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Committee on Safety of Medicines
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department made of the arithmetical accuracy of the tables made available by Professor Spitzer on 9 October 1995. [19191]
Mr. Malone: The tables provided by Professor Spitzer were assessed by experts on the Committee on Safety of Medicines.
Mr. Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what safeguards are in place to ensure that the advice of the Committee on Safety of Medicines is independent. [19190]
Mr. Malone: The Committee on Safety of Medicines is an independent body of drug safety experts. Following consultation with appropriate organisations and on the recommendation of the Medicines Commission, its members are appointed by the United Kingdom Health Ministers--the Licensing Authority.
Members do not represent organisations, but contribute by their individual expertise and judgment to the advice given by the committee to the licensing authority. In addition, members are required to follow a code of practice on relations with the pharmaceutical industry and to declare their interests which are published annually.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many resignations have been received from staff of (a) the Medicines Control Agency and (b) the Committee on Safety of Medicines since 1 October 1995. [19184]
Mr. Malone:
The Medicines Control Agency has received six resignations since 1 October 1995; while the Committee on Safety of Medicines has received none.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received about the closure of the B12 unit at the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust; and if he will make a statement; [19193]
7 Mar 1996 : Column: 323
(3) what involvement his Department had in the decision to close the B12 unit at the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust; [19194]
(4) what representations he has received on, and what assessment he has made of, the health risks faced by children whose treatment has been interrupted as a result of the closure of the B12 unit at the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust; and if he will make a statement. [19196]
Mr. Horam:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received several representations on the future of the vitamin B12 unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The future inclusion of the vitamin B12 unit into the services provided by the Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare national health service trust is a matter for the trust and the Charing Cross and Westminster medical school.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when an independent inquiry into an allegation of clinical negligence or misconduct involving the use of laparoscopic surgical techniques in a case of uterine cancer was last carried out in respect of the Northern and Yorkshire health region; by whom that inquiry was carried out; and at what cost. [19234]
Mr. Horam:
Northern and Yorkshire regional health authority carried out an inquiry into an allegation about the use of laparoscopic surgical techniques in a case of uterine cancer in the second half of 1995. The hon. Member may wish to contact John Greetham CBE, chairman of the authority, for further details.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the use of laparoscopic surgical techniques for hysterectomy in the case of uterine cancer requires ethics committee approval. [19236]
Mr. Horam:
Laparoscopic surgical techniques require local research ethics committee approval only if carried out as part of a research project.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he is preparing guidelines as to when laparoscopic surgical techniques may be used for hysterectomy in the case of uterine cancer; [19237]
Mr. Horam:
No guidelines exist covering specifically the circumstances under which laparoscopic surgical techniques of hysterectomy may be used in the case of uterine cancer. The development, publication and maintenance of guidelines for the clinical management of various groups of illnesses are the responsibility of the medical, nursing, dental and other clinicians and their professional bodies.
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Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he issues as to the professional qualifications and usual place of work of individuals commissioned by regional health authorities to look into alleged cases of clinical negligence. [19235]
Mr. Horam:
There is no formal guidance for regional health authorities that deals specifically with the investigation of alleged cases of clinical negligence.
Regional medical officers are responsible for arranging for two independent consultants to conduct the third stage of the current hospital clinical complaints procedure, called independent professional review. Existing guidance is contained in paragraph 27 of annexe B to health circular HC(88)37, copies of which will be placed in the Library. This states that the consultants should be in active practice in the appropriate speciality or specialties. They should be nominated by the joint consultants committee, and at least one should be a doctor working in a comparable hospital in a different region from that which is setting up the independent professional review.
A new national health service complaints system will be introduced from April 1996, in which there will no longer be separate procedures for dealing with clinical complaints.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide a quarterly analysis of the number of operations cancelled in each region since figures have been published. [19497]
Ms Coffey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library figures by (a) district health authority and (b) regional health authority, of the number of operations cancelled on the day of, or the day after, admission to hospital and the number of those patients not readmitted within a month for (i) the second and (ii) the third quarter of 1995-96. [19471]
Mr. Horam:
The national health service performs over 5 million operations annually. Fewer than 50,000 or less than 0.01 per cent. were cancelled in 1994-95 and many of these would have been unavoidable.
The available information relates to the number of operations cancelled for non-medical reasons on the day patients are due to arrive or after arrival in hospital. This will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further advice he intends to issue to trusts regarding the appropriate level of pay increases to general and senior managers beyond that contained in HSG(961); and what monitoring he proposes to undertake. [19493]
Mr. Malone:
None. These are matters for local determination following extant guidance and I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) on 13 February, Official Report, column 559.
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Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide a list of the professions of those (a) nominated and (b) appointed to serve as non-executives on the newly merged health authorities. [19498]
Mr. Malone:
A list of all non-executive appointments together with professions of appointees to national health service authorities and trusts will be published in the summer of 1996.
Mr. Milburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics his Department collects on hospital department closures. [19492]
Mr. Horam:
The Department does not routinely collect information on hospital department closures. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms Harman) on 28 February, Official Report, column 569.
Mr. Cummings:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in each of the past five years Ministers in his Department have passed (a) hon. Members' letters and (b) hon. Members' questions to agencies for response; and what this figure is as a percentage of the total number of letters and questions received. [19423]
Mr. Arbuthnot:
For parliamentary questions, I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Mr. Kirkwood) on 14 February 1996, Official Report, column 609.
(2) what representations he has received on the need for an independent inquiry into the closure of the B12 unit at the Chelsea and Westminster NHS trust; and if he will make a statement; [19195]
(2) what guidelines exist covering the circumstances under which laparoscopic surgical techniques of hysterectomy may be used in the case of uterine cancer. [19238]
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