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Clinical Waste
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are in place covering the disposal of clinical waste. [25939]
Mr. Horam: There is much guidance on waste management and waste disposal produced by many organisations. Main general sources of published advice from Government bodies on best practice in waste management and disposal of clinical waste in particular are as follows:
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- (i) The Safe Disposal of Clinical Waste (Health and Safety Executive 1992);
(ii) Waste Management Paper No. 25 (Department of the Environment 1983; Revised in preparation);
(iii) Strategic Guide for Waste Management (Department of Health 1991);
(iv) A Strategic Guide to Clinical Waste Management (Department of Health 1994);
(v) Waste Management--The Duty of Care: A Code of Practice (Department of the Environment 1991).
Copies of the guidance will be placed in the Library shortly.
Mr. Horam: This information is not available centrally.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if hospital trusts have a statutory duty to ensure the appropriate disposal of clinical waste. [25938]
Mr. Horam: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 21 March at columns 319-20.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the safeguards in place to prevent the dumping of clinical waste classified for incineration. [25940]
Mr. Horam: The Environmental Protection Act 1990 includes a duty to prevent the unlawful depositing, handling and disposal of clinical waste, and is enforced by county council waste regulation units. Any body which produces controlled waste, including clinical waste, is responsible for any pollution caused to the environment or any harm to health from clinical waste while in their control and has a duty to transfer it only to an authorised person. Authorised persons must hold a waste management licence or be carriers registered with the Environment Agency. Breach of the duty of care is an offence, where conviction on indictment can lead to unlimited fines. In estates policy letter (95)33, issued in December 1995 by the National Health Service Estates Agency, trusts were reminded of their legal obligations in respect of the safe disposal of clinical waste and were asked to review their current arrangements to ensure that the necessary safeguards were in place.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions NHS estates has issued memoranda concerning the trusts' responsibilities regarding the disposal of clinical waste. [25942]
Mr. Horam: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. McLeish) on 14 March at columns 753-54, which listed all letters and guidance issued by National Health Service Estates to NHS hospital trusts about medical waste management. Copies of the guidance are available in the Library.
Hospital Incinerators
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital incinerators were in operation in each year since 1989; and what agency is responsible for the inspection of hospital incinerators. [25935]
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Mr. Horam: The number of hospital incinerators in operation in each year since 1989 is not available centrally.
The inspection of hospital incinerators with a capacity of more than 1 tonne per hour is the responsibility of the Environment Agency--previously Her Majesty's inspectors of pollution. The inspection of incineration plant with a capacity of less than 1 tonne per hour is the responsibility of the local authority's environmental department.
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital trusts have built incinerators in the past five years. [25936]
Mr. Horam:
Six hospital trusts have built incinerators in the last five years. An additional thirteen incinerators have been built on hospital sites as the result of joint ventures between the national health service and private companies.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on (i) the savings per annum and (ii) the severance costs of the staffing review of the NHS supplies authority. [26319]
Mr. Horam:
The review is still in progress, so it is not yet possible to estimate the total annual savings to be achieved, nor the aggregate costs of severance payments. The changes are designed to improve the service to customers and to give better value for money by simplifying the structure and removing unnecessary duplication of effort.
Mr. Luff:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the key business targets for the Medical Devices Agency for 1996-97. [26746]
Mr. Horam:
I have today placed in the Library a copy of the 1996-97 key business targets for the Medical Devices Agency.
Mr. French:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish his consultative document on care of the elderly; and if he will make a statement. [25308]
Mr. Bowis:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave him on 23 April.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of bills were paid late by his Department in 1995-96. [26116]
Mr. Horam:
The information is being collected by the Department of Trade and Industry and will be published by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade before the summer recess.
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid late to the private sector by his Department for goods and services in 1995-96. [26154]
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Mr. Horam:
This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the licensed preparations which contain paracetamol and, for each preparation, whether the preparation is prescription-only medicine, pharmacy or general sale list, the year when the product was first marketed and if the product contains methionine or similar compounds. [26248]
Mr. Malone:
A list of the 378 currently licensed preparations, which includes whether each is prescription-only medicine, pharmacy or general sale list, will be placed in the Library. It will state the year when the licence was granted, but not when each was first marketed as this is a matter for the licence holder, not the licensing authority. There are two licensed preparations containing methionine: Pameton caplets and Paradote, both of which are pharmacy products.
Mr. Home Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on research evaluated by his Department relating to the harmful side effects of cortico-steroid drugs; [26595]
(3) what is the most recent research evaluated by his Department on the suitability of prescribed cortico-steroid drugs; and what plans he has to promote further research; [26596]
(4) if he will make a statement on the provision of compensation for patients who have suffered long-term damage as a result of prescribed cortico-steroid drugs in cases where no warning had been given of such risks. [26598]
Mr. Malone:
Corticosteroids are effective in the treatment of many serious and life-threatening disorders and have been used for many years. All medicines have side- effects. Those for corticosteroids are well documented in the product information which is produced by the manufacturer and authorised by the licensing authority and in the British National Formulary which the Department sends free of charge to all doctors.
A national programme for monitoring the side-effects of medicines already exists. The Medicines Control Agency continuously monitors and assesses the safety of all licensed human medicinal products including corticosteroids. This includes evaluating research obtained from various sources. In 1994, the Committee on Safety of Medicines evaluated the association of corticosteroids and severe chickenpox, as a result of which the product information of corticosteroids was revised.
(2) if he will institute a national programme to monitor the prescription of cortico-steroid drugs in the United Kingdom and the extent and nature of side effects on patients; [26597]
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