§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how much it cost Ayrshire and Arran health board to re-run the tendering process for the area urology contract between the North Ayrshire and Arran and South Ayrshire NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what steps the Ayrshire and Arran health board has now taken to ensure that bids for contracts within its area will be considered on a comparable basis; and if he will make a statement;
(3) if he will make a statement listing the individual members of Ayrshire and Arran health board's evaluation committee;
(4) pursuant to his answer of 4 February, Official Report, column 962, how many copies were produced by Ayrshire and Arran health board of its 1992–93 annual report and its financial review 1992–93; what criteria were applied by the health board in distributing these; and what arrangements the health board has made to enable the population within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area to be made aware of the contents of the report and the financial review;
(5) what was the involvement of Alan Clark Associates in the preparation and publishing of Ayrshire and Arran health board's annual report and financial review 1992–93; and if he will make a statement;
(6) what procedure is used by Ayrshire and Arran health board to consider tenders for health services; which bodies and committees within the health board are involved in this process; and if he will make a statement;
(7) what assessment Ayrshire and Arran health board has made of the facilities within the health board that are available for supplying urology services; what assessment has been made of the effect of the planned new day surgery unit at the Ayr hospital on this provision; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 28 February 1994]: The information requested is not held centrally. These are matters for Ayrshire and Arran health board.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what involvement Ayrshire and Arran health board had in the decision of the South Ayrshire trust to build new day surgery facilities at the Ayr hospital; how this decision related to the award of the area urology contract to the South Ayrshire trust; and if he will make a statement;
(2) whether Ayrshire and Arran health board orginally envisaged the day surgery unit opened at Crosshouse hospital on 4 October 1993 supplying urology services as part of its remit; when the proposals were drawn up; and if he will make a statement;
(3) when the South Ayrshire Trust decided to invest in new day surgery facilities at the Ayr hospital; whether these plans were considered for inclusion in the original specification of the Ayr hospital before it was put out to tender; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 28 February 1994]: The board agreed with the decision to have day surgery units, but the precise services to be provided were not decided when the decision of principle was taken. Day surgery plans were not included in the original specifications of the Ayr hospital.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to his answer of 6 December,Official Report, column 84, (1) who made representations to the NHS management executive concerning the award by Ayrshire and Arran health board of the area urology contract to the North Ayrshire and Arran NHS trust which necessitated a re-running of the tendering exercise;
(2) what information was provided, and by whom, which led the NHS management executive to conclude that the bids from the North Ayrshire and Arran and South Ayrshire trusts had not been prepared on a comparable basis; and what adjustments were made to the bids to ensure that this was the case.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 28 February 1994]: Following representations from the chairman of the South Ayrshire Hospitals NHS trust, the then chief executive of the NHS management executive asked Ayshire and Arran health board to explain the background to its decision to award the area urology contract to the North Ayrshire NHS trust. From the information subsequently provided, it appeared that the tender from the North Ayrshire trust was based on marginal costs whereas that of the South Ayrshire trust was based on full economic costs. The health board accepted the NHS ME's view and decided that the two trusts should be invited to re-submit bids based upon a detailed specification.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what current facilities within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area are available to be used for urology services; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Stewart[holding answer 28 February 1994]: Urology services within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area are provided from 46 in-patient beds and operating theatre sessions at the Ayr and Ballochmyle hospitals together with out-patient clinics at Ballochmyle and Ayrshire central hospitals.