| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Infant Nutrition
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what research his Department has carried out on the influence of childhood nutrition and nutritional status on health and adulthood; and if he will make a statement; [36376]
- (2) what research his Department has undertaken into the responsibility of a relationship between infant feeding and schizophrenia; and if he will make a statement. [36366]
Mr. Horam: The Government have funded three studies, with long-term follow-up, of nationally representative groups of babies born in 1946, 1958, and 1970. These individuals, the oldest of whom are 50 years, continue to be followed up with support from the Medical Research Council, which receives its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. These three studies have provided a basis of much research on the influence of childhood nutrition and nutritional status on health in adulthood.
Two Medical Research Council-funded units have a particular interest in infant and child nutrition and on its effect on health in later childhood and during adult life.
The MRC Dunn clinical nutrition centre, in Cambridge, co-ordinates a multi-centre study of feeding and nutrition of pre-term infants. Follow-up of the study participants has continued since their birth in the mid-1980s. Contact will be maintained with these individuals as they enter adult life.
The MRC environmental epidemiology unit in Southampton has reported a range of retrospective studies which assess relationships between adult health and aspects of nutrition in infancy including method of feeding and infant weight.
We are unaware of any research into relationships between infant feeding and schizophrenia.
15 Jul 1996 : Column: 385
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will initiate a review of the NHS Pharmaceutical Regulations 1992 with the objective of ensuring greater (a) simplicity in the processes for considering applications under the regulations, (b) flexibility in responding to the needs of different types of communities for pharmaceutical services, (c) openness in consultation processes and (d) ability to accommodate the provision of pharmaceutical services to different types of retail outlet selling general pharmacy products; and if he will make a statement. [36299]
Mr. Malone:
The NHS Pharmaceutical Regulations 1992 are kept under constant review, but there are no immediate plans to make amendments.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health care workers have been infected by the hepatitis B virus since 1988. [36342]
Mr. Horam:
Confirmed cases of acute hepatitis B infection are reported by laboratories to the Public Health Laboratory Service under a voluntary and confidential surveillance system. Information on the number of laboratory confirmed cases of acute hepatitis B infection in health care workers reported to the Public Health Laboratory Service from 1988-95 in England and Wales, where occupation was stated, is given in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1988 | 21 |
| 1989 | 16 |
| 1990 | 13 |
| 1991 | 5 |
| 1992 | 9 |
| 1993 | 5 |
| 1994 | 6 |
| 1995 | 5 |
1. Data for 1995 is provisional.
2. Data includes hepatitis B infections acquired both occupationally and non-occupationally in the United Kingdom and abroad.
3. Hepatitis B infection can occur asymptomatically and may not, therefore, be diagnosed.
Mr. Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to offer hepatitis B vaccination to persons outside the currently defined at risk groups. [36341]
Mr. Horam: The Department's current policy is to recommend immunisation for those groups at increased risk of infection because of their life style, occupation or other factors such as close contact with a case or carrier. This policy, including the risk groups for whom immunisation is recommended, is kept under review.
Intensive and High Dependency Care
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will conduct a comprehensive review of the intensive care and high dependency requirements in each health authority with a view to revising funding to meet service requirements; and if he will make a statement. [36399]
15 Jul 1996 : Column: 386
Mr. Horam: It is for health authorities to assess the level of provision of intensive care and high dependency facilities needed and to allocate resources accordingly. Following the recent publication of guidelines on admission to, and discharge from, intensive care and high dependency care, health authorities have been asked by the national health service executive to examine the level of local provision to ensure that best use is made of available resources.
Beta Blocking Drugs
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the estimated cost to the NHS per patient, per month for patients receiving treatment with beta blocking drugs. [36294]
Mr. Malone: Information in the form requested is not available.
Prescription Charges
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will establish an independent commission of inquiry to review the current arrangements for collecting prescription charges; and if he will make a statement. [36302]
Mr. Malone: The scheme was last reviewed in 1993 as part of the fundamental review of health expenditure. There are no plans for a further review. Extensive charge exemption and remission arrangements, among the most generous in Europe, ensure that only those able to afford the prescription charge are asked to pay.
Acute Hospitals
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has committed to establishing the extent of skills and knowledge within acute hospital environments with particular reference to acute medical/haematological wards providing pain relief in patients with a malignant disease; and if he will make a statement. [36364]
Mr. Horam: Information on research commissioned by the Department of Health is contained in "Centrally Commissioned Research Programme" and "Centrally Commissioned Research Programme: Commissions 1994-95", copies of which are available in the Library.
Hearing-impaired Children
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has carried out on the impact of early detection on outcomes for hearing-impaired children; and if he will make a statement. [36375]
Mr. Bowis: In 1994, I asked the screening panel which supports the departmental standing group on health technologies to give priority to considering developments in the early identification of hearing impairment in children and to advise on whether the available evidence was sufficient to justify a review of policy and practice. To facilitate this, we commissioned the Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research to produce a review paper. We expect to receive this paper shortly.
15 Jul 1996 : Column: 387
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the impact of the private finance initiative on capital development in the NHS; if he will ensure that there is no reduction in capital investment in the NHS from public funds; and if he will make a statement. [36397]
Mr. Horam: The private finance initiative benefits capital development in the national health service by giving the NHS access to private sources of finance where this offers best value for money and transfer of risk to the private sector. It also enables the NHS to make the best possible use of private sector skills and experience. Some 57 privately-financed schemes worth over £1 million each have been approved to date, with a total capital value of £524 million, and schemes worth about £1.5 billion are currently testing for private finance. We cannot guarantee what the level of capital spending will be in the future, but what matters is not the level of public funding alone, but the total funding available to the NHS from public and private sources.
Dentists (Cheshire)
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of dentists accepting NHS patients in (a) Crewe and Nantwich and (b) Cheshire for each of the last five years. [36494]
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
| Number of dentists Cheshire | Number of dentists Crewe and Nantwich | |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 352 | 36 |
| 1993 | 363 | 34 |
| 1994 | 357 | 31 |
| 1995 | 352 | 32 |
| 1996 | 354 | 29 |
Additions to the register include instances of patients registering with a dentist after a break in attendance and reinstatement of registrations that had been cancelled in error.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |