| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 546
Geriatric Beds
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the number of long-stay geriatric beds in England in total and by health authority each year from 1985 ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : Information collected by the Department on numbers of geriatric beds does not separately identify those used for continuing care.
Racial Discrimination
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS employees or applicants for employment have won actions or had their actions settled in their favour for racial discrimination in selection or dismissal in the NHS in each of the last five years ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
NHS Trusts Federation
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money the NHS Trusts Federation receives (a) from her Department and (b) from NHS trusts.
Mr. Sackville : The National Health Service Trusts Federation does not receive funding from the Department. Subscriptions from NHS trusts are a matter for the NHS Trusts Federation.
Water Disconnections
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies she has commissioned into the health consequences for families of having their water supplies disconnected ; and if she will make a statement.
Surgical Operations
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of surgical operations were carried out outside normal working hours in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : The number of surgical operations carried out outside normal working hours is not available centrally. The table shows the percentage of operations performed outside scheduled sessions--ie notional half days, usually within the working day, Monday to Friday.
9
Year |Percentage of
|operations outside
|scheduled sessions
---------------------------------------------------------
1987-88 |16.3
1988-89 |16.2
1989-90 |16.2
1990-91 |16.7
1991-92 |16.0
Source: KHO8.
Column 547
Young People
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been made by or on behalf of children and young people under the provision of the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunals) Regulations 1974 in each year since 1985.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints from children have been received to date by each social services department in England under section 26 of the Children Act 1989.
Mr. Bowis : The first report to Parliament of the working of the Children Act 1989, a copy of which is available in the Library shows that, at 30 June 1992, 3,810 complaints in total had been received of which 542 were from children. Information is not available centrally by local authority.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been identified as having contracted
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease according to the most recently available figures ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : Figures are contained in the second annual report on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in the United Kingdom produced by Dr. R. G. Will and colleagues from the national CJD surveillance unit, Edinburgh. The table shows definite and probable cases of CJD notified to the unit during the first three years of the prospective study :
Definite and probable cases of CJD in the
United Kingdom
|Number
------------------------------------------
1 May 1990 to 30 April 1991 |32
1 May 1991 to 30 April 1992 |37
1 May 1992 to 30 April 1993 |48
The figures for 1990-91 and 1991-92
update those in the first annual report.
Although there has been a rise in the annual incidence of cases of CJD notified to the unit, the report concludes that this is not statistically significant and is likely to be related to increased ascertainment of cases. The report also confirms that there has been no significant change in the epidemiological or clinical characteristics of CJD since the occurrence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). A preliminary analysis of dietary history provides no convincing evidence of an increase in incidence of CJD in relation to possible dietary exposure to BSE. It will, however, be necessary to continue the study into the incidence of CJD for a decade or more to detect any change in the pattern of the disease. Copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
Anthrax Vaccine
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many locations are licensed for the (a) manufacture and (b) storage of anthrax vaccine.
Mr. Sackville : Two sites in England are licensed for the manufacture of anthrax vaccine and five sites for its storage.
Column 548
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commenced into side effects of the administration of (a) anthrax vaccine and (b) penicillin-resistant anthrax vaccine ; and what were the results.
Mr. Sackville : Anthrax vaccine is a licensed product in accordance with the Medicines Act 1968. As with all licensed medicinal products, administering physicians are expected to report all serious suspected adverse reactions to the Committee on the Safety of Medicines, using the "yellow card" system. Such reports are carefully scrutinised and followed up where necessary. Penicillin resistance or sensitivity of an infecting organism is not related to vaccine composition.
Centre for Applied Microbiological Research
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will place in the Library the corporate and business plans for the special health authority covering the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research ;
(2) if she will place in the Library the accounts and corporate plans of the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research for the last three years and the current corporate plan, indicating if they are separate plans and reports or incorporated within the Public Health Laboratory Service reports ;
(3) if she will list the chair and members of the special health authority covering the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research, together with their salaries, and other remuneration and their other present or previous occupations and employment ;
(4) what resources are allocated to the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research in 1993-94 ; and what resources were allocated to it as part of the Public Health Laboratory Service in 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Mr. Sackville : The centre remains part of the Public Health Laboratory Service board (PHLSB) until its functions are transferred to a new body : it is likely that this will not be until after the end of this financial year. It obtains resources from a variety of sources, including sales of products under a distributorship and marketing agreement with Porton Products Ltd., contracts with other commercial companies and public sector bodies, and funding through the PHLSB for work undertaken for the board. It has not in the past published its own corporate plan, although it is referred to within the plans produced by the PHLSB. No chairman or members of a new authority have yet been appointed. However Mr. J. E. Everitt, at present chairman and chief executive of Vickers Medical, is acting as chairman-designate to steer the establishment of the new body.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees there are at the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research currently ; and what were the figures for 1 April of each year since 1990.
Mr. Sackville : The information requested is :
Year |Number --------------------------- 1 April 1990 |461 1 April 1991 |440 1 April 1992 |467 1 April 1993 |457 1 July 1993 |459
Column 549
Porton International
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the agreement between the Government and Porton International comes to an end ; and what was the revenue to her Department arising from the agreement in each of the last three financial years.
Mr. Sackville : The distributorship and marketing agreement between Porton Products Ltd. and the Public Health Laboratory Services board (PHLSB) can be terminated by either side in October 1998. The revenue arising to the PHLSB from the agreement was £3.7 million in 1990-91, £6.8 million in 1991-92 and £6.9 million in 1992-93.
NHS Trust Directors (Political Affiliations)
Ms Lynne : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are her guidelines to regional health authorities and NHS trust chairpersons on vetting applications for NHS trust directors with respect to political party affiliation.
Mr. Sackville : My hon. Friend the Minister of Health has written to regional health authority chairmen seeking their recommendations for appointment of national health service trust non-executive directors, and providing guidance on the criteria to be followed. This guidance does not cover the issue of political affiliation : we do not seek information on this. People are appointed to health authorities and trusts for their personal qualities, and for the skills they bring to the management and strategic direction of the NHS trust. Copies of the guidance will be placed in the Library.
Nursing Education
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the responsibilities of regional health authorities for funding nurse education ; and what monitoring is given to the discharge of these responsibilities.
Mr. Sackville : Regions use top-sliced funds to purchase the training places required by employers to ensure the number of qualified staff matches the demand employers identify. Regular monitoring is carried out through the national health service management executive.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the ring-fenced money allocated to regional health authorities to provide nurse pre-registration courses has actually been used for this purpose ; and to what use any not so used has been put.
Mr. Sackville : In 1992-93, all the money allocated for pre- registration nurse training was used as intended.
Column 550
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing students there were in each of the four Thames regions, in the years 1990, 1991 and 1992.
Mr. Sackville : The figures show that the number of nursing students in each of the Thames regions as at 31 March 1990, 1991 and 1992.
|1990 |1991 |1992
------------------------------------------
North East Thames |6,030|5,730|6,310
North West Thames |3,940|3,740|4,150
South East Thames |4,170|4,300|4,460
South West Thames |2,830|2,740|2,810
Notes:
(1) The figures include those in
pre-registration nursing, district
nursing and district enrolled nursing
courses.
(2) All figures are rounded to the
nearest 10.
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students are projected to enter nursing education in each of the four Thames regions in the years 1993, 1994 and 1995.
Mr. Sackville : The four Thames regions will commission 5,767 training places for nursing in 1993-94. Information is not available centrally for projections to be made for 1994-95 and 1995-96.
Paediatrics
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant paediatricians and senior registrars specialising in paediatrics are in post on a full-time equivalent in England and Wales.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table.
Consultant and senior registrar
paediatricians England and Wales at
30 September 1991
Paediatric Specialties
|Whole-time
|equivalent
----------------------------------------
Consultants |828.4
Senior Registrars |184.8
Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) consultant paediatricians and (b) senior registrars specialising in paediatrics currently employed in England and Wales were trained in (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) other European Community countries and (iii) countries outwith the EC.
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table.
Column 549
Consultant and senior registrar paediatricians by country of qualification in England and Wales-30 September 1991
Paediatric specialties
|United Kingdom |Other European |Elsewhere |Total
|Community countries
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consultant |812 |8 |81 |901
Senior registrar |179 |3 |31 |213
Mr. Sackville : The available information is shown in the table.
Number of vacant posts for consultant and senior registrar paediatricians at 30 September 1987 to 1991 (England and Wales) Year |Consultants |Senior Registrars ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1987 |14 |6 1988 |18 |6 1989 |22 |9 1990 |33 |10 1991 |30 |6 Notes: 1. Data on time to fill such posts are not available. 2. Paediatrics is known to be a shortage specialty and the number of senior registrar posts is being increased.
General Practitioners (Drug Prescribing)
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a table setting out the total of the amount by which general practitioners' expenditure on prescribed drugs exceeded indicative limits in each year since 1990.
Mr. Sackville : The indicative prescribing scheme started in April 1991, therefore figures for 1990-91 are not available. Information for 1991 -92 and 1992-93 is shown in the table.
|1991-92 |1992-93
|£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------
Indicative amount |2,231,489,967|2,367,401,869
Expenditure |2,414,708,258|2,545,374,139
Difference |+183,218,291 |+177,972,270
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to bring the budget for general practitioner prescriptions within the cash-limited budgets of health authorities or health commissions ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The cost of drugs prescribed by general practitioner fund holders are contained within fund-holding budgets, which in turn form part of the cash limited hospital, community and family health services budgets of regional health authorities. We have no plans to extend these arrangements to non-fund-holding general practitioners.
Locum Doctors
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will require all national health service provider authorities and trusts to take up references on applicants for locum clinical appointments ; and if she will make a statement ;
(2) if she will make a statement on the arrangements whereby locum doctors are appointed in the hospital service.
Mr. Sackville : Health authorities and national health service trusts are responsible for the appointment of locum
Column 552
doctors in the hospital service. There are clear guidelines from the Department, designed to ensure that locum doctors are of an adequate standard to carry out the duties required of them. These include both checks on qualifications and references from previous employers. Copies of the guidelines (EL(89)P/148 and EL(92)53) are available in the Library.GP Fund Holders
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide an estimate for the value of funding allocations retained by general practitioner fund holders at the year end.
Mr. Sackville : This information will not be available until the final 1992-93 accounts have been audited.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 20 July, Official Report, column 14, if she will estimate expenditure on trusts for 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Greenwich (Mr. Raynsford) on 17 May at column 29.
District Health Authority
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average annual cost per whole-time equivalent at (a) current and (b) 1986- 87 prices in each year from 1986-87 of an executive member of a district health authority.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Complaints Review
Mrs. Browning : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has appointed the members of the complaints review she announced at 18 June.
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley : I am pleased to announce that the following have agreed to be members of the National Health Service Complaints Review Committee chaired by Professor Wilson :
Professor Judy Allsop, Professor of Health Policy, South Bank University ; member, Citizen's Charter Complaints Task Force. Dr. Ewen Bramwell, General Practitioner.
Mr. Chris Dabbs, Chief Officer, Salford Community Health Council. Mr. Steve Forster, Personnel Director, London and Scandinavian Metallurgical Co. Ltd ; member, Rotherham FHSA.
Mrs. Vivienne Harpwood, Head of Medico-legal Department, University College of Wales, Cardiff.
Mrs. Deirdre Hutton, Chair, Scottish Consumer Council.
Mr. John James, Chief Executive, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster FHSA.
Mr. Pat Killen, Managing Director, Tyrone Crystal ; Chairman, Northern Ireland Citizen's Charter Board.
Mr. Bruce MacGillivray, Consultant in Clinical Neurophysiology, Royal Free Hospital Trust.
Rabbi Julia Neuberger, Chair, Camden and Islington Community Trust ; Vice President, Patients Association.
Ms Irene Scott, Nurse Executive Director, Christie Hospital
Column 553
Empty Homes
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacant bed spaces were identified in the task force on empty homes as being in the ownership of NHS Estates but unsuitable for commercial or social lettings ; and how many of them were (a) in nurses' hostels, (b) in doctors' residences, (c) inside hospital grounds, (d) outside hospital grounds and (e) in each regional health authority area.
Mr. Sackville : Vacant bed spaces in hostels were generally considered by the task force to be unsuitable for commercial or social lettings. Based on a survey which covered about 75 per cent. of the national health service, it is estimated that at 1 December last year there were 11,400 vacant hostel places, of which 9,280 were inside, and 2,120 outside hospital grounds. Analysis of this information by nurses' hostels, doctors' residencies and regional health authority area are not available. Ownership responsibility for NHS staff residential accommodation lies with health authorities and trusts. The Department is issuing guidance which will include examples of good practice to encourage and assist NHS authorities to make use of empty places wherever practicable.
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many empty bed spaces identified by her Department for the empty homes task force were (a) in hostels with shared facilities where all the bed spaces are vacant, (b) in hostels with shared facilities where some of the bed spaces are occupied and (c) in hostels or homes without shared facilities.
Mr. Sackville : From the survey carried out last year, it is estimated that across the national health service at 1 December the number of empty bed spaces were (a) 200, (b) 11,200 and (c) 3, 700. These figures include properties being refurbished, due for demolition, and in the process of disposal as well as those available for letting.
Dentistry (Sterilisation)
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consideration she has given to the provision of additional funding to NHS dental practices to cover the cost of heat-sterilising handpieces between the treatment of each patient.
Mr. Sackville : The Department reimburses in full to the profession, on an average basis, all dentists' national health service practice expenses. In 1987-88, 1988-89 and 1989-90 the health Departments, in their discussions with the profession in the dental rates study group (DRSG), explicitly recognised that dentists were likely to incur additional expenses for cross infection control and extra money was made available in those years. From 1990-91 onwards, any additional costs incurred from 1987- 88 to 1989-90 are included in the baseline of dentists' practice expenses used by the DRSG to forecast dentists' future expenses and would have been reimbursed in the normal way.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are held by her Department in relation to the different sterilisation practices employed by NHS dental practitioners for the cleaning of dental handpieces and the number of dentists who use each technique.
Column 554
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Alcohol and Drug Treatment
Mr. Rathbone : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of whether sufficient residential treatment is now available for people with alcohol or drug problems ; (2) how many residential services for people with alcohol or drug problems have deregistered with their local authority since January ; and how many bed spaces this involves ;
(3) when she will make available the report from Goldsmiths college on the implementation of community care and its impact on the provision of residential treatment for people with alcohol or drug problems.
Mr. Bowis : Comprehensive information on residential services for people who misuse alcohol and drugs and on the scale of deregistration is not available centrally. It is expected that some data on these aspects of services provision will be included in the report by Goldsmiths college which has been commissioned to monitor the impact of community care on service provision for alcohol and drug misusers during the first three months of implementation. A copy of the report will be placed in the Library shortly.
Ultrasound
Mrs. Wise : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she had made of the evaluation carried out as to the long-term safety of ultrasound exposure of the foetus and newborn ; and on what studies she had based her conclusions.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 22 July 1993] : The available evidence on the safety of ultrasound in pregnancy is contained in the publication "Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth" (1989), a copy of which is available in the Library. It concluded that : "so far, there is no evidence that ultrasonography in human pregnancy has any harmful biological or physical effects." Details of trials conducted since 1989 are included in the Oxford database of perinatal trials. Copies of extracts from the database relating to ultrasound will be placed in the Library.
An ad hoc group of the Chief Medical Officer's radiological advisory committee is currently examining the general safety of ultrasound.
Hypnotherapy
Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to introduce standardisation of training techniques, registration on a community basis and certification for hypnotherapists ; if she will give details of her Department's response to the British Medical Association's report "Complementary Medicine--New Approaches to Good Practice" ; and if she will make a statement about her Department's view of hypnotherapy services and their funding.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 22 July 1993] : We support the efforts of reputable training institutes in hypnotherapy to develop standards of training, voluntary registration and certification of hypnotherapists. The [ts recommendations with interest and care. Hypnotherapy is, in some cases, already provided in the national health service as an adjunct to other treatment by doctors, dentists, psychologists and other health care professionals. We are currently reviewing these matters to examine whether there is a further role for Government in promoting safe and competent practice in this field.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Small Businesses
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement on the achievements of (a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.
Mr. Sproat : The Government continue to help small businesses through improvements to the business climate, through deregulation and through specific programmes of support and assistance. My Department has been an active participant in the Government's deregulation initiative. It is undertaking a thorough review of the impact of regulations, from whatever source, on the business sectors in which it has a policy interest, and I have recently commissioned a report on deregulation and the tourism industry, which includes a large number of small businesses. The Department will undertake a risk analysis and full compliance cost assessment before putting forward any new regulatory measures which might affect business, and aims to maintain and improve its links and consultation arrangements with businesses operating within the areas where I have a policy interest.
The Department's fundamental review of the public library service will reflect the extent to which public libraries play a key role in the provision of information for small businesses.
Businesses of various sizes have been successful in tendering competitively for the provision of contracted out services, in supplies and works for the Department, its agencies and its non-departmental public bodies.
Data Processing
Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will list the numbers of staff by grade that are employed in his Department and agencies in the automatic data processing functional specialism.
| Next Section
| Home Page |