculator and by mid-August all practices will be equipped for the 2013-14 QOF.

SCI Store is used in all NHS boards. National Services Scotland who manage SCI Store on behalf of NHSScotland are not aware of any compatibility issues with specific systems within NHS boards.

The NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula was first used to inform the allocation of health funds in 2009-10. When accepting the recommendations of the committee, the then Secretary for Health and Wellbeing noted that she placed “high importance on the need to avoid turbulence in NHS board funding and can confirm that no board will receive less funding than it does at present and any changes will be phased in over a number of years, as has been the practice under both the previous SHARE and Arbuthnott formulae.” For that reason, though the pattern of actual funding received by health boards is informed by the target shares derived using the NRAC formula, it is not identical to them.

The following tables set out information on actual allocations and target shares of NRAC-related funds for the years 2009-10 to 2013-14. Table 1 sets out the actual funds provided to health boards and Table 2 sets out the NRAC target shares.

Table 1: NRAC-Related Health Board Actual Funding, 2009-10 to 2013-14, £m

Table 2: NRAC Target Shares, 2009-10 to 2013-14, %

All NHSScotland Boards have published gender pay gap information and statements on equal pay. This is hosted on each board’s website.

The Scottish Government has set national standards for cancer waiting times which have been met in all but three quarters since prior to the delivery date of December 2011. It is for NHS boards to plan and organise the services they provide to meet these standards. In all cases, clinical decision making is paramount and it is for clinical teams to determine which patients require to be prioritised for treatment. This includes patients for whom the NHS board has not met waiting times standards.

Through the Detect Cancer Early Programme additional funding of £5.2 million in 2012-2013 and £11.5M in 2013-2014 has so far been released to support diagnostic and treatment capacity in NHS boards. Performance against cancer waiting times standards continues to receive scrutiny and support from the cancer access team is offered to those NHS boards where there are challenges to sustained delivery of the cancer access standards.

Validated performance against the cancer waiting times standards by NHS Board and by tumour type is published quarterly by ISD and the latest performance statistics can be viewed at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Cancer/.

Submissions ask for NHS boards to identify the reason for delays for patients in whom the cancer waiting times standards have not been met. Quarterly publications also include data quality pages where NHS boards may indicate reasons for failure to meet the cancer access standards.

A number of significant steps have been taken. The same chemotherapy prescribing and administration system is used throughout Scotland. The West of Scotland and South of Scotland regional cancer networks have integrated their systems and records at a regional level to allow some patients to start their treatment at the main cancer centre for the region and to receive subsequent chemotherapy treatments at their most convenient local centre in the region.

Cancer clinicians working within each region have access to their patients’ integrated records. The North of Scotland cancer network has three main cancer centres, and these systems and records are not fully integrated. Cancer services are predominantly organised on a regional basis, and integration efforts have been focused on appropriate sharing of information within these regional services. Where cross region pathways exist steps are being taken to integrate information systems to support this.

Cancer clinicians benefit from access to electronic systems used by the wider clinical community. For example, NHS boards are increasing the amount of important information available to clinicians at the point of care through clinical portals, an objective of NHS Scotland’s eHealth Strategy.

The Scottish Government has set access standards for patients diagnosed with cancer. These state that patients should begin treatment within 31 days from the date that the “decision to treat” was agreed with the patient, irrespective of whether the NHS board of initial diagnosis and treatment differ. NHS boards have systems to monitor, track and record progress with individual patient cancer pathways and these are subject to data quality analysis.

NHS board staff comply with definitions guidance for cancer waiting times data recording and the agreed “decision-to-treat” date is recorded and highlighted by trackers where patients are treated in their NHS board of residence and also when patients are referred to another NHS board area for treatment. The “decision-to-treat” date for the 31-day standard is defined as the date that the consultation between the patient and the clinician (e.g. surgeon, oncologist) or delegate responsible for first treatment took place and a plan for treatment was agreed. If no date is documented, this would count as a breach of the 31-day standard.

The patient pathway is not recorded or reported through New Ways. Progress of patients along the 62 and 31 days cancer standard pathways is monitored and measured through NHS board patient cancer tracker systems according to the cancer waiting times guidance. The definitions guidance for cancer waiting times standards is regularly reviewed and updated. The Data and Definitions Group are in the process of reviewing the current guidance to ensure it remains patient focused and meets the needs of this specific patient group.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15368 on 25 June 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877/aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15368 on 25 June 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx