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Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland by whom he has been represented at Health Care International's restructuring talks; and what proposals were put on his behalf.
Mr. Stewart: Officials of Locate in Scotland and Scottish Enterprise have been involved in talks, the details of which are subject to the normal conditions of commercial confidentiality.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he (a) was informed and (b) agreed that the Health Care International hospital in Clydebank should sell its equipment to its funding banks and lease the equipment back.
Mr. Stewart: The financing of any company's equipment is a matter for it to determine.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what information he received in respect of contracts won by the Health Care International hospital in Clydebank to treat overseas patients.
Mr. Stewart: This information is commercially confidential to the company.
Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions have taken place between his representatives and those of the Ministry of Defence to discuss Health Care International in Clydebank; and what was the outcome of those talks.
Mr. Stewart: My right hon. Friend's officials sought and obtained confirmation from officials in the Ministry of Defence that the Department has no interest in the hospital in the context of the re-organisation of defence medical services arising out of "Front Line First", the defence costs study. There have been no other discussions.
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Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the date of (a) Government and (b) private sector commitment to Health Care International in Clydebank.
Mr. Stewart: Negotiations for both public and private sector support for this project were concluded in July 1991.
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has accepted any proposal to turn Health Care International into an NHS trust.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 October 1994]: No.
Health Service Pay
Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give figures based on current performance for the number of health service staff she expects will see earnings (a) fall and (b) rise as a result of the introduction of relating pay to performances.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The proposals made to staff sides and the professions who represented groups covered by NHS review bodies and included in pay offers to staff sides of non-review body groups would strengthen the links between rewards and performance of their local organisations. Such schemes would be locally determined and depend on the achievement of local objectives for the delivery of high quality services. I would expect average earnings to continue to rise.
Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of chief executives of national health service trusts in each of the last four years have been paid on a
performance-related pay basis.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The pay of general and senior managers in the NHS in Scotland is related to performance. While the pay of a trust chief executive is determined by the remuneration committee of that trust, this is carried out within the context of the principles applying to general and senior managers' pay.
Mr. Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what specific analysis his Department has conducted on the cost and efficiency of introducing performance-related pay to clinical grades in the national health service.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Implementation of local pay arrangements is for NHS trusts to determine, taking into account the individual health care objectives contained in their agreed business plans. The assessment of the cost and efficiency of schemes is also for local determination.
Care Homes
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to introduce dual registration of residential and nursing homes similar to the practice in England and Wales.
Mr. Lang: The Registered Establishments (Scotland) Act 1987 amended the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 do allow joint registration of residential care establishments which provide both nursing and social care with local authority social work departments and health boards. This is directly comparable with similar provisions which apply in England and Wales under the Registered Homes Act 1984.
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to establish joint health board and social work inspection and registration units for nursing and residential homes.
Mr. Lang: The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, as amended, and the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 already allow for collaboration between local authority social work departments and health boards in the field of joint registration of residential care establishments.
M74 Contract
Mr. Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement on the value, progress and penalties associated with the M74 contract awarded to Messrs. Castelli and Girola; (2) which comparable projects carried out by Messrs. Castelli and Girola persuaded his Department that they were eligible for consideration as tenderers;
(3) if he will list those occasions and locations on which officials of his Department met representatives of Messrs. Castelli and Girola prior to the award of the M74 contract;
(4) if he will list the value of tenders submitted for the M74 contract which was secured by Messrs. Castelli and Girola; (5) what steps he took to ascertain that Messrs. Castelli and Girola were competent contractors, prior to the awarding of the M74 contract.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The requirements of the European Union procurement directive have meant that our major road construction contracts are open to tenders from companies throughout the EEC. In 1992 a joint venture company formed by Castelli and Girola submitted an application for inclusion in the tender list for the contract to upgrade the A74 to motorway between Eaglesfield and Kirkpatrick Fleming.
To support their tender application they submitted considerable documentation covering numerous examples of major road contracts carried out by each firm. Scottish Office officials met representatives of the joint venture in October 1991 in Edinburgh regarding an earlier application for an A74(M) contract and satisfied themselves that they were major contractors with
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worldwide experience of road construction. The two companies were also subjected to the normal vetting procedures with regard to their financial standing.The value of the successful tender submitted by the joint venture was £23,403,562. Other tenders submitted for the contract were: £24,902,956
£26,186,241
£26,789,409
£29,517,413
£29,994,952
£30,343,045
Although well advanced, the contract is running late and the completion date next month will not be met. The penalty for late completion without mitigating circumstances is £250,000 per month.
Breast Treatment
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will estimate the average time taken in each health board area in Scotland (a) to provide appointments to patients who detect breast lumps, (b) to diagnose whether or not the lump is malignant and (c) to operate if the lump is a tumour.
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 October 1994]: Information requested is not centrally available in the form requested. However, the table gives details of waiting times for confirmation or treatment.
Mean and median waiting time (days for patients admitted
from the waiting list and operated on for confirmation or
treatment of
malignant neoplasm of female breast (ICD9 174), by health
board
of treatment, calendar year 1993
|Mean Wait |Median Wait
HB Treatment |(Days) |(Days
-------------------------------------------------------------
Argyll and Clyde |8.0 |7
Ayrshire and Arran |12.3 |8
Borders |9.4 |6
Dumfries and Galloway |12.5 |11
Fife |12.7 |8
Forth Valley |10.9 |8
Grampian |9.8 |7
Greater Glasgow |14.0 |11
Highland |12.9 |10
Lanarkshire |10.3 |7
Lothian |14.0 |11
Orkney |5.8 |5
Shetland |6.4 |5
Tayside |18.9 |15
Western Isles |6.7 |4
Scotland |12.9 |9
Source: SMR1
Ref: ISD.UNIT3.HASU, M4435
Notes:
1. Diagnostic codes are based on the World Health
Organisation's International Classification of Diseases, 9th
Revision (ICD9). Codes used in the analysis are as follows:
ICD9 174 Malignant Neoplasm of Female Breast.
2. Operation codes are based on the Office of Population
Censuses and Surveys 4th Revision Classification of Surgical
Operations and Procedures (OPCS4). Codes used in the
analysis are as follows: OPCS4 B27-B37 Breast Operations and
Procedures.
3. The table is for elective admissions from the waiting
list (SMR1 TADM-1 & WAIT>0).
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the guidelines given to area health
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boards in setting limits on the length of time between breast lumps being detected by patients and being diagnosed as malignant or otherwise; and what are the time limits thereafter being set for operations to remove the lumps if malignant tumours are discovered.Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 24 October 1994]: The Government-funded Scottish Cancer Co-ordinating and Advisory Committee and the Scottish Cancer Therapy Network have established a joint focus group to examine all aspects of the subject ie aetiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and palliation, so that the adequacy of existing arrangements may be scrutinised and best practice determined. No formal guidelines exist at present.
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking to increase resources available for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.
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Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer 25 October 1994]: The incidence, morbidity and mortality associated with breast cancer are sources of concern to the Government, and we are committed to encouraging research into the causes, diagnosis, treatment and cure of the disease. The Government also funds the Scottish breast screening programme, which aims to reduce mortality in the screened population by 25 per cent. by the year 2000. All referrals under the programme are to a designated breast surgeon, who in the majority of cases will have been nominated by the woman's health board of residence. Where more complex techniques are likely to be required, referral will be to a breast surgeon working in one of the five specialist multi-disciplinary teams in Scotland. The Scottish Cancer Therapy Network, which we have established to ensure the delivery to cancer patients of the most effective and up-to-date treatment, is forming a focus group in co-operation with the Government-funded Scottish Cancer Co- ordinating and Advisory Committee to look specifically at all aspects of breast cancer, including diagnosis and treatment.
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