News and Releases

June 2008

24 June 2008
Cancer Incidence 2005 Update

The publication is the annual update of cancer registration information, showing cancer incidence from 1980-2005 as well as the biennial update of cancer prevalence and cumulative risk.  Registrations for the year 2005 have been added and registrations for previous years updated.  Detailed incidence information is given for approximately 50 types of cancer.

• Taking all cancers combined, in recent years the age-standardised incidence rate has fallen slightly for both men and women. 
• The figures show considerable variation between cancers, with substantial increases in melanoma of the skin and other skin cancers (both sexes), and decreases in stomach (both sexes) and lung (male only) cancers. 
• Actual numbers of cases of cancer have risen over the last decade, largely due to an ageing population.

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24 June 2008
National Drug Treatment Waiting Times
 
Data is presented for January-March 2008 on the number of clients waiting for drug treatment and the time waited for (1) clients to be offered an assessment date and (2) clients to be offered an appointment date for any drug treatment intervention.

The publication shows that in January-March 2008.

• 67% (2,960 clients) of those offered an appointment for assessment were offered a date within 14 days of referral (Table 1)
• 88% (2,838 clients) of those offered an appointment for treatment were offered a date within 14 days of date care plan agreed. (Table 2)

Table and charts are presented by Alcohol and Drug Action team area.

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24 June 2008
Teenage Pregnancies, 2006

This annual updates includes statistical information on teenage pregnancies based on age at conception, with the most recent information representing conceptions in 2006.  The release includes data by NHS Board of residence and Local Council Area for age group

The latest figures show:

• In 2006, the teenage pregnancy rate in the under
• There is a strong deprivation gradient.  The most deprived groups have approximately ten times the rate of delivery as the least deprived, and twice the rate of abortion.  These proportions have not varied much in recent years and do not vary much with age.

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24 June 2008
Immunisation Statistics, quarter ending March 2008

Quarterly and annual update of immunisation uptake rates for children aged 12 and 24 months and 5 and 6 years.  Includes data to 31 March 2008.

In Scotland as a whole, annual and quarterly uptake rates show that the 95% target for immunisation of 2 year olds is being met and exceeded for all primary immunisations apart from the first dose of MMR.  MMR uptake rates at 2 years have continued to be above 90% since autumn 2005. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) target for MMR is 95% uptake of the first dose by 5 years of age.   In Scotland the uptake rate is 94.4% for the financial year and 94.3% for the latest quarter, just below the WHO target.

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24 June 2008
Delayed Discharges in NHSScotland – Suppplementary Information by Community Health Partnership from April 2008 Census

Previously published on 27th May 2008 - figures from the latest quarterly census of delayed discharges are now available by Community Health Partnership.

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24 June 2008
NHSScotland Workforce Statistics

Figures are released today on NHSScotland workforce statistics to 31st March 2008 and include:

• The use of bank and agency nurses for the year ending 31st March 2008.
• Annual sickness absence figures.
• Annual equality and diversity information.
• Doctors in training compliance with the new deal.
• Quarterly consultant staff in post figures.
• The latest figures show for example:
• The usage of agency nursing and midwifery staff has decreased by nearly a third (31%)
• 99.9% of doctors in training do not exceed the maximum average of 56 contracted hours agreed under the New Deal.

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24 June 2008
Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the new GMS contract – Scotland-level prevalence figures 2007/08

This publication presents Scotland-level prevalence rates for all the diseases / conditions included in the Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the new General Medical Services contract.  Figures are shown for each of the four QOF years to date, up to and including those collected by general practices for “National Prevalence Day”, 14th February 2008. It explains where these prevalence rates are directly comparable with previous QOF years and the definitional changes that limit the comparability of other figures.

The reported prevalence rates for hypertension (high blood pressure) and hypothyroidism have both risen gradually in each year since the introduction of the QOF in 2004/05.  The increases are likely to be due at least in part to improved case ascertainment by practices.

QOF-reported prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) stages 3-5 has risen to 2.5% from an initial figure of 1.8% for 2006/07.  An increase was expected, due to improved availability across Scotland in the clinical tests required to make the formal diagnosis of the stage of CKD.

Obesity rates reported by practices (related to patients aged 16 or over with a body mass index of 30 or more) rose from 7.0% in 2006/07 to 7.4% in 2007/08.  Both figures are lower than other rates shown elsewhere (for example, those summarised by the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) at www.scotpho.org.uk ). 

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24 June 2008 
Health and Wellbeing Profiles for Community Health Partnership (CHP) Areas, 2008

This release provides health and wellbeing profiles for Scotland’s 40 Community Health Partnerships (CHPs), based on a set of 61 health indicators. The indicators cover health outcomes (eg deaths and hospitalisations), behaviour (smoking, alcohol and drug use) and wider determinants of health (eg employment, education and the environment). This is the first release of such profiles for CHP areas in Scotland.

Outputs from this release include:

• Individual profile reports for 30 CHPs in Scotland (this excludes the remaining 10 CHCPs in Greater Glasgow and Clyde since detailed profiles for these areas have been produced separately by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health at www.gcph.co.uk/communityprofiles );
• A Scotland Overview report which includes profile information for each NHS Board; and
• A full Technical Report giving methodological details
• Key findings include the following:
• Male life expectancy ranges from 67.9 years in the worst CHP to 77.3 years in the best; whilst female life expectancy ranges from 75.1 years to 81.2 years.
• The percentage of babies exclusively breastfed at 6-8 weeks ranges from 14.3% in the worst CHP to 42.5% in the best.

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24 June 2008
Long Term Conditions Reports

The SPARRA (Scottish Patients at Risk of Readmission & Admission) risk-prediction tool is used to identify those patients at greatest risk of emergency admission in particular year.

Two reports are published:

• The current tool is applied to patients aged 65 & over who have had an emergency admission in the previous 3 years. The first report describes the outcome of work performed to extend the algorithm’ so that it can be applied to patients of all ages.
• The second report outlines the main data sources for measuring long-term conditions, identifies the most common conditions and provides estimates for their prevalence in the population.

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24 June 2008
Mental Health (Psychiatric) Hospital Activity Statistics

Update of mental health (psychiatric) hospital activity statistics to the year ending 31 March 2007. Includes trends and population rates, geographic distributions and details of mental health diagnoses

For example:

• There were 24,294 inpatient admissions to mental health hospitals during the year ending 31 March 2007. This continues the downward trend seen in recent years.

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24 June 2008
Quarterly update of reimbursement and remuneration paid to dispensing contractors, up to March 2008

These tables are aimed at those with an understanding of payments made to dispensing contractors.  They are intended to be used as reference listings detailing payments made to Scottish dispensing contractors of pharmaceuticals, up to March 2008.

The main points are the number of prescription items dispensed and the cost for these items together with the fees paid to the dispensers. The payments include the total gross ingredient cost (GIC); the net ingredient cost (NIC); the cost of individual fees and allowances; the gross total and patient charges.

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May 2008

27 May 2008
Abortion Statistics, year ending December 2007

This annual update includes statistical information on notifications, to the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, of terminations of pregnancy under the Abortion Act 1967. 

Provisional figures show that there were 13,703 abortions performed in 2007.  This is a rate of 13.0 abortions for every 1000 women aged 15-44.

NHS Tayside, followed by NHS Grampain and NHS Lothian, show the highest rate of terminations while the Islands Boards and Borders have the lowest rates.

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27 May 2008
Acute Activity, Waiting Times and Waiting Lists to 31 March 2008 (quarterly and annual data)

This is the latest information (updated to March 2008) about patients on waiting lists and waiting times of those who have been seen or treated. This is the first publication of waiting times information since the introduction of ‘New Ways’ of defining and measuring waiting times; these New Ways statistics include some patients who would previously have been excluded from waiting time standards. The New Ways statistics are classed as ‘provisional’.

Provisional statistics show:

• at 31 March 2008, 0.2% of new outpatients and 0.1% of inpatients and day cases were waiting longer than the 18 week national standard [these figures are expected to reduce following revision by some NHS Boards]
• 0.6% of new outpatients seen and 0.7% of inpatients and day cases treated in quarter ending 31 March 2008 had waited longer than the 18 week national standard [these figures are expected to reduce following revision by some NHS Boards]
• 1.9% of new outpatients and 10.6% of inpatients and day cases on waiting lists at 31 March 2008 were unavailable for treatment at that date
• 98% of patients attending A&E departments during quarter ending 31 March 2008 were seen within 4 hours

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27 May 2008
Clinical Decision-Making: Is the Patient Fit for Theatre?
A Report from the Scottish Hip Fracture Audit

This report presents data on the outcome of the preoperative assessment process of hip fracture patients in Scotland over 11 months in 2007.  It has identified variations in practice, common reasons for delays, and potential areas for improvement.  Hospitals will be able to review their practice against others and the Scottish average.

5447 hip fractures (92% of Scottish total) were audited between February and December 2007 – 1254 (23%) patients were determined to be “medically unfit” and surgery postponed at first theatre assessment.

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27 May 2008
Dental Statistics - quarter ending December 2007

There was an increase to the NHS General Dental Service registration data between quarter ending 30 September 2007 and 31 December 2007.  The percentage of the Scottish population registered with a dentist is 71.7% and 50.7% for children and adults respectively. This is an increase from 69.9% for children and 48.6% for adult registered at September 2007.

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27 May 2008
Delayed Discharges in NHSScotland (formerly Patients Ready for Discharge) figures from the April 2008

This report provides the latest statistics on NHS hospital inpatients "ready for discharge", but whose discharge has been delayed, from a census of these patients as at April 2008 . A delayed discharge occurs when a patient, clinically ready for discharge, cannot leave the hospital because the other necessary care, support or accommodation for them is not readily accessible and/or funding is not available, to purchase a care home place, for example.

There has been a considerable decrease in the number of patients delayed outwith the six week discharge planning period over the last six years. The latest figure of zero compares with 316 at the January 2008 census and with 233 at the April 2007 census.

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27 May 2008
Scottish Arthroplasty Project Annual Report 2008

This is the latest in a series of annual reports produced by the Scottish Arthroplasty ( Joint Replacement Surgery) Project.   There are a number of areas where there continues to be significant progress.

Data completeness is much better, the number of arthroplasties continues to rise, but the process of care is demonstrably more efficient and the numbers of revisions remain in check. Surgeons and boards are complying with the governance process. Perhaps most encouraging is that we can continue to detect an overall improvement in some outcomes (infection, death and dislocation) and note that orthopaedic surgeons who had outlying figures have, over time, come to lie within the accepted limits. There has been a significant increase in the number of hip and knee replacements done in the last year with no increase in bed capacity and minimal increase in consultant numbers.

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12 May 2008
Breastfeeding Statistics

Annual update of breastfeeding rates, including for the first time exclusive breastfeeding rates, for 11 NHS Boards in Scotland that use the Child Health Systems Programme Pre-School system.

• In calendar year 2007, 44.6% of mothers were breastfeeding at the First Visit review (at around 10 days). This includes 37.5% of mothers who were exclusively breastfeeding.
• At the 6-8 weeks review, 36.0% of mothers were breastfeeding in 2007.  This includes 26.4% who were exclusively breastfeeding.

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April 2008

29 April 2008
Acute Activity – Emergency and Multiple Emergency Admissions Update

Refreshed emergency and multiple emergency admissions figures to year ending 31st March 2007 including occupied bed days, crude rates and age/sex/deprivation standardised rates.  These figures are broken down by health board, community health partnership (CHP) and age group.

• National 10 year trend data for the numbers of patients with 1 or more emergency admission within 365 days show
• relative stability in annual totals for patients aged 0 to 64 over this periodsteady year on year increase in totals for patients aged 65 and older, from approximately 120,000 in 1997/1998 to around 137,000 in 2006/2007 (i.e. a 14% increase overall)

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29 April 2008
Coronary Heart Disease Statistics

Update to coronary heart disease web pages presenting trends in mortality rate from coronary heart disease among the under 75s in the most deprived areas. Information is shown for males, females and both sexes by health board and for Scotland. Although previously available as a national target in the Scottish Budget Spending Review 2007, the targets are being added to the CHD website as new tables.

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March 2008

25 March 2008
Childhood Hospital Admissions and Child Mortality

• For children under the age of 15 years, the three most common main diagnoses for planned admissions in 2006/07 were: 'Disorders of teeth, tongue and mouth' (24.2%), 'Congenital anomalies' (10.4%) and 'Neoplastic disease' (9.9%).
• For children under the age of 15 years, the three most common diagnoses for emergency admissions in 2006/07 were: 'Respiratory disorders' (23.0%), 'Symptoms and signs without a definitive diagnosis' (21.1%) and 'Injuries and poisonings' (17.7%).
• Although death in childhood is rare, mortality rates are highest amongst children under the age of one year, with a rate of 45.0 per 10,000 population in 2006; this represents approximately two thirds of all deaths in children under 15 years of age (248 out of 362).  Most of these deaths occur in the first few days after birth.

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25 March 2008
Childhood immunisation uptake rates for quarter and year ending 31 December 2007.

Quarterly and annual update of immunisation uptake rates for children aged 12 and 24 months and 5 and 6 years.  Includes data to 31 December 2007 and annual uptake rates by deprivation (SIMD category).

In Scotland as a whole, annual and quarterly uptake rates show that the 95% target for immunisation of 2 year olds is being met and exceeded for all primary immunisations apart from the first dose of MMR (MMR1) where the uptake rates are 92.1% for the calendar year and 91.8% for the latest quarter.

Uptake rates of the Hib/MenC and PCV booster vaccinations by 24 months are reported for the first time this quarter and are 74.5% and 91.0% respectively.  These vaccines were introduced to the childhood immunisation schedule in September 2006 along with other substantial changes to the programme.  Uptake rates for the Hib/MenC booster are modest in comparison with other vaccinations but it is too early to draw any firm conclusions from this.

For the October-December quarter of 2007 and the calendar year of 2007, the uptake of the first dose of MMR (MMR1) by 5 years old is 94.4%, just below the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of 95%.

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25 March 2008
Drug Treatment Waiting Times Information Framework Report, October to December 2007

Data is presented for October-December 2007 on the number of clients waiting for drug treatment and the time waited for (1) clients to be offered an assessment date and (2) clients to be offered an appointment date for any drug treatment intervention.

The publication shows that in October-December 2007

• 65% (3,946 clients) of those offered an appointment for assessment were offered a date within 14 days of referral (Table 1).
• 91% (3,054 clients) of those offered an appointment for treatment were offered a date within 14 days of date care plan agreed. (Table 2)

Tables and charts are presented by Alcohol and Drug Action Team area.

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25 March 2008
NHSScotland Workforce Statistics

Figures are released today on NHSScotland workforce statistics to 31st December 2007 for quarterly consultant staff in post figures.

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25 March 2008
Delayed Discharges in NHSScotland - Supplementary Information by Community Health Partnership from January 2008 census   

This supplementary information summarises the results of the census of delayed discharges from a ?snapshot? of NHS inpatients by Community Health Partnership as at the January 2008 census.

Patients are categorised according to the main reason for their continuing stay in the hospital ward at the time of the current census. Community Health Partnership is derived from the Patients postcode of residence.

Detailed findings and interpretation of the January 2008 census data can be found at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5414.html

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25 March 2008
Practice Team Information (PTI) Annual Update (2006/07)

The annual update of the Practice Team Information (PTI) website shows new and updated figures on activity in general practices in Scotland. Information collected from a sample of practices participating in PTI is used to estimate the number of patients consulting, the number of consultations and main reasons for consultations (diagnoses, symptoms, activities) in Scotland. New figures are released for 2006/07 alongside comparable figures for the previous three financial years.
GP and practice nurses together had a total estimated 23.7 million face-to-face contacts with patients in 2006/07.  This represents an increase of roughly 400,000 per year from the 22.6 million estimated for 2003/04.  Practice nurses have a large share of the activity (nearly a third of the combined number of consultations).

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25 March 2008
Update of prescribing statistics, looking at drugs indicated for the treatment of obesity and drugs used in rheumatic diseases and gout

Annual prescribing statistics showing the number and cost of prescriptions for medicines used to treat obesity and rheumatic diseases and gout in Scotland.

1. A total of 104,274 items were prescribed for the treatment of obesity in Scotland during 2006/07, an increase of 14,404 prescriptions (16%) over the previous financial year.

2. A total of 2.47 million non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, indicated for the treatment of arthritis and related conditions, were prescribed in Scotland during 2006/07, a decrease of 84,870 (3.3 %) from the previous year.

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25 March 2008
Quarterly update of reimbursement and remuneration paid to dispensing contractors, up to December 2007

These tables are aimed at those with an understanding of payments made to dispensing contractors.  They are intended to be used as reference listings detailing payments made to Scottish dispensing contractors of pharmaceuticals, up to December 2007.

The main points are the number of prescription items dispensed and the cost for these items together with the fees paid to the dispensers. The payments include the total gross ingredient cost (GIC); the net ingredient cost (NIC); the cost of individual fees and allowances; the gross total and patient charges.

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25 March 2008
NHS Smoking Cessation Service Statistics (Scotland) 1st January to 31st December 2007

This is the second annual release of statistics from the national monitoring of NHS smoking cessation services.  The report provides an analysis of quit attempts made, and quit outcomes,  during the 2007 calendar year.  Care should be taken in making direct comparisons between NHS board areas.  Differences in the types of services provided, under-recording of data and differences in the proportion of cases ?lost to follow-up?  all contribute to variations in findings across board areas.

Information is taken from the agreed national minimum dataset for smoking cessation services (developed by PATH, part of ASH Scotland ) and is based on 'quit attempts' made during the year.  The primary data source is the National Smoking Cessation Database, established by ISD Scotland in July 2005. 
Findings include:

• 41,424 quit attempts made during 2007 (46,466 in 2006).
• January was the busiest month for services.
• An estimated 3.9% of smokers in Scotland made a quit attempt with an NHS smoking cessation service during 2007.
• At 1 month follow-up - 37% had quit; 37% were still smoking and 25% were ?lost to follow-up?/smoking status unknown. 
• By 3 month follow-up the Scotland quit rate was 19%.
• Wide variation in numbers of quit attempts made and quit outcomes across NHS boards. Reasons for this are explored in the report. 

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February 2008

26 February
Acute Activity, Waiting Times and Waiting Lists to 31 December 2007 (quarterly and annual data)  

This is the latest information (updated to December 2007) about patients on waiting lists and waiting times of those who have been seen or treated.

Some of the key findings include:

• All inpatients, day cases and outpatients waiting at 31 December 2007 had been waiting 18 weeks or less.
• 98% of patients attending A&E departments during December 2007 were seen within 4 hours.
• Very few patients were waiting longer than local targets set for the component parts of the cataract and cardiac patient journeys

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26 February
Population Based Key Clinical Indicators for Sexual Health - Data for 2006

This document reports on the chlamydia, sterilisation and termination of pregnancy Key Clinical Indicators with data from calendar year 2006.

The data show

• Chlamydia testing in sexually active people aged less than 25 should continue to be actively encouraged.
• Rates of sterilisation in women aged 15 ? 44 have decreased slightly since 2005
• Numbers of vasectomies have increased slightly since 2005
• The proportion of early terminations (under 10 weeks) has increased from 66.5% in 2005 to 67.3% in 2006.

The Key Clinical Indicators for sexual health have been developed by the Action 12 subgroup on behalf of the National Sexual Health Advisory Committee (NSHAC).

The Key Clinical Indicators are part of the wider quality framework for sexual health. The indicators helped to inform the development of the Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) Sexual Health Service Standards and also the National Sexual Health System (NaSH) with its associated datasets, developed by the National Clinical Dataset Development Programme (NCDDP).

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26 February
Mental Health (Psychiatric) Activity Statistics

Update of mental health (psychiatric) hospital activity statistics to the year ending 31st March 2006.  Includes trends and geographic distributions.

• 25,010 inpatient admissions to mental health hospitals occurred in 2005/2006 continuing the trend of gradual decrease in recent years.
• 58% of admissions were for patients who had a previous spell of psychiatric inpatient care.

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26 February
Delayed Discharges in NHSScotland (formerly Patients Ready for Discharge) figures from the January 2008 Census

This report provides the latest statistics on NHS hospital inpatients "ready for discharge", but whose discharge has been delayed, from a census of these patients as at January 2008 . A delayed discharge occurs when a patient, clinically ready for discharge, cannot leave the hospital because the other necessary care, support or accommodation for them is not readily accessible and/or funding is not available, to purchase a care home place, for example.

There has been a considerable decrease in the number of patients delayed outwith the six week discharge planning period over the last six years. Figures show that 323 patients who are ready for discharge from hospital  had been awaiting discharge for over six weeks at the January 2008 census. This is 283 less than the equivalent number (606) awaiting discharge at the same point last year and 102 lower than the number (425) at the October 2007 census.  

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26 February
Workforce Planning for Psychology Services in NHS Scotland: Characteristics of the Workforce Supply in 2007

This release is a collaborative piece of work between ISD and NHS Education for Scotland, and presents psychology services workforce information as at 30th September 2007.

In total there were 523 wte Clinical&Other Applied Psychologists employed in NHSScotland at 30th September 2007. This is an increase of 10% Clinical&Other Applied Psychologists compared to 30th September 2006. 

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26 February
Local information on alcohol and drug use - 2008  

This is a compendium of local statistics on alcohol and drug use, brought together from previously published national sources.  The statistics are primarily intended to provide easily accessible information to Alcohol and Drug Action Teams to support local planning and service provision.  Similar statistics were previously provided in Local Alcohol Profiles (2004 and 2006) and published on the website.

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January 2008

29 January 2008
NHSScotland Workforce Statistics

The release includes information on staff in post across all NHS staff groups as well as vacancy information for Nursing & Midwifery and Allied Health Professions at 30th September 2007.  Information on Community & Hospital Medical and Dental staff and staff employed in the General Medical Service and General Dental Service to 30th September is also included.

The number of staff employed in NHSScotland at 30th September 2007 was 162,148 (headcount).  Nursing & midwifery staff account for 41.3% of all staff (headcount) employed in NHSScotland.

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29 January 2008
Information on Scottish General Practices, their populations and their GPs

Key findings include:

• There has been a steady increase in the headcount of GPs in post over the last 4 years, rising from 4456 in 2004 to 4721 in 2007 (an increase of 5.9%).
• The number of female GPs in post has increased from 2026 in 2004 to 2293 in 2007 (an increase of 13.2%).  
• The average list size of GP practices in Scotland is 5315 as of 1st October 2007. This is based on data from 1029 practices. 

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29 January 2008
Web based Clinical Outcome indicators

This is the biannual update of trends for six established hospital acute care patient outcome indicators. These cover: acute myocardial infarction (commonly known as heart attack); hip fracture; selected planned operations; stroke; surgical readmissions and medical readmissions. Figures are available at NHS Board and hospital level for years ending 31st December 1998-2006 for:

• Acute myocardial infarction: survival for 30 days after emergency admission;
• Hip fracture: survival for 30 and 120 days after admission;
• Selected planned operations: mortality within 30 days of surgery;
• Stroke: survival for 30 days after emergency admission;
• Surgical readmissions within 7 & 28 days of discharge
• Medical readmissions within 7 & 28 days of discharge

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29 January 2008
Dental Statistics

This release covers bi-annual figures published on the number of dentists working in the General Dental Service (GDS) and annual figures on the number of Hospital and Community Dentists.  Dental registration figures for children and adults are updated for September 2007 and annual figures on the Hospital Dental Service (HDS) are updated for year ending 31 March 2007.

• The total number (headcount) of dentists working in NHS GDS, HDS & CDS has increased by 2.7% from 2,842 as at 30 September 2006 to 2,920 as at 30 September 2007.
• The number (percentage of population) of children and adults registered with NHS General Dental Services in Scotland at 30 September 2007 was 734,174 (69.9%) and 1,975,181 (48.6%) respectively.  Children are defined as those aged under 18.  Adults are defined as those aged 18 and over.

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29 January 2008
Child & Adolescent Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Scotland: Characteristics of the Workforce Supply in 2006

This is the second publication of Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Workforce Statistics by ISD in partnership with the Mental Health Division, Scottish Government Health Department.  These data reflect in depth information collected for this Service which supplement the routine published 2006 NHS Workforce Statistics.  The analysis provides a detailed description of the nature and extent of CAMHS provision in Scotland by NHS Region and Board.

This latest data indicates that:

• 741 serving staff members (654.73wte) were working in CAMHS in Scotland as at 30th September 2006.
• Nationally, this represents a staffing level of 12.8 clinical workers per 100,000 of the population of Scotland, although rates vary considerably between NHS Boards.

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December 2007

18 December 2007
Cancer Survival Statistics

Cancer survival statistics are important to patients as they give an indication of the likelihood of surviving a specified length of time after the diagnosis of a given cancer. However, the survival prospects of any given individual may vary considerably from the 'average' survival, depending on, for example, the particular features of their cancer.

• Survival from cancer has, in general, increased between the periods of 1980-1984 and 2000-2004.
• 5 year relative survival has, in absolute percentages, increased by 17 percentage points for males, and 13 percentage points for females, when looking at all cancers combined over that time period.
• Largest absolute increases in survival are found in breast, colorectal and prostate cancers, malignant melanoma of the skin, lymphomas and leukaemias.
  Details of the analysis and results can be found in the summary document "Trends in Cancer Survival in Scotland 1980-2004", on this website.

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18 December 2007
Medicines used in Mental Health

Update to annual prescribing statistics showing the number and cost of prescriptions for medicines used in the treatment of mental illness in Scotland. Data refers only to those medicines dispensed in the community. Hospital dispensed medicines are not included.

• The prescribing of hypnotics, anxiolytics and barbiturates rose between 2005/06 and 2006/07 by 1.24%, from 2.10 million items to 2.13 million times.
• The rate of increase in the prescribing of medicines indicated for depression increased, from 1.4% in 2005/06 to 3.57% in 2006/07. In total 3.65 million 'antidepressant' items were prescribed in 2006/07.
• The volume of medicines indicated for psychoses and related disorders rose between 2005/06 and 2006/07 from 626,185 to 670,842 items; an increase of 7.13%.
• Prescriptions for medicines used in the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) increased by 20.1% to 59,461 prescribed items between 2005/06 and 2006/07.
• The number of prescriptions dispensed for medicines indicated for dementia continues to rise, up 14%, to 83,643 items in 2006/07.

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18 December 2007
Alcohol related hospital statistics

This publication presents information on alcohol-related discharges from general acute hospitals and psychiatric hospitals.

• Over the last five years, the discharge rate has increased by 7 % to 762 discharges per 100,000 population in 2006/07.
• In 2005/06, there were 64 psychiatric inpatient discharges per 100,000 population with a main diagnosis of an alcohol-related condition.

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18 December 2007
Drug Misuse Statistics Scotland 2007

This publication is the latest annual compilation of available information on drug misuse. Much of the information presented has been published previously. This annual publication presents the latest available information from a range of national data sources relevant to drug misuse. This year there are four main sections:

• Prevalence of drug misuse
• Services and treatment for drug misusers.
• Health impact of drug misuse.
• Drugs and criminal justice.

Key points include:

• For clients reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database the male attendance rate was more than twice the female attendance rate (354 per 100,000 population for males, 156 per 100,000 population for females).
• Of those reporting illicit drug use to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database, 68% reported using heroin (6,756 individuals).

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18 December 2007
Drug Treatment Waiting Times Information Framework Report - July to September 2007

Data is presented for July - September 2007 on the number of clients waiting for drug treatment and the time waited for (1) clients to be offered an assessment date and (2) clients to be offered an appointment date for any drug treatment intervention.

The publication shows that in July - September 2007

• 67% (4,580 clients) of those offered an appointment for assessment were offered a date within 14 days of referral (Table 1).
• 90% (3,209 clients) of those offered an appointment for treatment were offered a date within 14 days of date care plan agreed. (Table 2)

Tables and charts are presented by Alcohol and Drug Action Team area.

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18 December 2007
Childhood Obesity Statistics

Update of annual statistics on high and low body mass index (BMI) for Primary 1 school children in nine participating NHS Boards in Scotland. The release includes data to school year 2006/07.

• Using the 1990 UK growth reference standard, in 2006/07, 21.0% of children in Primary 1 were overweight, including 8.5% who were obese and 4.3% who were severely obese.
• Although levels of high BMI decreased slightly from 2005/06 (22.0% overweight, including 9.1% obese and 4.4% severely obese) to 2006/07, overall, levels have gradually increased from those for 2000/01 (19.7% overweight, including 8.0% obese and 3.9% severely obese).

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18 December 2007
Child Health Statistics: SNS (Support Needs System) Annual Summary Statistics 2007

The Support Needs System (SNS) is an electronic system holding data relating to children and young people (up to 19 years of age) with additional support needs. Its purpose is to monitor their progress and ensure they have access to the services or support they require. These SNS summary statistics provide information for NHS Board of assessment and Scotland, as at August 2007.

Overall, in the ten participating Boards with data available, 14,806 children and young people had assessment data recorded on SNS. Of these children, 80.2% had at least one disability (mild, moderate or severe) recorded and 35.7% required at least one type of service.

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18 December 2007
Unintentional Injuries

Unintentional injury is one of the main causes of death and is one of the common causes of emergency hospital admissions in children. Unintentional injuries are also a common cause for emergency hospital admissions among adults.

• In 2006/07, unintentional injuries accounted for approximately 1 in 5 emergency hospital admissions for children and 1 in 7 for adults.
• The number of emergency admissions to hospital as a result of unintentional injury has decreased by 11% over the period 1999/00 to 2006/07.

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18 December 2007
Quarterly update of dispensing contractors' remuneration

These tables are aimed at those with an understanding of payments made to dispensing contractors. They are intended to be used as reference listings detailing payments made to Scottish dispensing contractors of pharmaceuticals, up to September 2007.

The main points are the number of prescription items dispensed and the cost for these items together with the fees paid to the dispensers. The payments include the total gross ingredient cost (GIC); the net ingredient cost (NIC); the cost of individual fees and allowances; the gross total and patient charges.

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18 December 2007
Delayed Discharges in NHSScotland - Supplementary Information by Community Health Partnership from October 2007 census

Previously published on 27th November 2007 - figures from the latest quarterly census of delayed discharges are now available by Community Health Partnership.

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November 2007

27 November 2007
Waiting Times for Hospital Care

This is the latest information (updated to September 2007) about patients on waiting lists and waiting times of those who have been seen or treated. In addition the annual update of detailed information on activity is also included in this release.

Some of the key findings include:

• Almost all outpatients waiting at the 30 September 2007 had been waiting less than 26 weeks. The number of patients waiting over 18 weeks increased by 9% since the last quarter.
• The waiting times for patients admitted during the year ending 31 September 2007 were shorter on average. No patients were waiting over 26 weeks at 30 September 2007 and only 1 patient had been waiting over 18 weeks.
• 97% of patients attending A&E departments during September 2007 were seen within 4 hours.
• The number of patients waiting more than 9 weeks for diagnostic tests and investigations continued to fall markedly.

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27 November 2007
Patients Ready for Discharge from NHS Hospitals - October 2007 Census

The latest quarterly census of patients who are ready for discharge from hospital show that 425 had been waiting for over six weeks. This was an annual decrease of 37% although almost the same number as reported for the July 2007 census.

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27 November 2007
Scottish Health Service Costs Book for the Year Ended 31 March 2007

The Costs Book 2007 provides a detailed analysis of where resources are spent in the NHSS. The net operating cost of the 14 territorial NHS Boards as well as 8 special NHS Boards, and also the Mental Welfare Commission and the Mental Health Tribunal amounted to £8.9 billion as recorded in their annual accounts. The Costs Book detailed reports are structured to analyse nearly 90% (£7.8 billion) of this total presenting information on those Boards that provide hospital and community care directly to patients.

Some examples of the data available:

• Hospital running costs have increased by 4.5% in the last financial year to £4.7 billion
• £93M is spent on cleaning Scotland's hospitals
• £1.1 billion was spent on pharmaceutical services provided at nearly 1,200 pharmacies, including just over £890 million worth of prescription drugs

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27 November 2007
Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality (SASM) - Annual Report 2006 

SASM carries out a review of all deaths of patients in hospital while under the care of a surgeon. It is a voluntary and confidential audit by surgeons and anaesthetists and has a high compliance rate.

In 2006 nearly surgical 3640 deaths were identified by the audit of which just over 3250 were reviewed. The vast majority, nearly 3,000 were emergency or urgent admissions for surgical care.

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27 November 2007
Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Uptake in Scotland: 2003/04-06/07

This is the first time that information on Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) has been published. These contraception methods include: intrauterine devices (IUDs); intrauterine systems (IUSs) such as Mirena; and implants such as Implanon. Although the data collection methods are still under development, these statistics provide a valuable insight into this service.

Data show that in Scotland:

• There is good progress in increasing the uptake of LARC but rates are still relatively low.
• Methods such as the contraceptive implant (Implanon) and IUS (Mirena) can be available less often in primary care, where many women access their contraception.
• Of the very long acting methods Mirena is the most popular, and uptake is growing, as is Implanon although less rapidly.
• Depo-Provera, provided by injection, continues to be the most used LARC but is decreasing in uptake.

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27 November 2007
Sexually Transmitted Infections and Other Sexual Health Information: 2007

This is the third annual report produced by the Sexually Transmitted Infection Epidemiology Advisory Group (STIEAG). In a significant development this report introduces data relating to other aspects of sexual health for the first time as a start in the process of drawing together information on this topic.

Key points from the report include:

• There was a 13% increase in workload in Genito Urinary Medicine clinics between 2005 and 2006. This compares with a 10% increase between 2004 and 2005.
• The number of chlamydia diagnoses in Scotland increased by 4% between 2005 and 2006 to 17926. This represents a smaller increase than in recent years.
• In 2006, 345 new cases of HIV were newly reported in Scotland.

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27 November 2007
Notifiable Infectious Disease Statistics: 2006

This update of statistics on confirmed infectious disease notifications for Scotland is for the year ended 31 December 2006. It includes trends and rates for common childhood diseases as well as other diseases such as tuberculosis. Food poisoning notifications are also included.

• Compared with 2005 mumps notifications have fallen by 48% to just over 2900 following the 2005/06 outbreak.
• Childhood chicken pox notifications increased to nearly 14,900 between 2005 and 2006, although still considerably less than reported in 2004.
• Just over 410 tuberculosis notifications were received.

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OCTOBER 2007

30 October 2007
Coronary Heart Disease statistics update

Update of annual Coronary Heart Disease statistics including information at NHS Board, Local Council and Community Health Partnership level.  Mortality, prescribing, incidence, survival, emergency admissions and primary care consultations data to 2006 and hospital activity, operations and waiting times data to 31 March 2007 are included in this release.

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30 October 2007
Stroke statistics update

Update of annual stroke statistics including information at NHS Board, Local Council and Community Health Partnership level. Mortality, prescribing, incidence, survival and primary care consultations data to 2006 and hospital activity and operations data to 31 March 2007 are included in this release.

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30 October 2007
Dental Statistics

Data will be published on NHS General Dental Service registrations for quarter ending June 2007. Information on the Community Dental Service will also be published on number of patients and courses of treatment up to the financial year ending 31 March 2007.

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30 October 2007
Teenage Pregnancies, year ending December 2005

Update of annual statistical information on teenage pregnancies for Scotland.  Includes data to 31 December 2005.

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30 October 2007
Scottish Perinatal and Infant Mortality and Morbidity Report 2006

Annual report summarising rates of stillbirths and infant deaths in Scotland in 2006, along with trends over time.  The report also includes data on the prevalence of selected congenital anomalies and a clinically focused chapter titled "Recent trends in the incidence of ectopic pregnancy".

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30 October 2007
Scottish Intensive Care Society Audit Group: Audit of Critical Care in Scotland 2005/2006

The SICSAG 2005/2006 audit report publishes information including demographics, interventions and case mix adjusted outcomes from general adult Intensive Care Units in Scotland.  A subset of these data is also included in relation to High Dependency Units.

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SEPTEMBER 2007

25 September 2007
Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF) of the new General Medical Services Contract.  

The Quality & Outcomes Framework (QOF) is part of the new General Medical Services contract.  It is designed to remunerate general practices for providing good quality care to their patients, and to help fund work to further improve the quality of health care delivered. Introduced in 2004, the QOF was revised significantly for 2006/07, its third year. In particular it now includes indicators for a wider range of health conditions than was the case previously.

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25 September 2007
Cancer Mortality (2006)

This is the annual update of cancer mortality statistics for 1980-2006, with the addition of 2006. Detailed information for approximately 40 cancers is given.

• Approximately 15,000 people died from cancer in 2006.
• Taking all cancers combined, age-standardised cancer mortality rates have decreased by about 8% over the last 10 years, with a greater decrease in males than in females.
• The cancers that account for the greatest number of deaths are lung, colorectal, breast and prostate. All of these are decreasing, except lung cancer in females, which continues to increase.

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25 September 2007
NHS Complaints

This is the annual update of the number of NHS Complaints received by Hospital & Community Services and Family Health Services  in Scotland.  Statistics are shown for Health Boards; Special Health Boards; National & Support Organisations and the Scottish Health Council.  The latest data released are for 2006/07, and cover areas such as time taken to deal with complaints, issues raised and outcomes.

• The number of complaints for Hospital and Community Health Services continues to fall with nearly 7350 reported in 2006/07.
• However, only 59% were dealt with within the national target of 20 working days.

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25 September 2007
Obesity in Scotland

This is the first in a series of reports by the Scottish Public Health Observatory on key public health issues in Scotland. This report provides an overview of the epidemiology of obesity in Scotland, describing geographical and social variations, health inequalities and related morbidity and mortality for this condition. The report concludes by identifying some important information needs and gaps for public health intelligence on obesity in Scotland.

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25 September 2007
Prescribing Statistics

Three data series are released:
Annual prescribing statistics
Tables are published showing prescribing trends, top ten drugs, generic drugs, nurse prescribing, cost of drugs, dispensing fees and community pharmacy information in Scotland.

• There was a 2.9% increase in the number of prescriptions dispensed.
• However there was a 0.6% decrease in the gross cost of ingredients for these prescriptions

The Minor Ailment Service
The Minor Ailment Service (MAS) is a new pharmaceutical service available to eligible patients across Scotland for the treatment of minor ailments. This service based upon community pharmacies provides NHS treatment (or advice/counselling) for eligible Scottish patients. The MAS has been available throughout Scotland from July 2006 and this is the first statistical publication describing this activity.

• Over 817 thousand patients were registered for this service in June 2007

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Quarterly update of dispensing contractors' remuneration
This is a routine update of reference information up to June 2007.

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25 September 2007
Drug Treatment Waiting Times Information Framework Report April to June 2007-09-20

Data are presented on the number of clients seen and the length of time they waited to be seen for drug treatment interventions. Tables and charts are presented by Alcohol and Drug Action Team area.

• In the April - June quarter 70% of clients who were offered an appointment for assessment were offered a date within 14 days of referral.
• In the same quarter 88% of those offered an appointment for treatment were offered a date within 14 days of referral.

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25 September 2007
Towards Better Data from Scottish Hospitals: An Assessment of SMR01 and Associated Data 2004-2006, Scotland Report September 2007

This publication summarises the findings of a national data quality assurance assessment of Patient and Day Case episode data collected by ISD. There is an emphasis on the quality of clinical coding with some findings broken down by hospital of NHS Board.

• In summary this survey finds that the quality of recording of main diagnosis and main operation collected in national data sets for statistical reporting purposes remains high. However it could improve further if documentation available to clinical coders were improved.

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25 September 2007
Childhood Immunisation uptake rates, quarter and year ending 30 June 2007

Quarterly and annual primary immunisation uptake rates for children aged 12 and 24 months and uptake rates for primary vaccinations and the pre-school boosters at 5 and 6 years. Includes data to 30 June 2007.

• In Scotland as a whole the 95% target for immunisation of 2 year olds is being met and exceeded for all primary immunisations apart from MMR.
• For the April-June quarter of 2007 the uptake of first dose MMR (MMR1) for 2 and 5 year olds remains high and stable at 92.3% and 94.4% respectively.

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25 September 2007
NHSScotland Workforce Statistics

Figures are released today on NHSScotland workforce statistics to 30th June 2007 for quarterly consultant staff in post figures.

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25 September 2007
Older People Services Measuring Relative Need, Statistical Report 2007

Older people in long stay hospital wards generally had markedly higher care and dependency needs than residents in care homes.

• Around 53% of the hospital patients surveyed were classed as high dependency in the latest year.
• 15% of residents in the care homes surveyed in eight NHS board areas in Scotland were classed as having high dependency.

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25 September 2007
Patients Ready for Discharge in NHSScotland - Supplementary Information by Community Health Partnership from July 2007 census

Previously published on 28 August 2007 - figures from the latest quarterly census of patients who are ready for discharge are available by Community Health Partnership.

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AUGUST 2007

Acute Activity, Waiting Times and Waiting Lists to 30 June 2007 (quarterly and annual data)

Latest figures for waiting times of patients on waiting lists or patients who have been seen/treated are made available.  In this release information is published for the first time on whole journey measures from referral to treatment for cardiac surgery and for cataracts.

Some of the key findings include:

• The latest outpatient waiting time figures show a reduction in the number of patients who had been waiting more than 18 weeks at the most recent census date, and maintenance of performance in the indicators for those seen during the year ended 30 June 2007.
• The latest waiting times figures for inpatient and day case admissions show improvements with fewer patients waiting at the most recent census date, and improvements in the waiting times of those patients admitted during the year ended 30 June 2007.
• The latest figures show that waiting times in A&E departments have improved, with 96% seen within 4 hours during June.
• The number of patients waiting more than 9 weeks for diagnostic tests and investigations continued to fall.

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Patients Ready for Discharge in NHSScotland figures from July 2007 census  

Figures from the latest quarterly census of patients who are ready for discharge from hospital show that 423 had been awaiting discharge for over six weeks at the July 2007 census. This is 204 less than the equivalent number (627) awaiting discharge at the same point last year and 190 higher than the number (233) at the April 2007 census.

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Scottish Hip Fracture Audit Report 2007

Scottish Hip Fracture Audit (SHFA) reports core acute and outcome statistics for hip fracture patients in 14 hospitals that contributed to the audit in 2006. These include time in the emergency department, time to theatre, length of acute orthopaedic and hospital stay, residence and survival at six weeks post-admission, and rates of return to home, mobility, independence and pain. 

Key findings include:

• 82% of hip fracture patients were transferred through the emergency department within four hours
• 86% of medically fit patients who were operated on went to theatre within 24 safe * operating hours of ward admission. (*safe operating hours are between 8 am and 8 pm, seven days a week)
• The median total length of hospital stay was 24 days

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JULY 2007

Influenza Update 2006/07

This release gives an update on flu related activity in primary care, adding data for the most recent flu season (winter 2006/07) and updating data for previous years.

• During the winter of 2006/07 no major rise in GP consultations for flu-related illness was recorded.
• The total number of flu vaccinations dispensed continued to rise to a total of over 1.1 million over the financial year 2006/07.
• The vaccination uptake in patients aged 65 and over was just over 75%, which is nearly as high as in the record-year 2005/06 and well over the target of 70%.
• Due to problems in vaccine supply, the period over which vaccinations took place was extended to cover nearly all of the last three months of 2006.
• In most general practices the majority of flu vaccinations are administered by practice nurses.

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Scottish Breast Screening Programme Statistics 2005/2006

Annual update of breast screening statistics to 31st March 2006, including uptake, cancer detection rates, biopsy results and other outcomes.

• 10 of the 11 NHS Breast Screening Programme performance standards are being achieved, including uptake, cancer detection and early recall rates.
• The uptake of breast screening continues to rise, with 77.4% attendance among women aged 50-64 invited for a routine screening appointment.
• 1,348 cases of cancer were diagnosed in women of all ages, of which 849 were diagnosed in women aged 50-64.

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Scottish Cervical Screening Programme Statistics 2005/2006

Annual and quarterly update of cervical screening statistics to 31st March 2007, including new annual summary tables of uptake by age group and smear results, and updated summary tables of uptake by healthboard and numbers of smears processed.

• Of eligible women, 76.5 % had been screened for cervical cancer in the previous 3.5 years and 82.6% in the previous 5.5 years.
• Over 401,700 cervical smears were processed within the programme, of which over 392,200 were satisfactory. Approximately 3.5% showed some degree of pre-cancerous change.

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Dental Statistics

Data is published on NHS General Dental Service registrations, treatments and fees for year ending 31 March 2007. Workforce figures for the General Dental Service are published as at 31 March 2007. Information on the Hospital Dental Service is published on new outpatients, inpatients and day cases for financial year ending 31 March 2006.

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Mental Health (Psychiatric) Hospital Activity Statistics

Update of mental health (psychiatric) hospital activity statistics to the year ending 31st March 2005. Includes trends and population rates, geographic distributions and details of mental health diagnoses.

• 27,136 inpatient admissions to mental health hospitals occurred in 2004/2005 continuing the trend of gradual decrease in recent years.
• 58% of admissions were for patients who had a previous spell of psychiatric inpatient care.
• Approximately 15% of admissions were made formally under jurisdiction of the mental health act in Scotland.
• Schizophrenia and alcohol/drug related problems account for 45% of discharge diagnoses in men, while dementia and mood (affective) disorders are most commonly diagnosed in women (50%).

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Web based Clinical Outcome indicators

Six monthly update of trends for six established acute care indicators. Figures are available at NHS Board and hospital level for years ending 30th June 1998-2006.

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Mystery Shopper Study 2007: A Study of Service Access for Acute STIs in Scotland

A report responding to the Key Clinical Indicator (KCI) for sexual health looking at service access for individuals with symptoms suggestive of an acute sexually transmitted infection. Service access was determined using a 'mystery shopper' approach.
This is the first time that data on this KCI have been published and the report includes:
Baseline data by NHS Board of treatment on service access to sexual and reproductive health services in Scotland
By GUM and Family Planning Clinics
The results show that a high percentage of clinics in Scotland were able to see these patients within the recommended time of 48 hours.

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Measuring quality in primary medical services using data from SPICE 

This is a one-off report giving the results of a one year project, funded by NHS QIS (Quality Improvement Scotland), using data from SPICE (Scottish Programme for Improving Clinical Effectiveness in Primary Care) to investigate changes in recording of measurements in GP practices before and after the nGMS contract, the possible benefits of looking at improvements rather than values at fixed points in time, and the treatment of deprived individuals in affluent and deprived practices.A summary leaflet is also available.

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27 July 2007
Suicide Statistics 2006 

The latest statistics on suicide are released today as part of the Annual Report of the Registrar General for Scotland (GROS) for 2006. The Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) provide a more detailed summary of suicide in Scotland based on raw mortality data from GROS. These are published on the ScotPHO website to coincide with the release of the GROS figures.

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17 July 2007
Genito-Urinary Medicine Supplementary Tables, year ending December 2006

The annual update of statistical information on sexually transmitted infections (STI) presents data from Genito-urinary Medicine clinics in Scotland. The publication of these data tables is timed to coincide with a similar publication by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in London, on sexually transmitted infections diagnosed at Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinics covering the whole of the UK available at: http://www.hpa.org.uk .

The data published today will be used by ISD and Health Protection Scotland (HPS) to produce the Annual Report on Sexual Health in Scotland in November 2007. This will include interpretation and comment on these data. A UK wide publication, to which all countries within the UK contribute, will also be published in November by HPA.