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Dr. Mawhinney : There are no specific statutory procedures for consulting patients in such cases. Family health services authorities are, however, required by the Community Health Council Regulations 1985 to consult the local community health council on any proposals to make any substantial variation in the provision of general medical services in their area.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her Department's policy on the development of medical priority dispatch systems within national health service ambulance services ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : A number of ambulance services are evaluating the use of priority dispatch systems. No central decisions will be made on a future role for these systems until the safety of their use and the benefits to patients have been fully assessed.
Spectacles
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations her Department has received about the adequacy of the voucher to cover the cost of spectacles ; and how the estimate of the value of the voucher is reached.
Dr. Mawhinney : Departmental officials have met and exchanged correspondence about the value of optical vouchers with the Optical Voucher Consultative Committee, which is composed of representatives from the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, the Association of Optometrists and the Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians. The value of optical vouchers is determined by the patients' optical prescription ; the more complex the prescription, the higher the value of the voucher. Values currently range from £24.40 to £113.
Private Health Care
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics she has on the availability of private health care (a) by region and (b) by district in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville : Independent hospitals, nursing homes and clinics are required to register with the national health service under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984. Annual statistics are provided which show the provision of beds and other facilities, together with staffing information. Summarised information at national, regional and district level is published in "Private Hospitals, Homes and Clinics Registered under Section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984", copies of which are available in the Library.
Column 327
Private Medicine
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the membership of the Welsh Office/Department of Health joint working party, set up to review rules on practising private medicine on national health service premises.
Mr. Sackville : There is no such joint working party. The Department of Health and the Welsh Office are revising the handbook "Management of Private Practice in Health Service Hospitals in England and Wales" and officials are liaising in the normal way.
Depo medrone
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she expects to produce a patient information leaflet for the drug Depo medrone.
Mr. Sackville : Patient information leaflets are produced by pharmaceutical companies which market medicinal products and are authorised by the licensing authority. Under a European Community directive on the labelling of human medicines and leaflets--EC 92/27--copies of which are available in the Library, a package leaflet containing specified information for the patient has to be provided unless that information is on the product label. United Kingdom regulations implementing these provisions have been made and the new requirement came into force from 1 January 1994. Products already on the market, such as Depo medrone, have to meet the new requirements at the time of the five-yearly renewal of their licence.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff, whole-time equivalents, are employed at Richmond house.
Mr. Sackville : There are 441 staff who work for the Department of Health and 190 who work for the Department of Social Security. We are unable to provide these figures as whole-time equivalents.
Press Releases
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much it cost to redesign the Department's press release paper.
Mr. Sackville : The cost of redesigning the Department's paper was £993.
Car Parks
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list by region, for each year since 1990, the income from car parking charges implemented by hospitals.
Mr. Sackville : Information on the net income received from car parking charges in 1991-92, provided by the 57 national health service trusts which then existed and by region for other hospitals, is shown in the table. Information for other years is not available centrally.
Column 328
Region |Net income
(in respect of |£000s
Directly
Managed Units)
------------------------------------------------
Northern |0
Yorkshire |0
Trent |0
East Anglian |63
North West Thames |138
North East Thames |110
South East Thames |138
South West Thames |86
Wessex |31
Oxfordshire |147
South Western |206
West Midlands |-19
Mersey |0
North Western |146
Total Regions |1,046
NHS Trusts |192
|---
National Total |1,238
Fundraisers
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals and trusts employ a fundraiser ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : We welcome a close working partnership between the health service and local voluntary and community groups including fund- raising activities. Detailed information about the number of fundraisers employed is not available centrally.
Corticosteroids
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when and how she intends to publish the findings and recommendations of the Medicine Control Agency's investigation into corticosteroids ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : The Medicines Control Agency has investigated the issue of immunosuppression in patients taking corticosteroids and in particular the association with disseminated chickenpox. Advice has been sought from the Committee on Safety of Medicines and its findings and recommendations will be published in the next issue of the bulletin "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance". This will be circulated to all doctors and pharmacists next month.
Health Care Purchasing
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 14 December, Official Report, column 557, if she will provide a breakdown of the purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies for (a) regions, (b) districts and (c) trusts.
Mr. Sackville : We do not collect expenditure figures broken down by type of health care purchased from non-national health service bodies.
Mesothelioma
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are her Department's latest estimates for levels of mesothelioma over the next 30 years ; and if she will make a statement.
Column 329
Mr. Sackville : Information on the level of mesothelioma is not separately identified at present in Office of Population Censuses and Surveys figures. A review of the OPCS data collection is currently under way with a view to enabling separate identification.
Clothier Inquiry
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to announce the findings of the Clothier inquiry.
Private Medical Insurance
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to arrange that future general household surveys provide details of private medical insurance in British households.
Mr. Sackville : The schedule of questions for the 1994 general household survey--GHS--was finalised some months ago. It is not possible to say at this time whether questions on private medical insurance are likely to be included in the 1995 GHS.
District Health Authorities
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each district health authority (a) the current annual budget and (b) the current number of managerial staff.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 29 November 1993] : Information will be placed in the Library giving details of revenue expenditure for each district health authority in 1992-93. Information on current budgets and numbers of managerial staff is not available centrally.
Travelling and Subsistence
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for 1991-92 and 1992-93 the expenditure on travelling and subsistence for (a) health regions, (b) health districts and (c) trusts.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 14 December 1993] : The information is shown in the table.
Expenditure on travelling and subsistence
£ thousands
|1991-92|1992-93
----------------------------------------------------
Regional health authorities |18,165 |18,879
District health authorities |145,094|122,410
NHS trusts |17,987 |55,827
Note: Figures for 1992-93 are provisional.
Source: Financial returns for regional health
authorities, district health
authorities and NHS trusts.
Expenditure in real terms has fallen since 1990-91 due to good management of the national health service. The increased expenditure by NHS trusts reflects the increase in their numbers.
Office Equipment
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for 1992-93 and 1991-92 the expenditure on office equipment by (a) regions, (b) districts and (c) trusts.
Column 330
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 14 December 1993] : Information on revenue expenditure is shown in the table.
Revenue Expenditure on office equipment
|1991-92|1992-93
|£ 000's|£ 000's
----------------------------------------------------
Regional Health Authorities |2,767 |2,980
District Health Authorities |32,028 |30,873
Trusts |4,135 |12,725
Note:The figures for 1992-93 are provisional.
Source: The financial returns of regional health
authorities, district
health authorities and NHS trusts.
Costs have remained roughly static in real terms since 1990-91. The increase in expenditure by National Health Service trusts reflects the increase in their numbers.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances public money is made available to assist in drawing up a proposal for trust status ; on how many such occasions applications for trust status have failed or not been proceeded with ; which potential trusts were involved ; and what was the cost of drawing up the proposals.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 14 December 1993] : When expressions of interest in national health service trust status are approved by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health funds are made available to regional health authorities to assist those units in drawing up their applications. The table lists those applications which were withdrawn or deferred after the expression of interest was approved. Information about the cost of drawing up individual applications is not available centrally.
Applications for NHS trust status withdrawn or deferred by wave of trust
First Wave
Brighton Acute Services
St. Bartholomew's
St. Thomas' Hospital
Crawley/Horsham
Bromley Acute
Harefield Hospital
Ravensbourne Priority Services
North West Hertfordshire Priority Services
Second Wave
Northwick Park Hospital
Royal London Homeopathic Hospital
Bromley Healthcare
Mid-Kent Health Care Services (Maidstone Acute)
Princess Christian (Tonbridge Wells Mental Handicap)
South Buckinghamshire (Wycombe Health Services)
West Berkshire Mental Handicap Unit
Horton General
North West Durham Hospital and Community Services
Mid Surrey Mental Handicap
St. Bartholomew's (Dissolved before operational date of
1 April 1993)
St. Thomas' Hospital (Dissolved before operational date of 1 April 1993
Third Wave
Essex and Hertfordshire Health Services
Newham Healthcare
Tavistock and Portman Clinics
Stockport Health Services
Queen Victoria East Grinstead
Yardley Green
Dewsbury Health Care
Rehabilitation North
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Tameside and GlossopMedway and Swale Healthcare
Plymouth Acute Services
Derbyshire Royal Infirmary
Hull and East Yorkshire Community and Mental Health Services St. Georges Health Care (combined acute and community services application deferred, reconfigured application for acute services subsequently approved)
North West Hertfordshire Acute
Fourth Wave
The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
South Birmingham Acute
Solihull Hospital
Newcastle General Health
Unityne
West Sussex Ambulance
East Sussex Ambulance
Riverside Acute
Hammersmith and Queen Charlottes
The information for the fourth wave is the latest available as the fourth wave assessment process has not yet been completed.
NHS Leavers
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many employees who have left the NHS have required permission to join firms of management consultants in each of the last five years.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 17 December 1993] : This information is not available centrally. Employment issues such as this are the responsibility of local national health service employers. The Department of Health does not require employers to include any restrictive clause in employment contracts preventing employees from immediately taking up employment as a consultant after resigning from the NHS.
GP Fundholders
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 13 December, Official Report, column 478, what amount of the fundholding allocation was retained by general practitioner fundholders in 1991-92 (a) in total and (b) in each region.
Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 17 December 1993] : The final audited savings for 1991-92 are now available and are shown in the table. Overall general practitioner fundholders retained £14.5 million efficiency savings which will be spent on further improving services for patients. This represents 3.6 per cent. of budgets set and is a considerable achievement by fundholders in the first year of the scheme.
Region |Fundholder savings
|retained in 1991-92
|(£ million)
------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |0.7
Yorkshire |1.1
Trent |1.5
East Anglian |0.6
North West Thames |0.9
North East Thames |1.0
South East Thames |0.7
South West Thames |1.6
Wessex |0.7
Oxford |1.1
South Western |0.5
West Midlands |2.5
Mersey |1.1
North Western |0.7
England |14.5
Note: Figures do not add for England total due to rounding.
SCOTLAND
Forestry Commission
Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what area of Forestry Commission land the Government requires the commission to sell by the end of the century ; and what area it has sold in the last five years.
Sir Hector Monro : The Government asked the Forestry Commission in 1989 to dispose of 100,000 hectares of forestry land and properties during the period up to the end of the century. The commission has sold 32,000 hectares to date.
Mr. George Robertson : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list all Forestry Commission woods in the Hamilton constituency ; (2) what plans he has to sell off any of the woods in the Hamilton constituency under the current disposals programme of the Forestry Commission.
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