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Cabinet Joint Consultative Committee
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings of the JCC he has attended. [89275]
Ms Jowell: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 5 July 1999, Official Report, column 362.
Multiple Sclerosis
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the guidance set out in EL 95/97 in respect of relapsing/ remitting multiple sclerosis remains his Department's advice to health authorities. [89831]
Orthopaedic Physiotherapy
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the average waiting period for orthopaedic physiotherapy by health authority in England. [89677]
Mr. Denham: Information on average waiting times for physiotherapy is not available centrally.
Drugs
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what was the estimated additional cost to the NHS of the use of branded drugs to generic drugs on the NHS category D list for the periods (a) June 1998 and (b) June 1999, assuming average dispensing levels for such drugs; [90054]
- (2) what was the cost differential between the branded and generic versions of the drugs which appeared in the most recent NHS category D list. [90053]
Mr. Denham:
Generic drugs are included in Category D of Part VIII of the Drug Tariff when community pharmacies are having difficulty obtaining supplies at the Drug Tariff price. Inclusion in Category D means that the price reimbursed to the pharmacy will be either the Drug Tariff price or, if the prescription is appropriately endorsed, the list price of the supplier from whom the drug was purchased. In some cases it may be necessary for the pharmacy to purchase a branded equivalent. For
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many of the drugs concerned there will be a wide range of suppliers--in some cases both branded and generic--and hence prices. This means that calculating the thousands of permutations of price differential between the various branded versions and their many generic equivalents could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to raise public awareness of toxic shock syndrome; and if he will make a statement. [89966]
Mr. Hutton:
The Department works closely with the Toxic Shock Syndrome Information Service (TSSIS) to raise awareness of Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) among young people. The TSSIS provide a wide range of factual materials to increase awareness of TSS among both the public and the health profession. Earlier this year a joint mailing initiative was undertaken between the Department and the TSSIS to inform all media doctors and agony aunts of TSS. A letter about the work of the TSSIS and an information pack was sent out free of charge to enable them to advise their readers on the condition. Research by TSSIS suggests that awareness of TSS among young people is high.
In addition, the Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association's Voluntary Code of Practice ensures that clear warnings about TSS are printed on the outside of every pack of tampons, and a leaflet inside the pack gives advice about the safe use of tampons and what to do if suspected TSS symptoms are experienced.
Mr. Clifton-Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures exist for NHS hospitals to ensure that staff training standards are consistently reviewed; and what performance targets are set. [90361]
Mr. Denham:
Decisions regarding the training of National Health Service staff are most effectively taken by local employers. Local training and development plans should reflect nationally recognised standards for training and development, like Investors in People; guidance issued by the Department, like Modernising Health and Social Services: Developing the Workforce published under Health Service Circular 1999/111, and standards set by the regulatory bodies.
Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for NHS community midwives to be entitled to essential user car allowance; and if he will make a statement. [90645]
Mr. Denham:
National Health Service community midwives who are employed on national terms and conditions may be already entitled to a Regular User allowance of up to £760 per annum in accordance with Section 24 of the General Whitley Council Handbook, copies of which are available in the Library. NHS trusts are free to determine their own arrangements for staff on local contracts.
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Mr. Brady:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department for written answer on a named day between May 1997 and 14 April 1999; and what percentage of them received a substantive response on that named day. [91069]
Ms Jowell:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 15 April 1999, Official Report, column 337.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of mail received in the last 12 months for which figures are available from right hon. and hon. Members was replied to by him within, (a) up to 20 days, (b) 21 to 30 days, (c) 31 to 40 days and (d) over 40 days. [90153]
Ms Jowell:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office to my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) on 11 June 1999, Official Report, columns 403-06, which sets out departmental performance against the targets set for answering correspondence from right hon. and hon. Members, in the 1998 calender year.
The percentage of mail received in the last 12 months from right hon. and hon. Members which is replied to within the time scales specified could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he plans to respond to the letter of 24 May from the hon. Member for North Essex to the Prime Minister about cancer services in North Essex, which was referred to him by the Prime Minister's Office on 17 June; and if he will make a statement; [90544]
Ms Jowell:
My noble Friend Baroness Hayman replied to the hon. Member on 9 July offering a meeting to discuss the services in North Essex.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls were made to the NHS Direct phone line in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available. [90957]
Mr. Denham:
The information on the number of calls to NHS Direct for each of the last 12 months is shown in the table.
(2) when he plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for North Essex about cancer services in North Essex, dated 6 May; and if he will make a statement. [90543]
| Month | Calls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | |
| June | 5.6 |
| July | 6.8 |
| August | 7.1 |
| September | 6.3 |
| October | 6.6 |
| November | 6.8 |
| December | 10.2 |
| 1999 | |
| January | 10.9 |
| February | 16.5 |
| March | 23.7 |
| April | 55.0 |
| May | 69.4 |
Source:
NHS Direct sites
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Cancer (Waste Incineration)
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the information held by his Department on the incidence of cancers amongst people living in areas surrounding waste incinerators; and what recommendations his Department has made on emissions from incineration. [90353]
Ms Jowell: The study of cancer incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators, which was funded by this and five other Government Departments, was published in the British Journal of Cancer in 1996 (Elliott P., Shaddick G., Kleinschmidt I., Jolley D., Walls P., Beresford J. and Grundy C. (1996). Cancer incidence near municipal solid waste incinerators in Great Britain. British Journal of Cancer, volume 73, pp 702-710). This study found no evidence of an excess incidence of most of the cancer types studied among populations living near incinerators, although an excess incidence of liver cancer was reported. Because of particular problems with the accurate diagnosis of liver cancer, the Department has funded a further study to review the diagnosis of the liver cancer cases found in this study. The results of this study will be published in due course.
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