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HEALTH
NHS
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general practitioner, (b) consultant (c) junior doctor and (d) nursing midwifery posts were vacant in each of the last five years. [4185]
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table. Information on vacancies for general practitioners is not centrally available. Figures on nursing and midwifery vacancies collected by the Office of Manpower and Economics are available in the annual report of the Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine. Copies of the review body's report are placed in the Library each year.
The process of appointment of a doctor typically involves advertising the post and the selection of the most suitable candidate to fill it. The numbers of vacancies on 30 September will include many posts which happen to be vacant on that day but are in process of being filled.
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(4)Data on junior doctors for 1991 are available only at
disproportionate cost.
(5)Vacant post figures for house officers are not collected.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10, therefore individual grades may not add up to the total.
Consultant vacant posts as at 30 September each year in England (whole-time equivalent)
1990: 700
1991: 470
1992: 540
1993: 480
1994: 570.
1990 1991(4) 1992 1993 1994
Total junior doctors(5) 530 -- 580 640 640
Senior registrar 230 -- 180 200 200
Registrar 230 -- 280 310 280
Senior house officer 70 -- 120 130 170
Smoking (Children)
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new campaigns his Department intends to introduce to alert children to the dangers of smoking. [4724]
Mr. Horam: A new three-year programme aimed at 11 to 15-year olds will be launched next year when the present Health Education Authority campaign comes to an end. Additionally, the current national smoking education campaign is particularly aimed at parents, who are a key influence on children's smoking behaviour.
Pharmacists (Reimbursement)
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the average length of time it takes for the national health service to reimburse pharmacists for the cost of medicines dispensed by them; [4916]
(2) what plans he has to take steps to speed the process whereby pharmacists are reimbursed for medicines that they have prescribed; [4918]
(3) what is his target length of time for the period between a claim for reimbursement by a pharmacist who has dispensed medicine and the payment therefor. [4917]
Mr. Malone: A payment representing approximately 80 per cent. of the amount due is paid on the first day of the month following that in which the prescription is submitted for pricing. The remainder is paid on the first day of the following month.
Pharmacists are currently paid on time, to a timetable originally agreed with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee. There are no plans to change the arrangement.
Leg Ulcer Bandages
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the expenditure on general practitioner prescribed leg ulcer bandages via the PACT--prescribing analyses and costs--system in 1994 by nation, region and
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health authority; and what this expenditure is as an expenditure per head of population for each of the regions and health authorities. [4927]
Mr. Malone: It is not possible to identify reliably expenditure on leg ulcer bandages because the bandages used for the treatment of leg ulcers may also be used for other purposes.
Work Experience Trainees
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent guidances he has issued to the NHS on the involvement of work experience trainees in medical procedures. [5593]
Mr. Malone: None. This is a matter for local national health service employers. I understand that the General Medical Council has provided guidance to doctors about delegating care to non-medical staff and students in its booklet, "Good medical practice", which was issued to all doctors this autumn.
Food Poisoning
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of food poisoning from the consumption of food on non-domestic premises have been notified in each year since 1985. [4999]
Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally. Formal notifications of the total number of cases of food poisoning are published annually in the MB2 series, "Communicable Disease Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library.
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase public awareness about the causes of food poisoning. [5001]
Mr. Horam: The Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have a continuing programme of food hygiene publicity which includes promoting public awareness of the causes of food poisoning.
Advisory material is kept under regular review in the light of developments, including information from research and surveillance, and independent expert advice.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many successful prosecutions for food poisoning against (a) individuals and (b) companies there have been in each of the last five years. [5002]
Mr. Horam:
This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of (a) cholera, (b) typhoid fever, (c) paratyphoid fever, (d) dysentery and (e) food poisoning were notified in each year from 1985 to 1992; [4998]
(2) if he will make a statement on the incidence of (a) typhoid fever, (b) cholera, (c) paratyphoid fever, (d) dysentery and (e) food poisoning in England since 1985; [5000]
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(3) what is his estimate of the costs to the NHS resulting from incidents of food poisoning in each year from 1985 to 1995. [4997]
Mr. Horam:
The requested information on cholera is shown in the table.
| Total(6) | |
|---|---|
| 1985 | 4 |
| 1986 | 5 |
| 1987 | 2 |
| 1988 | 10 |
| 1989 | 1 |
| 1990 | 6 |
| 1991 | 4 |
| 1992 | 9 |
Notes:
(6) Includes cases and symptomless excreters.
Source: Vibrio Cholera 01 Faecal Isolates England and Wales 1985-1992 DEP LEP confirmed laboratory reports to CDSC.
Information on paratyphoid fever, dysentery and food poisoning are available in OPCS's MB2 "Series Communicable Disease Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library. The latest available publication is series MB2 No. 20 (1993).
The great majority of cases of cholera, typhoid and paratyphoid fever are due to infections acquired abroad.
The rise in dysentery notifications in 1992 was consistent with the secular pattern of upsurges in incidence every seven to eight years, although the number of cases reported in 1992 was much greater than that reported during the previous upsurge.
No such estimate has been made of the costs to the NHS resulting from incidents of food poisoning.
There is no clear explanation for the increase in food poisoning notifications. On 22 October 1993 my noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State announced the start of a major study of infectious intestinal diseases in England. The purpose of the study is to establish the incidence, sources, causes and socio-economic costs of infectious intestinal disease. This is the most comprehensive study of its type ever attempted. It will involve 70 general practices and more than 20,000 volunteers. The study will be completed in 1996 with results available in 1997.
Mr. Steen:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to the statement of the Secretary of State for the Environment of 21 November 1995, Official Report, column 454, if he will make it his policy to review past legislation in respect of additional burdens imposed by regulations implementing European directives. [5066]
Mr. Boswell
[holding answer 11 December 1995]: It is the policy in the Department to ensure that we do not gold-plate European directives by the addition of
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unnecessary burdens when implementing them in the United Kingdom. We will take every opportunity to look at existing legislation in the light of this policy.
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research he (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into food treatment methods for destroying the infective agent of BSE prior to consumption. [4936]
Mrs. Browning
[holding answer 11 December 1995]: The Government's policy on BSE is to ensure that all cattle suspected of suffering from BSE, and specified bovine offals from all cattle which might or might not be incubating the disease, are removed from the human and animal feed chain.
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