| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Intensive Care Beds
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a list of intensive care beds in each NHS hospital in England and Wales on (a) 31 March 1999 and (b) the latest date for which figures are available. [104774]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 17 January 2000]: The information has been placed in the Library. Information for Wales is a matter for its Administration.
Blood Donors
Mr. Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many blood donors there were in each NHS region broken down by blood type; and how much blood was donated in each of the last five years. [106932]
Mr. Denham: Information on the number of donors, their blood types, and on the number of donations, is collected by National Blood Authority blood centre rather than by National Health Service region.
The number of donors and their blood groups, and donations collected, are set out in the table for each blood centre in 1998-99, the last year for which figures are available. For each of the last five years, the donor and donation figures for England are given.
The figures on the number of donors registered over the five year period are variable because the National Blood Authority records were reviewed and updated before transfer to a new national computer system in 1998, to remove duplicate and obsolete entries.
1 Feb 2000 : Column: 561W
1 Feb 2000 : Column: 563W
| Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Active donors | ||
| 1994-95 | 2,221,883 | |
| 1995-96 | 2,225,565 | |
| 1996-97 | 1,906,637 | |
| 1997-98 | 1,914,351 | |
| 1998-99 | 1,846,844 | |
| Donations | ||
| 1994-95 | 2,255,102 | |
| 1995-96 | 2,329,767 | |
| 1996-97 | 2,355,551 | |
| 1997-98 | 2,389,028 | |
| 1998-99 | 2,396,622 | |
Cerebral Palsy
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on research into cerebral palsy in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [107060]
Mr. Denham: The Government fund health and medical research in a number of ways.
The Medical Research Council (MRC)--which receives most of its income via grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry--funds medical research as part of the Government's funding of the science and engineering base.
It is the main agency through which the Government support research on the causes and treatment of disease.
The Department funds research and development to support its work on policy development and evaluation in health and social care. The Department also manages the National Health Service research and development levy which is used to support research and development of relevance to the National Health Service in hospitals, general practice and other health care settings, and to fund the NHS research and development programme.
During 1998-99 the MRC spent £58 million on neurosciences and mental health research.
This research portfolio covers a wide range of areas in basic research that underpin the understanding of diseases and dysfunction of the brain, including cerebral palsy.
The national NHS research and development programme has funded a number of projects on cerebral palsy at a total cost of £619,579. Expenditure for this work over the last five years is as follows.
1 Feb 2000 : Column: 564W
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 40,314 |
| 1996-97 | 129,454 |
| 1997-98 | 129,454 |
| 1998-99 | 171,339 |
| 1999-2000 | 101,658 |
Management of much of the research supported by the NHS research and development levy is devolved and details of expenditure at project level are not held centrally by the Department. For example, the Department provides support funds to allow work funded by others such as the Research Councils and charities to be conducted within the NHS. Local research projects may also be funded through NHS regional offices. The total spend on cerebral palsy research will therefore be greater than that shown for the national NHS research and development programme above.
The Department also funds the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit at Oxford, whose programme includes work on cerebral palsy.
Project details of work directly funded by the Department or supported through the NHS research and development levy can be found on the National Research Register (NRR). This is available in the Library and most medical libraries on CD-ROM and on the Internet: http://www.doh.gov.uk/nrr.htm. The NRR lists a considerable number of projects related to cerebral palsy.
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of the impact of private practice in the same NHS unit or specialty on the waiting list and waiting time for treatment; [107391]
Ms Stuart:
We have made no assessment of the impact of private practice on waiting lists and times for treatment in the same National Health Service unit or specialty.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish, for each of the next 12 months, the week in which he expects to announce the latest (a) in-patient waiting list figures and (b) out-patient waiting list figures. [107301]
1 Feb 2000 : Column: 565W
Mr. Denham
[holding answer 31 January 2000]: The in-patient waiting list statistics for the end of December 1999 and out-patient waiting times statistics for the third quarter of 1999-2000 will be published during the week commencing 14 February 2000. Publication dates for later months will be published, as usual, one month prior in the Office for National Statistics' "Updates".
Mr. Austin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the average time spent on private practice by NHS consultants. [107390]
Ms Stuart:
The vast majority of our consultants work hard for the National Health Service and more than fulfil their contractual commitments.
We are currently negotiating a new modern contract for consultants with the Central Consultants and Specialists Committee of the British Medical Association. We want to see better, more robust job planning arrangements,
1 Feb 2000 : Column: 566W
supported by regular appraisal, to ensure that consultants' undoubted energies are focused clearly on delivering key service goals and priorities, providing patients with the high quality care that they need and expect, increasing productivity where it is needed most and cutting waiting lists.
(2) what action he has taken in relation to Recommendation 15 of the Health Committee report, "Public Expenditure on Health Services: Waiting Lists" (Session 1990/91: page xxiv); and if he will make a statement. [107392]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |