| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Breast Screening Programme
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency plans he has to implement the findings of the pilot studies on extending the routine call element of the breast screening programme to women aged 65 to 69 years, as soon as they are published in 2001. [77339]
Mr. Hutton: The decision whether or not to extend the breast screening programme to all women aged 65-69 will be taken by Ministers, advised by the National Screening Committee, in light of the evaluation of the final results of the three pilot studies.
We recognise the pressures on the current programme due to increasing numbers of eligible women and staff shortages. In October 1998, the Chief Medical Officer set up a working group, with membership drawn from the relevant professional bodies, to look at these issues in more detail. He is currently considering their report.
Barnet Health Authority
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional funds (a) have been made available, and (b) have been allocated for future use, to Barnet Health Authority since November 1998; and for what purposes these funds have been allocated. [77580]
Mr. Denham:
The table shows the additional resources for Barnet Health Authority that have been announced since November 1998.
24 Mar 1999 : Column: 313
| Date | Purpose | Amount (£000) |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | ||
| 13 November 1998 | 1998-99 winter additions | 1,080 |
| 8 December 1998 | colorectal cancer | 63 |
| 21 December 1998 | waiting list performance fund | 217 |
| 2 February 1999 | winter pressures contingency | 110 |
| 1999-2000 | ||
| 10 November 1998 | cash uplift for 1999-2000 revenue allocations including modernisation funding as itemised below: | 12,899 |
| waiting lists (£1,706k) | ||
| primary care group management costs (£886k) | ||
| improving primary care (£501k) | ||
| mental health (£440k) | ||
| 10 November 1998 | special allocation--drugs misuse | 94 |
| 17 February 1999 | special assistance funding (last tranche) | 170 |
24 Mar 1999 : Column: 313
Barnet Hospital
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total capital cost of the approved scheme for Phase 1b at Barnet Hospital. [77581]
Mr. Denham: The total capital cost of the approved scheme for Phase 1b at Barnet General Hospital is £65.5 million.
Drugs Dispensing
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on permitting pharmacists to prescribe drugs; and if he will make a statement. [77842]
24 Mar 1999 : Column: 314
Mr. Denham:
The possible prescribing of drugs by various professions, including pharmacists, is referred to in the final report of the Review of Prescribing, Supply and Administration of Medicines, which the Department issued on 8 March for consideration and comment. Copies of the report are available in the Library. We have also had preliminary discussions with various pharmacy, medical and nursing bodies about the possibility of community pharmacists supplying medicines--in particular those for certain minor illnesses--without prescriptions, but on the National Health Service.
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the right of doctors to dispense drugs; and if he will make a statement. [77862]
24 Mar 1999 : Column: 315
Mr. Denham:
From time to time the Department receives representations from various parties about the rules governing the dispensing of National Health Service prescriptions by general practitioners in rural areas. In particular, departmental officials have recently met representatives of the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, the Dispensing Doctors Association and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee to discuss those organisations' ideas for changes to the relevant regulations.
Mrs. Brinton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the proposed regional commissions for care standards to be introduced. [77908]
Mr. Hutton:
We want to establish the Commissions for Care Standards as soon as possible; however this will require primary legislation and will depend on legislative time being available.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of the extra administrative costs to the National Health Service of the introduction of primary care boards. [78134]
Mr. Denham:
There will be no extra administrative costs to the National Health Service arising from the introduction of primary care groups. The combined health authority and PCG management costs will be less than the management costs of the previous system of HAs and general practitioner fundholders. This will contribute towards our commitment to deliver a £1 billion saving in NHS management costs over the life of this Parliament.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money he has allocated in the last year for which figures are available for research into the HIV virus in Great Britain. [78124]
Ms Jowell:
Departmental expenditure on HIV/AIDS research in 1997-98 was £117,000 for wholly funded work and around £1.275 million on partly funded research. The National Health Service research and development levy is also used to support research and development in health care settings. Project details are not held centrally and some further HIV/AIDS work may be supported by this route.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have the HIV virus in Great Britain. [78128]
Ms Jowell:
It is currently estimated that there were around 25,000 HIV infected adults (age 15 years and over) alive at the end of 1997. This figure includes diagnosed and undiagnosed infections.
Mr. Luff:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the policy of his Department in relation to stocks of cheese made with milk from a dairy herd which subsequently experiences an outbreak of bovine TB. [78110]
24 Mar 1999 : Column: 316
Ms Jowell:
The Dairy Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1995 require that raw cows milk shall come from animals belonging to a herd which is officially tuberculosis free, otherwise it may be sold for human consumption only after it has been heat treated.
Where cheese has been made with heat treated milk there would be no food safety implications. However, in the case of cheese made from unpasteurised cows milk, the Department would liaise with food authorities to ensure that there were no public health implications or food safety risks before allowing the marketing of that cheese.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the Rowntree report's proposal to support food projects as a way to tackle health and social problems; and if he will make a statement. [78130]
Ms Jowell:
This is an interesting and timely report. It is particularly relevant to the work currently being undertaken by the Social Exclusion Unit following the publication of its report "Bringing Britain together: a national strategy for neighbourhood renewal". The findings of the report funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation will also be useful in taking forward the twin aims of the Government's health strategy for England: improving health and tackling inequalities. These were set out in the green paper "Our Healthier Nation" and the white paper will be published shortly. As the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report points out, local food projects are just one way of improving access to food which may have long term health benefits in terms of enabling more people to make healthy eating choices. However, the other benefits of improving self confidence, self esteem, and self worth, which all contribute to give people and the communities they live in a sense of well being, are equally important in tackling inequalities and improving overall health.
Mr. Luff:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that food poisoning incidents attributable to a failure of the pasteurisation process are correctly recorded as emanating from imperfectly pasteurised milk rather than from unpasteurised milk; and if he will make a statement. [78111]
Ms Jowell:
Investigations into food poisoning outbreaks are usually undertaken by the local authority and the Public Health Laboratory Service. If milk is identified as the source of an outbreak and the investigation is able to establish if the milk was unpasteurised, contaminated post-pasteurisation or subject to pasteurisation failure, then this information will be recorded.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics his Department collates on accidents to in-patients in National Health Service hospitals. [78363]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 23 March 1999]: Information about accidents to in-patients is not available centrally. Individual National Health Service trusts are
24 Mar 1999 : Column: 317
responsible for keeping information on accidents involving patients and the general public on their premises.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |