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Home Helps
Mrs. Bridget Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the levels of charges imposed by local authorities in England and Wales on persons not in receipt of income-related benefits for home helps.
Mr. Bowis : There is no requirement on local authorities to inform the Department of such charges.
GP Computer Costs
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to reimburse computer costs to general practitioners for provision of data for public health purposes.
Mr. Sackville : General practitioners are currently eligible to claim reimbursement of computer costs irrespective of whether they provide such data.
Pocket Guide to Sex"
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has to publish those sections of the "Pocket Guide to Sex" containing information on
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contraception, avoiding unwanted pregnancies, safer sexual practices and avoiding AIDS and sexually- transmitted diseases ; (2) what is her policy on allowing the publication of the "Pocket Guide to Sex" by another publisher.Dr. Mawhinney : These are matters for the Health Education Authority.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how many regular publications she was responsible in 1993-94 ; what was their circulation ; and how many were obtainable by subscription.
Mr. Sackville : This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Nurses
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to investigate race and sex discrimination in the selection of people applying for basic nurse training or in the promotion of nurses.
Mr. Sackville : Responsibility for selection of candidates for basic nurse training rests with the institutions where nurse training is undertaken.
National health service trusts and health authorities have been set specific goals in the Opportunity 2000 programme and the programme of action for ethnic minority staff in the NHS to promote equality of opportunity for women and ethnic minority staff in the NHS.
Consultant Medical Staff
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to the NHS of consultant medical staff on paid suspension in 1992-93.
Dr. Mawhinney : Such costs are for employing authorities.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS consultant medical staff have been on paid suspension from duty for more than 12 months as at 1 January.
Dr. Mawhinney : Decisions on disciplinary action for consultant medical staff rest with the employing authority or trust. This includes whether to suspend a practitioner.
Interception of Communication Devices
Ms Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of the use of interception of communication devices on NHS premises there have been in each of the last 10 years.
Mr. Sackville : The information is not available centrally.
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Genetic Engineering
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action she has now taken as a result of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' report on genetic engineering.
Mr. Sackville : I wrote to the hon. Member on 25 February 1994 concerning this matter and assured him that the Department of Health will keep in touch with patients' organisations and other Government Departments as genetic screening develops. A copy of my letter is available in the Library.
Hospital Treatment
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish for each health authority in England and for England as a whole (a) the total number of people who have received hospital treatment requiring at least one night's stay for the latest available 12-month period and (b) the total number of people awaiting hospital treatment for more than one year ; and if she will express (b) as a percentage of (a).
Mr. Sackville : The latest information on the number of finished consultant episodes for each health authority is
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shown in "Ordinary and day case admissions for England 1992-93". Information on the total number of people waiting more than one year for hospital in-patient or day case treatment at 30 September 1993 is shown in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics : England". Copies of both publications are available in the Library.General Practitioners
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP doctors there are per patient in (a) inner London, (b) outer London and (c) the rest of the country and at what cost ; and if she will make a statement.
Dr. Mawhinney : At 1 October 1993, there were :
2,018patients for every unrestricted general practitioner in Inner London ;
2,065patients for every unrestricted general practitioner in outer London ;
1,881patients for every unrestricted general practitioner in the rest of the country.
The latest information available on costs is drawn from the 1992-93 family health services authority accounts, and cost per GP has therefore been calculated using numbers of GPs at 1 October 1992.
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|Number of GPs at 1 October 1992 |Number of patients at 1 October 1992 |Total General Medical Service expenditure 1992-93 |General Medical Service expenditure per GP 1992-93
Inner London |2,037 |4,197,519 |£209,142,060 |£101,672
Outer London |1,429 |2,967,746 |£138,060,429 |£96,613
Rest of England |22,502 |42,737,046 |£2,076,257,152 |£92,270
GP numbers have been increasing steadily over the last three years. Extra resources for primary care are an important part of the "Making London Better" initiative to improve health care in the Capital.
Laundry Services
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the policy of the Midlands Laundry Group on selling off the Birmingham and Coventry NHS laundry service ;
(2) what consultations she has had with the West Midlands health authority regarding the Coopers and Lybrand report ; and if she will make a statement on its recommendations ;
(3) if she will make a statement regarding the future of the west midlands laundry service, with particular regard to the effects on the needs of the patients.
Mr. Sackville : No consultations have taken place regarding the Coopers and Lybrand report. These are matters for South Birmingham, North Birmingham and Coventry district health authorities. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mr. Brian Stoten, Dr. M. D. Skillicorn and Mr. Gary Reay, the chairmen of the authorities, for details.
West Midlands Health Authority
Mr. Jim Cunningham : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions she has had with the West Midlands health authority regarding proposals for a management buy-out ;
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(2) what representations she has received from the employees of the west midlands health authority, members of the public, or other organisations regarding the proposals for privatisation of the laundry service.First Aid Training
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received regarding the provision of first aid training for staff employed in residential care or nursing homes.
Mr. Bowis : None, other than one from the hon. Member.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what basic first aid training is required for care staff employed in residential care homes.
Mr. Bowis : Persons registered in respect of residential care homes for four or more residents are required to take adequate precautions against the risk of accidents, including the training of staff in first aid.
Nursing Homes (Deaths)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she takes to monitor and act upon recommendations of coroner inquests into the circum-stances of deaths of people in residential care or nursing homes ;
(2) what steps she takes to monitor the number of accidental deaths of residents of residential care or nursing homes.
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Mr. Bowis : It is the responsibility of local authorities or health authorities to carry out any monitoring of deaths of residents in residential care or nursing homes. They should ensure that the appropriate lessons are learnt and action is taken, including responding to any recommendations by coroners.
AIDS
Mr. Dowd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much each local authority has bid for AIDS support grant for 1994-95 ; and how much they were awarded.
Mr. Sackville : For 1994-95, local authorities were invited to submit expenditure plans against indicative allocations of AIDS support grant. These allocations were based on confidential information supplied to the Department by the Public Health Laboratory Service on the distribution of AIDS cases by local authority area, and were issued in circular LAC(94)3, copies of which are available in the Library.
Where this formula would mean a reduction in grant in 1994-95, local authorities were advised that there might, in exceptional circumstances, be some scope to adjust allocations on a transitional basis and that applications for additional grant could be made. Decisions on these additional allocations have not yet been made.
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Registered Homes
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 30 March, Official Report, column 899, what use is made of the information provided in the regular returns from registration and inspection units under the Registered Homes Act 1984 ; if she will place this information in the Library ; and if she will place in the Library the national list of cancelled registrations.
Mr. Bowis : The statistical returns on registration under part II of the Registered Homes Act 1984 are the only source of official information on the numbers of beds in private nursing homes and hospitals. They are used widely both inside and outside the Departments to inform policy and planning. They are published annually as "Private Hospitals, Homes and Clinics Registered Under Section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984". Copies are placed in the Library annually.
The national list of cancelled regisrations is a confidential document made available only to health authorities and local authority social services departments. The Department's registration under the Data Protection Act precludes placing this document in the Library.
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