Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 80, 20th August 2001
SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Parliament is in recess.
SECTION 2 - NEWS
Scottish Health Minister Susan Deacon and GP leader Dr Kenneth Harden have announced a new funding deal to protect at-risk groups from flu this winter as part of the national flu immunisation campaign.
The £5 million programme has been designed by the Scottish Executive and the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee to give family doctors the vital resources needed for the call and recall systems, practice nurses and special clinics which are necessary for a good uptake of the immunisation programme.
The programme improves on arrangements in place last year to take account of inflation and includes a "sliding scale" of funding to deliver the extra resources needed to immunise as many patients as possible. This sliding scale funding system covers all Scots aged 65 and over. It starts at £6.15 and rises to £7.59 per vaccination for uptake over 50% to those aged 65 and over.
Welcoming the agreement, the Minister said:
"I am very pleased that agreement has been reached to allow us to drive forward this year’s national flu immunisation campaign. Last winter, the Executive, Health Boards, NHS Trusts and local surgeries worked in partnership to help 500,000 older people and another 250,000 people who are chronically ill to stay well. In most areas of the country, the NHS exceeded its targets to immunise 60% of those eligible. The deal concluded today will build on, and I hope improve on, this excellent performance.
"Under the agreement, some £5m will be made available to help family doctors, nurses and other practice staff to immunise their patients who need to be protected against flu. The agreement is part of our wider campaign to ensure that NHSScotland is as well prepared for winter as it can be. Further details of those preparations will be announced later this year."
Transport Minister Sarah Boyack has confirmed the award of a contract to MVA Consultancy to maintain, enhance and extend the existing central Scotland transport model over the next four years. The Minister also announced that the model is to be renamed the Transport Model for Scotland to reflect the fact that it has now been extended to include the Aberdeen area.
Ms Boyack said:
"We need a robust and effective transport model that can be used to assess the likely impact of various potential transport projects and help us ensure that only those which can deliver results will get the green light."
The Central Scotland Transport Model (CSTM) was developed over a number of years. In 1997, the then Scottish Office commissioned continuing development and enhancement of the model into a multi-modal version, CSTM3. A derivative of this model is currently being used in the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies.
The existing model mainly covers the Central Belt, including Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
Parliament is in recess.
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