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Doing the rounds - The use of locums in Scottish hospitals

Locums help hospitals to cope with temporary staff shortages and unexpected peaks in workload, but they are unlikely to be as effective as permanent staff because they may be less…

The measures of success - Developing a balanced scorecard to measure performance

Measuring the performance of local authorities has always been a difficult and contentious area but with continuing pressures for accountability and best value it is one which…

Emergency repairs to council houses

Emergency repairs are an important part of the housing service of local authorities, but they are costly and disruptive. In 1996/97 £33 million was spent on them, but £2.5m was…

Assess yourself: Using self-assessment for performance improvement

The challenge of charging

This bulletin is the first publication from the study into charging for council services. It is based on the results of a questionnaire survey of Scottish councils conducted in…

Fighting the silent killer - Optimising ovarian cancer management in Scotland

Survival from ovarian cancer is poor in Scotland, with less than 30% of women surviving five years after the disease is diagnosed. To help improve survival prospects in Scotland,…

Council tax collection

Accounts Commission Annual Report 1997

Adult mental health services bulletins 1 & 2

Adult mental health services bulletins 1 and 2 provide interim findings from our current review of these services. The first bulletin, ‘Patterns of NHS service provision…

The bitterest pill - Decision making for high cost drugs

Patient access to high cost drugs varies from health board to health board because of differences in their drug prescribing policies. The Commission is calling for a Scotland-wide…