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HEALTH
Beta Interferon
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when funding for beta interferon will be available in all health districts. [81742]
Mr. Denham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 13 May 1999, Official Report, column 202.
Prescription Charges
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of prescription charges to the NHS in the year 1998. [83334]
Mr. Denham: In 1997-98 the cost of dispensed prescriptions written by general practitioners in England was £4,085 million. A further £768 million was paid to dispensing contractors in respect of their prescriptions.
Aricept
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what ethical guidelines are given to Government- supported medical researchers into the Alzheimer's drug Aricept about administering placebos to patients who could benefit from the drug. [84261]
Mr. Hutton: All research involving patients and supported by the Department, the National Health Service or the Medical Research Council is required to obtain ethical approval from the appropriate research ethics committee(s). Scientific review mechanisms also consider ethical aspects of research, including the appropriateness of randomisation and other study designs, and the use of placebos.
Guidance on research ethics is provided in the Department's Guidance for Local Research Ethics Committees and for Mulitcentre Research Ethics Committees, in conjunction with: the Royal College of Physicians' "Guidelines on the Practice of Ethics Committees in Medical Research involving Human Subjects"; and the Medical Research Council's "Guidelines for Good Practice in Clinical Trials". Copies of these will be placed in the Library.
The AD2000 trial of Aricept is being supported through the NHS research and development programme. The protocol allows for patients to be randomly assigned to Aricept or a placebo when there is uncertainty (on
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the basis of the known effects of Aricept and the characteristics of the patient), as to whether or not Aricept would offer the patient any overall benefit. The trial has been approved by the Regional Multi-Centre Research Ethics committee and the Local Research Ethics Committee for each particular centre at which the trial is being conducted.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many oncologists are employed per head of population in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) each EU country, (c) Canada, (d) the USA and (e) Japan; and if he will make a statement. [84238]
Mr. Denham:
The whole-time equivalent number of Medical Oncology staff per head of 100,000 population in England is 0.44 1 .
The whole-time equivalent number of Clinical Oncology staff (Radiotherapists) per head of 100,000 population in England is 1.15 1 .
Numbers for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are matters for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Numbers for European Union countries, Canada, the United States of America and Japan are not available centrally.
Mr. Norman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on what date the NHS Capital Prioritisation Group completed its assessment of the hospital development schemes currently seeking prioritisation for PFI funding; [84273]
(3) on what date the NHS Capital Prioritisation Group's assessment of the hospital development schemes currently seeking prioritisation for PFI funding was made available to Ministers at his Department; [84271]
(4) when the announcement as to which of the hospital development schemes currently seeking investment prioritisation have been successful will be made. [84276]
Mr. Denham:
The National Health Service Capital Prioritisation Advisory Group completed its assessment of the 10 schemes currently seeking prioritisation on 4 December 1998. Its report was passed to Ministers on 17 December.
An announcement will be made when Ministers have completed their consideration of all the proposals and fully assessed the implications for the NHS.
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Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means continuity of patients' notes will be kept between (a) NHS Direct and GPs and (b) walk-in clinics and GPs. [84374]
Mr. Denham:
Walk-in centres will be expected to have links with local general practitioners' practices to ensure continuity of care for patients. For NHS Direct, national guidance will be issued in due course.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women died from lung cancer in the Greater London area in 1998. [84402]
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Mr. Hutton:
Deaths from lung cancer (ICD9 162 1 ) in Greater London in 1998 are as follows:
These figures were supplied by the Office for National Statistics.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the breast screening units in hospitals which serve the Greater London area. [84403]
Mr. Hutton:
The breast screening units serving the greater London area are shown in the table.
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1 Source:
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce census at 30 September 1997. Office for National Statistics--Mid 1997 population estimates for England.
(2) for what reasons the announcements of the schemes to be implemented following the assessment by the NHS Capital Prioritisation Group of the proposals submitted has not yet been made; [84272]
2,239 males
1,378 females.
1 These are deaths that were registered in 1998 and certified with an underlying cause of death coded to 162 using the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision.
| Screening unit name | Physical location | Health authority populations served |
|---|---|---|
| Barking, Havering and Brentwood | Victoria Centre, Romford | Barking and Havering (and part South Essex) |
| Central and East London | St. Bartholomews Hospital | Camden and Islington East London and The City |
| Enfield and Haringey | North Middlesex Hospital | Enfield and Haringey |
| North of London | Edgware Hospital | Barnet Brent and Harrow |
| Whipps Cross | Whipps Cross Hospital | Redbridge and Waltham Forest |
| West of London | Charing Cross Hospital | Ealing Hammersmith and Hounslow Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Hillingdon |
| South East London | Kings Healthcare Trust | Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Bexley and Greenwich Bromley |
| South West London | St. Georges Trust | Merton, Sutton, and Wandsworth Croydon Kingston and Richmond |
Note:
The unit at Epping, in Eastern Region also currently serves part of the Redbridge and Waltham Forest population
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Free Sight Tests
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people over the age of 60 years have had free sight tests since January. [84400]
Mr. Denham: On the basis of activity levels in past years, we estimate that, in each of the months January to March 1999, people aged 60 and over will have received 0.35 million sight tests, of which just under half will have been National Health Service tests. The first statistics to show the impact of our decision to make everyone aged 60 and over eligible for free NHS sight tests with effect from 1 April 1999 will be available next February.
Overtime Payments (Millennium Period)
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what funding his Department has made available to cover the costs of overtime payments to National Health Service staff over the millennium celebration period; [84392]
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Mr. Denham:
It is for National Health Service trusts to decide individual staffing requirements for the millennium period, including any overtime they think necessary, to ensure effective patient services are in place. Enhanced payments are available for most staff groups who work on bank holidays. As a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review, funding for the NHS has risen to just under £40 billion in 1999-2000, a real terms increase of 5.1 per cent. over the previous year.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) deaths, (b) amputations and (c) other complications have been caused by surgical instruments or part of such remaining in patients following a surgical operation in each of the last three years. [84404]
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Mr. Denham:
The table shows hospital inpatient activity for the financial years 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 where a foreign body has accidentally been left in a body cavity or operation wound following a procedure.
(2) what is his Department's estimate of the extra cost to the National Health Service of overtime payments to staff over the millennium celebration period. [84391]
| Finished consultant episodes | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 841 | 4 |
| 1996-97(7) | 756 | 11 |
| 1997-98(7) | 749 | 8 |
(7) Figures for 1996-97 and 1997-98 are provisional
Source:
Department of Health, Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
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