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NHS Wages and Salaries
38. Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the total NHS budget is taken up by the wages and salaries of (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) ancillary workers. [67197]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is as follows:
| Percentage of NHS expenditure | £ million | |
|---|---|---|
| NHS Total Expenditure | -- | 37,650 |
| Doctors and dentists paybill | 16.1 | 6,070 |
| Nurses and midwives paybill | 17.6 | 6,630 |
| Ancillary staff paybill | 2.6 | 970 |
Notes:
Paybill data for 1997-98 are provisional.
Figures for doctors and dentists include general practitioners and general dental practitioners.
Salaries for practice nurses, directly employed by GPs, are not included.
The figures for ancillary staff include directly employed staff. Ancillary staff are defined as support staff and classified through the new system of occupation coding for NHS non-medical staff, introduced in 1995.
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Hospital Admissions (Leicestershire)
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on reducing pressure on hospital admissions in Leicestershire. [67190]
Mr. Denham: None. We understand that Leicestershire Health Authority has produced a comprehensive action plan agreed with the local authority social services department for managing the pressures on emergency services during the winter period.
An extra £250 million was announced in November 1998 to help the National Health Service and social services manage this winter's pressures. £2.6 million of this was allocated to Leicestershire Health Authority.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Mr. Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received specialist treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome at the Havering Hospital NHS Trust broken down by those treated as (a) out-patients and (b) in-patients in each of the last three years. [67009]
Ms Jowell: The figures available for chronic/postviral fatigue syndrome in Havering Hospital National Health Service Trust, for financial years 1995-96 to 1997-98 are shown in the table.
| Year | FCEs (11) |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 100 |
| 1996-97(12) | 83 |
| 1997-98(12) | 85 |
(10) Ordinary Admissions and Daycase combined: Finished Consultant Episodes (FCEs) by primary diagnosis for chronic/post viral fatigue syndrome in Havering Hospital NHS
(11) An FCE represents a complete period of inpatient treatment under the care of an individual hospital consultant, and in about 95 per cent. of cases, represents a complete spell in hospital.
(12) Figures for 1996-97 and 1997-98 are provisional--no adjustments have yet been made for shortfalls in data (the data are ungrossed)
Note:
ICD1 10 code used is G93.3
Source:
Department of Health, Hospital Episodes Statistics
The Department does not collect information on outpatients treated for chronic fatigue syndrome. The information that is available is contained in "Outpatients and Ward Attenders, England", copies of which are available in the Library.
Health Inequalities
Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the cost of implementing the Acheson report on Inequalities in Health. [67605]
Ms Jowell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Smith) on 18 January 1999, Official Report, column 378.
The terms of reference of the independent inquiry into inequalities in health (the Acheson report) required the review to be conducted within the broad framework of the Government's overall financial strategy. The whole
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Government are firmly committed to reducing health inequalities. A range of initiatives is already helping to carry forward Sir Donald Acheson's recommendations. Modernising the health service and ensuring fair access to services is a vital component of that effort--backed up with a £21 billion boost over the next three years.
Mr. Peter Bradley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the savings which the NHS would have made in 1997-98 had equivalent generic drugs been prescribed in place of non-generics. [68450]
Mr. Denham:
We estimate that, had equivalent generic drugs been prescribed in the community in place of proprietary items in the National Health Service in 1997-98, in all cases where equivalent generic drugs were available, then savings of some £66 million could in theory have been made. However, there are circumstances in which generic prescribing is inappropriate.
Mr. Peter Bradley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the average income in 1997-98 in (a) a prescribing GP and (b) a dispensing GP; [68446]
Mr. Denham:
The level of fees and allowances payable to general practitioners are set by the independent pay review body to deliver and distribute their recommended level of net incomes for GPs, taking account of the costs, pressures and workload of practice in different areas. Earnings from practice dispensing are an integral part of the overall recommendations of the Review Body.
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(2) what is the average income supplement earned by a GP through dispensing. [68447]
| 1995-96 and 1996-97 average (14)(15) | |
|---|---|
| All general medical practitioners(13) (GMPs) | 47,000 |
| Dispensing GMPs | 53,400 |
| Non-dispensing GMPs | 45,800 |
(13) Unrestricted principals in Great Britain excluding salaried partners and GMPs with zero list size.
(14) Separate data for each year are not available.
(15) Based on a sample survey; figures are approximate and subject to sampling variation.
Source:
Joint Health Departments/British Medical Association (General Practitioners Committee) Technical Steering Committee
Research and Development
Dr. Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the expenditure on research and development by each NHS region in each year since 1992. [68226]
Ms Jowell: The expenditure of funds from the National Health Service research and development levy by and through the NHS Executive's regional offices since the establishment of the levy on 1 April 1996 is shown in the table.
Comparable data are not available for earlier years. The levy includes funding allocated through national competition to enable NHS trusts and other providers of NHS services to carry out, commission and host research and development of potential benefit to the health service (budget 1), as well as funding allocated to the NHS Executive headquarters and regional offices to commission research and development activity on behalf of the NHS as a whole (budget 2). Other government funded research also takes place in, and benefits, the NHS.
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| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget 1 | Budget 2 | Budget 1 | Budget 2 | Budget 1 | Budget 2 | |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 12,794 | 6,707 | 16,094 | 6,125 | 16,060 | 5,595 |
| North West | 18,019 | 5,867 | 20,413 | 7,085 | 20,479 | 7,109 |
| Trent | 18,040 | 4,257 | 20,512 | 4,359 | 20,830 | 4,560 |
| West Midlands | 6,313 | 5,125 | 9,734 | 4,717 | 10,091 | 4,592 |
| Anglia and Oxford | 8,838 | 9,310 | 17,829 | 10,040 | 18,345 | 10,130 |
| South West | 11,605 | 8,024 | 15,552 | 7,408 | 16,193 | 6,518 |
| North Thames | 260,294 | 7,300 | 198,996 | 6,949 | 196,643 | 6,334 |
| South Thames | 22,705 | 5,197 | 50,889 | 6,078 | 51,712 | 5,477 |
| Totals | 358,608 | 51,787 | 350,019 | 52,761 | 350,353 | 50,315 |
Notes:
Figures are outturn (provisional for 1998-99) in £000 at price level prevailing at the time.
There is a discontinuity in budget 1 allocations between 1996-97 and 1997-98 because accounting for research in postgraduate teaching hospitals was transferred from North Thames to the host regional office.
The table excludes national research and development programmes expenditure in budget 2 and £675,000 on budget 1 funds allocated during 1998-99 to cover the unforeseen costs incurred by providers hosting externally-funded non commercial research and development which qualifies for NHS support.
From 1 April 2000 the distribution of budget 2 funding to regional offices will be in proportion to the distribution of revenue allocations to health authorities.
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