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Patient Information
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to publish guidance to the NHS on the protection and use of patient information; and if he will make a statement. [19807]
Mr. Horam: We will be issuing guidance to national health service and other interested bodies tomorrow. Copies will be placed in the Library. The guidance will emphasise the legal duty of all NHS bodies and staff to protect patient confidentiality, as well as the importance of informing patients of the essential uses to which personal information, anonymised wherever possible, may be put.
6 Mar 1996 : Column: 291
Childhood Cancers
Mr. Marlow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the funding of the National Radiological Protection Board, NRPB-R276, pages 100 and 109 in respect of the incidence of childhood cancers linked to natural background alpha radiation. [18761]
Mr. Horam: The Department of Health and the Scottish Office provide core-funding to the National Radiological Protection Board which covers many areas, including assessment of the risk of childhood cancer from exposure to natural background alpha radiation. The work of the board on this topic as described in NRPB R-276 was resourced by this funding.
Embryo Research
Mr. Morely: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for new legislation on embryo research. [19159]
Mr Horam: There are currently no plans for further legislation.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to identify the donors of embryos for research; and if he will make a statement. [19155]
Mr. Horam: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's code of practice requires all licensed centres to keep records in which the source of gametes and embryos is accurately and securely recorded.
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for new measures on frozen embryos when the current five-year holding period ends. [19156]
Mr. Horam: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Statutory Storage Period for Embryos) Regulations 1996 No. 375 were laid before both Houses on 23 February 1996 and will come into force on 1 May 1996.
Human Fertility and Embryo Authority
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring his Department conducts of the operation of the Human Fertility and Embryo Authority. [19158]
Mr. Horam: Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is required to produce an annual report which is laid before Parliament. Between reports there is regular contact between Ministers, departmental officials and the authority. It is Government policy that all non-departmental public bodies should be reviewed after five years in existence. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham (Mr. Bottomley) on 19 October 1995, Official Report, column 367, which announced that a full review by the Department of Health is now in progress.
In Vitro Fertilisation Centres
Mr. Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often each registered IVF centre is inspected. [19157]
Mr. Horam: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority inspects all licensed in vitro fertilisation centres annually.
6 Mar 1996 : Column: 292
Professions Supplementary to Medicine
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he plans to take to ensure that an adequate number of free placements are available within the national health service for those students in training for professions supplementary to medicine who require such placements for clinical practice during their courses. [19216]
Mr. Horam: Responsibility for negotiating clinical placements rests with education providers. National health service organisations were reminded of their obligation to assist education providers to secure sufficient placements in guidance issued in August 1995. Where charging for placements currently exists, it is being phased out.
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which bodies within the national health service will have responsibility after 1 April for fulfilling contract obligations entered into by regional health authorities with educational institutions providing training courses for professions supplementary to medicine; [19212]
- (2) which bodies within the national health service will have responsibility after 1 April for providing bursaries for students on courses of training for professions supplementary to medicine. [19213]
Mr. Horam: From 1 April 1996 regional offices of the Department of Health will have responsibility for the contracts with education institutions and for the provision of bursaries for students for the professions allied to medicine.
Health Authority Appointments
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the members of the new health authorities indicating their gender and occupation. [19217]
Mr. Malone: A list of all appointments to national health service authorities and trusts will be published in the summer of 1996. This will include both the gender and occupation of appointees.
Meningitis
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases there have been of meningitis (i) A, (ii) B and (iii) C in each of the last five years (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in each EU country. [19225]
Mr. Horam: In the past five years the numbers of cases of meningococcal infection reported in England and Wales, including cases of meningitis and septicaemia, and due to each group of Neisseria meningitidis are as shown in the table.
| Group | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | (8)1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 13 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| B | 997 | 959 | 923 | 929 | 789 | 866 |
| C | 466 | 394 | 326 | 319 | 291 | 444 |
| Other groups | 24 | 39 | 45 | 47 | 48 | 64 |
| All groups | 1,500 | 1,398 | 1,301 | 1,297 | 1,129 | 1,394 |
(8) provisional data for 1995.
Data for each European Union country is not routinely collated by the Public Health Laboratory Service and may not, in any case, be comparable between different countries because of different reporting systems and differing access to grouping and typing facilities.
6 Mar 1996 : Column: 293
Information relating to Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which countries in the EU give routine meningitis vaccinations to children. [19226]
Mr. Horam:
Eleven of the 15 countries in the European Union give routine Hib vaccine, which protects against cases of meningitis due to Haemophilus influenzae type b infections. Hib vaccine was introduced into the United Kingdom childhood immunisation programme in 1992 and has been a great success. The vaccine has virtually eliminated Hib meningitis in young children.
No countries in the European Union currently give routine vaccination against meningococcal meningitis--that is, cases caused by Neisseria meningitidis.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the percentage change in each of the last five years of public finance in the NHS capital programme. [19228]
| Hospital and community health services gross capital expenditure (£ million) | Change (Per cent.) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 1,576 | 9.1 |
| 1991-92 | 1,659 | 5.3 |
| 1992-93 | 1,815 | 9.4 |
| 1993-94 | 1,783 | -1.8 |
| 1994-95 | 2,049 | 14.9 |
South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received on the accountancy error made in calculating the income of the South Manchester University Hospitals NHS trust; what replies he has made; and if he will make a statement on the effects of the error in terms of (a) bed closures and (b) numbers of people waiting for hospital treatment. [19274]
Mr. Horam: We have received two letters on this subject. The trust has drawn up a recovery plan which involves selective bed closures and estimates that its proposals will add approximately two months to in-patient waiting times for Manchester residents.
6 Mar 1996 : Column: 294
Hepatitis B
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the annual cost of universal vaccination of children against hepatitis B. [19218]
Mr. Horam: At manufacturers' current listed prices, annual vaccine costs for one birth cohort would be in the region of £17 million. The total cost of universal immunisation against hepatitis B will comprise of vaccine costs, the costs of administering the vaccine, and other costs of carrying out the immunisation programme. Costs of administering the vaccine could vary depending on the immunisation programme chosen.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to implement the World Health Organisation's recommendation on hepatitis B vaccination. [19219]
Mr. Horam: Hepatitis B vaccine has been used in this country since 1982 and is currently recommended for those at increased risk of infection. The Department of Health is considering the implications of the World Health Organisation's recommendation for countries such as the United Kingdom, which has one of the lowest prevalence rates of chronic hepatitis B carriers in the world.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the cost-effectiveness of universal hepatitis B vaccinations for children. [19220]
Mr. Horam: The cost-effectiveness of universal hepatitis B vaccination for children is dependent on many factors, including the prevalence of hepatitis B infection in the population, the age at which immunisation is offered, the coverage achieved, vaccine efficiency, changes in the risks of exposure to the virus, the cost of the immunisation programme chosen, and the morbidity and mortality prevented as a result of that programme. The Department has commissioned research to develop a mathematical model of hepatitis B transmission dynamics to assist in this work.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into the duration of antibody response in children vaccinated with hepatitis B vaccination. [19221]
Mr. Horam: The Department of Health has not commissioned research on this subject.
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