This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Funding to improve ENT services
07/05/2004
Funding worth £3.5 million to support fresh thinking to cut waiting and improve ear nose and throat (ENT) services was announced today.
ENT outpatient clinics have some of the longest waits. The new initiative from the Centre for Change and Innovation and key clinical groups, aims to change this.
Bids are now invited from local redesign projects. These can be for a range of new ways of delivering ENT outpatient services, such as clinics led by audiologists, specialist GPs or nurses and for specific conditions such as balance which is related to inner ear problems.
Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"Organisation of outpatient clinics has long been a neglected area, including ENT, and that has got to change.
"It is a great source of frustration for all concerned when a patient waits several months to see a consultant, only to find out that they are passed on to other healthcare professionals for tests or for treatment by an audiologist or speech therapist.
"Redesign means going back to the drawing board. It means encouraging clinicians to start afresh on a new blueprint for the services they provide. It means having patients' needs as the clear focus and ditching old systems and practices which don't serve patients well.
"I am greatly encouraged by the support for this initiative from the various professional bodies.
"There is a clear consensus that team working which makes full use of the skills of each member of the team is essential to make improvements.
"There is also a clear enthusiasm among staff to make improvements and we will support them. This is not a short term initiative - what it will do is help them build new services sustainable in the long term."
The Minister launched the project at a conference for ENT professionals at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Also speaking were representatives from the professional groups involved: the Scottish Otolaryngological Society, the Scottish branch of the British Society of Audiology and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Under the Partnership Agreement, no patient will wait longer than 26 weeks for an outpatient appointment by the end of 2005.
The funding comprises £1 million plus a further £2.5 million in capital over a two year period. Bids must demonstrate involvement of patients in planning for their projects. NHS Boards are also required to support successful projects in future years.
It does not cover projects relating to hearing aid services which were the subject of a separate announcement last October relating to £9 million new funding as part of nearly £20 million over five years.
The Centre for Change and Innovation ( www.cci.scot.nhs.uk) was established in October 2002 to work with clinicians and Health Boards in promoting new ways of delivering care and organising services. It has a range of activity on improving outpatient services including a programme for redesign of Dermatology launched in February this year.