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Significant improvements have been made in the quality and safety of healthcare within NHSScotland in the past year, according to its Chief Executive's annual report.

Key achievements reported in the 2010-11 annual report, include:

• Delivery of a maximum wait of nine weeks for all inpatient and day case treatments
• Significant reductions in hospital acquired infections of 37 per cent for MRSA/MSSA and 71 per cent for C-difficile
• In March 2011, for the first time since recording began, there were no central line infections in intensive care units in acute hospitals across Scotland
• Delivering the highest ever rate of day surgery
• Increasing the number of people with a confirmed diagnosis of dementia by a third
• Completing more than 174,000 alcohol brief interventions to tackle harmful drinking and supporting 89,075 smokers to quit during the past three years.

Meanwhile, the Patient Safety Programme, implemented in every acute hospital in Scotland to reduce adverse events, has resulted in the following major achievements, reported in the 2010-11 annual report and helped Scotland secure an international conference by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare in 2013. Examples of these include:

• A 73 per cent reduction in central line bloodstream infections, against the baseline year of November 2007 to December 2008, with NHS Tayside reporting no central line infections between November 2010 and March 2011
• Borders General Hospital Intensive Care Unit achieved 776 days without a central line bloodstream infection

• A reduction of 43 per cent in adverse events in NHS Lothian's hospitals compared to the period between November 2008 and February 2010.

Chief Executive of NHSScotland, Derek Feeley, said:

"It is crucial that the public have confidence in the quality and effectiveness of their NHS care and treatment. The Healthcare Quality Strategy for Scotland, launched in May 2010, was designed to support those efforts by providing the basis for us to work with partners and the public towards a shared vision of a world-leading, safe and effective NHS.

"Since its launch it has helped us achieve significant improvements in the quality of care, at a time when waiting times for outpatient and inpatient appointments have reached their shortest ever. This includes major reductions in Healthcare Associated Infection and measurable improvements in patient safety across Scotland's hospitals.

"These improvements are being put in place at a time when the NHS has successfully delivering on its targets for improving efficiency - savings which are being re-invested in frontline services for the ongoing benefit of patients and staff. And at a time when the NHS is dealing with the financial implications of the ever-aging population and the on-going emergence of new drugs and technologies.

"I want to pay tribute to the NHS staff who despite these challenging times, have enabled us to deliver these improvements in patient care - firm foundations on which we must all continue to build. I therefore welcome the news that Scotland has successfully managed to secure the bid for the 2013 conference of the International Society for Quality in Healthcare which recognises our increasing profile in the field of safety and quality in healthcare. It will provide an opportunity for us to showcase the quality and safety work taking place in NHSScotland, while also enabling us to learn from what is happening elsewhere."

March 2011 ISD statistics show 99.7 per cent performance for nine weeks inpatient and day case treatments (55,787 out of 55,952 patients waiting at end March).

Between 2005-06 and 2010-11 there was a 37 per cent reduction in MRSA/MSSA infections. Between 2007-08 and 2010-11 there was a 71 per cent reduction in C.diff infections.

The number of people with a diagnosis of dementia on the QOF dementia register in 2006-07 was 29,761. This increased to 40,195 in 2010/11.

From 2008-09 to 2010-11, NHSScotland smoking cessation services reported 89,075 successful quit attempts (at one month post quit). The total number of alcohol brief interventions during the same period was 174,205.

The British Association of Day Surgery (BADS) directory sets out the proportion of surgical procedures that could be carried out safely in a day setting. NHSScotland had a target to perform 80 per cent of BADS surgical procedures in a day case or outpatient setting by March 2011. NHSScotland achieved 81.3 per cent in June 2010. This compares with 70 per cent in 2005-06.

Adverse events - the unintended consequences of care - may include things like contracting an infection, experiencing a drug error, a post-surgical complication or developing a pressure sore.

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