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Health Care, West London
24. Mr. Carrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will next meet the chairman of the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS trust to discuss health care in west London.
Mr. Malone: I plan to meet Sir Christopher Bland on 6 April 1995.
Boxers
25. Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is being carried out on brain damage to boxers.
Mr. Malone: The Department of Health and the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, are not currently undertaking any research specifically into brain damage to boxers. However, the MRC, the main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research, spent £761,000 on research into head injury in 1993 94, a proportion of which may be relevant to brain damage in boxers. In addition, the council supports research in a number of areas that are relevant to brain damage in boxers including dementia, pain, vision, cognitive changes and brain repair.
The Department of Health has commissioned a study entitled "Rehabilitation of Brain Injured Adults", which is estimated to cost some £1.2 million.
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Domiciliary Care
26. Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards exist to ensure proper standards of domiciliary care.
Mr. Bowis: I refer the hon. member to the reply I gave the right hon. member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 14 February, column 644.
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Nurses and Midwives
29. Mr. Brandreth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been in the numbers of qualified nurses and midwives over the last decade; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Sackville: The information is shown in the table.
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Qualified nursing and midwifery staff in the NHS and private sector hospitals, homes and clinics
England as at 30 September each year (practice nurses are as at 1 October each year)
whole time equivalents
|1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total qualified
nursing and
midwifery staff
working in
HCHS, GMS
and private
sector |238,720|245,100|254,690|260,950|- |271,100|277,920|282,500|289,340|297,050|297,990
NHS:
HCHS qualified
nursing staff |223,310|227,740|234,130|236,770|239,360|241,780|244,220|242,340|243,250|246,570|241,850
GMS practice
nurses |1,660 |1,920 |2,210 |2,500 |2,770 |3,480 |4,630 |7,740 |8,780 |9,120 |9,600
Private hospitals,
homes, clinics:
qualified staff |13,750 |15,450 |18,350 |21,680 |- |25,840 |29,070 |32,430 |37,310 |41,360 |46,530
Nursing & Midwifery: PD(STATS)B non-medical work force census.
GMS Practice Nurses: general medical practitioners census.
Private Sector Nursing: annual KO36 returns.
1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10 whole-time equivalents.
2. Total may not equal sum of their component parts due to rounding.
3. All nursing and midwifery figures exclude agency staff.
4. (-) denotes the figure is unavailable.
Immunisation and Cancer Screening
Mrs. Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the effect of the GP contract on immunisation and cancer screening services.
Mr. Malone: When the new general practitioner contract was introduced in 1990, 89 per cent. of GPs met targets for childhood immunisation and 86 per cent. for cancer screening. By April 1993, this had increased to 96 per cent. of GPs meeting childhood immunisation targets and 98 per cent. cancer screening targets. This shows clearly the positive impact of the GP contract on these services.
Sir Duncan Nicol
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 1 March, Official Report , column 586 , if she will provide details of the actual (a) pension payment and (b) redundancy payment made to Sir Duncan Nicol.
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Mr. Sackville: It is not common practice to make public personal information of this kind. I shall write to the hon. Member with background information.
Epilepsy
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many brain operations were carried out for intractable non-lesional epilepsy in the last year for which figures are available in the age groups (a) zero to 18 years, (b) 18 to 45 years and (c) 45 years and above.
Mr. Bowis: This information is not available centrally.
Hampshire Social Services
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the expenditure of Hampshire country council on social services each year since 1979 expressed in cash terms, real terms and as a real terms percentage increase or decrease on 1979 and the previous year.
Mr. Bowis: The information is shown in the table.
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Net personal social services expenditure by Hampshire County Council
|Change over
|Net expenditure|Net expenditure|previous year |Increase over
|1978-79
|Real terms at |Real terms |Real terms
|1992-93
|Cash
Year |£ million |£ million |Percentage |Percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978-79 |23.6 |65.6 |- |-
1979-80 |28.2 |67.3 |2.6 |2.6
1980-81 |33.5 |67.5 |0.4 |3.0
1981-82 |37.7 |69.3 |2.6 |5.7
1982-83 |40.9 |70.1 |1.2 |6.9
1983-84 |43.2 |70.7 |0.8 |7.8
1984-85 |45.6 |71.1 |0.6 |8.5
1985-86 |47.6 |70.4 |-1.0 |7.5
1986-87 |51.3 |73.6 |4.5 |12.3
1987-88 |57.9 |78.8 |7.1 |20.3
1988-89 |64.2 |82.0 |4.0 |25.1
1989-90 |69.2 |82.6 |0.8 |26.1
1990-91 |79.9 |88.3 |6.9 |34.8
1991-92 |91.7 |95.4 |8.0 |45.5
1992-93 |100.8 |100.8 |5.7 |53.8
Breast Cancer
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist breast cancer units there are; what are their locations; and what plans there are to increase their number.
Mr. Sackville: Information is not available centrally on the number or location of specialist breast cancer units. It is for health authorities to determine whether additional breast cancer services are required.
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has taken place into what is the best time in a women's menstrual cycle to have surgery.
Mr. Sackville: We are aware of a number of published studies into the best time in a woman's menstrual cycle to have surgery for breast cancer. There is no conclusive evidence about the most appropriate time for breast cancer surgery; most suggest that prognosis is worse for those who have surgery in the early part of the menstrual cycle. One recent study suggested that it is the perimenstrual period that is the most disadvantageous, another shows no variation in outcome related to menstrual phase.
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is available to suggest whether women who breast feed are less likely to contract breast cancer.
Mr. Sackville: There is some evidence to suggest that mothers who breast feed may be less likely to develop breast cancer. The most recent large international study was a World Health Organisation collaborative study published in 1993 in the International Journal of Epidemiology. This concluded that long-term lactation may reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Local Base Statistics
Mr. Gapes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will state when the Office of Population Censuses and Statistics will make available to local authorities the local base statistics for subdivisions of wards originally promised for mid-1994; and what are the reasons for the delays in processing this information.
Mr. Sackville: 1991 census local base statistics for sub-divisions of wards has already been produced. With this particular product customers were able to specify their own breakdown of wards in terms of enumeration districts. There was, however, a delay in their production, caused by an extension to the deadline for orders from
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customers, due to limited initial interest, so that the maximum number could be processed simultaneously in an effort to keep costs down.Breastfeeding
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is her policy on supporting the promotionof breastfeeding; what measures are being taken tosupport breastfeeding; and what future plans she has to promote breastfeeding.
Mr. Sackville: Based on medical advice, the Government have consistently supported breastfeeding as the best means of feeding a baby. We set up, under "The Health of the Nation" initiative, the national breastfeeding working group to coordinate action to promote and facilitate breastfeeding. We will be issuing fresh guidance on breastfeeding to the national health service shortly, drawing on the work of the national breastfeeding working group. We provide nationally produced publicity material for National Breastfeeding Awareness Week, which this year will run from the 22 to 26 May. We are contributing towards the cost of the Health Visitors Association and Royal College of Midwives joint training programme "Invest in Breast Together" which will be launched during National Breastfeeding Awareness Week. We also provide funding, through section 64 grant aid, to the three voluntary organisations supporting breastfeeding. We have taken steps to restrict the advertising and promotion of baby milks in the infant formula and follow-on formula regulations which came into force on 1 March 1995. These give a statutory basis to the restrictions on advertising in place since 1983 under the voluntary agreement with the baby milk manufacturers.
The quinquennial infant feeding surveys also provide information on breastfeeding and the factors likely to influence a woman's choice on how she feeds her baby. Field work for the 1995 survey will start later this year.
Baby Milk Advertising
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the commercial advertising of baby milk formula on the health of infants, with particular reference to those in low-income families.
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Mr. Sackville: None. The advertising and promotion of baby milks is restricted by the infant formula and follow-on formula regulations which came into force on 1 March 1995.
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with whom she consulted before deciding not to impose a statutory ban on the commercial advertising of baby milk formula.
Mrs. Browning: I have been asked to reply.
I attach a list of those to whom the draft infant formula and follow-on formula regulations were sent by this Department. The Scottish Office and Welsh Office also sent the proposals to organisations in Scotland and Wales respectively.
Consultation List for Draft Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations
Abbot Laboratories Ltd.
Action and Information on Sugar
Advertising Association
Advertising Standards Authority
Advisory Committee on Borderline Substances
Andrew Smith MP
ASDA Stores Ltd.
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers
Association of District Councils
Association of Public Analysts
Baby Milk Action Group
Boots Company plc
British Dental Association
British Dietetic Association
British Medical Association
British Nutrition Foundation
British Paediatric Association
British Retail Consortium
Children's Society
Christian Aid
Code Monitoring Committee
Colin Shepherd MP
COMA Panel on Nutrition
Consumers Association
Consumers in the EC Group (UK)
Cow and Gate Nutritcia
Crookes Healthcare
CWS Ltd.
Dairy Trade Federation
Department for Child Health
Dietetic Department
Dunn Nutrition Laboratory
Farley
Food and Drink Federation
Food Commission
Health Visitors Association
H J Heinz Co Ltd.
Infant and Dietetic Foods Association
Institute of Environmental Health officers
J Sainsbury plc
John Biffen MP
The Rt Hon John Patten NW
John Wyeth and Brother Ltd.
LA Leche League
Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards Leatherhead Food Research Association
Marks and Spencer plc
Maternity Alliance
Mead Johnson
Medical Research Council
Michael Trend NW
Milupa Ltd.
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National Association of Health Authorities and TrustsNational Childbirth Trust
National Consumer Council
National Dairy Council
National Federation of Consumer Groups
National Food Alliance
Neo Natal Nurses Association
Nestle UK Ltd.
NHS Supplies Authority
Oxfam
Oxford Diocesan Synod
Ray Whitney OBE MP
Robert Jackson MP
Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of Midwives
Royal College of Midwives (Scotland)
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
SHS Hospital Supplies
SMA Nutrition
St. Bartholomew's Hospital
UK Committee for UNICEF
Unilever Research
Waitrose Ltd.
Zeneca Bio Products
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