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Dr. Mawhinney : No such estimate has been made.
Dame Jill Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received an NHS eye test in each of the last 10 years ; and if she will indicate the numbers in groups (a) under 16, (b) between 16 and 40, (c) between 40 and 60 and (d) over 60 years of age for each year.
Dr. Mawhinney : The number of sight tests paid for by family health services authorities is shown in the table :
Sight tests - England
Millions
Year |Total |Children
|under 16
--------------------------------------
1983-84 |9,266 |-
1984-85 |9,882 |-
1985-86 |10,246 |-
1986-87 |10,615 |-
1987-88 |11,695 |-
1988-89 |12,493 |-
1989-90<1> |1,631 |-
1989-90<2> |3,649 |<3>1,541
1990-91 |4,154 |1,560
1991-92 |4,979 |1,843
1992-93 |5,528 |2,013
<1> Old scheme.
<2> New scheme. From 1 April 1989,
national health service sight tests
were restricted to certain groups in
the population. The sight tests
paid for in this period are split
between those conducted prior to 1
April and those conducted after 1
April.
<3> This figure is not comparable
with those for subsequent years since
there will be an additional number of
sight tests paid for in this period
which were conducted prior to 1 April
1989. Since everyone was then
entitled to a NHS sight test, patient
eligibility was not relevant.
Note: Apart from children under 16
for the years shown, information on
the age of patients is not available.
Empty Hospitals
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals in (a) Lancashire and (b) England have been empty since 1989.
Column 921
Mr. Sackville : Health authorities and National Health Service trusts are responsible for disposing of surplus NHS property in accordance with Government procedures.
Dentistry
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she is planning to publish the Government's response to the Bloomfield report and the oral health strategy.
Dr. Mawhinney : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. Wardell) on 18 February at column 1042 .
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from the British Dental Association about the publication of the response to the Bloomfield report and oral health strategy ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : The British Dental Association wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 9 February.
Blindness
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the three most common conditions resulting in blindness in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Sackville : Information on the causes of blindness is collected at 10 year intervals, annual information is not available. Unpublished data from the survey "Causes of blindness and partial sight in England and Wales April 1990 to March 1991" show the most common causes of blindness are :
Degeneration macula and posterior pole
Glaucoma
Diabetic retinopathy
Optic atrophy
Cataract
Multiple Sclerosis Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffer from multiple sclerosis in (a) Pendle, (b) Lancashire and (c) England.
Mr. Sackville : This information is not available centrally.
Health Authority Directors
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will review the method of payment to non-executive directors of health authorities to relate the amount paid more closely to the number of hours worked.
Dr. Mawhinney : We have no plans to review the current arrangements for the remuneration of non-executive directors on national health service bodies.
Nurses
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the shortest contractual period for which nurses are employed by national health service trusts.
Mr. Sackville : It is for the individual trust to decide.
Column 922
Tuberculosis
Mr. Gareth Wardell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to amend general practitioners' contracts so that targets are specified for the immunisation of children against TB.
Mr. Sackville : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 5 November 1993 at column 536 .
Trent Regional Health Authority
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is being allocated in 1994-95 to Trent regional health authority to purchase health care from other regions ; and what the figures were for 1993-94.
Mr. Sackville : Health authorities are funded to enable them to purchase health care for their resident population. There is no separate funding for care purchased from within or from outside regional boundaries and it is for health authorities themselves to determine the most appropriate place to purchase health care.
Day Cases
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many day cases were treated in the national health service in 1992-93.
Mr. Sackville : The answer is 1,806,859.
St. James's Hospital, Leeds
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the professional qualifications of Mr. Bernard Chalk, deputy director of finance at St. James's hospital, Leeds ; and when those qualifications were attained.
Dr. Mawhinney : The relevant qualifications for national health service staff are a matter for the employing authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. John Greetham, chairman of the St. James's university hospital NHS trust, for details.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Dementia
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many suspected and confirmed cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob dementia have been reported to the surveillance units at Great Ormond Street, London and Edinburgh in the past 12 months ; and what was the location of each case ;
(2) if national health service clinicians are required to report suspected and confirmed cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob dementia to the surveillance units based at Great Ormond Street, London and Edinburgh.
Mr. Sackville : Suspected cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the United Kingdom are reported to the national CJD surveillance unit in Edinburgh.
In the 12-month period to 28 February 1994, 48 cases of suspected CJD were referred to the national surveillance unit. Of this number, 31 are now deceased and their cause of death have been classified as :
Column 923
|Number
-----------------------
Definite |18
Probable |2
Possible |10
Other |1
Of the remaining 17 two are definite--CJD having been confirmed by biopsy-- and four are probable.
The definite and probable cases were distributed throughout the United Kingdom reflecting population density, as shown in the table :
Number of definite and
probable cases of CJD 1 March
1993 to
28 February 1994 by standard
region
|Number
-------------------------------
Scotland |4
Northern Ireland |2
North |2
North West |1
Yorks/Humberside |4
Wales |2
West Midlands |1
East Midlands |2
East Anglia |1
South West |2
South East |5
|---
Total |26
The unit based on the Institute of Child Health--Great Ormond Street hospital--is concerned with following up and counselling patients who received human pituitary derived growth hormone and who may now be at risk of contracting CJD. It is not involved with routine surveillance of CJD.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, for Wales and for Northern Ireland regarding the notification of suspected and confirmed cases of Creuzfeldt-Jakob dementia to her Department ; and if she will place a copy of all related correspondence in the Library.
Mr. Sackville : Officials in the four Health Departments are in regular contact on these as on other matters of mutual interest.
Hospital Beds, London
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the survey carried out by Professor Brian Jarman for the Government in 1989 on bed numbers in London ; if the results of the survey were known to Professor Tomlinson prior to publication of his report ; what account she has taken of Professor Jarman's findings in her Department's policies ; and if she will call a halt to hospital closures and bed reductions in London.
Dr. Mawhinney : Sir Bernard Tomlinson received evidence directly from Professor Jarman. His work was taken into account in the Government's response to the Tomlinson report.
NHS Trust Managers
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) of 11 February, Official Report, column
Column 924
537, how many general and senior managers were employed by trusts in each year since 1991-92 ; and what percentage of the total number of regional senior and general managers this represented.Dr. Mawhinney [holding answer 28 February 1994] : At 30 September 1991, some 1,500 whole-time equivalent staff in national health service trusts were identified as general and senior managers, representing 12.4 per cent. of the total 12,110 throughout the NHS. At 30 September 1992, the figures were 3,810 and 26.8 per cent. of the total 14,250 respectively. The growth in numbers reflects the increase in the number of trusts. Figures for September 1993 will not be available until later this year.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Cross-media Ownership
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what inquiry he intends to carry out before decisions are taken on the issue of cross-media ownership and its consequences ; and whether he proposes to issue a Green Paper on the subject to stimulate widespread public discussion.
Mr. Brooke : I invited written representations from the industry by 25 February. These are now being considered by an inter-departmental group of officials, who will seek meetings to supplement the material they have received. I have no plans to publish a Green Paper.
Mr. Aspinwall : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage which organisations have made representations concerning the review of cross-media ownership rules ; and how these will be handled.
Mr. Brooke : We have received 49 representations, from those listed, and have had an indication that others may yet make late submissions. All these representations will be carefully considered by an inter-departmental group, with the aim of concluding the review by the summer. Officials will supplement the written material they have received by meetings with the industry.
Actors' Church Union
Associated Newspapers Ltd.
Association of British Editors
Association of Independent Radio Companies Ltd.
British Broadcasting Corporation
British Film Institute
British Media Industry Group
Broadcasting Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU)
Broadcasting for Scotland Campaign
Broadcasting Standards Council
Brodies (Solicitors)
British Sky Broadcasting Ltd.
Cable Television Association
Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom
Carlton Communications plc
EMAP plc
Enterprise Radio Holdings Ltd.
Roger Gale Esq, MP
GMTV Ltd.
Guardian Media Group plc
GWR Group plc
Hammond Suddards (Solicitors)
Hooper Communications
The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers Ltd.
Independent Television Commission
Institute of Local Television
Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA)
Column 925
InterspaceITN
LWT
Mercury Communications Ltd.
Midland Indepedent Newspapers Ltd.
National Union of Journalists
National Viewers' and Listeners' Association
News International plc
The Newspaper Society
Pearson plc
The Radio Authority
S4C
Scottish Newspaper Publishers' Association
Scottish Television plc
SelecTV plc
The Telegraph plc
Trinity International Holdings plc
Ulster Television plc
Virgin Radio Ltd.
Voice of the Listener and Viewer
University of Westminster (Centre for Communication and Information studies)
The Writers Guild of Great Britain
Ancient Monuments
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what was the expenditure on the number of (a) repair grants under section 24 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and (b) management agreements under section 17 of the Act for each year since 1986.
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