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Antipsychotic Drugs

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the link between tardive dyskinesia in mental health patients and the use of antipsychotic drugs; and if he will make a statement. [21227]

Mr. Burns: The links between tardive dyskinesia and the use of antipsychotic drugs in mental health patients are very well researched and well known. The information has been widely available for many years.

Heart Attack (First Aid)

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps is he taking to promote public education in respect of the recommended first aid measures against the onset of a heart attack. [21039]

Mr. Horam: We have recently produced large quantities of public education materials for use by ambulance services around the country on recognising the early signs of a heart attack and how to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. There are other regional and local campaigns in the same field.

Factor 8

Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations (a) he and (b) the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Horam), have received from the Haemophilia Society in regard to (i) the availability of recombinant factor 8 for children with haemophilia and (ii) the risks for children not receiving recombinant factor 8; what reply he has sent; what action he is taking; and if he will make a statement. [21112]

Mr. Horam: Earlier this month the chairman of the Haemophilia Society, Rev. Alan Tanner, wrote both to me and to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health about a number of issues relating to recombinant factor 8. I shall be replying shortly.

Cancer Treatments (Clatterbridge Hospital)

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received cancer treatment at Clatterbridge hospital, Wirral, in each of the last five years. [21219]

Mr. Horam: The information requested may be found in the publication "Ordinary and day case admissions for England, Financial Year 1995-96", copies of which are available in the Library.

Worcester District General Hospital

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to work towards the signing of the contract for the new Worcester district general hospital before the dissolution of Parliament. [21186]

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Mr. Horam: All national health service trusts with private finance initiative schemes, such as for the new Worcester district general hospital, should continue to prepare their full business cases and will be fully supported in this by officials at the NHS executive and Her Majesty's Treasury. However, following the announcement of the general election Ministers and officials can no longer take decisions with financial implications for a future Administration. This means that Ministers will not be able to approve the full business case for the PFI scheme for the new Worcester district general hospital if it is submitted for approval before the general election.

Contraceptives (Minors)

Mrs. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement indicating those provisions in his departments circular, "Health Services Management Family Planning Services for Young People", which govern the situation in which contraceptives may be prescribed for minors (a) without parental consent and (b) without first discussing the situation with the child's usual general practitioner; and if he will identify the steps which are taken by his Department to ensure that these provisions are met by those providing contraceptive services. [21283]

Mr. Horam: The appendix to the circular sets out in paragraph 3 the criteria to be satisfied in providing contraceptive advice and/or treatment to young people under 16 without parental knowledge or consent. Paragraph 4 states that the doctor must use his clinical judgment to decide if these criteria are satisfied. Paragraph 4 also states that a doctor who is not the young person's GP would be advised, with the young person's agreement, to discuss his action with the GP involved.

To ensure that these guidelines are fully understood, the British Medical Association in partnership with other medical and voluntary organisations has produced advice for health professionals on this issue. This guidance makes it clear that a young person must be strongly encouraged to involve his or her parents and their reasons for not wishing to do so should be fully explored.

Mrs. Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of girls aged under 16 who were prescribed contraceptives in the latest year for which figures are available; what estimate he has made of the number of those girls to whom such prescriptions were given without parental knowledge; and if he will make a statement. [21282]

Mr. Horam: Details are not held centrally of the number of young women under 16 prescribed contraceptives, or if they were advised or treated without their parents' knowledge or consent as specified in the Department's 1986 guidelines.

GP Fundholders

Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will update the table placed in the Library on 29 March 1996, Official Report, column 780, on the practice fund management allowance expenditure by each health authority to include expenditure estimates and revised totals for 1996-97. [16651]

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Mr. Malone [holding answer 19 February 1997]: The information requested for 1995-96 and 1996-97 has been placed in the Library. I regret that there was an error in the labelling on the table placed in the Library on 29 March 1996 and a revised version of this table has also been provided.

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what were the average (a) management and (b) computer costs for a general practitioner fundholding practice in each health authority in England in each of the past five years. [17470]

Mr. Malone [holding answer 24 February 1997]: The available data have been placed in the Library.

For 1995-96 and 1996-97, the tables identify allocations to health authorities for practice fund management allowance and computing allocations, and separately identify preparatory year and full fundholders so that a meaningful average can be calculated.

For 1993-94 and 1994-95, the tables identify the total PFMA expenditure by full and preparatory year fundholders, but divided by full fundholders only.

The figures for 1995-96 and 1996-97 include both computer purchase costs, shown separately, and computer maintenance costs, included within general PFMA. Both these components are excluded from the 1993-94 and 1994-95 figures, so the figures are not comparable over time.

Data by Family Health Services Authority are not centrally available for 1992-93.

NHS Employees

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the Hospital and Community health services nurses who are (a) qualified, (b) unqualified, (c) midwives, (d) learner staff and (e) Project 2000 students, as whole-time equivalents, employed (i) in each region and (ii) overall in each year since 1991. [18773]

Mr. Horam [holding answer 10 March 1997]: The information requested will be placed in the Library.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Darlington (Mr. Milburn) of 6 March, Official Report, column 740, if he will provide figures for his Department's PFI projects in the same form as used by the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, in his answer to the hon. Member for Darlington of 6 March, Official Report, columns 692-93. [20389]

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects contracts to be signed for the construction of the new Worcester district general hospital. [20805]

Mr. Horam [holding answer 17 March 1997]: This information is not available in the form requested.

The figures at table 5.5 in the "Financial Statement and Budget Report" are an estimate built up from detailed figures for each of the schemes with a capital cost of £10 million and above, testing for PFI as at November 1996, together with an aggregate estimate for smaller

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schemes. Both sets of figures were then adjusted at an aggregate level to arrive at an estimate of the likely spend in each year. The trusts with schemes with a capital cost of £10 million and above are listed:


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