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NHS Treatment Costs
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the reasons for not making patients aware of the cost of their individual treatment. [1097]
Mr. Malone: Present costing systems within the national health service are intended to provide accurate estimates of total costs involved in providing a service at a pre-determined level of activity. This system enables average treatment costs to be produced, and it is these figures that are used in the price lists for extra contractual referrals. The price lists are available to the public. The additional costing work necessary to produce individual patient treatment costs would not represent best use of NHS resources.
"Mental Health and Stress in the Work Place"
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the pamphlet, "Mental Health and Stress in the Work Place", which he commissioned; what factors underlay the timing of publication; what were its main recommendations; and if he will make a statement. [327]
Mr. Bowis: The booklet "Mental Health and Stress in the Work Place" is not, and was never intended to be, a Department of Health publication. I understand that the document will be published in due course. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on its content prior to publication.
Mentally Ill Homeless People
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken, and what money he has allocated for (a) key teams of care workers to make contact with mentally ill homeless people, (b) specialist hostels and (c) provision of permanent homes with care following the homeless mentally ill initiative; and if he will make a statement. [325]
Mr. Bowis: Over £20 million has been allocated to the homeless mentally ill initiative since it was launched in 1990. This has covered the capital costs of 10 short-stay hostels providing nearly 150 bed spaces. The long-term revenue costs of these high-care bed spaces are met from the mental illness specific grant; costs are currently
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£15,500 per annum per bed space for the first three years, tapering to £7,750. This funding will continue for the foreseeable future. The Housing Corporation has committed £9.5 million to the provision of 181 units of move-on accommodation. Funding for five multi-disciplinary community psychiatric outreach teams is built into the annual allocations to regional health authorities.
Cardiac Services
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health authorities in London do not have the necessary technical equipment in their locality to undertake (a) permanent pacemaker implantations and (b) cardiac catheterisation; when he estimates they will all be able to provide these operations; and if he will make a statement. [339]
Mr. Sackville: This information is not available centrally.
Khat
Mr. Tim Rathbone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what review is being made of the harmful health effects of khat; and what plans are being made for banning it in the United Kingdom. [311]
Mr. Bowis: The Department of Health continues to monitor the misuse of khat. Khat is not subject to control under the international United Nation drug treaties and we have no plans at present to schedule it under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The key criterion in the 1971 Act is whether the misuse of a substance has or is capable of having harmful effects sufficient to constitute a social problem.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs considered the misuse of khat in 1988 against this criterion and reached the view that bringing it within the 1971 Act's controls would not be appropriate.
We are keeping the matter under review.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date and where his Department's file WOP/4/5 that was mislaid in 1981 was discovered; what was the cause of it being mislaid; and if he will make a statement. [55]
Mr. Sackville:
The file was found on 4 August 1995 among closed files retained for reference. The file had been closed in 1990, but this had not been noted.
Mr. Morley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking in respect of (a) the commercial selling of embryo eggs and (b) gender clinics. [1020]
Mr. Sackville:
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is reviewing its policy on the payment of egg and sperm donors and will examine any claim that a licensed clinic is acting improperly. In the light of this review, the Government will consider whether any action needs to be taken.
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The HFEA has advised all centres which it licenses for infertility treatment that sex selection for social reasons is not acceptable. Sperm separation techniques used in gender clinics offering sex selection for social reasons are considered to have no scientific basis.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will carry out an investigation in conjunction with the Bradford Royal Infirmary NHS trust into the (a) age, (b) ethnic background and (c) mental state for the female patient who had stitches to a wound carried out by a 16-year-old work experience trainee; and if he will make a statement. [62]
Mr. Sackville:
This is a matter for Bradford Hospitals National Health Service trust. The hon. Member may wish to contact Rodney Walker, chairman of the trust for details.
Mr. Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been given by his Department to regional offices on the future funding status and remit of community health councils. [320]
Mr. Malone:
Following consultation on the report of the NHS executive's working group on the future establishing arrangements for community health councils, we intend to issue revised guidance shortly.
Mr. Pawsey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the procedures that are in place and identify and charge patients who are not eligible for free NHS treatment and the mechanism used to ensure that the procedures are in place and followed. [1096]
Mr. Sackville:
The procedures to identify and charge patients who are not eligible for free national health service treatment are found in the manual of guidance for the NHS treatment of overseas visitors, copies of which are available in the Library.
The Department liaises regularly with NHS officials who have immediate responsibility for enforcing the procedures.
Mr. Bayley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned into changes in numbers of accident and emergency admissions and surgical emergency admissions; and if he will place in the Library copies of guidance issued to health authorities or regions about funding these types of admissions in (a) the current year and (b) future years. [322]
Mr. Sackville:
My Department has not commissioned research into changes in the numbers of accident and emergency and surgical emergency admissions; nor has it issued guidance on funding these admissions.
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Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Osteopaths Act 1993 has not fully been brought into force; and when he intends to fully bring it into force. [198]
Mr. Sackville:
We expect to announce the membership of the General Osteopathic Council shortly. The Osteopaths Act will be brought into force in stages according to the programme the Council develops for implementing the statutory scheme.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people, since the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, are known to have deliberately deprived themselves by transferring their assets; and what action was taken against them under section 21 of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudication Act 1983; [1129]
(2) what plans he has to strengthen the law with respect to the deliberate transfer of assets. [1130]
Mr. Bowis:
Information on numbers of people who have deliberately deprived themselves of assets for the purposes of reducing their contribution towards the cost of residential accommodation, and any action taken against them under section 21 of the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudication Act is not available centrally.
The legislation relating to charging for residential accommodation, including the deprivation of assets, is kept under constant review.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement clarifying the role of the state and the individual in paying for long-term care; and if he will make that information widely available to the elderly. [1134]
Mr. Bowis:
The role of the state and the individual in paying for residential care is as laid down by the Government of 1948 in their National Assistance Act.
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