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NHS Hospitals (Waste)
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the total weight of the toxic waste produced annually by hospitals in each NHS region; [18879]
- (2) what is the total weight of the inert or inactive waste produced annually by hospitals in each NHS region. [18880]
Mr. Horam: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Patient Involvement Measures
Mr. Chris Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sums have been spent by each of the English district health authorities on measures to increase patient involvement in the last year for which figures are available. [18767]
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Mr. Horam:
Improving patient involvement is a key priority for the NHS, as set out in the planning and priorities guidance for 1996-97 and 1997-98. The Department has allocated a central budget of £1,179,000 for the development of patient involvement over the three years 1996-97 to 1998-99. Information on spending by individual health authorities is not available centrally.
Mr. Chris Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the total amount spent (a) overall and (b) in each NHS region by NHS trusts on severance payments in the current financial year. [18769]
Mr. Horam:
The information requested is not available centrally.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the number, type and value of contracts issued by local authorities to the private sector for nursing and care home beds in the most recent year for which figures are available. [18784]
Mr. Burns:
In 1994-95, the latest year for which this information is available, expenditure by local authority social services departments in England on placements in independent residential care homes was £811 million and in independent nursing homes £403 million. Both figures include all adult client groups. Information on numbers and types of individual contract are not held centrally.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies there are in medical posts in casualty units in the United Kingdom. [18786]
Mr. Malone:
Information on vacant medical posts is available only by specialty. The term "casualty" is not used within the national health service to describe a specialty. The whole-time equivalent number of vacant medical posts in the accident and emergency specialty in the NHS in England at 30 September 1995 was 80. This figure is rounded to the nearest 10 and includes all consultant, staff grade, senior registrar, registrar and senior house officer vacancies. This is the latest available information.
Data on vacant posts are difficult to interpret and do not necessarily imply a shortage. Some vacancies will be wholly or partly filled by locums. For others, NHS trusts may find alternative ways to provide the service rather than re-advertising. The numbers give no indication of how long the post has been empty. Some of these will be in the process of being filled.
Source:
Mr. Chris Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total expenditure on the purchase of health care from non-NHS providers in 1995-96 by (a) district health authorities, (b) fundholders and (c) NHS trusts in England. [18801]
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Mr. Horam:
The information requested is contained in the table:
The medical and dental work force census 30 September 1995.
| Expenditure £000 | |
|---|---|
| District health authorities | 510,906 |
| General practitioner fundholders | 66,250 |
| NHS trusts | 92,191 |
| Regional health authorities and special health authorities | 128,242 |
| Total | 797,589 |
Source:
1. The annual financial returns of NHS trusts.
2. The annual financial returns of district and regional health authorities and the special health authorities of the London postgraduate teaching hospitals.
3. The annual accounts of the Family Health Services Authorities.
Notes:
The figures are provisional.
Gender Identity Dysphoria
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are currently being treated for gender identity dysphoria. [18791]
Mr. Burns: The information requested is not available centrally.
NHS Employees' Pay
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the amount spent on salaries and wages for nurses and midwives in each NHS region in each year from 1988-89 to 1995-96; [18765]
- (2) if he will list the amount spent on salaries and wages for general and senior managers in each NHS region in each year from 1988-89 to 1995-96; [18761]
(3) if he will list the amount spent on salaries and wages for administrative and clerical staff in each NHS region in each year from 1988-89 to 1995-96. [18766]
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list NHS salaries and wages costs for (a) general and senior managers, (b) nurses and midwives and (c) administrative and clerical staff, for each financial year from 1988-89 to 1993-94. [18774]
Mr. Malone: The information requested will be placed in the Library shortly.
Electricity Transmission Lines (Health Implications)
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated and what data he has collated concerning the incidence of physical or other abnormalities in (i) children and (ii) adults exposed through work or domicile to permanent electro-magnetic forces arising from high-tension electricity transmission lines; and what plans he has for the mapping of such incidences. [18763]
Mr. Horam:
The Department obtains advice on the health implications of exposure to electromagnetic fields from the National Radiological Protection Board and other sources including its own funded research. The primary focus of concern has been on power lines and
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childhood cancer where the results have not shown a proven link: the NRPB's advisory group on non-ionising radiation conducted an extensive review of the subject in 1992 and concluded that there was no firm evidence of a carcinogenic hazard from exposure that might be associated with residence near major sources of electricity supply, the use of electrical appliances or work in the electrical, electronic and telecommunication industries. The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment has endorsed the advisory group's report. A supplementary report in 1994 was published by the NRPB to take into account the results of epidemiological studies from Scandinavia, France and Canada. Copies of the advisory group's report and the supplementary documents are available in the Library.
Several epidemiological studies are currently under way to investigate childhood cancer in relation to various possible causes including electromagnetic fields. The largest study of this type in this country is the United Kingdom childhood cancer study which is funded in part by the Department of Health with technical support provided by the NRPB. The Department is also funding
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two pilot studies, one of adults and one of children, looking at cancer incidence near power lines. I am not aware of studies mapping the incidence of other types of abnormality in either adults or children.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of bills were paid by the National Blood Authority within 30 days of its receiving them in the past three years. [18790]
Mr. Horam:
The information is not available centrally in respect of 1993-94 or 1994-95. The National Blood Authority's published accounts for 1995-96 show that 80 per cent. of invoices were settled within 30 days.
Mr. Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was held in hospital accounts in respect of the balance of patients' money in each of the last five years in each NHS region. [18794]
Mr. Horam:
The information is given in the table.
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| Regional Health Authority | 1992 £000 | 1993 £000 | 1994 £000 | NHS Executive Region | 1995 £000 | 1996 £000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern | 4,718 | 5,282 | 4,076 | Northern and Yorkshire | 5,526 | 6,775 |
| Yorkshire | 5,024 | 3,790 | 3,276 | |||
| Trent | 5,041 | 4,302 | 3,844 | Trent | 3,950 | 4,285 |
| East Anglian | 2,605 | 2,429 | 2,272 | Anglian and Oxford | 6,688 | 6,824 |
| Oxford | 3,092 | 3,027 | 3,150 | |||
| North-west Thames | 7,241 | 7,922 | 7,484 | North Thames | 10,951 | 10,205 |
| North-east Thames | 6,455 | 6,288 | 4,678 | |||
| South-east Thames | 3,426 | 3,140 | 2,613 | South Thames | 10,189 | 9,823 |
| South-west Thames | 7,170 | 7,241 | 7,112 | |||
| Wessex | 2,885 | 2,766 | 2,819 | South and West | 5,131 | 4,749 |
| South Western | 2,363 | 2,338 | 2,128 | |||
| West Midlands | 3,950 | 3,505 | 3,429 | West Midlands | 4,058 | 3,729 |
| Mersey | 1,967 | 1,372 | 1,125 | North West | 5,891 | 3,477 |
| North Western | 4,245 | 3,797 | 2,138 | |||
| Special HAs | 380 | 614 | 577 | Special HAs | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 60,562 | 57,813 | 50,721 | Total | 52,384 | 49,867 |
Figures for 1996 are provisional.
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