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Infertility Treatment

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people used infertility services in National Health Service hospitals in each of the last three years. [85084]

26 May 1999 : Column: 157

Mr. Hutton: Information about hospital episodes for patients receiving in-patient treatment for infertility for the financial years 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 is shown in the table. During a course of treatment for

26 May 1999 : Column: 158

infertility an individual may have more than one hospital episode. Treatment under other operation codes may be related to infertility. However, the codes given correspond as closely as possible to the information requested.

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Operation code	1995-96	1996-97 (1)	1997-98 (1)
Q13--Introduction of gamete into uterine cavity	1,996	1,593	1,716
Q38.3--Endoscopic injection into fallopian tube	227	186	116
Q41--Other operations on fallopian tube	11,138	8,327	7,558
Q56.1--Fertility investigation of female (not elsewhere classified)	4	8	4
Total	13,365	10,114	9,394

(1) Figures for 1996-97 and 1997-98 are provisional, no adjustments have been made for shortfalls in data, (ie the data are ungrossed)

Source:

Hospital Episode Statistics

Department of Health: Statistics Division SD2B

26 May 1999 : Column: 157

Child Protection

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Council of Europe on joint policies for the welfare and protectio of children. [85088]

Mr. Hutton: Officials from the Department contribute to the work of the Council of Europe on issues related to the welfare and protection of children, through the formal Committee structure of the Council of Europe. I am due to participate in a Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Family Affairs in Stockholm on 14-16 June, where the theme will be "Towards a Child- Friendly Society". In preparation for the Conference the United Kingdom has provided a National Report on "child-friendly" initiatives.

Alzheimer's Disease

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in England and Wales. [85215]

Mr. Hutton: There are no data specifically relating to the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in England and Wales. The overall incidence rate after the age of 65 across Western Europe is 18.3 cases per 1,000 person years.

It is estimated that approximately 600,000 people over 65, or 5 per cent. of that population in the United Kingdom, suffer from dementia. Alzheimer's Disease accounts for just over half.

Medicines Control Agency

Mr. Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Enforcement Officers the Medicines Control Agency currently employs; what changes there have been in this number in the past year; and what plans there are to increase this number. [85222]

Ms Jowell [holding answer 24 May 1999]: There are 23 Enforcement Officers working within the Enforcement Group who deal solely with criminal investigations into allegations that medicines legislation has been breached.

There has been an increase of approximately 12 per cent. in the number of Enforcement Officers in the last 12 months, reflecting an increase in the work load.

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There are no plans further to increase the number at present but this area of the Agency's responsibilities is kept under careful review so as to ensure the protection of public health can be maintained.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish his response to the results of his Department's consultation on the work of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. [85444]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 May 1999]: About 160 replies were received to the consultation on "Faster access to modern treatment", a discussion paper setting out detailed proposals for appraisal by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Officials are following up a number of detailed points with the organisations concerned. Final decisions will be announced in due course.

Listening to Women

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been of the Listening to Women roadshows; and how many women have attended each roadshow to date. [85377]

Ms Jowell [holding answer 25 May 1999]: To date, nine Listening to Women roadshow events have taken place, attended by 1,125 women. Still to take place are the Leeds, Nottingham and Welsh events. The breakdown is:

	Attended by
Manchester	83
London	74
Norwich	67
Birmingham	58
Bristol	87
Newcastle	89
Reading	59
Glasgow	c. 500
Belfast	108
Total cost	(2)£87,918.54

(2) Including Value Added Tax

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Abortion

Ms Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines have been issued to GPs on the action they should take regarding their patients if they hold a conscientious objection to abortion; [84991]

(2) what plans he has, following Mr. Justice Alliott's judgment in the High Court case of Dr. Sheila Matthews, to issue new advice or guidelines to GPs about referring patients to another doctor if they have a conscientious objection to abortion. [84992]

Ms Jowell [holding answer 25 May 1999]: In 1991 the General Medical Services Council of the British Medical Association issued guidance to general practitioners through Local Medical Committees, reminding them of their obligations under their terms of service. That guidance remains extant and GPs who have a conscientious objection to abortion should refer the patient to another doctor as soon as possible.

Regional directors of the National Health Service Executive have been asked to ensure that Primary Care Groups have arrangements in place so that women considering an abortion are able to have easy access to a GP who can make a referral where appropriate.

Vaccines (Bovine Material)

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the evidence given by Mrs. Edwina Currie to the BSE Inquiry in respect of the use of vaccines which in their early stage of manufacture had used bovine material prohibited for use in human food (a) in general and (b) in relation to the level of risk relating to injecting infected material. [85493]

Ms Jowell: It is for the independent bovine spongiform encephalopathy Inquiry to assess the evidence given to it, not my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. The Government will respond to the Inquiry's report after it is published.

Long-term Care

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of (a) those people who have been in long-term care or nursing homes for four years or more and (b) all people in long-term care or nursing homes continue to pay part or all of their fees; [85226]

(2) if he will estimate the average cost of four years' care in a nursing home. [85228]

Mr. Hutton: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave him on 24 May 1999, Official Report, column 20.

High Security Hospitals (Staffing)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many posts are currently vacant in each high-security hospital for (a) nurses, (b) nursing assistants, (c) occupational therapists, (d) forensic psychologists and (e) psychiatrists. [85388]

Mr. Hutton: The number of posts currently vacant for nurses, nursing assistants, occupational therapists, forensic psychologists and psychiatrists at each of the three high security hospitals are set out in the tables.

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	Posts currently vacant
Rampton Hospital
Qualified nurses	20
Nursing Assistants	0
Occupational therapists	2
Forensic psychologists	3
Psychiatrists	2
Broadmoor Hospital
Qualified nurses	36 (20 qualified nurses in the appointment process)
Nursing assistants	24 (15 unqualified nurses in the selection process)
Occupational therapists	3 (only 8 posts in the whole establishment and 3 staff on full-time secondment training at present)
Forensic psychologists	0
Psychiatrists	3
Ashworth Hospital
Qualified nurses	34
Nursing assistants	24 (current recruitment drive will enable these vacancies to be filled within the next 2-3 weeks)
Occupational therapists	3
Forensic psychologists	1
Psychiatrists
Consultant posts	7
Staff grade	1

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