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Consultants (Suspensions and Dismissals)

Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS consultants in England have been dismissed on (a) clinical and (b) other grounds, in each of the last three years. [106538]

Mr. Denham: Disciplinary action is the responsibility of local National Health Service employers. Information on NHS staff who have been dismissed is not collected centrally, but may be obtained from individual NHS employers.

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Wheelchairs (North-West)

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the average length of the waiting list for an electrically powered (a) indoor and outdoor and (b) indoor NHS wheelchair in the North West; [106471]

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Mr. Hutton: The current forecast, at Q2, is that 398 electrically powered indoor and outdoor wheelchairs will be available in the North West for 1999-2000, compared with a year end figure of 331 for 1998-99.

Other information is not readily available on a regional basis. The following figures relate to North West Lancashire Health Authority area:

Forty-two electrically powered indoor and outdoor wheelchairs and 97 indoor National Health Service wheelchairs (including outdoor powered, attendant controlled NHS wheelchairs) will be made available to new recipients in 1999-2000.

There are currently 277 indoor (plus 17 outdoor, attendant controlled) and 98 1 indoor/outdoor electrically powered wheelchairs in North West Lancashire.

Nineteen people are awaiting home or clinic assessment for electrically powered wheelchairs and 41 for indoor NHS and outdoor attendant controlled, electrically powered wheelchairs.

The present waiting times for electrically powered indoor and outdoor and indoor NHS wheelchairs are 12 weeks and 40 weeks respectively.


Cancer Services

Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to audit the Calman-Hine recommendations on the organisation of cancer services; [106123]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 24 January 2000]: We are committed to improving the quality of cancer services through the implementation of the "Policy Framework for Commissioning Cancer Services" (the Calman/Hine report) and subsequent evidence-based guidance.

The National Health Service Executive is currently developing national standards and performance indicators, based on the Calman/Hine report and guidance, which will be used by providers, commissioners and regional offices to deliver and measure continuous quality improvement in a consistent manner across the country within a national quality management framework. The NHS Executive will shortly be consulting on the draft standards and performance indicators prior to national roll-out from April 2000.

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We have asked the Commission for Health Improvement to conduct a national review of the implementation of Calman/Hine as one of its first major tasks when it begins work in April.

Intensive Care Beds

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to his oral statement of 18 January 2000, Official Report, column 702, where the additional intensive treatment unit beds provided this year have been made available. [106807]

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the hospitals in which the new intensive care beds referred to by him in his oral statement of 18 January 2000, Official Report, column 702, are located. [106443]

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secrertary of State for Health if he will publish a list of the locations of the 100 additional intensive care beds which he has provided. [106205]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 24 January 2000]: We will publish this information in due course.

Hearing Aids

Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend access to digital hearing aids to those who are hard of hearing and who have additional impairment of other faculties. [106451]

Mr. Hutton: We will be starting a project in England later this year to trial digital hearing aids for National Health Service patients. This project will help inform our plans to modernise hearing aid services. We anticipate that the project will cover 20 hearing aid departments and that an estimated 20-30,000 patients will benefit from the scheme. Ultimately, the project will lead to improvements for all NHS patients.

Mrs. Betty Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timescale is for the completion of the review by the NHS executive working group on hearing aid services; and if he will place a copy of the report of the working groups in the Library. [106834]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 25 January 2000]: The working group established by the National Health Service Executive was set up to identify areas for development in hearing aid services. There are no plans to publish a report of this work.

We will be starting a project in England later in the year to trial digital hearing aids for NHS patients. The pilot project will help inform our plans to modernise hearing aid services. We anticipate that the project will cover 20 hearing aid departments and that an estimated 20-30,000 patients will benefit from the scheme. Ultimately, the project will lead to improvements for all NHS patients.

NHS Direct

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what means and from what sources nurses have been recruited for NHS Direct. [106785]

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Ms Stuart: Nurses wanting to apply to NHS Direct find that this is no different from applying for any job elsewhere in the National Health Service. Many of the jobs are advertised in the Nursing Times and Nursing Standard as well as local papers, job centres, NHS trust newsletters and bulletin boards. NHS Direct has deliberately recruited nurses from a wide range of different backgrounds. Some will be from a hospital background but others will be from primary care or will have been working outside the NHS. NHS Direct has also provided opportunities for disabled and work-injured nurses. Many staff who work for NHS Direct do so on a part time basis allowing them to combine working for NHS Direct with other clinical duties.

NHS Funding

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations his Department has received about alternative arrangements for funding the NHS. [106544]

Mr. Denham: The Department receives many representations about alternative arrangements for funding the National Health Service. All suggestions received are considered on their merit and it remains the Government's policy that the NHS should be funded through public expenditure.

NHS Pay

Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the offer to professional NHS staff not covered by the Pay Review Body was lower than that for staff covered by the Pay Review Body. [106840]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 January 2000]: The pay increases recommended by the independent review bodies reflected the particular circumstances of their remit groups. The pay of professional staff in the National Health Service not covered by the review bodies is negotiated in the Whitley Councils. For 1999-2000 higher offers have been made to some non-review groups in recognition of their particular recruitment and retention difficulties.

Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the overall increase in the pay bill for NHS professional staff not covered by the Pay Review Body awards and instead covered by that part of the offer on long-term pay specified for April 2000. [106838]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 January 2000]: The increase, for 2000-01, currently on offer to those staff within the National Health Service, but not covered by the Review Bodies, is 3.25 per cent. or £300, whichever is the higher. Overall it is estimated that this will add £210 million to their paybill.

Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the overall increase in the pay bill for NHS staff covered by the Pay Review Body following the awards announced on 17 January. [106837]

27 Jan 2000 : Column: 348W

Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 January 2000]: Following the full implementation of the Review Bodies' recommendations on pay, it is estimated that an additional £570 million will be added to the paybill of those National Health Service staff directly covered by these awards during 2000-01.

Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much it would cost to pay all professional NHS staff not covered by the Pay Review Body the difference between the 3.4 per cent. offered to nursing staff and professions allied to medicine covered by the Pay Review Body and the 3.25 per cent. offered to staff not covered by the Pay Review Body. [106841]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 January 2000]: To pay all non-Review Body staff an additional 0.15 per cent. would add an estimated £10 million to the National Health Service paybill next year.

Mr. Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a decision on expanding Pay Review Body coverage to all professional NHS staff will be made. [106839]

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include other NHS staff within the Pay Review Body that covers dentists, doctors and nurses. [106574]

Mr. Denham [holding answer 25 January 2000]: Proposals to modernise the National Health Service pay system set out in "Agenda for Change" include bringing some smaller groups of highly qualified staff within the scope of the Nurses and professions allied to medicine Pay Review Body, without changing its fundamentally professional character. This issue is part of continuing discussions with NHS Unions aimed at reaching agreement by summer 2000.

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