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Cancer Screening

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each type of cancer the type and effectiveness of the screening tests currently available on the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [84688]

Mr. Hutton: There are currently two cancer screening programmes routinely available on the National Health Service.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme invites women aged 50-64 years for screening by mammography every three years. Since 1988 when the programme was introduced the United Kingdom death rate from breast cancer has been falling faster than the European average. Based on current detection rates it is estimated that the programme is saving up to 1,250 lives each year.

The NHS Cervical Screening programme invites women aged 20-64 years for a PAP test at least every five years. The test is designed to detect cervical abnormalities which if left undetected and untreated might develop into cancer. The incidence of cervical cancer has been falling at a rate of about 7 per cent. each year since the national programme was introduced in 1988 and experts estimate that the programme prevents around 3,900 cases of cancer per year. Further evidence from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund suggests that the cervical screening programme may have prevented 800 deaths in 1997.

Fluoride

Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the addition of fluoride to drinking water in Staffordshire; and if he will make a statement. [84767]

Ms Jowell: The Green Paper "Our Healthier Nation", invited comments on the contribution which fluoridation can make to improved oral health. Of the 604 comments received from the West Midlands region 595 were in favour of fluoridation and nine opposed. We will be announcing our policy on fluoridation in a White Paper on public health which will be published shortly.

24 May 1999 : Column: 16

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the elective waiting list totals for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for each month from May 1995 to date. [84861]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is in the table.

Date	Total waiting list
June 1995	4,201
September 1995	4,269
December 1995	4,481
March 1996	4,358
June 1996	4,325
September 1996	4,083
December 1996	3,990
March 1997	4,245
June 1997	4,047
September 1997	4,057
December 1997	4,653
March 1998	5,422
May 1998	5,482
June 1998	5,362
July 1998	4,996
August 1998	4,827
September 1998	4,601
October 1998	4,337
November 1998	4,095
December 1998	4,058
January 1999	4,050
February 1999	3,966
March 1999	4,083

Eye Tests (Pensioners)

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate how many pensioners in Shrewsbury and Atcham have had free eye tests since their introduction. [84864]

Mr. Denham: We estimate that there are some 21,000 residents aged 60 and over in Shrewsbury and Atcham and will therefore be eligible for a free National Health Service sight test. Some will have already been eligible for NHS tests on income grounds or because of predisposition to eye disease.

24 May 1999 : Column: 17

NHS Board Directors

Mr. Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many directors serve on National Health Service trust boards operating in (a) Doncaster and (b) Barnsley; and how many of those directors reside in the Barnsley, East and Mexborough constituency. [84988]

24 May 1999 : Column: 18

Mr. Denham: The current non-executive directors serving on the boards of National Health Service trusts operating in Barnsley and Doncaster are shown in the table. Information is not held centrally on the Parliamentary constituencies in which directors reside.

24 May 1999 : Column: 17

Name	Post type	Appointment	Term	Post town
	Barnsley Community and Priority Services NHS Trust
Councillor Thomas Sheard	Chairman	1 December 1997	30 November 2001	Barnsley
Mr. Brian Key	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1997	30 November 2000	Barnsley
Mrs. Josephine Ruth Lees	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1996	30 November 1999	Barnsley
Mrs. Margaret Michaels	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1997	30 November 2001	Sheffield
Mr. Keith Ellis	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1998	30 November 1999	Barnsley
Mr. William Newman	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1997	30 November 2001	Barnsley
Barnsley District General Hospital NHS Trust
Mr. Gordon E. Firth	Chairman	1 November 1998	31 October 2000	Barnsley
Ms Lynn Joyce Ambler	Non-Executive Director	1 November 1996	31 October 2000	Barnsley
Mr. C. Barry Taylor	Non-Executive Director	9 November 1998	31 October 2001	Barnsley
Mrs. Linda Burgess	Non-Executive Director	9 November 1998	31 October 2001	Near Barnsley
Mr. Robert Walker	Non-Executive Director	1 November 1996	31 October 2000	Sheffield
Mrs. Judith Watts	Non-Executive Director	4 November 1997	31 October 2001	Barnsley
Doncaster Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. David Bertram	Chairman	19 December 1997	30 November 2001	Doncaster
Mrs. Sheila Bryant	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1996	30 November 2000	Doncaster
Councillor Jean Maureen Elwick	Non-Executive Director	16 December 1997	30 November 2001	Doncaster
Mr. Graham K. Vaughan	Non-Executive Director	27 October 1998	30 November 2001	Doncaster
Mr. David Charles Miller	Non-Executive Director	11 December 1996	30 November 2000	Doncaster
	Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Montagu Hospital NHS Trust
Mr. Richard D. Kitson	Chairman	1 December 1996	30 November 2000	Doncaster
Mrs. Janet Conroy	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1998	30 November 2002	Near Doncaster
Mr. Thomas J. Keegan	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1998	30 November 2002	Doncaster
Mrs. June Hawley	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1997	30 November 2001	Near Doncaster
Mrs. Carol Shekle	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1996	30 November 2000	Doncaster
Mr. Colin D. Ambler	Non-Executive Director	12 October 1998	30 November 2001	Doncaster
	South Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance and Paramedic Service NHS Trust
Dr. Bernard Kingston	Chairman	16 January 1998	31 May 1999	Sheffield
Mrs. Patricia Battersby	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1998	30 November 2000	Sheffield
Mrs. Sandra Holland	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1997	30 November 2001	Doncaster
Mr. Sean Mahon	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1995	30 November 1999	Sheffield
Mrs. Anita Cartner	Non-Executive Director	1 December 1998	30 November 2001	Rotherham

24 May 1999 : Column: 17

Millennium Working

Mr. McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce a national scheme to compensate nurses who will be working over the millennium period. [84977]

Mr. Denham: We have no plans to agree any new specific national arrangements for staff over the millennium period. Guidance was issued to the National Health Service in Health Service Circular 1999/097, copies of which are available in the Library.

Anaphylaxis

Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice is issued by his Department to local education authorities over the treatment of children of school age suffering anaphylactic allergic reactions; [85264]

(2) what advice his Department has received on the appropriate treatment of anaphylactic allergic reactions in school children, from (a) the Anaphylaxis Campaign and (b) professional bodies; [85265]

24 May 1999 : Column: 18

(3) what guidelines his Department has issued to local health authorities on the provision of advice to local education authorities in developing care plans for pupils suffering from potentially life-threatening medical conditions. [85266]

Ms Jowell: The Department and the Department for Education and Employment issued joint guidance in October 1996 on "Supporting pupils with medical needs in schools". The guidance, which was sent to health authorities and local education authorities, covers treatment and the development of healthcare plans for pupils suffering from potentially life threatening medical conditions, including anaphylaxis. It was produced after extensive consultation with interested parties, including professional bodies and voluntary organisations such as the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

In March 1999 the Department and the Department for Education and Employment launched a new website, "Wired for Health", to provide teachers with health information on a range of conditions, including

24 May 1999 : Column: 19

anaphylaxis. The website gives direct access to advice from the Anaphylaxis Campaign on anaphylaxis and schools.

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