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Solihull Hospital
Mr. Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will refer the determination of the future of Solihull hospital to an independent tribunal; and if he will make a statement; [18779]
- (2) if he will meet a delegation from the parliamentary constituency of Meriden to discuss the future of Solihull hospital as a stand-alone trust hospital. [18783]
Mr. Horam: The proposal to establish Solihull district general hospital as a national health service trust has already been considered thoroughly and rejected. The proposal to dissolve Birmingham Heartlands NHS trust and to establish a new NHS trust with Solihull hospital is still a matter for public consultation. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will make his decision about the future of Solihull hospital after careful consideration of the outcome of consultation, taking into account all the views expressed. I am, of course, willing to meet my hon. Friend and a delegation from his constituency and to listen to their views.
Mr. Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of whether Solihull hospital could provide accident and emergency facilities on a 24-hour basis with full consultant, medical and support facilities if the hospital merged with Birmingham Heartlands hospital. [18781]
Mr. Horam: This issue is being considered as part of the consultation exercise currently under way on the proposal to merge Solihull district general hospital and Birmingham Heartlands NHS trust.
Mr. Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will postpone the final date of the consultation period on the proposals for the future of Solihull hospital to allow fresh proposals to be considered. [18780]
Mr. Horam: No. If my hon. Friend has any comments to make in response to the consultation exercise I would ask that he forward these to the West Midlands regional health authority as a matter of urgency.
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Mr. Mills: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received during the independent consulting period about the role of Heartlands hospital in Birmingham in respect of the proposed merger with Solihull hospital. [18778]
Mr. Horam: All representations about the proposed merger between Solihull district general hospital and Birmingham Heartlands National Health Service trust have been referred to the West Midlands regional health authority, which is conducting the public consultation exercise on this proposal. Once the exercise is concluded, the regional health authority will report the results to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and we will give careful consideration to the views expressed.
Redundant Hospital Buildings
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the cost of maintaining redundant or empty hospital buildings (a) in the United Kingdom, (b) in London and (c) on the site of the former Westminster hospital; [18851]
- (2) how many square feet of former hospital buildings remain (a) empty, (b) derelict and (c) unsold. [18852]
Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally.
Dentists and Pharmacists (Premises)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated by the NHS executive in each region for funding the improvement of premises occupied by (a) dentists and (b) pharmacists. [18776]
Mr. Malone: Dentists and pharmacists are independent contractors who make their own business decisions about any improvements that may be necessary for their premises. Their national health service fees cover remuneration and expenses.
Northern and Yorkshire Outpost Headquarters
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 1 February, Official Report, columns 919-20, if the Yorkshire regional health authority's building at Park parade, Harrogate was (a) placed on the open market and (b) advertised for sale on the basis of competitive tenders before its sale; who provided an independent valuation of the building for the NHS before its sale; what the valuation was; and on what basis this figure was calculated. [18829]
Mr. Malone: The sale of the former Yorkshire regional health authority building at Park parade, Harrogate was linked to the procurement of new premises for the NHS Executive Northern and Yorkshire regional office, in Durham. This was to avoid the serious risk, confirmed by independent property experts, that the Harrogate offices might remain as a liability to the health service, unsold and unlet for a considerable period.
The linked sale and procurement was put to competitive tender, and the tender was let to Dysart Developments Ltd. on the basis of the best financial return to the health service.
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The building was valued prior to tender by the district valuer, at £2.5 million, on the basis of his appraisal of the property and his knowledge of the local market. The successful tender incorporated an offer for the Harrogate building in excess of this figure, at £2.825 million.
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of (a) junior and (b) other hospital doctors in (i) 1985, (ii) 1990 and (iii) 1995. [18740]
Mr. Malone:
The available information is shown in the table. Figures for 1995 are not yet available.
| Year | 1985 | 1990 | 1994 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior doctors | 21,520 | 23,630 | 25,780 |
| Other hospital doctors | 22,030 | 24,970 | 26,260 |
Public Health Link
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the review of the public health link procedure; and if he will publish his conclusions. [18788]
Mr. Horam: The Chief Medical Officer has recently met leaders of the medical profession to discuss how arrangements for transmitting urgent communications to doctors should be improved. Based on the principles agreed, finalised proposals will shortly be put to the medical profession and to other interested parties to ensure procedures are understood by all concerned.
Anaesthetists
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of qualified anaesthetists in the NHS; and what is the shortfall for each NHS trust. [18775]
Mr. Malone: The number of qualified anaesthetists--consultant grade--employed in the national health service was 2,350 1 as of 30 September 1994. The Department does not hold information about vacancies at trust level. Note:
1 This number is rounded to the nearest 10.
Transplant Surgery
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what examinations, and of what nature, his Department (a) has conducted (b) is conducting and (c) has asked other organisations to conduct into the use for transplantation or other surgical procedures on humans of transgenic or genetically-modified animals or organs or parts therefrom. [18802]
Mr. Horam: The Department of Health has asked a committee chaired by Professor Ian Kennedy to review the acceptability of, and ethical framework within which, xenotransplantation--the transplant of animal organs,
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cells and tissue across species--may be undertaken, and to make recommendations. The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens is considering the potential infection risks which might arise following xenotransplantation.
Information Technology
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of planned savings in management costs which will result from more effective use of information technology. [18786]
Mr. Horam: Information technology pervades most of the activity of the national health service. Whilst benefits, including potential savings in management costs, are known for the use of information technology in some of these activities, the Department of Health does not maintain a total across all of them.
Research
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list all Department of Health funded pilots, trials and research studies which have been conducted since 1990 in (a) Doncaster, (b) Mexborough, (c) Doncaster travel-to-work area and (d) Mexborough travel-to-work area identifying (i) title, summary and duration of the pilot or trial, (ii) target population and total number of participants and (iii) whether each pilot, trial or research finding was published and the date of publication; and if he will list all other non-Deaprtment of Health research bodies or organisations involved in each pilot, trial or research scheme. [19089]
Mr. Malone: Research commissioned within the Department's policy research programme is set out in "Centrally Commissioned Research Programme" and "Centrally Commissioned Research Programme: Commissions 1994-95" copies of which are available in the Library.
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