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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he is assessing on specialist support for CFS/ME (a) nationally and (b) in the Northern Region. [78484]
Mr. Hutton: We are not currently assessing any proposals nationally or in the northern region on specialist support for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). The national health service provides a considerable number of services to which people suffering from CFS/ME have access, and such patients are seen within a wide range of hospital specialties. The recently established CFS/ME working group will produce guidance aimed at improving the quality of this care and treatment. The CFS/ME working group will complete its work by the summer of 2000 and the guidance will be published later that year.
Carers
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he will inform health care service providers of the developing policies towards carers outlined in the national strategy for carers. [78553]
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Mr. Hutton:
A copy of the national strategy, "Caring about Carers", was sent to chief executives of health authorities and national health service trusts on 8 February. The Chief Executive of the National Health Service Executive wrote to all chief executives personally on 11 March emphasising his commitment to implementation of the national strategy. Further information will be sent directly to all doctors in England by the Chief Medical Officer. The Department is also working closely with organisations representing general practitioners, nurses and managers in general practice on publicising the national strategy to primary care teams. Further opportunities for informing the national health service about supporting carers will be taken as they arise, and in the context of a wide range of initiatives under way in my Department.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will discuss with ministerial colleagues methods of establishing a one-stop shop advice service for carers. [78554]
Mr. Hutton:
The issue of how best to provide information and advice for carers was fully discussed in the course of developing our national carers' strategy. We will be working to provide carers with improved information in a range of different ways--through helplines, including NHS Direct, through an improved network of local support services and carers' centres, and through information technology. Carers' centres and carer support services already provide information and advice on a wide range of issues. We will help them to do this better, such as by providing information on our policies and services on the internet. We also intend to help the staff of all services that support carers to become knowledgeable about the issues which concern them and about other local services which can help them.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he intends to take to ensure that primary health care providers are able to (a) identify and (b) provide services to carers. [78552]
Mr. Hutton:
The national priorities guidance for the health and social services for 1999-2000 requires primary care teams to identify patients who are carers or who have carers. We are working with a number of organisations, including the medical and nursing royal colleges, on ways of ensuring that primary care teams support carers, in particular by helping them to maintain their own health and by providing them with information about other services in their area.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals the Government have to develop the strategy agreed in the Beijing Platform for Action for tackling all forms of violence against women. [78873]
Ms Jowell:
We will shortly be releasing a report outlining an integrated approach to preventing violence against women. This report will promote inter-agency working and will include measures based on prevention, and the provision of protection and justice. The report's development has been informed by research into the causes and consequences of violence against women and the effectiveness of preventive measures.
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The United Kingdom is fully committed to opposing trafficking in women and its associated activities. The UK has comprehensive laws in place to deal with those who engage in activities associated with trafficking and prostitution and measures are in place to ensure that victims are dealt with fairly.
Mr. Colvin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the savings to the NHS if pharmacists were permitted to prescribe the limited selection of drugs that district nurses may prescribe. [78885]
Mr. Denham:
No estimate has been made of whether allowing pharmacists to prescribe a limited selection of drugs would lead to savings or to additional costs.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the acceptability to GP practices of NHSNet in respect of (a) security, (b) cost and (c) speed relative to other internet providers. [78924]
Mr. Denham:
The NHSNet is a private communications network dedicated to national health service purposes and as such it is fundamentally more secure than equivalent public networks such as the internet.
The initial cost of connecting general practitioners to NHSNet will be met from modernisation funds. GPs will have to meet any increased costs related to telephone call charges and this is estimated to be £400 per practice per annum in the first instance. However, this cost will be treated as a practice expense and will be met indirectly through the expenses element in the gross fees and allowances paid to GPs.
NHSNet is capable of delivering information as quickly as the best internet providers.
Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what cost was incurred by his Department in the most recent available year in respect of NHS prescriptions to pensioners. [78934]
Mr. Denham:
In 1997, the estimated cost of prescription items dispensed by community pharmacies and appliance contractors to persons aged 60 and over was £1,906 million.
This is the net ingredient cost, which is the basic cost of a drug and does not take account of discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charge income. Information about the cost of prescriptions dispensed in the community by dispensing doctors or dispensed in hospitals to persons aged 60 and over is not available.
Dr. Iddon:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's policies in respect of herbal remedies. [79505]
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Ms Jowell:
Our overall objective is that the public should have access to a wide range of safe, high-quality herbal medicines with appropriate information about the use of the product. There are currently two contrasting routes to the market for herbal medicines. Licensed herbal medicines have to meet rigorous standards of safety, quality and efficacy. Unlicensed herbal remedies in the UK do not have to meet any specific standards for safety, quality or efficacy.
We fully share the view, which was expressed at a recent meeting held by my noble Friend Baroness Hayman, by a range of organisations working in the natural health sector, that the current regulatory arrangements for herbal medicines have significant weaknesses and require review. The regime for unlicensed medicines does not give systematic protection to the public against low-quality and unsafe unlicensed herbal remedies which are known to reach the UK market. Nor does it permit manufacturers legally to give written information to consumers about the intended use of the product. In contrast, elements of the regime for licensed medicines--particularly some of the efficacy requirements--are difficult for responsible companies to satisfy in relation to herbal medicines. We believe that there is a need to work towards arrangements which provide better protection and information to the public, while continuing to allow responsible business and practitioners to operate effectively.
We have asked the Medicines Control Agency to examine options for achieving our objectives for herbal medicines, consulting widely with interested organisations. Medicines law operates within a European framework. Accordingly, we will need to develop a position which is realistically achievable within the European Union. We intend to participate actively and constructively in any on-going EU discussions about future regulatory arrangements for herbal medicines.
Ms Oona King:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the key targets for 1999-2000 for the Medical Devices Agency. [79614]
Ms Jowell:
We have agreed the agency's key targets for 1999-2000 and copies have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the levels of charges by local authorities for non-residential day-care services; and what plans he has to introduce guidance on the appropriate levels of such charges. [78920]
Mr. Hutton:
Information on charges made to individuals for non-residential services is not available centrally. However, the total amounts reported by local authorities as having been received from clients in the form of fees and charges, in 1996-97, for different services are collected centrally, and are available in the form of computer tables on the Department's World Wide Web pages [Internet reference http:\\www.open.gov.uk/doh/public/pssstat.htm] for all local authorities in England.
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