Page last updated: 11-SEP-2006

Monthly Omnibus Release of ISD Scotland Publications

Change of Practice:

Monthly Omnibus Release of ISD Scotland Publications

In October there will be a major revision to the manner in which ISD Scotland (The Information Services Division of the NHS in Scotland) releases its statistics and other publications. These will now be bundled into a single release on the final Tuesday of each month. This change is being made in order to rationalise our workflow, improve the efficiency of our communications and to facilitate informed discussion by ensuring that all releases are accompanied by appropriate explanation and commentary.

Background:

A Strategic Review of Health and Care Statistics in Scotland, which incorporated stakeholder views, was published by the Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) in December 2005.

Recommendations 22 and 23 of that report advise:

22    Health and care statistics from ISD be released in a regular health statistics
        update once a month with an associated news release. This release would cover
        more than one subject area.

23     All releases of information should be accompanied by explanation and 
        commentary to set the data in context to facilitate a more informed discussion. 

As a consequence of this report ISD Scotland has undertaken a review of the statistical publications that are pre-announced, and together with the Analytical Services Division of Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD), have put the following new arrangements in place:

A Revised Protocol for ISD Scotland Releases:

  • Commencing in October 2006, ISD publications will be released in an omnibus arrangement on the last Tuesday of each month. An exception will be made for any December publications, which will be released on the 3rd Tuesday of the month.
  • The new releases will be pre-announced at least 1 month in advance on the ‘Forthcoming Releases’ section of the ISD Scotland website:

http://www.isdscotland.org/forthcoming

as well as on the new releases section of the Scottish Executive website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Search/Forthcoming 

  • Upon publication, all new releases will be announced on the front page of the ISD Scotland website, with links to our revised ‘News and Releases’ section. This section will present (in a standardised format) Statistical Publication Notices for every release, publication or update. These Statistical Publication Notices will be executive summaries presenting an overview of each release along with links to the full and detailed body of the release within the site.
  • Coinciding with these changes, ISD Scotland will cease doing an individual ‘Press Release’ for every publication and will instead issue a single monthly omnibus ‘Statistical Publication Notice’, itemising all recent updates. This will amount to a table of contents with very brief summaries of key points and links to relevant sections on the website. There may however still be some instances where separate press notices will be deemed appropriate.

At the same time, in response to user feedback, the ISD Scotland website will be re-launched to play a more prominent and consistent part in our communications. This will include the addition of an RSS feed to automatically alert users to updates, new user registration options, improved search functions and a simplified navigation structure.

We anticipate that these changes in practice along with improvements to our website will greatly enhance the visibility, impact and usefulness of our unique and important publications.

For further details please contact:

Keith Halden, Web and Media Manager, ISD Scotland. Tel: 0131 275 7544

keith.halden@isd.csa.scot.nhs.uk


Main contact: Email Graham Mitchell