| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Hospitality Budgets
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the hospitality budget of his Department, the NHS executive and the regional offices hospitality budget for (a) 1996-97 and (b) 1995-96. [39832]
Mr. Horam: I will write to the hon. Member.
PIMS Project
Ms Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements were made to advertise the PIMS--performance indicators for management systems--project in the contract supplement of the Official Journal of the EU. [39811]
Mr. Horam: The Department has framework agreements with a number of companies covering various categories of information technology work, which were awarded after an EC/GATT procurement. The contracts for the performance information management system were awarded following competitions between companies with framework agreements in appropriate categories.
Ms Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the performance indicators for the management systems project was submitted for Treasury approval; on what date such approval was granted; on what date the project commenced; and at what estimated cost. [39813]
Mr. Horam: Performance indicators for management systems commenced in November 1994 at an estimated cost within departmental delegated limits. Treasury approval has not therefore been necessary.
Ms Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what independent evaluation there has been of the expected benefits of the PIMS project as to volume standard and time scale. [39812]
Mr. Horam: These topics are covered in post-implementation reviews, which are carried out at the end of major information technology projects. They are conducted by independent companies drawn from those with which the Department has framework agreements. PIMS is still under development and a PIR is not yet appropriate.
Mental Health
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the NHS budget was spent on mental health care in each of the last five years, nationally and by region. [39727]
Mr. Malone: The information is not available in the form requested.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 515
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients compulsorily detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 are currently residing in hospitals for the mentally handicapped. [39733]
Mr. Malone: In 1994-95, the latest year for which information is currently available, there were 304 formal admissions of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and classified as mentally impaired or severely mentally impaired.
Mr. Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if patients compulsorily detained on hospital sites under the Mental Health Act 1983 are allowed to mix with mentally handicapped patients residing in the same hospital. [39732]
Mr. Malone: The Mental Health Act 1983 does not prescribe such matters for those detained under its powers.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many formal admissions of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 there were by health authority in each year between 1990-91 and 1994-95. [39761]
Mr. Malone: I will write to the hon. Member.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mental health beds there were in the NHS in each of the last five years. [39728]
Mr. Malone: I refer the hon. Member to the reply by my hon. Friend the then Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Battersea (Mr. Bowis), gave the hon. Member of Birmingham, Selly Oak (Dr. Jones) on 29 February, Official Report, columns 687-89.
Prescribed Drugs
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost to the NHS of prescribed drugs dispensed (a) through a general practitioner dispensary and (b) in a pharmacy. [39751]
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
| Prescriptions dispensed by | Average net ingredient cost per prescription fee |
|---|---|
| £ | |
| Dispensing doctors | 7.38 |
| Community pharmacists and appliance contractors | 7.65 |
1. The data are from the Prescription Pricing Authority PD1 series of forms and prescriptions are based on fees.
2. The net ingredient cost refers to the cost of the drug before discounts and does not include any dispensing costs or fees.
Lung Cancer
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued on the maximum waiting time for treatment of lung cancer. [39828]
Mr. Horam: It is not appropriate to have a maximum waiting time for treatment of lung cancer. Each case is different and it must be for doctors to decide when
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 516
treatment should be provided. Patients are placed on a waiting list only if, in the opinion of a clinician at the time of assessment, their condition is judged to be stable.
Extra-contractual Referrals
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost of administering the extra-contractual referrals system in each of the last 10 years. [39845]
Mr. Malone: This information is not available centrally.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many extra-contractual referrals there have been in each of the last 10 years; [39844]
- (2) how many extra-contractual referrals were made in the last year (a) by trust, (b) regionally and (c) nationally. [39746]
Mr. Malone: Information on the numbers of extra-contractual referrals is not available centrally. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) on 11 July, Official Report, column 274, for information on the value of extra-contractual referrals for all available years.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those trusts in South Yorkshire which have not to date signed contracts with their local authorities. [39795]
Mr. Horam: All health authorities in South Yorkshire have signed health care contracts with national health service trusts in South Yorkshire.
Hospital Services
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) hospital units and (b) accident and emergency units there were in each year since 1979. [39819]
Mr. Horam: I will write to the hon. Member.
"Primary Care--The Future"
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners, managers and nurses he has consulted in the course of the listening exercise "Primary Care--The Future". [39759]
Mr. Malone: The range and variety of consultation are outlined in the annexe to "Primary Care: The Future", published on 10 June 1996, copies of which were placed in the Library.
Hospital Waiting Lists
Sir Terence Higgins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the newspaper article sent to him by the right hon. Member for Worthing in respect of the waiting lists for patients of (a) fundholding general practitioners and (b) non-fundholding general practitioners. [39630]
Mr. Malone: I will write to my right hon. Friend.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 517
GP Pharmacies
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the practice of general practitioners converting their dispensaries into pharmacies. [39749]
Mr. Malone: It is open to a dispensing doctor to apply to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain to register his premises as a pharmacy. He would need to meet legal and ethical requirements such as the availability of a pharmacist whenever pharmaceutical services were being provided.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dispensing general practices there were in each of the last five years. [39750]
Mr. Malone: The available information is shown in the table.
| Number of dispensing general practices | |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,214 |
| 1994 | 1,212 |
| 1993 | 1,202 |
| 1992 | 1,197 |
Source:
Derived from General Medical Services Census October 1992-1995.
Note:
Data on number of dispensing practices for 1991 are incomplete and unreliable.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on patients' preferences in relation to the dispensing of NHS prescriptions from (i) a general practitioner dispensary and (ii) a pharmacy. [39752]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |