| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Bowis: We estimate that around 40 per cent. of total hospital and community health service expenditure is on people aged 65 and over, who comprise about 16 per cent. of the population. Every citizen has the right to receive health care free at the point of delivery on the basis of clinical need and judgment.
Hospital Beds, North-east Wiltshire
Mr. Simon Coombs: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate she has made of the demand for, and supply of, hospital beds in the north-east of Wiltshire in the next five years.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally. My hon. Friend may wish to contact Mr. Alastair Service, chairman of the Wiltshire and Bath health authority, which is responsible for purchasing health services to meet the needs of the local population.
Disabled People
Mr. McMaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the percentage of disabled people directly employed by her Department; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion) on 31 January, column 628 , and the reply I gave the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 5 December 1994, columns 85 87 .
Hospital Complaints Procedures
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedure exists to make judgment on a complaint of alleged premature discharge of a patient from a NHS hospital or trust due to financial considerations and contrary to medical considerations; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Malone: Hospital complaints procedures are described in "Health Circular HC(88)37", copies of which are available in the Library. This was supplemented by guidance on "NHS responsibilities for continuing health care needs", which was issued on 23 February 1995 and which is also in the Library.
Primary Care Projects, London
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the new primary care projects in London since 1993.
Mr. Malone: Since 1993, 965 primary care projects are in planning or underway in the London initiative zone. A list of the individual LIZ projects will be placed in the Library. Details of London primary care projects outside the LIZ may be obtained from the local health authorities and community trusts.
Psychiatric Beds
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute psychiatric beds per 1,000 of the
Column 47
population there are in (a) the West Midlands region, (b) the North West region, (c) the North Thames region, (d) the South Thames region and (e) in England and Wales.Mr. Bowis: Information is not available in the form requested. The numbers of beds per thousands of population, in wards for patients suffering from mental illness, are shown in the table:
1993-94
|Beds per
|Average daily |thousand
|available beds<1>|Population<2> |population
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West
Midlands |3,854 |5,289,772 |0.73
North West |6,466 |6,616,509 |0.98
North
Thames |7,300 |6,793,292 |1.07
South
Thames |5,742 |6,716,917 |0.85
England |43,162 |48,532,705 |0.89
Source:
KH03 returns.
Notes:
<1> Beds include both short and long stay, for children, elderly and adults. Beds are not
for the exclusive use of the population of the region in which they are to be found.
<2> Population as at mid-1993.
Figures for Wales are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of Wales.
Rural Medical Services
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what special funding arrangements are provided for casualty work undertaken in rural general practices.
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what policies are implemented to address the difficulties of providing medical care in rural areas.
Mr. Malone: A central aim of Government health care policy has been to base the purchasing of services on a proper assessment of local need. This helps to target provision to reflect particular circumstances, such as those in rural areas. In addition, there are a number of local initiatives around the country which aim to improve medical care in rural areas. There are also some specific allowances to help rural general practitioners.
Health care issues in rural affairs will also be addressed in the Rural White Paper announced by my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Environment and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on 12 October 1994. Preparatory work for this has involved widespread consultation, including with health care and professional organisations.
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy on initiatives to promote the use of communication and information technology in rural medical services.
Mr. Sackville: There is an information management and technology strategy which covers the whole of the national health service, including the use of communication and information technology in rural medical services.
Column 48
Primary Care
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy on primary care emergency centres.
Mr. Malone: General practitioners decide which model of out-of-hours service delivery best suits local needs. In some places, this will include the use of primary care centres to offer high quality services to patients.
NHS Building Projects
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the building projects in the NHS from 1990 91 which have not become operational; and what were their total costs.
Mr. Sackville: I am not aware of any major national health service building projects in England that have failed to become operational following commissioning of new facilities.
Local Pay
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts have a local pay bargaining mechanism in operation.
Mr. Malone: In June 1994, the chief executive of the national health service executive asked all NHS trusts in England to establish local pay machinery by February 1995, which would allow a significant proportion of pay in 1995 96 to be based on local needs and achievements. Information is not available centrally about the local arrangements.
Adoptions
Mrs. Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adoptions took place last year of children aged (a) under three years, (b) between three and five years, (c) between five and 10 years and (d) over 10 years.
Mr. Sackville: The information is not available precisely in the form requested. The last year for which completed figures are available is 1993, in which there were 6,859 adoptions in England and Wales. Of these, 465 children were aged under one, 1,894 between one and four, 2,543 between five and nine, 1,570 between 10 and 14 and 387 between 15 and 17 years of age. Previous years' data were published in "Marriage and Divorce Statistics: England and Wales 1993", copies of which are available in the Library.
Newborn Handicapped Babies
Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the recent claims by Dr. Nicholson that he had killed newborn handicapped babies;
(2) on how many occasions in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available newborn handicapped babies have been killed by doctors or other medical personnel;
(3) if she will make it her policy to write to all medical practitioners reminding them that the killing of newborn handicapped babies is illegal; and if she will make a statement.
Column 49
Mr. Sackville: The deliberate killing of any human being is an illegal act. It is for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether any action should be taken over Dr. Nicholson's claims. Current Home Office criminal statistics do not identify any cases involving the killing of newborn handicapped babies by doctors or others. The Department does not keep separate information. All doctors are well aware that the deliberate killing of patients is illegal. It is also contrary to their ethical obligations.
International Peto Institute
Mr. Corbett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds have been (a) paid and (b) pledged by her Department towards the construction of the International Peto Institute in Budapest.
Mr. Bowis: The Government have paid an initial sum of £1.75 million towards the cost of building a new International Peto Institute in Budapest. The Government undertook to contribute £5 million to this project. Our agreement with the Hungarian Government provides that subsequent payments will be dependent upon progress with construction.
NHS Charges
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what would be the annual cost of abolishing NHS charges presently made for eye and dental checks.
Mr. Malone: There is no charge for the provision of national health service sight tests. People who are entitled to NHS tests do not pay anything towards their cost. The fees payable to optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners for carrying out these tests are paid by family health services authorities. People not entitled to an NHS sight test pay for a private sight test.
For dental examinations, assuming that the removal of the charge led to no increase in the number of dental examinations, the annual cost, at 1993 94 prices, would be approximately £70 million.
Mental Illness
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the operational definition of serious mental illness used by her Department.
Mr. Bowis: We have not set a rigid central definition of severe mental illness.
We issued for consultation in October 1994 a "Draft Guide to Arrangements for Inter-agency Working for the Care and Protection of Severely Mentally III People". The draft guide contains a framework definition of severe mental illness on which local services can base their own more detailed operational definitions. Copies of the guide are available in the Library.
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals she has to introduce national standards for the purposes of the assessment and placement of potential patients following sentence by a court; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: None. The Mental Health Act 1983 defines the circumstances in which a person suffering from a mental disorder can be detained in hospital. Health Circular EL(90)168 and Home Office circular 66/90, both
Column 50
available in the Library, draw to the attention of health service and criminal justice agencies the importance of appropriate disposals of offenders who have a mental disorder.Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to develop the public's awareness of mental illness; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: We launched a public information strategy on mental illness in March 1993. The strategy, which will cost in excess of £1 million over three years, aims to raise public awareness of mental illness, its causes and its treatment. In addition, the Health Education Authority is starting a programme of work in this sector.
Prescriptions
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what would be the annual cost to the Exchequer resulting from a 1 per cent. real terms reduction in the price of NHS prescriptions.
Mr. Malone: About £2.2 million, based on the number of prescription items dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors in England in 1993 94 for which a charge was paid.
Community Psychiatric Nurses
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community psychiatric nurses are placed at (a) police stations and (b) courts, by region; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Court Diversions Schemes
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on court diversions schemes for the mentally disordered.
Mr. Bowis: We encourage the development of court assessment schemes to ensure that defendants who have a mental disorder receive care and treatment from health and social care services where necessary. The specific arrangements to be made locally are a matter for the agencies concerned. There are now over 100 schemes nationally compared with only a handful in 1991. About 50 schemes receive financial support from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
Waiting Lists
Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give a breakdown by specialty of the numbers of patients and the period for which they were waiting for surgery in each district health authority in England and Wales at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Malone: The available information on waiting lists and times by specialty at each national health service trust and district health authority in England is given in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England", copies of which are available in the Library. Information relating to Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
Column 51
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by her Department (a) hold open meetings, (b) conduct public consultation exercises, (c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests, (d) publish a register of members' interests, (e) publish agendas for meetings and (f) publish the minutes of meetings; and whether this is in each case (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary.
Mr. Sackville [pursuant to his reply, 10 January 1995, c. 128]: I regret that my previous answer did not give all the required information. This is as follows:
(a) Hold open meetings:
None
(b) conduct public consultation exercises:
(i) under a statutory requirement:
None
(ii) voluntarily:
British Pharmacopoeia Commission;
Nutrition Task Force;
(c) conduct consultation exercises with outside commercial interests:
(i) under a statutory requirement:
None
(ii) voluntarily:
British Pharmacopoeia Commission;
Nutrition Task Force;
(d) publish a register of members' interests:
(i) under a statutory requirement:
None
(ii) voluntarily:
Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products; Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food; Committee on Dental and Surgical Materials;
Committee on Safety of Medicines;
Committee on the Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment;
Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy;
Committee on the Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment;
Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food;
Consumer Products and the Environment;
Medicines Commission;
(e) publish agendas for meetings:
None
(f) publish the minutes of meetings:
(i) under a statutory requirement:
None
(ii) voluntarily:
Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy.
TRANSPORT
Rail Communications
14. Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what new proposals he has to improve rail communications.
Mr. Watts: The preparations for the franchising of passenger train services, the flotation of Railtrack and the sales of domestic rail freight and BR's other businesses will contribute to improved rail communications.
Column 52
Crossrail
15. Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement about the crossrail project.
Dr. Mawhinney: I have asked the crossrail promoters to study various aspects of the project further with my Department, in parallel with preparing their application for powers to build crossrail under the Transport and Works Act.
Passenger Behaviour
16. Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for regulations to improve the standard of behaviour of passengers on public transport.
Mr. Norris: Regulations or bye-laws are already in place governing passenger behaviour on public transport and there are no plans to amend them.
Newly Qualified Drivers
17. Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to reduce the incidence of road accidents amongst newly qualified drivers.
Mr. Norris: We are implementing a package of measures on the education, training and testing of new drivers to improve their safety.
Stations
18. Mr. Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to ask the chairman of British Rail to review the arrangements for the maintenance of stations and their immediate surroundings.
| Next Section
| Home Page |