| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Liver Disease
Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of chronic liver disease there have been in each of the last five years. [19418]
Mr. Horam: The information requested is not held centrally.
Lariam
Ms Corston:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 25 February, Official Report, column 180, what factors led to deferring until 1995 the inclusion in his Department's publication "Health Information for Overseas Travel" of information about side effects of dizziness, disturbed sense of balance or a neuropsychiatric disorder included in changes made to the product information for Lariam in October 1991. [19682]
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 345
Mr. Malone:
The 1995 edition of "Health Information for Overseas Travel" was the first edition of that book.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data he collates in respect of the number of cases of cancer sufferers resident in homes adjacent to high current configuration power lines; and if he will make a statement. [19828]
Mr. Horam:
The information requested is not collected centrally. However, 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 National Radiological Protection Board. The Department is also funding two pilot studies, one of adults and one of children, looking at cancer incidence near power lines.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has for the administration of children's homes currently run by local authorities to be offered out for tender to the private sector. [19732]
Mr. Burns:
None. It is for local authorities to make such arrangements as they consider appropriate to ensure that homes are available for the care and accommodation of children looked after by them--whether by their own provision or that of the independent sector.
Mr. Hendry:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979. [20616]
Mr. Dorrell:
It is Government policy to regularly review non-departmental public bodies. The national boards for nursing, midwifery and health visiting in the four countries of the United Kingdom fall into this category. The United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting does not. However, there is a clear relationship between the statutory bodies. The Government therefore, as a first stage, intend to commission an independent and fundamental review of the current operations of the five statutory bodies created by the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979. This will be a comprehensive study of all aspects of their work, including those issues around determining fitness to practise which go to the heart of the council's role in protecting the public. I shall, in particular, want it to consider the need for new powers to impose life bans on people convicted of the most serious offences. We shall then bring forward for consultation specific proposals for change in the light of the outcome of that review.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines he has issued in respect of limiting levels of exposure to non-ionising radiation; and if he will make a statement; [19836]
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 346
Mr. Horam:
The National Radiological Protection Board provides advice to Government on the risks to human health from both ionising and non-ionising radiation. Non-ionising radiation includes low and high-frequency electromagnetic fields as well as solar and artificial ultraviolet radiation.
In 1993 the NRPB issued guidelines on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation--"Restrictions on Human Exposure to Static and Time Varying Electromagnetic Fields and Radiation" (documents of NRPB, Vol. 4, No. 5). The guidelines are based solely on preventing the well-established biological effects of heating and shock from acute exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation.
Initiatives to reduce excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation have been under way since "The Health of the Nation" White Paper in 1992. These include the Health Education Authority's "Sun Know How" campaign, a report by the NRPB's advisory group on non-ionising radiation covering health effects from ultraviolet radiation (documents of NRPB, Vol. 6, No. 2), distribution of NRPB's "Board Statement on Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Human Health" to all general practitioners, public health physicians and occupational health physicians, and the development of an Internet web site. Copies of the documents are in the Library.
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the risk of cancer from (a) domestic exposure to electromagnetic fields, (b) parental exposure to electromagnetic fields and (c) employment in occupations with high exposure to electromagnetic fields; and if he will make a statement; [19839]
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 NRPB's advisory group on non-ionising radiation conducted an extensive review of the subject in 1992--"Electromagnetic Fields and the Risk of Cancer" (document series, Vol. 3, No. 1)--and concluded that there was no firm evidence of a carcinogenic hazard from exposure of paternal gonads, the foetus, children or adults to the extremely low-frequency fields 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 independence expert Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment has endorsed the advisory group's report. A supplementary report was published in 1994 by the NRPB--"Electromagnetic Fields and the risk of Cancer" (document series, Vol. 5, No. 2)--to take into account the results of further experimental
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 347
and epidemiological studies from Scandinavia, France and Canada. Copies of the advisory group's reports 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 that type in this country is the United Kingdom childhood cancer study, which is funded in part by the Department, with technical support provided by the NRPB. The Department is also funding two pilot studies, one of adults and one of children, looking at cancer incidence near power lines.
Mr. Brian David Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to prevent the spread of MRSA within hospitals and the community. [19723]
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 348
Mr. Horam:
The Department is currently working with professional groups on the revision of clinical guidelines on methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus issued to the national health service in September 1994. We have also commissioned the Royal College of Nursing to produce an education video and teaching pack on MRSA. In May 1996 the Department issued a leaflet on MRSA to health authorities, social services departments and nursing and residential homes.
Copies of the guidelines issued in 1994 and the leaflet on MRSA are available in the Library.
Mr. Lidington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will update the list of hospital building schemes in Buckinghamshire given in his answer of 3 July 1996, Official Report, columns 443-44; and if he will make a statement. [19841]
Mr. Horam:
The information requested is shown in the tables:
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 347
(2) what representations he has received from the National Radiological Protection Board in the last five years on the standards of protection for exposure to non-ionising radiation; and if he will make a statement.[19837]
(2) what assessment he has made of the risk to human health associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields; and if he will make a statement. [19835]
Abbreviations:
DGH = District General Hospital.
EMI = Elderly Mentally Infirm.
OPD = Out-Patients Department.
MI = Mental Illness.
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 347
| Project/scheme | Forecast completion date | Estimated cost (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Stoke Mandeville Hospital redevelopment | Negotiating with potential PFI partners | 20,000,000 |
| Aylesbury Vale mental health intensive care unit | Summer 1998 | 1,800,000 |
| Amersham and High Wycombe redevelopment (South Buckinghamshire) | Start on site date dependent on the outcome of refinancing discussions | 38,000,000 |
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 348
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |