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Hospital Admissions (Barnet)
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions in the last 12 months there were in the borough of Barnet; and of these, how many were (a) minor and (b) acute. [4678]
Mr. Horam: The information collected centrally is on a national health service trust basis. Figures for the two trusts for Barnet health authority for 1995-96, the latest year for which data are available, are shown in the following table:
| Trust | In-patients | Day cases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellhouse trusts | Total activity of which acute | 37,617 24,736 | 11,563 11,558 |
| Barnet Healthcare | Total activity of which acute | 3,267 552 | 0 0 |
Source:
Department of Health KP72 returns. Admissions are recorded by speciality types, i.e. acute specialties, maternity, geriatric, mental illness and learning disabilities.
Minor Accident Treatment
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the difference between his Department's and local health authorities' definition of a minor accident treatment service unit. [4682.]
Mr. Horam: There is no national definition. It is for health authorities to plan what services are needed for the treatment of people suffering minor injuries.
National Demonstrator Site
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his correspondence with the hon. Member for Hendon, North, what is his Department's definition of a national demonstrator site. [4680]
Mr. Horam: There is no standard definition for a national demonstrator site.
Acute Care
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how (a) his Department and (b) Barnet health authority define emergency in the context of acute needs provision. [4685]
Mr. Horam: Clinical practice varies throughout the national health service. Different health authorities and hospitals use the term "emergency" in different ways.
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Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what differences there are between his Department's and local health authorities' definitions of acute beds and immediate needs bends. [4686]
Mr. Horam: The definition of acute beds for central data collection purposes includes beds in children's and adult general wards, excluding geriatric wards; beds for the younger physically disabled; neonatal cots that are not in maternity wards; and beds in wards for terminally ill/palliative care patients. Central data on immediate needs beds is not collected. The information in central returns provides a useful guide to bed availability; it does not reflect precise clinical practice.
Sir John Gorst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 4 November, Official Report, column 402, what is Barnet health authority's definition of acute care. [4688]
Mr. Horam: This is a matter for Barnet health authority.
Dentists, Sunderland
Mr. Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the ratio of (a) general dental practitioners and (b) community dental practitioners to children aged (i) under four years, (ii) four to 10 years and (iii) 11 to 19 years in the Sunderland health authority area. [4419]
Mr. Malone: The information is contained in the table:
| Age group | Number of children per general dental practitioners(21) (22) (23) at 30 June 1996 | Number of children per community dental practitioners(24)(whole time equivalents) at 30 September 1995 |
|---|---|---|
| Under 4 | 172 | 2,564 |
| Age 4-10 | 327 | 4,883 |
| Age 11-19 | 392 | 5,853 |
(21) The number of dentists (principals) on the health authority list and their assistants and vocational trainees. Sunderland health authority does not employ any salaried dentists.
(22) Some dentists have a contract with more than one health authority. All dentists practising in Sunderland are included.
(23) Excludes hospital dentists.
(24) Figures for community dentists are whole time equivalents and represents the number of staff allocated by: Sunderland Health Commission, Priority Healthcare Wearside NHS trust and City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Trust.
The population figures are at 30 June 1995. Patients are not restricted to receiving dental treatment in the health authority in which they live.
Long-term Care
Mr. Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the number of persons currently in local authority-run residential care homes, (b) the average cost per person per week of residential care in local authority homes and (c) the average cost per person per week of residential care in independent sector homes for each local authority social services department in England. [4280]
Mr. Burns: Information on numbers of residents in local authority run staffed residential care homes at 31 March 1995 can be found in "Residential
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Accommodation: Detailed statistics on residential care homes and local authority supported residents England 1995", copies of which are available in the Library. It is planned to publish figures for 31 March 1996 in the week commencing 25 November. The latest information on the weekly costs of residential care in local authority and independent staffed homes for older people, for 1994-95, can be found in Table U1 of "Key Indicators of local authority social services 1996"; copies of which are also available in the Library.
Sir Andrew Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to consult (a) user groups and (b) voluntary organisations in respect of proposed legislation on long-term care. [5146]
Mr. Burns: Draft legislation to establish a partnership scheme will be issued for consultation in the new year. In the meantime officials are consulting informally with major client group interests as well as the insurance industry and local authority representatives.
Antibiotic-resistant Infections
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals have reported outbreaks of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in (a) the Yorkshire region and (b) the United Kingdom in the last six months. [4786]
Mr. Horam: The Public Health Laboratory Service maintains aggregate data on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus as part of its national surveillance of communicable disease and infection, compiled from requests submitted by hospitals for the typing of isolates. In the six months, up to and including October 1996, 185 hospitals in England and Wales were identified as having an incident in which MRSA was implicated; 11 of these hospitals were in the old Yorkshire regional health authority. These figures represent the number of patients affected by MRSA not the number infected--about 80 per cent. of people who acquire MRSA carry it harmlessly and do not suffer infection. An incident is three or more patients with the same strain in a month from the same hospital.
Questions 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.
Treatment Statistics (Sheffield)
Sir Irvine Patnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) in-patients and (b) out-patients have been treated in Sheffield in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [4898]
Mr. Horam: The number of finished consultant episodes and out-patient attendances for the last three years for each hospital and community unit in Sheffield is given in the tables:
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| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Sheffield university hospitals | 67,907 | 68,713 | 71,232 |
| Charles Clifford dental hospital | 2,106 | 1,629 | -- |
| Northern general hospital | 56,026 | 58,314 | 61,126 |
| Sheffield children's hospital | 12,488 | 13,245 | 12,804 |
| Sheffield community health | -- | 3,897 | 4,649 |
| Sheffield community services unit | 291 | -- | -- |
| Sheffield mental health unit | 2,753 | -- | -- |
| Weston Park hospital | 7,070 | 8,286 | 9,700 |
| Total | 148,641 | 154,084 | 159,511 |
| 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Sheffield university hospitals | 277,316 | 295,309 | 395,856 |
| Charles Clifford dental hospital | 59,598 | 62,,492 | -- |
| Northern general hospital | 162,042 | 165,811 | 173,480 |
| Sheffield children's hospital | 51,120 | 59,756 | 58,450 |
| Sheffield community health | -- | 11,975 | 18,718 |
| Sheffield community services unit | 0 | -- | -- |
| Sheffield mental health unit | 12,824 | -- | -- |
| Weston Park hospital | 41,512 | 37,410 | 32,108 |
| Total | 604,412 | 632,753 | 678,610 |
(25) Figures are provided for the trusts and directly managed units as existed each year. Charles Clifford Dental Hospital merged with Central Sheffield University Hospital NHS trust in 1995-96. Sheffield community services unit and Sheffield mental health unit merged in 1994-95 to form Sheffield Community Health NHS trust.
(26) Figures are collected on a provider basis and do not represent finished consultant episodes and outpatient attendances for Sheffield residents.
(27) Further information by specialty for England, regional office areas and trusts is published in "Ordinary and day case admissions for England" and "Outpatients and ward attenders, England", copies of which are available in the Library. The latest information for 1995-96 will be placed in the Library by the end of November.
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