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Influenza
Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of last winter's influenza epidemic to his Department. [88774]
Ms Jowell: The information requested is not available centrally.
Cancer Services
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 June 1999, Official Report, column 416, if he will list the cancer centres in the West Midlands. [88734]
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Mr. Hutton:
The following hospitals in the West Midlands Region have designated cancer centres:
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the percentage profit made by drug companies on each individual drug used in cancer treatment. [88729]
Mr. Hutton:
The Government indirectly control the prices of branded prescription medicines supplied to the National Health Service by the pharmaceutical industry through the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS). Companies have freedom of pricing for new medicines launched on the market, although the PPRS controls the profits that pharmaceutical companies are allowed t make through their trade with the NHS.
Under the PPRS, pharmaceutical companies are required to submit annual financial returns to the Department of Health reporting, among other things, sales, research and development expenditure, other costs and profits. These returns, however, are reported in aggregate form. It is not possible, therefore, to identify separately the profits made by pharmaceutical companies on individual medicines.
Mr. Tyrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will (1) list the total number of occasions when (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity since 2 May 1997; [76828]
Ms Jowell:
Between 2 May 1997 and 30 June 1999, special advisers have accompanied my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State abroad on six occasions to America, Brussels and Madrid at a total cost of £6,370.
All travel complied with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.
Laura Moffatt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the midwife lead maternity units without a full consultant unit on site. [88930]
Ms Jowell:
The Department does not collect the information requested. Details of local maternity service provision can be obtained from health authorities and individual National Health Service trusts. They are
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responsible for decisions about patterns of service delivery taking account of the needs of local people, evidence of effectiveness and available resources.
Mr. Ian Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the present methods of reporting adverse reactions to vaccination; and if he will make a statement. [88806]
Ms Jowell:
The safety of medicines, including vaccines, in the United Kingdom is continuously monitored by the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Medicines Control Agency (MCA). Various data sources are used including spontaneously reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs), company produced periodic safety update reports, clinical trials and epidemiological studies such as the recent North Thames study on MMR vaccine.
Under the UK spontaneous reporting (Yellow Card) Scheme, doctors, dentists, hospital pharmacists and coroners may report adverse drug reactions to the CSM and MCA. Pharmaceutical companies have a statutory obligation to report suspected adverse reactions received world wide in relation to their products.
The Yellow Card Scheme is regularly reviewed by the MCA and CSM and initiatives are undertaken to strengthen reporting when necessary.
The reporting of suspected ADRs to vaccines through the Yellow Card Scheme was specifically reviewed by the MCA and CSM in 1997.
Mrs. Brinton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been given to NHS trusts on market testing their insurance requirements; and if he will make a statement. [89081]
Mr. Denham:
Historically, National Health Service trusts have not been required to market test their insurance requirements. As with other goods and services, however, they have been expected to obtain best value for money. Since 1 April this year trusts have only been permitted to renew commercial insurance to cover motor vehicle risks. They are now able to cover other non-clinical risks--mainly buildings, property and liabilities--by membership of two new NHS risk pools established under Section 21 of the NHS and Community Care Act, 1990. Alternatively, they may choose to self-indemnify. These new arrangements are already significantly reducing the overall cost of insurance to the NHS, releasing additional money for patient care.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the planned cost of NHS Direct in the current year. [89060]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: £54 million has been allocated in 1999-2000 to NHS Direct.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been made to the NHS Direct phone line to date; and what was the average cost per call. [89057]
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Mr. Denham
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Over 250,000 calls have been made to the NHS Direct phone line since its launch in March 1998. While call volumes are building up rapidly it is not possible to provide a realistic estimate of the average cost per call.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change has been recorded in the number of visits to general practitioners' surgeries and accident and emergency units in those areas where the first three pilots of NHS Direct were established. [89054]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: Sheffield University's Medical Care Research Unit has been commissioned to carry out an evaluation of the first wave pilots of NHS Direct. Data, in their first interim report published in March 1999, on the impact of NHS Direct on other services covered only the first 5 months of operation of NHS Direct and the researchers concluded that it would have been surprising to have seen any measurable impact at such an early stage. Monitoring of this data is continuing and a further report will be published later in the year.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the cost of an average GP consultation in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 1998-99; and what is the forecast cost for 1999-2000; [89058]
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 29 June 1999]: The information is not available in the form requested. The latest information collected (and published as figure 4.18 in the Departmental Report for 1999-2000) relates to 1996-97 when there were estimated to be 270.97 million consultations with general practitioners. These data were based on the General Household Survey and may overestimate the number of consultations.
Mr. Heseltine:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for an outpatient appointment following a written referral from their GP in the Oxfordshire Health Authority area in (a) March 1996, (b) March 1997, (c) March 1998 and (d) March 1999. [89072]
Mr. Denham:
The information requested is as follows:
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the cost effectiveness of GP prescribing. [89091]
Mr. Denham:
The Government continue to encourage general practitioners to prescribe cost effectively. A number of measures are in place to help them to achieve this, for example the employment of prescribing advisers
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by health authorities. Recent developments such as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence will also help to ensure cost effective prescribing.
University Hospital Birmingham National Health Services Trust
These centres are designated for treating certain types of cancer, and not necessarily all cancers.
Walsgrave Hospitals NHS Trust
Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
North Staffordshire NHS Trust
Royal Shrewsbury Hospital NHS Trust, which is a joint cancer centre with North Staffordshire Hospital Trust cancer centre.
(2) what was the total cost, including travel and accommodation, of each occasion when a special adviser from his Department travelled abroad in an official capacity since 2 May 1997, whether accompanied by a Minister or not, indicating the place visited. [89066]
(2) how many general practitioner consultations took place in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 1998-99; and what number is forecast for 1999-2000. [89059]
(a) These figures were not collected.
(b) These figures were not collected.
(c) 1,136
(d) 2,006.
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