Health sector national reports 2002/03

30 January 2003 for the Auditor General

Only half of the hospitals in Scotland have high levels of cleanliness in their wards. Twenty per cent inspected by Audit Scotland showed a clear need for improvement, with the remainder in need of some minor improvement. A total of 21 hospitals are named as giving cause for concern in terms of poor levels of cleanliness in wards and/or public areas. Audit Scotland found that a variety of factors made it difficult for some hospitals to achieve high levels of cleanliness.

16 January 2003 for the Auditor General

The number of NHS trusts facing deficits dropped in the last financial year, according to the annual overview report on the NHS by the Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black. However at least some of this improvement can be attributed to a one-off £90 million extra payment provided by the Scottish Executive, and underlying financial pressures remain. Auditors have also expressed concern about the ability of three trusts in particular to deliver their financial plans in 2002/03 and beyond. These are Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals Trust, Grampian University Hospitals Trust and Lothian University Hospitals Trust.

12 December 2002 for the Auditor General

Over £1 billion is spent on nurses in Scotland each year. This report, for the Auditor General, highlights the need for improved planning of the nursing workforce, better information to support this task and the introduction of measures of the quality of patient care to ensure we get value for money. There are over 50,000 nurses in Scotland and the report says that workforce planning needs to be improved. Too few staff are dedicated to the important task of ensuring that the right number of nurses are in the right place at the right time. It says that lack of planning has resulted in wide variation in the number of nurses caring for patients in similar wards.

25 September 2002 for the Auditor General

Aspects of the management of NHS waiting lists need to be improved, according to this report by the Auditor General. While it found no evidence of systematic or deliberate irregularities in the management of waiting lists, the report identifies differing practices across NHS trusts and gaps in the provision of some information.