This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scotland's Orthopaedic Challenge
28/05/2004
A £7 million project to improve services and cut long waits for orthopaedic outpatients was announced today.
It is the latest in a series of initiatives from the Centre for Change and Innovation working with local clinicians to achieve a fundamental overhaul of practice rather than a short-term blitz on lists.
Announcing Scotland's Orthopaedic Challenge at Stirling Royal Infirmary, Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm said:
"As I made clear yesterday, there is a lot more we need to do to cut the longest waits for outpatients.
"Orthopaedics account for around 30% of all outpatients waiting and the latest figures show that more than 15,000 Scots waiting more than six months for an orthopaedic outpatient appointment.
"That simply isn't good enough. We also need to do more because demand is increasing as people live longer.
"There is a lot of frustration about old systems which don't serve patients well. But there is also a strong desire to make improvements and a lot of innovative thinking by front line clinicians which we need to harness.
"There have been some good examples in recent years with the development of musculo-skeletal services and nurse or therapist led clinics. This could take the form of a back pain clinic or knee clinic run from a GP surgery, community hospital or traditional outpatient department. This allows consultant orthopaedic surgeons to spend less time as gatekeepers and more time using their specialist surgical skills.
"But we need to see a lot more of this so that best practice in one area becomes best practice throughout Scotland. This is a big challenge but it is one which I am confident the health service can rise to and meet."
The funding - £2 million in revenue and £5 million for equipment and buildings over two years - is intended to fund demonstration sites around the country.
Applications are invited for projects exploring innovative approaches in areas such as links between hospital and primary care, re-organising the ways clinics are run with more effective booking systems and developing clinics run by physiotherapists and other allied health professionals, specialist GPs and nurses.
The Scottish Committee for Orthopaedics and Trauma has been actively involved in the development of this project. An essential feature of each successful bidder will be the active involvement of patients in the redesign process.
Applications to the programme need to be submitted by June 16. Health Boards can submit more than one. They will be required to fund redesigned services in future years.
The CCI 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 programmes for redesign of ENT and Dermatology.