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Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of patients die while on the waiting list for coronary artery bypass surgery;
(2) what information her Department has of the number of people dying while waiting for hospital heart bypass operations.
Mr. Malone: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the then Minister for Health gave the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms Primarolo) on 19 May 1994, Official Report, column 559.
Dental Services
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental examinations have occurred in England in each of the last five years.
Mr. Malone: The information is shown in the table.
Estimated number of national health service dental examinations for adult patients for the financial years 1987-88 to 1993-94. England |Thousands Year ending |examination ------------------------------------ 1987-88 |19,889 1988-89 |20,904 1989-90 |19,402 1990-91 |18,951 1991-92 |19,548 1992-93 |20,000 1993-94 |19,488 Source: Dental Practice Board. Note: 1. The table shows data for adults only. Children are excluded because, since October 1990, dental examinations for children are carried out under capitation arrangements and are not identifiable separately. The data are for examinations carried out in the general dental service only.
Hospital Wards
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of wards were single sex in each year since 1989; and how many beds there were in them.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Ambulance Service
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of ambulance services failed to meet their patients charter attendance record in the last year for which figures are available.
Mr. Sackville: Latest information is for the year 1993 94. Of the 40 English ambulance services, as constituted in that year, 10 to 25 per cent. did not meet the patients charter requirement. For an ambulance responding to an emergency call, the patients charter standard requirement is to arrive at the scene of an incident, in 95 per cent. of cases, within 14 minutes in the case of urban services and within 19 minutes in the case of rural services.
Private Patients
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total income from private patients in 1993 94 by trust, health authority area and regional health authority area.
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Mr. Sackville: Information on income from private patients in 1993 94 will be placed in the Library.
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private patients were treated in NHS hospitals, by district health authority, trust and regional health authority area, in the latest available year.
Mr. Sackville: Information on private patient out-patient attendances is contained in "1993 94 Outpatients and Ward Attenders England" and on private patient finished consultant episodes in 1992 93, "Hospital Episodes Statistics". Both publications are available in the Library.
Health Education Authority
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the reasons for the changes proposed to the funding of the Health Education Authority.
Mr. Malone: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Mr. Deva) on 19 December 1994 at columns 989 90 .
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the budget for the Health Education Authority in each of the last five years; and what is the projected budget for the next three years.
Mr. Malone: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Doncaster, North (Mr. Hughes) on 10 January, Official Report , columns 126 27 . Total funding for 1990 91 was £29,025,000.
Hospital Facilities
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figures she has on the standard of catering services, security and cleanliness in hospitals in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sackville: The most recent statistical information available centrally derives from the 1994 National Audit Office report on hospital catering and the 1994 Audit Commission report, "Ensuring Probity in the NHS", copies of which are available in the Library. The specification and monitoring of standards for local catering, security and cleaning services are operational matters which are the responsibility of local management in the NHS.
Hospital Activity Statistics
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the activity figures for each of the last 10 years for all hospitals.
Mr. Sackville: Information is not available on an individual hospital basis. The available information relates to regional health authorities, district health authorities, special health authorities and national health service trusts. It is published in "Ordinary and day case admissions for England" for the years 1992 93 and 1993 94, and "Outpatients and ward attenders for England" for the years 1992 93 and 1993 94, copies of which are available in the Library.
Operations (Cancellations)
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled in each year since April 1991.
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Mr. Sackville: The information is not available centrally. Information on cancelled operating sessions is published annually in "NHS operating theatres, availability and use: England" copies of which are available in the Library.
Privatisation
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what national health service services, including pathology, have been privatised since 1991.
District Health Authorities
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total administrative budget of district health authorities in 1991 92, 1992 93, 1993 94 and 1994 95.
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
Total district health authority administration costs 1991-92 to 1993-94 £000s 1991-92 |1992-93|1993-94 -------------------------------- 327,037 |387,387|477,798 Source: Annual accounts of district health authorities. Notes: <1> The above figures represent the total revenue expenditure on the pay and accommodation costs of staff of all disciplines and their support staff employed in district health authorities. They exclude administrative support in hospital departments and at other local levels which is regarded as operational expenditure. <2> The costs are those reported in the accounts as "Authority administration and purchasing expenses". These figures include capital charges. <3> The figures for 1993-94 are provisional.
Housing
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence her Department has of a correlation between cold and damp housing and demand for national health service services.
Mr. Bowis: Very little and what there is is conflicting.
Waiting Times
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each region waited more than two years for treatment after the consultant had put them on the waiting list in each year since April 1991.
Mr. Malone: The number of patients who have been waiting for more than two years for admission for in-patient or day-case treatment are shown in the table.
|As at |As at |As at
Region |31 March 1992|31 March 1993|31 March 1994
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Northern |1 |0 |0
Yorkshire |15 |0 |0
Trent |4 |0 |0
East Anglia |35 |0 |1
North West
Thames |9 |0 |0
North East
Thames |785 |0 |0
South East
Thames |104 |0 |0
South West
Thames |0 |0 |0
Wessex |0 |0 |0
Oxford |0 |0 |0
South Western |10 |0 |0
West Midlands |158 |0 |0
Mersey |0 |0 |0
North Western |3 |0 |0
Patients waiting at the special health authorities are not included
in the above.
DEFENCE
Fox Hunting
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many horses owned by his Department have been killed as a result of participation in fox hunting in each of the past 10 years.
Mr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances members of the armed forces are permitted to participate in fox hunting activities during duty hours.
Mr. Soames: Members of the armed forces participate in fox hunting by invitation only; such activity is permitted only at the discretion of the commanding officer, and is never pursued to the detriment of military or ceremonial duties.
Veterinary Officer, Melton Mowbray
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the post of Officer Commanding Veterinary Establishment, Melton Mowbray, is a full-time post.
Mr. Soames: The Defence Animal Centre is a Defence agency, and has a full-time chief executive.
Trident
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total (a) original planned cost and (b) final cost in the Trident works programme for consultancy work carried out on that programme.
Mr. Freeman: As recorded in the National Audit Office's report "MOD: Management of the Trident Works Programme", published in July last year, the cost of consultancy work was initially estimated in 1984 at £78 million, equivalent to £122 million at 1994 prices, while the latest estimate is £360 million. As some contracts remain to be settled, a final figure is not yet available.
Faslane
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when his Department became aware of a number of earthquakes taking place in the Faslane area between 1985 and 1991; and what were the dates and sizes of the earthquakes on the Richter scale.
Mr. Freeman: There was a seismic event at Dunoon, some 10 miles from Faslane, in September 1985 which
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measured locally 3.3 on the Richter scale. There was a second event near Ardentinny on the west side of Loch Long in June 1991, which measured locally 2.0 on the Richter scale. My Department became aware of both events shortly after they occurred.Airwork Services
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the contract awarded to British Aerospace for the repair of F3 Tornado aircraft damaged while undergoing overhaul by Airwork Services at RAF St. Athan, with respect to the advertising of the contract for competitive tender, the value of the contract relative to the estimate and the length of time to be taken for completion; what other contracts have been or will be awarded with respect to F3 Tornados damaged by Airwork Services; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Freeman: Subject to the agreement of satisfactory terms and conditions, we expect to award shortly a contract to British Aerospace for the repair of these aircraft. Details of the price quoted and the potential value of the contract are commercially confidential between my Department and BAe. We expect the first of the 16 aircraft concerned to be repaired and returned to RAF service by the autumn of this year, with the remainder following over the subsequent 18 months. At this stage, we do not expect to award any other contracts with respect to the Tornado F3s damaged by airwork. Owing to the complexity of the repair task, we concluded that the work would have to be carried out by the United Kingdom design contractor, British Aerospace; the contract was not therefore advertised for competitive tender.
Desert Fever Syndrome
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the number of current and ex-service men thought to be suffering from desert fever syndrome.
Mr. Soames: We have no scientific evidence to date that any current or ex-members of the British armed forces are suffering from the alleged desert fever syndrome, nor is there any medical or scientific evidence of its existence as a separate medical condition. My Department has established a medical assessment programme for any Gulf veteran who is concerned about his or her health as a result of service in the Gulf conflict. Around 200 have already come forward and none of those so far examined has been found to be suffering from a medical condition peculiar to their Gulf service. For their own reassurance I would urge any concerned individuals who have not already done so to come forward for examination as soon as possible.
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will set up an independent inquiry into the syndrome known as desert fever syndrome; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Soames: There remain no scientific or medical evidence that members of the British armed forces who served in the Gulf conflict are suffering from any unexplained symptoms that would call for such an inquiry. We do, however, keep this matter under continuous review.
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Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has had from individuals and organisations concerning desert fever syndrome; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames: Approximately 90 representations have been received from individuals and seven from interested organisations relating to the alleged desert storm syndrome. Most have expressed concern about media reports of a mystery illness affecting United Kingdom Gulf veterans. In responding to them, my Department has taken the opportunity to present the known scientific and medical facts--which show no evidence of a medical condition peculiar to service in the Gulf--to provide reassurance of our concern for the health of all United Kingdom service personnel, and to offer individual medical assessment to veterans concerned that their health may have been affected by service in the Gulf.
Royal Navy Armament Depots
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to introduce efficiency measures at the Royal Navy armament depots following the defence costs study; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Soames: As part of "Front Line First" proposals to introduce a range of management efficiencies in Royal Navy, armament depots were detailed in consultation documents issued on 19 August. Having given full and careful consideration to the representations made during consultation, I have decided to proceed with the implementation of efficiencies in the Royal Navy armament depots at Gosport, Ernesettle, Beith and Coulport district, which includes the NATO armament depot at Glen Douglas and the module repair and calibration facility at Faslane. In addition, the conventional ammunition task in the west of Scotland will be rationalised and concentrated in future at the NATO armament depot, Glen Douglas. We will continue to consult with staff and the trades unions about the detailed implementation of these measures.
Military Corrective Training Centre, Colchester
Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the types of offences committed for which prisoners at the military corrective training centre at Colchester were convicted.
Mr. Soames [holding answer 10 December 1994]: My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence has written to the hon. Member and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Low Flying
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates, locations, numbers, types and nationalities of aircraft, and nature of the breach, for each of the confirmed, breaches of flying regulations other than low flying regulations during 1993.
Mr. Soames [holding answer 10 January 1995]: In addition to the 47 breaches of low flying regulations specified in the answer I gave the hon. Member on 1 December 1994, Official Report, column 906, RAF police
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flying complaints flight investigations confirmed two incidents during 1993 in which aircraft generated sonic booms over land in contravention of military flying regulations:Date |Location |Nationality ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21 July |Lowestoft, Suffolk|One Norwegian F16 11 August |St Andrews, Fife |One USAF F15E
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