| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 417
Eastbourne Hospitals NHS TrustFrenchay Healthcare NHS Trust
Bath and West Community NHS Trust
The Royal Oldham Hospital and Community Services NHS Trust Weston Area Health NHS Trust
Wiltshire Health Care NHS Trust
South Tees Health NHS Trust
Lincolnshire Ambulance and Health Transport Service NHS Trust West Lambeth Community Care NHS Trust
Exeter Community Health Service NHS Trust
Lancaster Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Horizons NHS Trust
Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust
Northern General Hospital NHS Trust
Pembrokeshire NHS Trust
Broadgreen Hospital NHS Trust
Parkside Health NHS Trust
The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust
United Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Royal London NHS Trust
Ravensbourne NHS Trust
First Community Health NHS Trust
Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust
South West Thames Renal Unit--St. Helier Hospital
Epsom Health Care NHS Trust
Staffordshire Neurosurgical Service
Hither Green Hospital
Beacon Medical Care (Private Family Doctor Service)
Royal Bournemouth Hospital NHS Trust
Doncaster Healthcare NHS Trust
Comments have also been submitted by a number of individuals. It would not be appropriate to place copies of comments in the Library without the specific consent of the bodies or individuals concerned.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to issue revised guidelines on freedom of speech in the national health service.
Dr. Mawhinney : The extensive comments received on the draft guidance merit full and careful consideration. Final guidance will be issued as soon as possible.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider inserting a reference to the duty of care of NHS staff in the draft guidance on freedom of speech.
Dr. Mawhinney : This will be considered in conjunction with other comments received on the draft guidance.
Private Finance
Sir John Stanley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what areas of her Department's responsibilities she has introduced, or may introduce, private finance ; and if she will describe in each case the procedures by which private finance is sought.
Mr. Sackville : The private finance initiative is intended to apply to all services which are traditionally provided by Government Departments. The measures announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will increase the scope for using private finance in the national health service to improve and extend both patient and support services. The Department is urgently considering how best to apply the initiative on the basis of the guidance which has been published by the Treasury. My officials will send out a letter to all NHS directors of finance inviting them to take full advantage of this initiative. I shall place a copy in the Library.
Column 418
Joint Consultative Committees
Mr. Hawksley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will allow non-executive directors of health trusts to serve on joint collaborative committees set up under National Health Act 1973.
Dr. Mawhinney : Joint consultative committees are constituted under section 22 of the National Health Service Act 1977. Members of such committees are appointed by health authorities, local authorities and voluntary organisations. A person who is a director of a national health service trust is not precluded from appointment as a member of a joint consultative committee. There is no provision for "joint collaborative committees" in national health service legislation.
Mental Illness
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social workers there were in England and Wales in each financial year since 1981-82 ; and how many of these were employed wholly or mainly in caring for the severely mentally ill in the community.
Mr. Yeo : Data on the number of whole-time equivalent social services staff in local authorities in England at September in each year from 1978 are given in "Local Authority Social Services Statistics : staff of Local Authority Social Services Departments at 30 September 1991 ; England", a copy of which is available in the Library.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to preserve the service available at Henderson hospital, Sutton, Surrey, for personality-disordered clients ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Yeo : From 1 April 1993 the Henderson hospital will become part of South West Thames regional psychiatry service. This will ensure funding for the hospital to maintain and develop its services for those patients with special psychiatric needs.
Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will create a special hospitals authority to cover Henderson hospital, Sutton, Surrey.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the names of hospitals for the mentally ill in England, by districts, which were closed in each of the financial years 1981-82 to 1991 -92, and the numbers of beds in those hospitals five years previously ;
(2) what amount of money was made available for other purposes in each of the financial years 1981-82 to 1991-92 as a result of the closure of mental hospitals.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not held centrally.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health which relevant local bodies, besides community health councils, health authorities are required to consult before recommending her to authorise the closure of hospitals for the mentally ill.
Mr. Yeo : Most substantial changes in hospital services--such as the opening or closing of facilities--are agreed locally and only where there is no local agreement are they
Column 419
referred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. Health authorities are encouraged to consult widely in the community, including with community health councils.Mr. Soley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ring fence departmental funding for Henderson hospital, Sutton, Surrey.
Mr. Yeo : This is a matter for South West Thames regional health authority.
The hon. Member may wish to contact Professor Marian Hicks, the chairman of South West Thames regional health authority, for details.
St. Bartholomew's Hospital
Mr. Sims : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account she is taking in her consideration of the Tomlinson report of the document issued by the North East Thames regional health authority entitled, "A Consultation Document on the Dissolution of the Bart's NHS Trust" published on 22 November ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : The consultation document proposing dissolution of the St. Bartholomew's shadow trust was issued by North East Thames regional health authority with Ministers' agreement on the ground that it would be inappropriate for the trust to become operational on 1 April 1993 in the form originally proposed in direct conflict with the recommendations of the Tomlinson report. Moreover, there would have been serious doubts about St. Bartholomew's hospital's fitness for trust status on financial grounds. The consultation document relates solely to the proposed management arrangements for the hospital next year. Full account will be taken of the views expressed in response to it before a decision is reached.
Community Care
Mr. McCartney : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to give directions as to the manner in which assessment under section 47(4) of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 is to be carried out ; and what form the directions will take.
Mr. Yeo : We have already issued extensive policy and practice guidance on assessment. There are no current plans to issue directions on this matter.
Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the membership and terms of reference of the Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances.
Dr. Mawhinney : The members of the advisory committee are : Chairman
Professor Harry A. Lee
Professor of Renal Medicine (University of Southampton), Consultant Physician (St. Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth)
Members
Dr. Charles L. M. Beardmore
General Practitioner (Walton-On-the-Naze, Essex)
Professor Ian W. Booth
Column 420
Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics and Child Health, Professor of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (University of Birmingham) Ms. Julie FentonSenior Dietitian (Normansfield, Teddington)
Dr. Anne Kobza Black
Consultant Dermatologist (St. John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin), (Royal Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital, London)
Professor Andrew H. G. Love
Professor of Medicine (Queen's University, Belfast) ; Consultant Physician (Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast).
Mrs. Anita MacDonald
Chief Paediatric Dietitian (Children's Hospital, Birmingham). Mr. Graeme Millar
Community Pharmacist (Edinburgh).
Dr. Gwyn W. Phillips
General Practitioner (Pencoed, Mid-Glamorgan).
Professor Alan Shenkin
Professor of Clinical Chemistry (Royal Liverpool Hospital). Dr. Richard S. Tiner
General Practitioner (Taunton, Somerset)
The committee's current terms of reference are :
"To keep under review the principles for determining whether preparations should properly be regarded as drugs, foods, toilet preparations or disinfectants, and to give advice on the classifications of particular preparations in these categories submitted to the Committee."
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 12 November that the committee's remit is extended to have regard to comparative cost as well as therapeutic use when considering whether an item should be treated as a drug appropriate for prescription by general practitioners under the national health service. Revised terms of reference, to reflect this change, will be announced shortly.
Food Hygiene
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for the training, instruction and supervision of food handlers in food hygiene.
Mr. Sackville : The Government will introduce a sole and simple requirement for all food handlers to be trained, instructed and supervised in food hygiene according to the work they do. Copies of a statement of intent and related documents issued to all interested parties have been placed in the Library.
Folic Acid Report
Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the chief medical officer's expert advisory group on folic acid to report its findings ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : We are pleased to announce the publication today of the group's report, "Folic Acid and the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects".
The report endorses existing advice that women who have already had a baby with a neural tube defect should take a diet supplement of 5 mg of folic acid daily--or 4 mg if such a preparation becomes available--from the time when they wish to become pregnant until the end of the
Column 421
third month of pregnancy. Additionally, the expert group has recommended that, to reduce the risk of having a first baby with a neural tube defect, all women who are likely to become pregnant should increase their intake of folic acid/folate throughout this same period. This particular B vitamin is available from certain foods in the form of folate. In addition, some foods are fortified with folic acid. Such women are also advised to take a 0.4 mg folic acid food supplement daily until the 12th week of pregnancy. We welcome this opportunity to reduce the risk of women giving birth to babies with a neural tube defect. The United Kingdom chief medical and nursing officers are ensuring that the advice reaches all doctors, senior nurses, midwives and health visitors. However, all women need to be aware of these recommendations as, in most cases, they will need to consider taking extra folic acid/folate before they have become pregnant.We are arranging for copies of the report to be placed in the Library.
Doctors and Dentists
Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give the numbers of doctors and dentists by grade employed in the hospital and community health services in each English region for 1990 and 1991.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : My Department conducts a census each September of doctors and dentists employed in the hospital and community health service--HCHS--in England. Copies have been placed in the Library. Checks on the data for September 1991 suggested that the national health service had omitted a significant number of doctors and dentists from the census for that year. A recent survey of all 14 regions, designed to produce reliable data on the numbers of HCHS doctors and dentists by grade in each region, confirmed that the NHS had omitted the whole-time equivalent--WTE--of about 2,000 HCHS doctors and dentists from the original September 1991 census. The survey also indicated that the NHS had omitted about 500 WTEs from the September 1990 census. I regret that some of the published figures for 1990 are therefore incorrect.
The Department's best estimates of WTEs by grade for England as a whole and in each region for September 1990 and 1991 are shown in the table. More detailed estimates--for example--by specialty group--will be published in due course.
NHS Staff
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the number of (a) administrative staff, (b) managerial staff, (c) nurses, (d) junior doctors and (e) other medical staff employed in each region for each of the last three years.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 9 November 1992] : I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend gave my hon. Friend the Member for Fulham (Mr. Carrington) today.
The remainder of the information requested is in the tables.
Column 422
Administrative and Clerical Staff in each RHA,
for 30 September of
each year
|1989 |1990 |1991
--------------------------------------------------
Northern |6,810 |6,940 |7,240
Yorkshire |7,500 |7,880 |8,090
Trent |9,740 |10,120 |10,540
East Anglia |3,990 |4,070 |4,550
North West Thames |8,260 |8,160 |8,660
North East Thames |10,150 |10,450 |11,050
South East Thames |9,760 |10,030 |10,800
South West Thames |6,290 |6,340 |6,590
Wessex |5,540 |5,840 |6,190
Oxford |4,860 |5,150 |4,930
South Western |6,600 |6,990 |7,680
West Midlands |11,800 |11,950 |12,740
Mersey |5,790 |5,820 |6,160
North Western |9,850 |10,070 |11,220
SHAs |1,700 |1,840 |2,390
Others |8,190 |8,400 |8,560
England |116,840|120,040|127,370
The figures for 1991 for SHAs include figures for
the Special Hospital Services Authority
Administrative and Clerical Staff in each RHA,
for 30 September of
each year
|1989 |1990 |1991
--------------------------------------------------
Northern |6,810 |6,940 |7,240
Yorkshire |7,500 |7,880 |8,090
Trent |9,740 |10,120 |10,540
East Anglia |3,990 |4,070 |4,550
North West Thames |8,260 |8,160 |8,660
North East Thames |10,150 |10,450 |11,050
South East Thames |9,760 |10,030 |10,800
South West Thames |6,290 |6,340 |6,590
Wessex |5,540 |5,840 |6,190
Oxford |4,860 |5,150 |4,930
South Western |6,600 |6,990 |7,680
West Midlands |11,800 |11,950 |12,740
Mersey |5,790 |5,820 |6,160
North Western |9,850 |10,070 |11,220
SHAs |1,700 |1,840 |2,390
Others |8,190 |8,400 |8,560
England |116,840|120,040|127,370
The figures for 1991 for SHAs include figures for
the Special Hospital Services Authority
Administrative and Clerical Staff in each RHA,
for 30 September of
each year
|1989 |1990 |1991
--------------------------------------------------
Northern |6,810 |6,940 |7,240
Yorkshire |7,500 |7,880 |8,090
Trent |9,740 |10,120 |10,540
East Anglia |3,990 |4,070 |4,550
North West Thames |8,260 |8,160 |8,660
North East Thames |10,150 |10,450 |11,050
South East Thames |9,760 |10,030 |10,800
South West Thames |6,290 |6,340 |6,590
Wessex |5,540 |5,840 |6,190
Oxford |4,860 |5,150 |4,930
South Western |6,600 |6,990 |7,680
West Midlands |11,800 |11,950 |12,740
Mersey |5,790 |5,820 |6,160
North Western |9,850 |10,070 |11,220
SHAs |1,700 |1,840 |2,390
Others |8,190 |8,400 |8,560
England |116,840|120,040|127,370
The figures for 1991 for SHAs include figures for
the Special Hospital Services Authority
Column 423
Regional Health Authorities
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the administration costs of each regional health authority for each year since 1989-90 ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 30 November 1992] : Figures of expenditure on headquarters administration for each regional health authority and region as a whole, for
Column 424
the financial years 1989-90 and 1990-91, are shown in the tables. Regions are managed in an integrated way and it would be misleading to interpret regional health authority data in isolation from those for the district health authorities they manage. The region totals provide amore valid picture. Information for 1991-92--derivable primarily from annual financial returns--is not as yet available.
| Next Section
| Home Page |