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NHS Costs
41. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the average family of four now contributes on a weekly basis towards the cost of the National Health Service.
Mr. Freeman : It is not possible to provide the information as requested. The major part of NHS funding comes from the consolidated fund and it is not possible to distinguish between the proportion contributed by private taxpayers and taxation raised from other sources. However, NHS expenditure in 1989-90 per average family of four persons is estimated at £35 per week.
43. Mr. Maples : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the variations in cost of treatment between different health districts.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The Health Service indicators published by the Department every year show a wide degree of variation in costs of treatment between different authorities. The indicators of treatment expenditure per consultant episode for 1987-88 published in July varied by a factor of three. There may be good reasons for variations and district and regional management will wish to examine them carefully to see whether there is any scope for improvements. The proposals in the White Paper "Working for Patients" will also help to reduce unjustifiable cost variations.
Indicative Drug Budgets
45. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how patient care will be affected by the proposals in the White Paper "Working for Patients" for indicative drug budgets.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that my hon. and learned Friend the then Minister for Health gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Sir Michael McNair-Wilson) on 23 May at column 479.
Wathwood Hospital, Rotherham
46. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct the Rotherham health authority to retain the Wathwood hospital and the present number of beds for the elderly infirm which are currently provided at this hospital.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The provision of local health services is a matter for the district health authority concerned, in this case Rotherham health authority.
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Patients (Statistics)
52. Mr. Stevens : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of National Health Service patients being treated each year ; and what was the number treated in 1979.
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Mr. Freeman : The information requested is given in the table.
Column 561
Cases treated, NHS hospitals, England, 1979 and 1987-88
|1979 |1987-88 |Change |Percentage change
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-patients |5,400,120 |6,619,354 |1,219,234 |22.6
Day cases |592,061 |880,852 |288,791 |48.8
New out-patients |7,713,465 |8,529,759 |816,294 |10.6
Source: 1979 SH3 returns, 1987-88 SH3a, KH09 & 18 returns.
Hearing Aid Service
53. Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress officials in his Department have made in drawing up a programme of action to improve the hearing aid service.
Mr. Freeman : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Torridge and Devon, West (Miss Nicholson), on 27 July at columns 918-19. We have set up a working group consisting of officials from this Department and Mersey regional health authority, a consultant otolaryngologist, a community physician, an audiological scientists, an audiological technician, a representative of the private sector hearing aid industry and a representative of RNID, together with an observer from the Department of Trade and Industry, to work up a programme of action, including proposals for direct referral pilot schemes, some of which we expect to start early in the next financial year. The first meeting of the working group has been arranged for 20 November.
Opting Out
Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the additional financial resources being made available to each regional health authority to assist the proposals for opting out ;
(2) what additional resources have been made available to the Northern regional health authority to assist their proposals for hospitals and the Northumbria ambulance service to opt out.
Mr. Freeman : More than £82 million has been made available this year for the implementation of the White Paper. Of this, £32 million has been allocated to the regions to enable them to develop the finance and personnel functions, to strengthen the public health function and to prepare for the introduction of capital charges and medical audit. Northern region has been allocated £2.04 million. While no additional resources have been made available specifically for the preparation of NHS trusts, all authorities including those with units considering this option will benefit from the overall strengthening of key management functions.
Hospitals, Mersey Region
56. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about proposals for the future of National Health Service hospitals in the Mersey region ; and what his response has been.
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Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We have received various representations from hon. Members and members of the public. These have been considered in the light of local circumstances and answered accordingly.
Old Persons' Homes
61. Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that normal National Health Service ancillary health care shall be available to residents in private old persons' homes without a charge being made.
Mr. Freeman : Responsibility for providing community health services, including services to people in private and voluntary residential care homes, rest with district health authorities. There is no power to charge for such services.
Authorities have to plan and provide their services within the resources available in accordance with guidance issued by the Secretary of State. Their performance is monitored through the annual accountability and review process.
Resources (South Bedfordshire)
64. Mr. Bright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether discussions between the North-West Thames regional health authority and South Bedfordshire district health authority in the summer have resulted in an increase in the allocation of resources to south Bedfordshire.
Mr. Freeman : Allocations to district health authorities are the responsibility of the regional health authority. My hon. Friend may wish to direct his question to the chairman of the North West Thames regional health authority.
Waiting Lists
65. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of people on the waiting list for hospitals in the Bradford health authority ; and if he will make statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There were 6,386 people on the in-patient waiting list for Bradford district health authority at 31 March 1989. Bradford is one of 22 districts with long waiting lists that was chosen this year for investigation by an independent management team. This has led to additional funding of £206,000 for 1,000 additional patients to be treated from the waiting list in the district.
Column 563
69. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the figures for those on hospital waiting lists at the latest available date ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : There were 704,700 people on in-patient waiting lists at 31 March 1989, the latest date for which figures are available centrally.
77. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many additional patients have been treated over the last 12 months for which figures are available as a result of the waiting list initiative.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In 1988-89 the £30 million waiting list fund enabled more than 117,000 additional in-patients and day cases and more than 93,000 additional out-patients to be treated from the waiting lists. This year health authorities are using £25 million from the £31 million fund to treat a further 100,000 in-patients and day cases and 90,000 out-patients ; £6 million of the fund is being directed towards treating additional patients in those districts with the most serious waiting problems.
81. Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his plans to reduce waiting lists.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : In the three years to March 1990, the Government have made available a total of £86 million through the special waiting list fund to tackle particular waiting problems. This special funding has enabled over 200,000 extra in-patients and day cases to be treated from the waiting lists in the first two years, as well
Column 564
as more than 130,000 out-patients. This year health authorities are using the fund to treat an additional 100,000 in- patients/day cases and 90,000 out-patients. We intend to allocate further funds for tackling long waiting times in 1990-91, and I will be making a statement about this soon.Earlier this year my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Mellor) sent a management team, led by John Yates of Inter Authority Comparisons and Consultancy, into the 22 districts with the longest waiting times in the country, to find out why the lists there are so long, and to suggest how they can be shortened. As a result of this work, backed up by money from the waiting list fund, the number of patients waiting over a year in the 43 specialties studied has already reduced by a quarter. I intend this valuable and effective work to continue next year.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list district health authorities in England in rank order of size of waiting list as at September 1989, stating also their position as at March 1989, September 1988, and March 1988, the size of waiting list at each date and the amount in total and per head of population expended under the waiting list initiative for 1988-89.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 6 November 1989] : The information requested is given in the table and the ranking is based on waiting list data for 31 March 1989 which are the latest figures available centrally. The amount of waiting list money per head of population cannot be accurately calculated by district as projects funded can involve cross- boundary flow.
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In-patient waiting list<1>, 31 March 1988-31 March 1989, by District Health Authority
March 1988 September 1988 March 1989 Waiting list fund
allocation
District health authority |Number |Rank |Number |Rank |Number |Rank |1988-89
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hartlepool |1,116 |175 |1,205 |172 |1,167 |175 |76,484
North Tees |1,251 |170 |1,219 |171 |1,507 |163 |44,184
South Tees |5,153 |37 |5,268 |36 |4,797 |48 |437,600
East Cumbria |3,524 |78 |3,577 |74 |3,422 |88 |139,046
South Cumbria |1,105 |176 |1,266 |170 |1,206 |173 |8,150
West Cumbria |1,406 |164 |1,391 |164 |1,334 |171 |0
Darlington |2,172 |137 |2,332 |125 |2,163 |134 |185,700
Durham |1,384 |166 |1,357 |167 |1,425 |166 |38,811
North West Durham |845 |183 |830 |184 |763 |186 |0
South West Durham |1,086 |177 |980 |178 |1,048 |181 |19,000
Northumberland |1,636 |157 |1,628 |151 |1,671 |157 |82,898
Gateshead |1,275 |169 |1,341 |168 |1,109 |178 |54,100
Newcastle |8,032 |9 |7,813 |9 |8,669 |7 |297,679
North Tyneside |1,189 |173 |1,018 |177 |1,057 |179 |59,472
South Tyneside |797 |185 |815 |186 |886 |182 |23,835
Sunderland |4,073 |65 |3,889 |64 |4,609 |53 |529,532
Hull |8,559 |6 |7,357 |14 |6,867 |18 |480,600
East Yorkshire |1,768 |153 |1,841 |145 |1,580 |159 |22,000
Grimsby |1,149 |174 |1,032 |176 |1,746 |154 |0
Scunthorpe |2,843 |108 |2,875 |103 |2,881 |107 |133,500
Northallerton |677 |188 |703 |187 |700 |187 |0
York |2,549 |117 |2,784 |109 |2,557 |121 |178,000
Scarborough |2,043 |139 |2,103 |134 |2,081 |138 |0
Harrogate |1,761 |154 |1,549 |155 |2,074 |139 |11,550
Bradford |6,978 |19 |6,388 |23 |6,836 |19 |238,160
Airedale |2,351 |126 |2,223 |130 |2,502 |124 |171,200
Calderdale |1,044 |180 |1,086 |175 |1,053 |180 |16,000
Huddersfield |2,099 |138 |1,793 |147 |2,215 |131 |39,828
Dewsbury |763 |187 |574 |189 |782 |184 |0
Leeds Western |5,663 |30 |5,756 |28 |6,201 |23 |63,475
Leeds Eastern |6,993 |18 |6,906 |21 |6,529 |21 |264,590
Wakefield |2,037 |140 |2,313 |127 |2,101 |136 |56,463
Pontefract |2,002 |145 |1,701 |150 |2,056 |140 |324,000
North Derbyshire |2,354 |125 |2,800 |108 |2,152 |135 |250,900
Southern Derbyshire |4,986 |40 |4,554 |48 |5,182 |39 |228,400
Leicestershire |8,413 |7 |8,700 |4 |8,495 |9 |304,320
North Lincolnshire |3,014 |97 |2,999 |96 |2,851 |111 |60,000
South Lincolnshire |3,157 |89 |3,484 |78 |3,237 |93 |308,000
Bassetlaw |1,247 |171 |1,381 |165 |1,136 |176 |274,000
Central Nottinghamshire |4,061 |66 |4,149 |57 |4,745 |49 |200,000
Nottingham |7,299 |16 |6,311 |26 |8,360 |11 |254,000
Barnsley |2,279 |128 |2,398 |124 |2,529 |123 |80,000
Doncaster |4,222 |62 |4,536 |50 |3,991 |68 |434,100
Rotherham |3,113 |94 |3,141 |90 |3,420 |89 |82,500
Sheffield |10,931 |2 |10,441 |2 |10,820 |3 |430,700
Cambridge |4,305 |59 |4,166 |56 |4,431 |59 |91,119
Peterborough |4,608 |48 |4,841 |42 |4,675 |51 |161,490
West Suffolk |3,147 |91 |2,685 |112 |3,610 |74 |17,700
East Suffolk |3,774 |74 |3,488 |77 |4,154 |65 |99,300
Norwich |9,995 |3 |9,041 |3 |11,507 |2 |359,800
Great Yarmouth and
Waveney |3,713 |76 |3,535 |75 |4,031 |67 |186,140
West Norfolk and
Wisbech |2,408 |122 |2,230 |129 |2,461 |125 |87,500
Huntingdon |1,467 |163 |1,132 |173 |1,620 |158 |0
North Bedfordshire |1,818 |151 |1,702 |149 |1,743 |155 |30,000
South Bedfordshire |2,952 |100 |3,061 |94 |2,950 |104 |58,100
North Hertfordshire |2,979 |98 |2,883 |102 |3,107 |97 |218,900
East Hertfordshire |1,309 |168 |1,510 |158 |1,537 |162 |175,000
North West Hertfordshire |1,057 |179 |969 |179 |1,185 |174 |136,500
South West Hertfordshire |1,694 |155 |1,378 |166 |1,565 |161 |50,650
Barnet |2,970 |99 |2,941 |98 |3,021 |101 |26,250
Harrow |1,405 |165 |1,481 |160 |1,814 |150 |20,000
Hillingdon |7,773 |11 |7,579 |11 |6,993 |17 |346,500
Hounslow and Spelthorne |6,221 |25 |6,369 |24 |5,834 |27 |370,000
Ealing |1,961 |148 |1,799 |146 |1,423 |167 |100,270
Riverside |5,897 |28 |6,254 |27 |5,913 |25 |0
Parkside |6,734 |21 |6,359 |25 |5,885 |26 |244,300
Basildon and Thurrock |5,734 |29 |5,428 |34 |5,568 |30 |456,000
Mid Essex |5,097 |38 |5,291 |35 |5,348 |36 |71,404
North East Essex |3,212 |87 |2,914 |100 |3,514 |80 |220,413
West Essex |5,589 |31 |5,433 |33 |5,557 |31 |55,241
Southend |4,465 |53 |4,138 |58 |3,456 |82 |77,182
Barking, Havering and
Brentwood |9,782 |4 |8,137 |7 |9,447 |4 |390,000
Hampstead |4,386 |57 |3,793 |67 |3,413 |90 |17,800
Bloomsbury |14,287 |1 |13,991 |1 |13,680 |1 |381,221
Islington |2,263 |130 |3,322 |85 |2,240 |130 |0
City and Hackney |5,408 |33 |5,493 |32 |5,470 |33 |83,013
Newham |1,003 |181 |969 |180 |1,122 |177 |25,639
Tower Hamlets |5,272 |35 |5,652 |30 |5,385 |34 |156,000
Enfield |3,345 |81 |3,446 |80 |3,604 |75 |170,300
Haringey |2,010 |143 |1,101 |174 |2,659 |118 |0
Redbridge |1,975 |146 |2,198 |131 |1,972 |144 |120,085
Waltham Forest |5,556 |32 |4,895 |40 |5,628 |28 |47,544
Brighton |4,432 |55 |4,387 |52 |4,358 |61 |159,550
Eastbourne |3,829 |72 |3,609 |72 |3,676 |71 |167,000
Hastings |2,864 |105 |2,754 |110 |2,768 |114 |90,000
South East Kent |2,849 |106 |2,588 |119 |3,043 |100 |0
Canterbury and Thanet |4,732 |46 |5,266 |37 |4,722 |50 |98,750
Dartford and Gravesham |3,972 |69 |3,911 |63 |4,219 |64 |90,000
Maidstone |3,812 |73 |3,441 |81 |3,382 |91 |211,408
Medway |2,743 |111 |2,597 |118 |3,549 |78 |151,000
Tunbridge Wells |4,501 |50 |4,553 |49 |4,374 |60 |102,800
Bexley |1,515 |160 |1,605 |152 |1,977 |143 |209,750
Greenwich |2,391 |123 |2,864 |104 |2,575 |120 |70,400
Bromley |2,269 |129 |2,084 |135 |1,771 |152 |181,200
West Lambeth |5,944 |27 |7,332 |16 |4,802 |47 |253,200
Camberwell |2,426 |121 |1,987 |139 |2,327 |129 |0
Lewisham and North
Southwark |7,340 |14 |7,247 |18 |6,429 |22 |471,200
North West Surrey |2,836 |109 |3,239 |87 |2,962 |102 |165,000
West Surrey and North
East Hants |4,779 |45 |4,569 |47 |4,586 |54 |520,000
South West Surrey |3,273 |84 |2,682 |113 |2,871 |109 |95,000
Mid Surrey |2,931 |102 |1,940 |141 |2,188 |132 |170,000
East Surrey |3,148 |90 |2,629 |115 |3,449 |83 |120,000
Chichester |2,200 |134 |1,861 |144 |2,551 |122 |175,000
Mid Downs |4,651 |47 |3,528 |76 |4,902 |42 |0
Worthing |4,249 |61 |3,935 |62 |4,479 |55 |408,000
Croydon |2,190 |135 |2,066 |136 |2,358 |128 |0
Kingston and Esher |2,460 |120 |2,138 |133 |3,432 |85 |340,000
Richmond, Twickenham
and Roehampton |2,730 |112 |2,626 |116 |2,816 |113 |0
Wandsworth |2,543 |118 |2,165 |132 |3,444 |84 |0
Merton and Sutton |3,015 |96 |3,205 |89 |3,089 |98 |0
East Dorset |4,832 |42 |5,165 |38 |4,875 |44 |190,776
West Dorset |2,227 |132 |2,025 |137 |2,092 |137 |6,000
Portsmouth and South
East Hampshire |6,779 |20 |7,404 |13 |5,612 |29 |300,000
Southampton and South
West Hampshire |6,520 |23 |7,051 |19 |8,542 |8 |222,000
Winchester |3,132 |93 |2,809 |106 |2,723 |116 |110,000
Basingstoke and North
Hampshire |2,382 |124 |3,300 |86 |2,638 |119 |137,000
Salisbury |6,349 |24 |6,547 |22 |6,046 |24 |128,500
Swindon |2,623 |116 |2,922 |99 |3,069 |99 |147,000
Bath |5,291 |34 |4,982 |39 |5,506 |32 |150,000
Isle of Wight |1,472 |162 |1,521 |157 |1,475 |164 |58,000
East Berkshire |7,317 |15 |7,562 |12 |8,056 |13 |80,000
West Berkshire |4,816 |44 |4,743 |45 |5,260 |38 |50,000
Aylesbury Vale |2,906 |104 |3,367 |83 |3,185 |96 |100,000
Wycombe |804 |184 |930 |181 |806 |183 |13,000
Milton Keynes |2,031 |141 |1,991 |138 |1,722 |156 |300,000
Kettering |4,268 |60 |4,193 |55 |5,014 |40 |80,000
Northampton |3,606 |77 |3,688 |69 |3,458 |81 |50,000
Oxfordshire |7,248 |17 |6,964 |20 |7,857 |15 |490,000
Bristol and Weston |7,461 |13 |8,035 |8 |8,056 |14 |209,920
Frenchay |2,950 |101 |2,980 |97 |2,166 |133 |236,500
Southmead |1,774 |152 |1,506 |159 |1,939 |145 |33,507
Cornwall and Isles of
Scilly |5,180 |36 |3,942 |61 |5,372 |35 |130,596
Exeter |4,060 |67 |3,627 |71 |4,613 |52 |100,500
North Devon |2,018 |142 |1,906 |143 |2,016 |141 |58,430
Plymouth |6,180 |26 |5,634 |31 |6,754 |20 |392,255
Torbay |2,654 |114 |2,716 |111 |2,767 |115 |297,000
Cheltenham |2,321 |127 |2,635 |114 |2,951 |103 |131,400
Gloucester |3,911 |70 |4,030 |60 |4,854 |46 |111,998
Somerset |4,902 |41 |4,818 |44 |5,310 |37 |194,352
Bromsgrove and Redditch |1,580 |159 |1,320 |169 |1,860 |149 |0
Herefordshire |3,430 |79 |3,108 |92 |3,648 |72 |0
Kidderminster and District |1,315 |167 |1,438 |162 |1,408 |168 |0
Worcester and District |3,236 |86 |3,333 |84 |3,211 |95 |0
Shropshire |7,639 |12 |7,611 |10 |8,360 |12 |210,000
Mid Staffordshire |1,868 |150 |1,775 |148 |1,274 |172 |0
North Staffordshire |8,588 |5 |8,466 |5 |8,431 |10 |328,000
South East Staffordshire |3,144 |92 |2,911 |101 |3,431 |86 |0
Rugby |784 |186 |919 |182 |769 |185 |0
North Warwickshire |3,099 |95 |3,026 |95 |2,688 |117 |0
South Warwickshire |2,844 |107 |2,481 |122 |2,914 |106 |20,000
Central Birmingham |4,832 |43 |4,865 |41 |4,452 |58 |0
East Birmingham |2,178 |136 |2,488 |121 |1,886 |147 |392,000
North Birmingham |1,681 |156 |1,434 |163 |1,908 |146 |0
South Birmingham |4,592 |49 |5,743 |29 |3,640 |73 |616,100
West Birmingham |3,346 |80 |3,605 |73 |2,879 |108 |90,000
Coventry |4,212 |63 |4,655 |46 |4,462 |57 |886,000
Dudley |4,491 |52 |3,845 |65 |4,864 |45 |146,000
Sandwell |2,009 |144 |1,953 |140 |2,013 |142 |119,900
Solihull |1,202 |172 |1,573 |154 |1,383 |170 |150,000
Walsall |2,523 |119 |2,585 |120 |2,405 |127 |0
Wolverhampton |3,868 |71 |3,662 |70 |3,745 |70 |24,000
Chester |3,182 |88 |3,094 |93 |3,536 |79 |65,000
Crewe |4,459 |54 |4,232 |54 |3,567 |77 |239,400
Halton |203 |190 |107 |190 |156 |190 |245,000
Macclesfield |1,065 |178 |834 |183 |1,402 |169 |75,000
Warrington |2,231 |131 |1,925 |142 |1,870 |148 |210,000
Liverpool |8,311 |8 |8,218 |6 |8,804 |6 |202,025
St. Helens and Knowsley |3,760 |75 |3,775 |68 |3,586 |76 |195,500
Southport and Formby |1,630 |158 |1,549 |156 |1,753 |153 |83,000
South Sefton |3,242 |85 |3,453 |79 |3,232 |94 |266,610
Wirral |4,038 |68 |3,844 |66 |4,133 |66 |0
Lancaster |2,677 |113 |2,312 |128 |2,826 |112 |84,300
Blackpool, Wyre and
Fylde |3,304 |83 |3,399 |82 |3,431 |87 |57,400
Preston |5,080 |39 |4,828 |43 |4,897 |43 |148,600
Blackburn, Hyndburn
and Ribble Valley |3,339 |82 |3,225 |88 |3,761 |69 |250,000
Burnley, Pendle
and Rossendale |1,971 |147 |2,329 |126 |1,807 |151 |151,800
West Lancashire |2,210 |133 |2,401 |123 |2,852 |110 |91,600
Chorley and South Ribble |582 |189 |666 |188 |636 |188 |66,900
Bolton |2,922 |103 |2,607 |117 |2,936 |105 |101,100
Bury |903 |182 |825 |185 |373 |189 |45,800
North Manchester |2,806 |110 |3,135 |91 |2,457 |126 |77,400
Central Manchester |7,865 |10 |7,353 |15 |9,441 |5 |272,600
South Manchester |6,670 |22 |7,265 |17 |7,483 |16 |100,000
Oldham |4,494 |51 |4,249 |53 |4,903 |41 |317,900
Rochdale |2,654 |115 |2,821 |105 |3,280 |92 |201,800
Salford |4,196 |64 |2,803 |107 |4,477 |56 |202,500
Stockport |4,384 |58 |4,446 |51 |4,324 |62 |69,100
Tameside and Glossop |1,899 |149 |1,604 |153 |1,566 |160 |92,400
Trafford |1,480 |161 |1,470 |161 |1,469 |165 |98,800
Wigan |4,402 |56 |4,080 |59 |4,310 |63 |106,000
<1>Total less self deferred.
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current waiting list for operations in (a) the west midlands and (b) the Walsall borough (i) in total and (ii) of those waiting for over 12 months ; and if he will list the operations needing to be performed.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 6 November 1989] : Waiting list information is available centrally only by the specialty of treatment and not by operation. The available information is given in the table :
Gross demand in-patient waiting list, surgical<1> acute specialties
31 March 1989
|Total |Number waiting 12 months
|or more
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Midlands RHA |73,003 |19,753
Walsall DHA |2,577 |412
<1>Including gynaecology.
Ear, Nose and Throat Services
68. Mr. Flannery : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the present waiting lists for ear, nose and throat patients in Sheffield (a) to see an ear, nose and throat specialist and (b) for hearing aid appointments ; and what plans there are to shorten the lists.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : We do not collect information on out- patient waiting times centrally. On our plans to reduce waiting times generally I refer the hon. Member to my reply today to my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Mr. Favell).
87. Mr. Brandon-Bravo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any recommendations for the number of sessions for ear, nose and throat surgeons.
Column 570
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The number and type of sessions worked by any consultant, including ENT surgeons, is a matter for agreement between the consultant and his/her employing authority.
GPs
70. Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about trends in the average general practitioner's list size since 1979.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Over the last 10 years the average list size of family doctors in England has continued to fall from 2,286 in 1979 to 1,999 in 1988, a decrease of more than 12 per cent.
Haemophiliacs (HIV)
71. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest number of haemophiliacs who have been infected with the AIDS virus following a National Health Service blood transfusion ; and how many have died.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has readily available figures as to how many haemophiliacs have been diagnosed as HIV positive over any convenient period in the last five years ; and if he will make a statement on policy towards help for such patients.
Mr. Freeman : The available information is shown in the tables. The Government provided £10 million to set up the Macfarlane trust to meet the special needs of people in the United Kingdom with haemophilia and HIV infection, and their dependants.
Column 569
1. Numbers of haemophiliacs reported as HIV-antibody positive to the Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre (Colindale) and the
Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit.
|1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |Cumulative Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
England, Wales and Northern Ireland |495 |371 |76 |44 |34 |<1>1,020
Scotland<2> |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |76
|---
United Kingdom Total |1,096
<1>The actual number of known HIV-1 infected haemophiliacs may be greater as some may have been included in the undetermined exposure category.
<2>Yearly figures not available centrally.
2. Cumulative number
of haemophiliacs
with AIDS known to
have
died in the United
Kingdom by
30 September 1989
|Number
---------------------
|102
Prescriptions
74. Mr. Andrew McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many National Health Service prescriptions are being dispensed per year ; and what was the figure for 1979.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : The number of prescriptions dispensed in England during 1988, the latest year for which information is available, was 371 million. In 1979, 321 million prescriptions were dispensed.
Poland (Medical Aid)
78. Mr. Tredinnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has had concerning the provisions of medical aid for Poland.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I have not received any representations on this subject but my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs received one inquiry about medical equipment in September this year. I visited Poland at the invitation of the Polish Minister of Health and Social Welfare in April this year for discussions and as a result we are now looking at various proposals for co-operation on medical training, health service reforms and a broadening of the scope of the United Kingdom-Poland health co-operation agreement.
BMA
80. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any statements from the British Medical Association recently ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mr. Hunter) on 3 November at column 385.
Patients (York)
84. Mr. Gregory : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many in-patients were treated in the York health authority area in 1978 and 1988, respectively ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : During the financial year 1987-88, 34,062 in-patient cases were treated by York district health authority, an increase of 26.2 per cent. over the 1978 figure of 26,997.
Royal National Institute for the Deaf
86. Mr. Illsley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to meet the Royal National Institute for the Deaf to discuss current legislation.
Column 572
Mr. Freeman : My right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and the Disabled and I met representatives from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf on 24 October 1989 to discuss its proposals for improving hearing aid services in the light of my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Torridge and Devon, West (Miss Nicholson) on 27 July at columns 918-19.
General Practitioners
88. Mr. Marlow : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence he has that patients are susceptible to changing their general practitioners according to the differing perceived levels of service available ; and to what extent the patient is able to measure that perception.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : It is the Government's view, clearly set out in our White Paper "Promoting Better Health", that patients should have adequate information on which to base their choice of general practitioner. A number of measures are being implemented to achieve this objective, including, for those who choose to do so, a simplified procedure for changing doctor.
Ambulance Service
89. Mr. Spearing : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will tabulate the percentage of the trained and qualified personnel of the London ambulance accident and emergency service who have resigned or taken early retirement during each of the years 1985 to 1988.
Mr. Freeman : This is a matter for the South West Thames regional health authority, which manages the London ambulance service. The hon. Member may therefore wish to contact the chairman of the authority, Mrs. Julia Cumberlege.
Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that ambulancemen receive payment for the additional man hours involved in participating in riot and public disorder training ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 6 November 1989] : Special incident collaborative training, including public order aspects, has for some years been available to ambulance service staff. Attendance at the training attracts normal rates of pay.
Mr. Corbyn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the staff employed by the London ambulance service on accident and emergency work between 1 September and 31 October per 24-hour period (a) by day and (b) by night.
Mr. Freeman [holding answer 6 November 1989] : The information requested is available only in the format shown as follows :
|Early shift|Late shift |Night shift
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday 1 September 1989 |235 |253 |152
Saturday 2 September 1989 |254 |243 |138
Sunday 3 September 1989 |225 |216 |148
Monday 4 September 1989 |294 |271 |156
Tuesday 5 September 1989 |290 |282 |180
Wednesday 6 September 1989 |299 |230 |180
Thursday 7 September 1989 |297 |274 |158
Friday 8 September 1989 |292 |270 |151
Saturday 9 September 1989 |252 |241 |139
Sunday 10 September 1989 |235 |219 |158
Monday 11 September 1989 |296 |288 |159
Tuesday 12 September 1989 |288 |282 |155
Wednesday 13 September 1989 |287 |276 |132
Thursday 14 September 1989 |236 |248 |124
Friday 15 September 1989 |246 |241 |118
Saturday 16 September 1989 |206 |216 |104
Sunday 17 September 1989 |172 |198 |104
Monday 18 September 1989 |257 |248 |138
Tuesday 19 September 1989 |259 |243 |139
Wednesday 20 September 1989 |256 |241 |142
Thursday 21 September 1989 |248 |239 |138
Friday 22 September 1989 |244 |239 |120
Saturday 23 September 1989 |211 |195 |110
Sunday 24 September 1989 |190 |172 |114
Monday 25 September 1989 |250 |248 |146
Tuesday 26 September 1989 |288 |244 |130
Wednesday 27 September 1989 |250 |248 |144
Thursday 28 September 1989 |244 |244 |140
Friday 29 September 1989 |264 |231 |125
Saturday 30 September 1989 |208 |190 |115
Sunday 1 October 1989 |187 |177 |129
Monday 2 October 1989 |269 |245 |126
Tuesday 3 October 1989 |270 |240 |134
Wednesday 4 October 1989 |256 |247 |133
Thursday 5 October 1989 |270 |232 |135
Friday 6 October 1989 |256 |231 |120
Saturday 7 October 1989 |224 |206 |110
Sunday 8 October 1989 |183 |196 |130
Monday 9 October 1989 |254 |246 |161
Tuesday 10 October 1989 |254 |254 |153
Wednesday 11 October 1989 |262 |248 |169
Thursday 12 October 1989 |269 |236 |166
Friday 13 October 1989 |252 |237 |152
Saturday 14 October 1989 |234 |219 |143
Sunday 15 October 1989 |192 |189 |144
Monday 16 October 1989 |254 |247 |159
Tuesday 17 October 1989 |268 |247 |156
Wednesday 18 October 1989 |258 |246 |152
Thursday 19 October 1989 |244 |248 |155
Friday 20 October 1989 |249 |244 |137
Saturday 21 October 1989 |216 |214 |112
Sunday 22 October 1989 |199 |186 |127
Monday 23 October 1989 Dispute day/figures unavailable
Tuesday 24 October 1989 Dispute day/figures unavailable
Wednesday 25 October 1989 |272 |247 |140
Thursday 26 October 1989 |257 |236 |142
Friday 27 October 1989 |257 |233 |115
Saturday 28 October 1989 |235 |208 |109
Sunday 29 October 1989 |214 |204 |118
Monday 30 October 1989 |264 |250 |144
Tuesday 31 October 1989 |282 |256 |137
Bassetlaw Hospital
91. Mr. Ashton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his visit to Bassetlaw hospital, Worksop, on 23 October.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : I had a useful and enjoyable visit to Bassetlaw district general hospital during which I saw some of the facilities at the hospital, had meetings with the district chairman and her management team and with the community health council and gave interviews to the local media. I also attended an informal lunch at which I met a number of the hospital's consultants and other senior professional staff.
Column 574
Nurses (Leicestershire Health Authority)
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many Black and Asian nurses are employed by Leicestershire health authority ; and how many of those are (a) state registered nurses and (b) state enrolled nurses ;
(2) how many nurses are currently employed by Leicestershire health authority.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : At 30 September 1988 there were 6,570 whole-time equivalent nursing and midwifery staff in post in Leicestershire district health authority. We do not hold centrally information on the numbers of black and Asian nurses. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of Leicestershire health authority for this information.
Organ Transplants
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the anti rejection drug FK-506 is being used in clinical trials with organ transplant patients anywhere in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Before clinical trials can take place in the United Kingdom, a clinical trial certificate or exemption must be held. Details of applications under the Medicines Act 1968 are confidential to the licensing authority, and it is not the practice to say whether specific applications have been made.
Workplace Nurseries
Dr. Woodcock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide an estimate of the number of workplace nursery places available in the United Kingdom by number and by percentage of potential population.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not held centrally.
FK 506
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consideration his Department has given to the question of against whom liability for use of the drug FK 506 will rest ;
(2) what discussions have taken place with the Japanese Government about allowing a supply of the anti-rejection drug FK 506 to be used in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : Officials asked the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare to facilitate transmission of FK 506 by Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals from Japan for Dr. Roger Williams of Kings College hospital, London to use in treating his patient Mrs. Aisling Barnett following a liver transplant. I am glad to have this opportunity to express my gratitude to the Japanese Ministry for their prompt and effective response, and to all the others concerned, notably the British Embassy in Tokyo, British Airways, and the Metropolitan police.
Responsibility for choice of medicinal product in patient care lies with the practitioner concerned. Where, as in this case, a product has not been granted a product licence under provisions of the Medicines Act 1968, the practitioner concerned may nevertheless choose to use the product for a particular named patient under the licensing exemptions provided in section 9 of the Act. Questions of
Column 575
liability arising from that choice are a matter for the practitioner subject to relevant legal provisions in respect of product liability etc.Kidney Patients
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list region by region the number of kidney patients receiving haemodialysis or CAPD
Column 576
treatment and the numbers who have received transplants ; and whether any regional health authorities impose age limits either for dialysis or for transplantation.Mr. Freeman : According to information provided by the European Dialysis and Transplant Association, the number of patients alive on different forms of therapy on 31 December 1988, by English region, was as follows :
Column 575
Region |Hospital haemodialysis |Home haemodialysis |Intermittent peritoneal|Continuous ambulatory |Functioning graft
|dialysis |peritoneal dialysis
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |208 |19 |25 |168 |514
Yorkshire |209 |94 |1 |182 |381
Trent |215 |223 |2 |319 |584
East Anglia |114 |60 |- |63 |419
North West Thames |161 |77 |12 |151 |469
North East Thames |191 |90 |5 |333 |821
South East Thames |181 |97 |4 |306 |1,160
South West Thames |11 |44 |0 |97 |165
Wessex |86 |32 |0 |135 |334
Oxford |99 |115 |0 |96 |418
South Western |99 |156 |4 |202 |460
West Midlands |198 |122 |1 |489 |<1>94
Mersey |141 |49 |0 |67 |386
North Western |157 |144 |18 |265 |726
<1> Complete data not available.
Patients are registered by the units treating them and are therefore recorded according to the health region in which the units are located, not according to the region in which patients live. Some patients cross regional boundaries to receive treatment, notably from South West Thames to South East Thames and from Wessex to South Western.
There are no age limits for treatment of end-stage renal failure. The treatment of an individual patient is a matter for the responsible consultant, whose decisions will take account of the patient's clinical condition.
Imported Medicines
Mr. Gale : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish figures for the annual consumption in the United Kingdom of parallel imported medicines for each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : This information is not collected centrally.
Suicide
Mr. Galloway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures he has for the number of officially recorded (a) suicides and (b) attempted suicides in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Scotland for (1) all persons of 18 years and over, (2) all persons aged 45 to 65 years, (3) all persons of 18 years and over who were unemployed at the date of suicide or the attempt and (4) all persons aged 45 to 65 years who were unemployed at the date of suicide or the attempt, in each case showing men and women separately.
Mr. Freeman : The figures for suicides in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Scotland for (1) all persons aged 18 years or over and (2) all persons aged 45 to 64 years are shown in the table. Information on the number of attempted suicides, and whether those people committing suicide were unemployed at time of death, is not available.
Column 576
Number of deaths by suicide<1> United Kingdom and
Scotland, 1988
Age 18+ Age 45 to 64
|Males |Females|Males |Females
-------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |3,548 |1,346 |956 |415
Scotland |418 |167 |122 |45
<1>International classification of diseases, 9th
revision, codes E950 to E959.
Skoal Bandits
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to ban the sale of Skoal Bandits in the United Kingdom ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman : The Government have proposed a total ban on the supply of all oral snuff products, including Skoal Bandits. On 7 August this proposal was notified to the European Commission and the GATT secretariat in accordance with our international obligations. EC member states have until 9 November to let us have any views on the proposal, but this deadline can be extended if there are objections or if the Commission wishes to bring forward its own proposals for the Community as a whole. The Government will reach a final decision on whether to proceed to a ban as quickly as possible once this procedure has been completed.
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