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Preventive Health Care
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the demand placed on NHS resources by the provision of preventive health measures in (a) Staffordshire Health Authority and (b) the United Kingdom. [105161]
Yvette Cooper: The South Staffordshire Health Authority published "Inequalities in Health" in March 1998 identifying its main health needs. It has a higher percentage than the national average of GPs engaged on health promotion generally, and in the management of diabetes and asthma specifically (nationally: 98 per cent., 96 per cent. and 96 per cent. respectively; South Staffordshire: 99 per cent., 98 per cent. and 99 per cent.). £274,000 was allocated this year to the North Staffordshire Health Action Zone for smoking cessation work.
For 1999-2000 health authorities received an average increase in their allocations of 6.6 per cent.
Across England, health authorities, in partnership with National Health Service trusts, primary care groups, local authorities and local stakeholders, determine how best to use their funds. Health promotion in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
Ms Perham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 21 December 1999, Official Report, column 508W, on plans to incorporate the human papilloma test in cervical cancer screening, when he will make a statement on the advice on HPV testing he received from the National Screening Committee following its meeting on 8 December 1999. [105190]
Yvette Cooper:
At its meeting on 8 December, the United Kingdom National Screening Committee considered an outline proposal to pilot the use of HPV
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testing as triage for mild and borderline smears in the National Health Service cervical screening programme. We will make a statement as soon as we have had opportunity to consider all aspects of the National Screening Committee's proposals including service provision, finance and any wider implications.
Mr. Pickles:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children received BCG vaccinations on the basis of clinical need in (a) England and (b) Brentwood in the last 12 months. [105192]
Yvette Cooper:
The information as requested is not available. The latest information available about BCG vaccinations is contained in the Department of Health's Statistical bulletin, "NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 1998-99", at Tables 8 and 11, copies of which are available in the Library.
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to improve the recruitment and retention of physiotherapists in the NHS. [105840]
Mr. Denham:
The national recruitment, retention and vacancy survey published in September 1999 gave us the latest authoritative data on staff vacancies from 98 per cent. of National Health Service trusts. It shows that only 3.3 per cent. of physiotherapist posts have been vacant for three months or more in England.
We are ensuring that effective recruitment and retention policies are in place to make the best use of trained staff and that training levels are sufficient to get a better match between supply and demand.
We are taking a number of steps which will help to address the issue of recruitment and retention of physiotherapists. These include the publication of the framework for the management of human resources for the whole of the NHS, "Working Together: securing a quality workforce for the NHS", which sets targets for local employers to improve recruitment and retention year on year. We have issued guidance to the service on improving working lives and we will shortly be issuing guidance on Lifelong Learning and Continuing Professional Development.
We are also modernising services and modernising employment practice in the NHS: developing more supportive, flexible and family friendly working practices; extending and improving investment in lifelong learning and professional development; tackling violence and racism in the workplace; involving staff in the way services are delivered and in the changes and developments that affect their working lives.
We have accepted in full the pay increases recommended by the Pay Review Body for Nursing Staff, Midwives, Health Visitors and Professions Allied to Medicine (including physiotherapist) for 2000-01. The Review Body has recommended an across the board increase of 3.4 per cent. for 2000-01 and for the second year running these increases will be paid in full without
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staging. Taken together with last year's award, this means that physiotherapists will have received real-terms increases of over 5 per cent., the best settlement for over ten years. Some targeted key groups of staff have received substantially larger awards: last year, newly qualified basic grade physiotherapists received pay increases worth 8.4 per cent.; this year, about 4,500 experienced Senior II physiotherapists will receive increases worth between 8.1 per cent. and 8.4 per cent.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the total NHS budget in the current financial year is accounted for by (a) administration, (b) the purchase of drugs, (c) remuneration of medically-qualified staff and (d) research into improved techniques and treatments; and what the percentages were in 1970. [105995]
Mr. Denham:
This information is not available in the exact format requested for this year, and not at all for 1970.
Of the forecast total gross expenditure on the National Health Service this year of £43 billion, the projected breakdown is 1 per cent. for Department of Health administration, 2 per cent. for Central Health and Miscellaneous Services 1 and the remaining 97 per cent. for Hospital, Community and Family Health Services 2 .
Of the Hospital Community and Family Health Services 2 total, expenditure on drugs accounts for 11.5 per cent., 4 per cent. accounts for NHS management costs and 1 per cent. accounts for the NHS research and development Levy 3 .
Information on remuneration is not yet available on remuneration of medically-qualified staff for 1999-2000 but in 1998-99 remuneration for medical staff accounted for 13.1 per cent. of the Hospital, Community and Family Health Services total of £39 billion.
Mr. John M. Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total budget of the NHS in the current financial year, expressed in pounds per head of the population; and what the corresponding figures are for (a) the Netherlands, (b) Belgium, (c) France and (d) Germany. [105990]
Mr. Denham:
Gross total NHS expenditure in England is forecast to be £43,049 million in 1999-2000. This is £868 per head of population. The equivalent UK figures are £52,645 million and £887 per head. It is not possible
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to provide similar comparisons to this figure for Belgium, Netherlands, France and Germany because the data are not available.
Notes:
1. Hospital, Community and Family Health Services include NHS hospitals, community health, family health services and related services and NHS trusts.
2. Central Health and Miscellaneous Services includes the Welfare Food Scheme, EEA medical costs, expenditure on medical, scientific and technical services predominately on the Public Health Laboratory Service Board, the National Biological Standards Board, the Microbiological Research Authority and the National Radiological Protection Board.
3. The NHS R&D programme provides the evidence base to help with clinical excellence, better quality services and the formulation of policy. R&D programmes also continue to trial and test medical advances and service innovation and to evaluate much recent policy innovation to ensure that good practice is shared and barriers to implementation are overcome.
| Country | Public healthcare expenditure per head of population ($PPP (40)) | Total healthcare expenditure per head of population ($PPP) |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 1,177 | 1,391 |
| France | 1,520 | 2,047 |
| Germany | 1,822 | 2,364 |
| Netherlands | 1,404 | 1,933 |
| Belgium | 1,549 | 1,768 |
(40) Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is an exchange rate determined by relative price levels and equates the prices of a representative bundle of goods in the countries concerned.
Source:
OECD Health Databank 1999
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