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NHS Trusts
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general and (b) senior managers were employed by NHS trusts in each year since 1991 92, by region.
Mr. Malone: The information available for September 1993 is shown in the table.
General and Senior Managers
in NHS Trusts by Region-
30 September 1993. Whole-time
equivalents
------------------------------
Northern |300
Yorkshire |1,190
Trent |610
East Anglian |510
North West Thames |620
North East Thames |1,090
South East Thames |800
South West Thames |410
Wessex |610
Oxford |390
South Western |860
West Midlands |650
Mersey |770
North Western |400
England Total |9,210
Source:
Department of Health
Non-Medical Workforce Census
Notes:
(1) Figures are rounded to
the nearest ten.
(2) Total may not equal sum
of components due to
rounding.
(3) It is not possible to
identify general managers and
senior managers separately.
(4) The England total given
for managers differs from
that published in October in
table E of the Statistical
Bulletin, which incorrectly
included some 280 staff from
trusts in Wales.
(5) The England total in
September 1993 is not
directly comparable with
numbers published for 1991
and 1992. A change in data
collection procedures in
September 1993 resulted in
the recategorisation of many
staff who would have been
coded as `others' in the 1991
and 1992 censuses.
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice is given to hospital trusts--by her Department--when advertising for non-executive trust board members; and what requirement there is to state any political affiliation when applying for board membership.
Mr. Malone: None. Information about the political affiliation of candidates plays no part in the appointments process.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ban gagging clauses in settlements reached between NHS trusts and their employees following the termination of employment.
Mr. Malone: The national health service executive issued guidance on termination settlements to chief executives of NHS trusts--TEL 94 3--on 16 May 1994 which made it plain that any confidentiality clause in an employment contract should not be framed in such a way to suggest that a termination would escape proper public scrutiny. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total expenditure on consultancies by each trust hospital in the last five years.
Mr. Sackville: Expenditure by national health service trusts solely on consultancy services is not available centrally. Information is collected on
"external contract staffing and consultancy services".
This expenditure relates to services purchased from other trusts, health authorities and the private sector and includes, for example, linen supplies, transport and computing services as well as consultancy services.
The expenditure on external contract staffing and consultancy services by NHS trusts in England for the financial years 1991 92 and 1992 93 will be placed in
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the Library. Figures for 1993 94 will be available in December. There were no trusts prior to 1991 92.Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those chief executives of NHS trusts who have resigned or have been dismissed; and what were the reasons for resignation or dismissal.
Mr. Malone: The information is not available centrally.
Community Care, Kent
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement regarding the amount of money made available for community care in Kent prior to, and since, the recent changes; and what is her estimate of the availability of resources for the care of the elderly in Kent for 1995 96 and the three preceding years.
Mr. Bowis: Kent personal social services standard spending assessments, which include resources for community care, plus the special transitional grant for community care introduced in 1993 94 are shown in the table for each of the last five years:
£ million 1990-91 |1991-92|1992-93|1993-94|1994-95 ------------------------------------------------ 95.154 |117.790|126.655|156.772|177.834
It is for local authorities to decide how to allocate their resources in the light of local priorities, with the exception of the special transitional grant, which must be spent on community care services.
Funding for 1995 96 will be announced shortly.
NHS Private Facilities
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for health how many patients have been treated in NHS hospitals, private facilities in each of the last five years, by region.
Mr. Sackville: The numbers of finished consultant episodes and out- patient attendances for private patients in national health service hospitals in England by region are shown in the tables.
Finished Consultant Episodes, Ordinary Admissions
and Day
Cases
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
---------------------------------------------------
England |79,243 |83,478 |81,366 |87,906
Northern |3,034 |3,998 |3,349 |3,056
Yorkshire |4,542 |4,321 |4,842 |5,174
Trent |5,182 |4,116 |2,797 |2,961
E Anglia |4,997 |5,563 |4,504 |4,284
NW Thames |7,357 |8,952 |10,345 |8,891
NE Thames |8,113 |7,918 |7,402 |9,715
SE Thames |6,597 |7,055 |6,648 |8,220
SW Thames |4,468 |4,937 |5,081 |5,832
Wessex |2,135 |2,215 |2,643 |2,602
Oxford |6,466 |7,505 |6,928 |6,916
S Western |3,380 |4,864 |5,044 |5,644
W Midlands |6,269 |6,141 |6,081 |6,524
Mersey |3,975 |2,594 |2,370 |2,245
N Western |6,123 |6,401 |6,445 |7,256
SHAs |6,605 |6,898 |6,887 |8,586
1992-93 figures are not yet available
Source:
SD2A, Hospital Episode Statistics.
Outpatient Total Attendances
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
-----------------------------------------------------------
England |156,574|154,327|147,869|145,366|139,560
Northern |6,493 |6,058 |5,451 |4,911 |5,028
Yorkshire |4,117 |3,808 |3,785 |1,874 |2,151
Trent |4,803 |4,989 |3,856 |6,369 |12,810
E Anglia |4,730 |6,736 |3,556 |6,010 |2,789
NW Thames |30,248 |29,904 |30,936 |23,159 |21,857
NE Thames |36,993 |38,047 |30,381 |30,449 |25,793
SE Thames |9,348 |9,379 |9,045 |7,084 |5,870
SW Thames |4,092 |4,227 |3,598 |2,814 |2,767
Wessex |7,248 |5,331 |4,971 |6,723 |5,673
Oxford |8,123 |8,217 |6,773 |8,864 |9,245
S Western |3,204 |2,668 |3,625 |3,712 |3,365
W Midlands |6,835 |7,215 |8,174 |11,213 |10,522
Mersey |8,128 |4,438 |5,174 |4,248 |3,180
N Western |7,474 |8,259 |12,580 |10,671 |6,023
SHAs |14,738 |15,051 |15,964 |17,265 |22,487
Source:
KHO9 returns.
Wheelchairs
Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what legislation wheelchairs are provided to disabled people.
Mr. Bowis: The national health service provides wheelchairs in exercise of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's powers under section 5(2)(a) of, and schedule 2 to the National Health Service Act 1977.
Mixed Sex Wards
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are issued by her Department concerning mixed sex hospital wards; and what representations she has received.
Mr. Sackville: None, but the patient's charter expects patients to be treated with dignity and respect for their cultural and religious beliefs. There will also be a new national standard addressing mixed sex wards in the revised and expanded patient's charter to be published in the new year. The Department has received several
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representations about mixed sex wards both from hon. Members and from members of the public.Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to discourage mixed sex wards in acute patient care.
Mr. Sackville: It is for individual hospitals to decide in the light of local conditions whether, and if so in what circumstances, mixed sex wards should be used. The revised and expanded patient's charter to be published in the new year will include a new national standard on mixed sex wards.
GP Fundholders
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide an estimate for the value of fundholding allocations retained by general practitioner fundholders at the year end in each of the last four years, by region.
Mr. Malone: The available data for the first two years of fundholding are shown in the table. Final audited accounts for 1993 94 are not yet available. Savings may be retained for up to four years for use for the benefit of patients of the practice.
1991-92 1992-93
|Percent of budgets |Percent of budgets
|Retained savings |set |Retained savings |set
Regional Health |£ million |percent. |£ million |percent.
Authority
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |0.7 |1.6 |2.3 |3.6
Yorkshire |1.1 |2.1 |3.3 |3.2
Trent |1.5 |4.0 |1.9 |2.3
East Anglian |0.6 |4.5 |0.6 |2.5
N W Thames |0.7 |2.6 |2.0 |3.3
N E Thames |1.0 |6.1 |1.6 |5.8
S E Thames |0.7 |3.6 |1.2 |2.9
S W Thames |1.6 |6.1 |1.1 |2.1
Wessex |0.7 |3.1 |1.8 |3.4
Oxford |1.1 |3.6 |3.2 |4.8
S Western |0.6 |2.4 |1.5 |2.8
W Midlands |2.6 |7.3 |4.9 |5.9
Mersey |1.1 |4.2 |2.8 |4.7
N Western |0.7 |3.0 |0.4 |0.9
England |14.5 |3.7 |28.3 |3.5
Note:
Retained savings may not sum to England totals due to rounding.
Patient Complaints
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient complaints have been received in each of the last five years by region.
Column 324
Mr. Malone: The latest information available about numbers of hospital patient complaints by region is shown in the table. Information about complaints against family health service practitioners is not available centrally in the form requested.
Column 323
Hospital Complaints
|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92|1992-93
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |1,546 |1,750 |2,083 |2,627 |2,758
Yorkshire |2,015 |2,233 |2,384 |2,779 |3,939
Trent |2,398 |2,970 |2,772 |3,772 |4,303
East Anglian |1,105 |1,207 |1,504 |1,877 |2,536
North West Thames |2,626 |3,348 |3,534 |4,505 |4,694
North East Thames |4,121 |4,351 |4,207 |6,055 |8,505
South East Thames |3,076 |2,257 |2,515 |5,472 |5,243
South West Thames |2,953 |3,213 |2,849 |4,065 |4,726
Wessex |1,846 |2,109 |2,063 |3,026 |3,276
Oxford |1,371 |1,477 |1,822 |1,728 |3,182
South Western |1,617 |2,064 |2,248 |2,532 |4,877
West Midlands |3,241 |3,894 |3,859 |5,105 |<1>N/A
Mersey |1,803 |1,654 |1,507 |2,307 |3,661
North Western |3,032 |3,054 |3,234 |4,475 |5,381
Special Health Authorities |546 |600 |769 |805 |773
Source:
K040 returns.
<1> No return was submitted.
The increase in complaints recorded can be attributed to the increase in patient awareness and confidence due to the patients charter.
Ambulance Response Times
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the average response time for emergency ambulance calls in London in the year 1 April 1993 to31 March 1994.
Mr. Sackville: According to figures provided by the London ambulance service, the average response time in 1993 94 was between 14 and 15 minutes.
Breast Cancer
Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received as to the effectiveness of the cell analysis test for breast cancer devised by Dr. Ian Ellis of Nottingham city hospital.
Mr. Sackville: We are aware of the promising research work being undertaken by Dr. Ellis of Nottingham city hospital to determine effective strategies for the treatment of breast cancer based on cytology.
Column 324
London Ambulance Service
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the absenteeism rate for employees of the London ambulance service in 1991, 1992 and 1993.
Mr. Sackville: According to figures supplied by the London ambulance service, absenteeism rates for all staff in the years requested were:
1991: 9.2 per cent.
1992: 10.1 per cent.
1993: 9.4 per cent
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of ambulances arriving after 14 minutes from being called in the London area, in the year from 1 April 1993.
Mr. Sackville: According to figures supplied by the London ambulance service, of a total 494,900 calls in 1993 94, 186,960 ambulances arrived after 14 minutes. Of those, 112,065 arrived between 14 and 19 minutes.
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the number and percentage of emergency ambulance calls in the London area that took (a) 14 minutes, (b) 15 minutes, (c) 16 minutes, (d) 17 minutes,
(e) 18 minutes, (f) 19 minutes, (g) 20 minutes, (h) 21 minutes, (i) 22 minutes, (j) 23 minutes, (k) 24 minutes, (l) 25 minutes, (m) 26 minutes, (n) 27 minutes, (o) 28 minutes, (p) 29 minutes and (q) 30 minutes, in the year 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1994 and in the current year.
Mr. Sackville: According to figures supplied by the London ambulance service, the information is as shown in the tables.
Column 323
|Percentage of |Cumulative
Minutes |Calls |Total |Cumulative Total|Percentage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Response Times 1993-94
14 |40,877 |8.3 |307,940 |62
15 |31,154 |6.3 |339,094 |69
16 |26,810 |5.4 |365,904 |74
Response Times 1993-94 cont.
17 |21,769 |4.4 |387,673 |78
18 |17,934 |3.6 |405,607 |82
19 |14,398 |2.9 |420,005 |85
20 |12,139 |2.5 |432,144 |87
21 |9,740 |2.0 |441,884 |89
22 |7,771 |1.6 |449,655 |91
23 |6,410 |1.3 |456,065 |92
24 |5,654 |1.1 |461,719 |93
25 |4,614 |0.9 |466,333 |94
26+ |28,567 |5.8 |494,900 |100
Response times 1 April 1994-31 October 1994
14 |27,655 |8.9 |203,594 |65
15 |18,521 |5.9 |222,115 |71
16 |15,753 |5.0 |237,868 |76
17 |12,818 |4.1 |250,686 |80
18 |10,523 |3.4 |261,209 |84
19 |8,526 |2.7 |269,735 |86
20 |7,102 |2.3 |276,837 |89
21 |5,497 |1.8 |282,334 |90
22 |4,476 |1.4 |286,810 |92
23 |3,633 |1.2 |290,443 |93
24 |3,064 |1.0 |293,507 |94
25 |2,544 |0.8 |296,051 |95
26 |1,725 |0.6 |297,776 |95
27 |1,656 |0.5 |299,432 |96
28 |1,355 |0.4 |300,787 |96
29 |1,185 |0.4 |301,972 |97
30 |1,078 |0.3 |303,050 |97
31+ |9,172 |2.9 |312,222 |100
Calls responded to within 14 minutes have increased by 13 per cent. per month this year compared with last year.
City Hospital, Birmingham
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department is monitoring the changed arrangement for out-of-hours cover in oral surgery at the City hospital, Birmingham; and whether she has been informed by the trust as to the reasons that out-of-hours cover was withdrawn by South Birmingham acute unit.
Mr. Sackville: This is a matter for local management. The hon. Member may wish to contact Dr. M. D. Skillicorn, chairman of North Birmingham health authority, for details.
Lung Diseases
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the Government's total spending on medical research is directed at research into diseases of the lung.
Mr. Sackville: The main agency through the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council MRC which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. In 1993 94, the latest year for which figures are available, MRC expenditure on research wholly or partly related to respiratory diseases was £11.2 million, 4.53 per cent. of total expenditure of £247 million. In addition, the Department itself funds a range of research projects of relevance to respiratory diseases. A proportion of Government spending also goes on research into cancer of the lung.
Column 326
AIDS
Mr. Merchant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities have filed reports under the AIDS (Control) Act 1987 for the last financial year; and whether and where these reports are available for public examination.
Mr. Sackville: The AIDS (Control) Act 1987 requires reports to be made to each regional health authority by the district health authority for each district in the region and to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State by the regional health authority. The Act also requires reports to be published by the authority by which they are made.
Information on the numbers of DHAs which have submitted their reports is not therefore available centrally.
Mr. Merchant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will issue guidance to health and local authorities on prompt payment for the provision of HIV/AIDS related services to voluntary sector organisations with which they have contracted.
Mr. Sackville: The national health service executive issued a requirement to health authorities on 28 October 1994 to comply with the Confederation of British Industry prompt payment code. Additionally, health authorities were required to set out their payment policies and publish details of their payment performance in their annual reports and publicise their arrangements for handling complaints about failure to pay on time. A copy of FDL(94)67 is available in the Library.
Issuing guidance to local authorities on prompt payment is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.
Column 327
We have no plans to issue guidance specifically about payment for HIV/AIDS-related services.GP Fundholders
Ms Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the range within which earnings of (a) general practitioner fundholders and (b) non-fundholding general practitioners fall, by region together with the numbers of general practitioners at each point.
Mr. Malone: Information about the geographical distribution of general practitioners' earnings or the earnings of GP fundholders compared with non-fundholders is not available.
Paracetamol
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated in hospitals for overdoses of paracetamol in each year since 1990.
Mr. Bowis: Information is not available in the form requested. The "Hospital Episode Statistics" include paracetamol poisonings as part of the classification "Aromatic Analgesics not elsewhere classified (diagnostic code International Classification of Diseases 965.4)". The number of finished consultant episodes in this category for the years since 1990 are shown in the table.
Finished Consultant Episodes, Diagnostic Code ICD 965.4
|Number of Episodes
Year |(Thousands)
---------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |28.0
1990-91 |30.3
1991-92 |28.4
Statistics for 1992-93 and 1993-94 are not yet
available.
Mental Health
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list for each year since 1979 the resources that accrued from each individual mental handicap and mental illness hospital; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: Information is not available centrally on income generated by individual hospitals within or outside the national health service.
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to restrict the number of paracetamol tablets sold to the general public; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: There are already controls over the number of paracetamol tablets which may be sold outside a registered pharmacy. Packs containing more than 30 effervescent tablets, more than 25 tablets that are not effervescent and more than 10 sachets of powder of granules may be sold only from registered pharmacies. The Medicines Control Agency is keeping under review the need for any further restriction of the availability of paracetamol to the general public.
Mr. Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died as a direct result of paracetamol overdoses in the last year.
Mr. Sackville: Data for 1993 and 1994 are not yet available.
Column 328
In England and Wales in 1992, the number of cases of poisoning by aromatic analgesics not elsewhere classified (ICD 965.4) was 220. Note:In England and Wales most cases coded to ICD 965.4 are due to paracetamol overdose. Exact figures for paracetamol deaths are not readily available.
International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.
Cold-related Illnesses
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many death certificates in 1993 had (a) hypothermia, (b) pneumonia, (c) other cold- related illnesses as one of the contributory causes of death; and what were the figures for each of the four previous years in each case.
Mr. Sackville: The available information is shown in the table.
Deaths in England
and Wales where
hypothermia <1>(ICD
991.6)
was mentioned as a
contributory cause,
1989-1993
|Number
---------------------
1989 |372
1990 |368
1991 |534
1992 |362
1993 |472
<1> International
Classification of
Diseases, 9th
Revision.
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for health how many deaths were recorded for (a) hypothermia and (b) cold-related illness for the years 1987 to 1993 for (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland.
Mr. Sackville: The available information is shown in the table.
Number of deaths from hypothermia in England,
Wales, Northern
Ireland (ICD 991.6)<1> and Scotland (ICDs E901.0,
E901.8, E901.9
and secondary codes 788.3, 780.0, 780.8,
780.9)<1> 1987-1992
|1987|1988|1989|1990|1991|1992
--------------------------------------------------
England |249 |181 |156 |143 |236 |142
Scotland |34 |39 |39 |45 |25 |29
Northern
Ireland |7 |8 |6 |9 |11 |8
Wales |19 |12 |10 |8 |13 |7
United Kingdom |309 |240 |210 |205 |285 |186
International Classification of Diseases, 9th
Revision.
Mrs. Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths were recorded for (a) hypothermia and (b) cold-related illness for each month of 1992, 1993 and 1994 for (i) the United Kingdom, (ii) Scotland, (iii) England, (iv) Wales and (v) Northern Ireland.
Mr. Sackville: The available information is shown in the table.
Number of deaths from hypothermia by month in England, Wales, Northern Ireland (ICD 991.6)<1> and Scotland (ICDs
E910.0, E910.8,
E910.9 and secondary cause codes 778.3, 780.0, 780.8 and 780.9)<1> in 1992.
|England |Scotland |Wales |Northern Ireland|United Kingdom
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
January |28 |3 |- |- |31
February |27 |10 |3 |1 |41
March |9 |3 |- |- |12
April |12 |4 |1 |1 |18
May |3 |1 |- |4 |8
June |- |- |- |1 |1
July |- |1 |- |- |1
August |2 |- |- |- |2
September |4 |- |- |1 |5
October |12 |2 |2 |- |16
November |15 |2 |- |- |17
December |30 |3 |1 |- |34
1> International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision.
Next Steps Agencies
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the salary and other emoluments of the civil servant who did the work of, or work comparable to that of, the chief executive of each next steps agency established by her Department before the agency was established.
Mr. Sackville: The Medicines Control Agency and NHS Estates directorate were led by grade 3 civil servants, the Medical Devices Directorate by a grade 4, and the NHS superannuation branch by a grade 6. None of these civil servants received any emolument other than those payable under standard civil service terms and conditions.
Chief executives of next steps agencies are directly accountable to Ministers. Their posts carry different responsibilities from those of their civil service predecessors and cannot be regarded as directly comparable.
GPs' and Dentists' Lists
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been struck off (a) GPs' lists and (b) dentists' lists in the parliamentary constituency of Lewisham, Deptford in each of the last 12 months.
Mr. Malone: Information is not available in the form requested.
Lobbying Companies
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list and date those occasions in the past two years when Ministers or officials in her Department have met lobbying companies, prior to a decision being made on the subject of the meeting with the lobbying company.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the guidelines issued by her Department to regulate relationships with lobbying companies.
Mr. Sackville: There are no guidelines which refer to lobbying companies.
Guidance to Ministers on the conduct of their affairs is contained in "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", issued by the Cabinet Office.
Staff rules incorporate general principles of conduct that require civil servants not to misuse information which
Column 330
they acquire in the course of their duties; not to make use of their official position to further their private interests or those of others; and not to receive gifts, hospitality or benefits of any kind from a third party, which might be seen to compromise their personal judgment or integrity.Drug Prescriptions
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what complaints she has received from patients prescribed cheaper drugs by their general practitioners, following her Department's guidelines.
Mr. Malone: No such guidelines have been issued.
Dental Fillings
Mr. Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the comparative costs of restoring teeth with (a) amalgam and (b) white fillings;
(2) what percentage of dentists in the national health service have the necessary skills to restore teeth with fillings other than amalgam;
(3) what percentage of dentists in the nation health service restore teeth with fillings other than amalgam.
Mr. Malone: Skills taught during training of dentists include the selection of appropriate materials for fillings. In 1993 94 there were 10,691,884 courses of treatment where dental amalgam was used as the filling material and 6,028,756 courses involving glass ionomer-composite. This excludes courses of treatment where it is not possible to distinguish the type of material used. No data are available centrally on the number of dentists who use only fillings other than amalgam. The range of fees for dentists for fillings using dental amalgam starts at £5.30. The range of fees for a tooth coloured restoration starts at £9.95.
Transportation of Bodies
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to strengthen the guidelines covering the transportation of (a) corpses, (b) other parts of the body and (c) specimens between hospitals, pathology laboratories and mortuaries with respect to (i) strength of container, (ii) types of vehicle, (iii) strapping or fixing of container, (iv) instructions to driver, (v) type of company or public corporation owning vehicle, (vi) use of preservative fluid and (vii) other considerations; and if she will make a statement.
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