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Hepatitis C
Mrs. Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require health authorities to provide counselling before and after blood tests for hepatitis C. [3379]
Mr. Boateng: No. In general, patients should be given sufficient information to enable them to make an informed decision before any diagnostic test. For hepatitis C, this would include discussion of the treatment options, the consequences of a positive test and advice about lifestyle. However, when the Chief Medical Officer wrote to all doctors on 3 April 1995 about the "Look Back" exercise to identify those infected with hepatitis C through blood transfusion, the letter specified that counselling should be made available before and after testing for those found to be infected in this way.
Malaria
Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many notified malaria cases there have been in each year since the abolition of NHS prescriptions for malaria chemoprophylaxis. [3802]
Ms Jowell: An amendment to the regulations covering the provision of malarial prophylaxis came into force on February 1995 and since then travellers have to pay for their anti-malarial drugs. The number of cases of malaria reported in the United Kingdom for the last 10 years is given in the table. There have been 325 cases of malaria reported to the Malaria Reference Laboratory for the period January to March 1997; this compares to 397 cases reported for the same period in 1996 and 314 in 1995. The number of cases of malaria varies each year and reflects the variations in transmission in the endemic areas as well as the number of people travelling to malarious areas. We will continue to monitor the situation.
| Year | Cases of malaria |
|---|---|
| 1987 | 1,816 |
| 1988 | 1,674 |
| 1989 | 1,987 |
| 1990 | 2,096 |
| 1991 | 2,332 |
| 1992 | 1,629 |
| 1993 | 1,922 |
| 1994 | 1,887 |
| 1995 | 2,055 |
| 1996 | 2,500 |
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has evaluated on the change in incidence of the new variant form of CJD. [3835]
19 Jun 1997 : Column: 295
Ms Jowell:
New variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD) came to light in early 1996. Mathematical modelling indicates that it is likely to be three or four years before we can make soundly based predictions of the likely course of the disease.
Mr. Stunell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to abolish confidentiality clauses within NHS staff contracts. [4203]
Mr. Milburn:
The matter is currently being considered.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure that hospital trusts send out ethnic monitoring questionnaires with application forms. [4041]
Mr. Milburn:
The Department of Health recommends ethnic monitoring of job applicants as good personnel practice in "Ethnic minority staff in the NHS: a programme of action" and in guidance to the NHS on medical appointments. Chairs and Chief Executives of NHS trusts and health authorities are accountable for meeting equal opportunities objectives locally. Postgraduate deans conduct ethnic monitoring of specialist registrar appointments.
The NHS Executive is working with NHS employers, professional bodies and Royal Colleges, education consortia, trade unions, Deans and others to tackle discrimination and encourage adoption of best practice.
Mr. Goggins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have been transferred out of Wythenshawe hospital in each month since January 1996 because of a lack of available beds; and what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) transferring patients and (b) their treatment. [4181]
Mr. Milburn:
A patient cannot be admitted to hospital unless a bed is available. The number of Accident and Emergency patients who were transferred to other hospitals as a result of Wythenshawe Hospital being full is set out in the table. Both Withington and Wythenshawe Hospitals are part of South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Source:
South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust.
19 Jun 1997 : Column: 296
Minimum Wage
Mr. Tom King: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time persons employed by his Department and its agencies are paid (i) less than £4 an hour, (ii) less than £3.50 an hour and (iii) less than £3 an hour; and what estimate he has made in each case for the national health service generally. [4187]
Ms Jowell: No staff in my Department or its agencies earn less than £3 an hour. Sixty-one full time staff earn up to £3.50 an hour; 47 full time staff and two part time staff, earn between £3.50 and £4 an hour.
For the NHS generally, I refer the right hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry gave the hon. Member for Romsey (Mr. Colvin) on 2 June 1997 at columns 20-21.
Corticosteroids
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who (a) have been prescribed and (b) took corticosteroids in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.[4173]
Mr. Milburn: It is not possible to estimate the number of people prescribed and taking corticosteroids. Thirty-one million prescriptions items for corticosteroids were dispensed in England in 1996.
Racial Discrimination
Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he proposes to take to tackle racial discrimination in the health service. [4044]
Mr. Milburn: We are determined to take action to ensure that the Health Service is free from racial discrimination. The NHS Executive has signed up to the Commission for Racial Equality's "Leadership Challenge" as a signal of our commitment in the European Year Against Racism.
The NHS Equal Opportunities Unit is working with NHS employers, professional bodies, the Commission for Racial Equality, trade unions and others to enhance the capacity of the Service to tackle discrimination and encourage adoption of good practice. This work includes supporting NHS trusts and health authorities, whose Chairs and Chief Executives are accountable for meeting the goals of "Ethnic minority staff in the NHS: a programme for action", by promoting and disseminating best practice. Progress towards these goals forms part of the "NHS as a good employer" benchmark set out in the annual Priorities and Planning guidance.
19 Jun 1997 : Column: 297
Mr. William O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the provisions of access to gyms and health centres on prescription; and if he will make a statement. [4129]
Mr. Milburn:
General Practitioner exercise on prescription schemes are being adopted at local level. For the price of a prescription, patients can make use of local health and leisure facilities for a planned programme of appropriate exercise. Some prescription schemes already make use of gyms. Individual local health care teams are best placed to decide which facility would deliver the greatest benefit to the patient. Detailed guidance for primary health care teams is contained in the Health Education Authority's document "Promoting Physical Activity in Primary Care".
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people receiving NHS prescriptions who do not follow the full course of treatment. [4284]
Mr. Milburn:
In 1996 the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys survey of prescribed medicines in a random sample of 2,082 households found that 8 per cent. could be described as residual or wasted. Within this, 0.7 per cent. were completely unused, 4 per cent. were approximately half used and 3 per cent. were almost gone.
Mr. Rowe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the cost of the ophthalmic service in England and Wales is borne by the users. [4379]
Mr. Milburn:
There are no charges for the general ophthalmic services provided under the National Health Service, but only selected groups are eligible for NHS sight tests and spectacle vouchers. We do not have information on the cost of similar services provided privately.
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