This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NHS capital spending programme
11/03/2004
Nearly £350 million is being made available this year
for medical equipment, hospitals and health centres - an
overall increase of 13 per cent.
It represents the largest capital budget ever for the
NHS in Scotland.
The rise is part of a three-year funding programme
outlined by Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm in March last
year.
This year almost £240 million will be distributed to
Health Boards to improve healthcare facilities and
services, with an average increase of nine per cent over
last year.
A further £108 million will support a number of
centrally funded initiatives including:
- £39 million for the West of Scotland cancer centre,
part of a total central investment of £87 million.
Work is expected to start on the new state of the art
regional cancer centre in July this year
- £14 million for the development of GP premises to
improve access for patients
- £0.5 million to roll out Diabetic Retinopathy
Screening across Scotland
- £0.6 million for the development of dental training
facilities
- £2 million for the roll out of colorectal cancer
screening across Scotland
- £13 million for the purchase of linear accelerators
for cancer treatment
- £5 million for the provision of Positron Emitting
Tomography (PET) scanners across Scotland
Mr Chisholm said:
"Today's increase means that the NHS is better equipped
and resourced than ever before to improve the quality of
care provided to patients.
"Frontline staff need the best facilities and equipment
to give the best care. This investment shows we are
delivering on that.
"This year, as well as general allocations to Boards,
the Executive will provide capital funding to expand cancer
screening, detection and treatment services across
Scotland, to improve GP premises, and for the development
of a new West of Scotland cancer centre.
"IT is also an important priority in capital investment
in Scotland. An additional £10 million has been set aside,
to improve the IT infrastructure of the NHS in order to
provide a faster, more efficient service to patients, and
to ensure we have up to date information on the state of
our nation's health."
Projects from last year's capital allocations included
£4.5 million to provide a new 60 bed mental health unit in
Lothian, £2.2 million to create smaller wards in three
community hospitals in the Borders and £3 million to
upgrade Easterhouse Health Centre in Glasgow.
The Minister said: "In these and in future projects, the
views of patients and staff are paramount in ensuring that
redesigned services are closely tailored to local
need."
The capital budgets for the three years were first
announced by Malcolm Chisholm in March 2003.
The breakdown of allocations to local Health Boards for
2004-5 is:
- Argyll and Clyde - £14.3 million (8.63 per cent
increase)
- Ayrshire and Arran - £13.3 million (10 per
cent)
- Borders - £3.7 million (8.17 per cent)
- Dumfries and Galloway - £5.6 million (11.3 per
cent)
- Fife - £10.9 million (9.4 per cent)
- Forth Valley - £9 million (8.9 per cent)
- Grampian - £17.5 million (13.18 per cent)
- Greater Glasgow - £50.9 million (14.24 per
cent)
- Highland - £8.3 million (11.36 per cent)
- Lanarkshire - £17.5 million (10.37 per cent)
- Lothian - £30.7 million (10.3 per cent )
- Orkney - £0.4 million (6.09 per cent)
- Shetland - £0.5 million (4.42 per cent)
- Tayside - £15.4 million (8.46 per cent)
- Western Isles - £1.1 million (4.65 per cent)
The allocations to Special Health Boards consist of two
elements, a basic allocation for minor works and support
for projects in excess of £1 million which are subject to a
formal approval process through the Capital Investment
Group.
Allocations to Boards are calculated using the
Arbuthnott formula, which takes account of factors such as
population changes, age structure and the deprivation
index.
PET imaging is a new form of imaging which is
particularly significant for patients suffering some forms
of cancer such as Hodgkin's disease, but is also
particularly important for others including certain types
of lung, head and neck cancers, as well as melanoma. The
use of PET imaging for Hodgkin's disease will mean
clinicians are better placed to identify patients who could
benefit from radiotherapy and those who may not require
such treatment.