PROCUREMENT
of the fastest growing chronic liver disease and cirrhosis death rates in the world and women in Scotland are as likely to die of liver cirrhosis as men in England.
What is clear is that bold new action is required to help drive a long-term change in cultural attitudes towards alcohol. That is why the Scottish Government has introduced an Alcohol Bill, including proposals on minimum pricing.
There is clear evidence that being obese or overweight is linked to an increased risk of developing a range of serious diseases including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and cancer.
Currently almost 27% of adults and 15% of children are obese. Trends suggest that even with current health improvement efforts, the predicted adult obesity level could reach over 40% by 2030.
Obesity currently costs Scotland over £457 million a year. If we do not address this epidemic now it is estimated that this figure could reach over £3 billion a year.
Obesity is a huge threat to Scotland’s future and we are committed to tackling this. That is why the Scottish Government and COSLA have published A Route Map towards Healthy Weight which is a long term strategy aimed at preventing overweight and obesity in Scotland.
Examples of measures to tackle obesity include: expanding the range of healthier choices in shops; removing confectionary displays from till points; providing safer routes to schools for children who wish to walk or cycle; and working with businesses to encourage their employees to eat healthily and
Jul/Aug 10
become more active.
Reducing inequalities in health is critical to achieving the Scottish Government’s aim of making Scotland a better, healthier place for everyone, no matter where they live.
We have set out our approach to tackling health inequalities in Equally Well, the Report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities.
The key feature of Equally Well was the recognition that the only way to tackle health inequalities effectively was to address the underlying causes of poor health – issues such as negative early years experiences, poverty, unemployment and poor physical and social environments.
The Task Force’s
recommendations have, therefore, prompted a wide spectrum of activity across a range of topics and sectors, including the NHS, local authorities, Police and the third sector.
The Task Force has recently reconvened to review progress since the publication of Equally Well and will publish a report of its review in summer 2010.
Which parts of the Scottish NHS do you believe are working well and where is there is room for improvement?
Our aim is for NHS Scotland to be recognised as a world leader in the quality of healthcare it provides. While we have always had genuinely excellent care in the NHS, our Healthcare Strategy is about ensuring quality care is provided consistently for every patient, every time they access services.
The implementation of the strategy will focus our activity
Patients can be reassured that we are continuing to see significant falls in the numbers of C.diff and MRSA cases, which should help build confidence in the standards being applied across Scottish hospitals.
The drive to cut waiting times has only one goal: to ensure patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
Strenuous efforts have been made to reduce waiting times and patients throughout Scotland are now reaping the rewards. We are now effectively delivering a 12 week maximum wait for referrals from a GP or dentist and for inpatient/day case treatment.
This performance demonstrates that boards are making good progress towards our 18-weeks “whole-journey” GP referral-to- treatment target, which is due for delivery by the end of 2011.
The Scottish Patient Safety Programme is designed to improve the safety of care and is being implemented in every NHS
on delivering care that is person-centred, clinically effective and safe. It will build on some of our current work which is demonstrating real improvements, some examples of these are:
Tackling hospital infections remains my top priority and the Scottish Government is determined to achieve improved performance right across the NHS in Scotland.
The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate has a key role to play in driving up standards and I am confident that their inspection process will ensure that our hospitals continue to deliver the high standards of cleanliness and infection control that patients and the public deserve.
Tackling hospital
infections remains my top priority
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