Frequently Asked Questions

The Frequently Asked Questions section of the New Ways website offers answers to a wide range of questions which have been raised by the Service Recently there have been some new questions added:

• What should happen if a patient is found to be unfit at a pre-operative assessment?

• How will a patient's waiting time be calculated under New Ways?

• What should happen if a patient requests to be seen by a specific clinician even when there is no clinical requirement to do so?

• Is New Ways mandatory for services such as Mental Health, Allied Health Professional's, Nurse-led clinics etc.?

• How are queries about New Ways guidance handled?

And some questions have been updated:

• What is unavailability?

• Is it mandatory to record the end date of an unavailability period?

If you have a specific question that you would like answered by the New Ways team please e-mail newways@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk with details

Central Validation of New Ways Data

New Ways data submitted by health boards has to be validated centrally before it can enter the data warehouse.  The rules for validation were originally described in Appendix 5 of the New Ways Specification of Data document (version 1.1a 28 February 2007).  At the time, these rules were written on a "best presumption" basis at a time when no New Ways data was available to test the rules.  Consequently, as a result of enquiries from health boards and the receipt of some limited test data, these rules have been amended accordingly.  As further test data becomes available ISD expects this process to continue. 

It should be stressed that the majority of these changes to central validation are 'common sense' ones, however there are others which are more significant and have been made as a result of consultation (both internal and external).  In due course, once this process has 'settled down', ISD will issue an amended validation specification.

New Ways Patient Information in Braille

The Braille version of the New Ways Patient information is now available. If you then wish to place an order, e-mail newways@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk with details of quantity required and delivery location.