This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Audit Scotland report on NHS
05/08/2004
Deputy Health Minister Tom McCabe today welcomed the
publication of the Audit Scotland report into the
performance of the NHS in Scotland.
He said:
"This is the first time Audit Scotland have looked at
the performance of the NHS as a whole in Scotland and I
welcome the thoroughness of their report.
"I also welcome the emphasis it places on health
improvement and the importance of building on current
programmes to support people making healthier choices and
leading healthier lives.
"The report recognises significant changes in healthcare
delivery, falling deaths rates for cancer and coronary
heart disease and improvements in waiting times.
"But it also identifies a need for better information to
monitor delivery of health care in order to quantify the
benefits of higher spending and the increasingly rapid
changes in clinical practice.
"Scotland already has one of the most highly developed
clinical information systems in the world. And information
is now published on how many patients are seen at nurse-led
clinics and how many procedures are carried out on
out-patients.
"More health care is moving from hospitals to
out-patients and from consultants to nurses and therapists
- for example, we estimate that around 1 million patients
are seen at nurse-led clinics in a year. But we recognise
more work needs to be done in this area.
"We have made it clear to the NHS Information and
Statistics Division that they must further improve coverage
and quality of management information particularly in the
areas of:
- Out-patients
- Primary and community care
- Care provided by nurses and allied health
professionals
"I also welcome the report's recognition of the major
investment that has gone into the NHS since 1999.
"A major part of this has been pay modernisation,
including the introduction of modern employment contracts
for doctors, to attract more people into medicine and
nursing and forge new ways of working. As a result of this
we expect to see:
- lower vacancy rates among NHS staff
- development of new roles for staff supporting
improved services to patients
- more services to patients provided outside
hospitals in places and times to suit patients
- further development of primary care
- less waiting at all stages of the patients
journey
"I am determined to support the NHS to deliver further
improvements in waiting for patients in the medium to
longer term.
"That means the Service working even more efficiently so
that current and future funding increases make a direct,
visible impact on the experience of patients, while
maintaining care quality and standards.
"The report supports this patient-centred view of the
future of the NHS and I welcome this important piece of
work by Audit Scotland it."