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Young Carers
Mr. Khabra : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to establish the specific needs of young carers.
Mr. Bowis : The Government take a close and active interest in the needs of children and young people who undertake responsibility at home for the well-being of a relative with a disability or chronic illness. The Department is funding, through the family support initiative, work in this field by Barnado's in Liverpool and, through core funding, is supporting the Carers National Association, which is conducting a young carers project.
Mentally Ill People
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is currently being spent by her Department on care in the community of psychiatrically disturbed people ; what the figure was 20 years ago ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis : In 1991-92 expenditure on mental health services totalled over £2 billion, this includes £179.7 million which local authorities spent on services for the mentally ill and £29.8 million which health authorities spent on projects funded under the care in the community arrangements. No figures are held for 1971-72, but in 1978-79 personal social services expenditure on mental illness was £24.8 million.
Accident and Emergency Units
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current ratio of accident and emergency units to district general hospitals in Greater London ; and what the ratio was in 1979.
Mr. Sackville : The information available centrally is shown in the table. From 1991-92 the accident and emergency services have been recorded by provider units
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which may provide accident and emergency services on more than one site within the unit. Information for earlier years is not therefore comparable.
|Inner |Outer |Total
|London|London
------------------------------------------------------------
Number of hospitals providing A
and E services
1988-89 |27 |31 |58
1989-90 |27 |31 |58
1990-91 |29 |31 |60
Number of NHS provider units
providing A and E services
1991-92 |18 |25 |43
1992-93 |18 |16 |36
Source: KHO3 return.
Stolen Equipment
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish a list of the equipment stolen from her Department in the last three years for which information is available ; and what was the approximate value of each item.
Mr. Sackville [holding answer 16 February 1994] : The tables show the official equipment that has been stolen from the Department of Health's buildings together with its approximate value. Three buildings are jointly occupied by Department of Social Security staff but where the Department of Health, the major occupier, has building management responsibility, the tables include equipment from those buildings belonging to both Departments. One incident of theft in 1993 accounted for a large percentage of the total loss for that year. Measures intended to combat these thefts have been taken, including the branding of equipment to show ownership.
Description of items |Approximate
|value
|£
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Period 1 January to 31 December 1991
2 battery chargers |120
Computer software |100
2 Computers (no software) |2,000
3 Computers and software |5,360
Thermo Anemometer |100
Mobile Telephone |220
Extension lead and adaptor |170
Camera and accessories |2,200
5 Answerphones |200
Dictaphone |230
2 Paperweights |5
|---
|10,705
Period 1 January to 31 December 1992
2 Computer file servers |1,700
9 Computers and software |24,010
|---
|25,710
Period 1 January to 31 December 1993
45 Computers and
software |80,120
5 Printers |6,250
Disks |6,410
3 Keyboards |300
Software |650
4 Mobile Telephones |350
Video Recorder |400
17 Answerphones |650
|---
|95,130
Advertising
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of publications from her Department and the expenditure on advertising in 1993 excluding the cost of routine correspondence.
Mr. Sackville : The estimated costs for publications and advertising in 1993-94 are :
Publications £7.5 million
Advertising £4.7 million
National Care Deficit
Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the national care deficit.
Mr. Bowis : The question presupposes that it is possible to quantify the total health and social care needs of the population in an objective way. I do not believe that this can be done in a way which would be meaningful.
British Health Care Association
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of donations were received by the NHS from the British Health Care Association in 1993.
Mr. Sackville : This is a matter for the British Health Care Association.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the current health risk to humans from bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 16 February at column 866.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure was committed by her Department to research into the health implications of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans in 1993.
Mr. Sackville : The Department and the Scottish Office fund research carried out at the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance unit at Edinburgh. This includes examination of occupational and dietary exposure of cases of CJD for possible links with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The unit will receive a total of £161,000 from the Department of Health in the current financial year.
The Department is also funding a series of studies at the Institute for Animal Health, Edinburgh into the time-temperature combinations required to inactivate scrapie agencies. The studies began on 1 January 1994 with funding of £64,000 in the current financial year. Research into the human health implications of BSE is also being undertaken by the Medical Research Council which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
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Nursing Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds there were in (a) the largest residential care home and (b) the largest nursing home in each year since 1983 in (i) the voluntary sector and (ii) the private sector.
Mr. Bowis : The largest nursing home is a dually registered home with 385 beds at March 1993, 270 of which were dedicated to nursing care. Figures for nursing care beds are not available for previous years.
The information for residential care homes has only been available centrally from 1987 to 1992 and is as shown in the table. These figures will include some beds dedicated to nursing care.
Number of beds available in largest private and voluntary residential care homes As at |Voluntary|Private 31 March ---------------------------------------- 1987 |415 |114 1988 |400 |114 1989 |432 |114 1990 |432 |144 1991 |432 |144 1992 |394 |105 Source: RAC5 returns.
West Midlands Regional Health Authority
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department has received from the chief executive of the West Midlands regional health authority on the employment of Mr. Manders, an NHS employee by a health care-purchasing consortium ; if she will publish the information ; what action she intends to take ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville : This is a matter for West Midlands regional health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Bryan Baker, the chairman, for details.
Family Health Services Authorities
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are issued on the commercial activity of chairmen of family health services authorities ; and if he will make a statement on the case of Mr. Athelston Sealey.
Mr. Sackville : There is no limitation on the freedom of chairmen of family health services authorities to pursue private interests provided that they observe scrupulously the regulations governing the disclosure of any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any matter under consideration by their authorities. They may not take part in the consideration or discussion of that matter or vote on any question related to it.
Codes of conduct and accountability will be issued to national health service boards with effect from 1 April 1994, reaffirming these regulations. It is proposed that relevant interests should be declared and recorded in board minutes, that directorships and other significant interests held by NHS board members should be declared on appointment, kept up to date and set out in the annual report, and that all declared interests should be drawn to the attention of auditors.
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Photorefractive Keratectomy
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670 , in what circumstances myopia may be treated by excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy at the expense of the national health service.
Dr. Mawhinney : Treatment of myopia by laser is available on the national health service only as part of a clinical trial.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to her answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670, regarding excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy, for each hospital during the period of the clinical trials, how many (a) NHS patients and (b) private patients have undergone one operation ; how many (i) NHS patients and (ii) private patients have undergone both operations ; how many (1) NHS patients and (2) private patients have completed their course of treatment ; and how many (x) NHS patients and (y) private patients will not have completed their course of treatment by the end date of the clinical trials ; (2) pursuant to her answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670, regarding excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy, what is the start and end date of the clinical trials at (a) St. Thomas's and (b) Moorfields eye hospitals ;
(3) pursuant to her answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670, what is the current size of the NHS waiting list for excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy ; and what is the average monthly rate of operations for (a) NHS patients and (b) private patients in (i) St. Thomas's hospital and (ii) Moorfields eye hospital ;
(4) pursuant to her answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670, what is the cost per operation of excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy ; and what is the total cost of treating a patient under this programme at (a) St. Thomas's hospital and (b) Moorfields eye hospital.
Dr. Mawhinney : The hon. Member may wish to contact Lord Hayhoe, chairman of Guy's and St. Thomas's hospital trust, and Mr. Hugh Peppiatt, chairman of the Moorfields eye hospital special health authority, for details.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670, regarding excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy, if this procedure is undergoing clinical trials in any other national health service hospitals.
Dr. Mawhinney : As far as we are aware, no.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 15 February, Official Report, column 670, regarding excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy, to what use the equipment will be put at the end of the clinical trials.
Dr. Mawhinney : One excimer laser is leased from the manufacturers and will revert to them. The other, purchased by a charitable fund for use in research at St. Thomas's, will continue to be used for that research.
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Employees (Screening)
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many times the NHS has bid for a screening programme of Government employees ; and what was the value of each contract and who won the contract in each case ;
(2) if she will make a statement on the outcome of the bid for the NHS for a contract for health checks for social security staff.
Mr. Sackville : Contracts for health checks on Government employees are the responsibility of the relevant employing organisation.
Hospitals (Patients Charter)
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which hospitals within the London initiative zone are to be fined for failure to meet patients charter standards ; and how much each fine will be ;
(2) which hospitals in each of the regional health areas are to be fined for not meeting patients charter standards ; and how much each fine will be.
Dr. Mawhinney : There is no central policy which imposes financial sanctions on hospitals failing to meet patients charter standards. District health authorities are, however, at liberty to negotiate sanctions through the contracting process.
Allocations through the national health service management executive's waiting times fund, for the last few years, have been linked to regions' performance on waiting times objectives. Some regions pass on any fines to district health authorities and hospitals. The hon. Member may care to contact the regions directly for more detailed information.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for each of the non-departmental bodies sponsored by her Department, whether the public has a statutory right to attend all board or committee meetings and to inspect (a) minutes of meetings, (b) the annual reports and (c) the annual accounts.
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Mr. Sackville [holding answer 15 February 1994] : The meetings of regional health authorities, district health authorities and family health services authorities are governed by the Public Bodies (Admissions to meetings) Act 1960. This requires any full meeting of the authority, at which specific action is required, to be open to the public. The public may be excluded from the whole or part of a meeting when confidential business is to be discussed. The 1960 Act also requires authorities to supply the press, on request, with a copy of the agenda for each full meeting. These authorities are not required to publish annual reports and accounts, but many do so, and their audited accounts are publicly available on request. National health service trusts, and their committees or sub-committees, are not subject to the 1960 Act. Trusts are required to have one public meeting per year, in accordance with the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. They are required to publish annual reports, business plans and accounts.
Other non-departmental bodies sponsored by the Department of Health are not required to hold meetings in public, or to allow the public to inspect minutes of those meetings.
Executive bodies are not required to produce reports but all do so either annually or biennially. Annual accounts are usually published either as part of the annual report, or as a separate document. Many advisory bodies produce some form of annual report, although they are not required to do so. Most do not produce accounts as they do not have any executive function, and therefore no budget. "Public Bodies 1993" gives full details of non-departmental bodies publishing annual reports.
Of the tribunals sponsored by the Department, the mental health review tribunal rules state that hearings must be in private, unless the patient requests a public hearing. The decision of the tribunal is confidential, and is made available only to the patient and other parties directly concerned with the patient ; the registered homes tribunals are held in private, but the decision of each hearing is published ; the NHS tribunals are held in private, and minutes of meetings, annual accounts and reports are not available to the public.
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