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NHS Staff (Suspensions)
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the total (a) number and (b) costs of suspensions of consultants, doctors and other medical staff on pay pending inquiries in each year since 1996; [116278]
- (2) how many consultants, doctors or medical staff have been suspended on full pay for more than two months in each hospital trust in the Northern and Trent
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- Regions in (a) 1998, (b) 1999 and (c) 2000 to date; and what his estimate is of the cost to the NHS of their suspensions. [116277]
Mr. Denham: National Health Service trusts routinely report suspensions lasting six months or longer. The information requested is not broken down by year. Since 31 March 1995 a total of 75 cases of suspension lasting six months or over have been reported. At 31 December 1999, the latest date for which figures are available, 27 hospital and community medical and dental staff had been suspended for six months or more at an estimated cost of £2.5 million.
Since 31 March 1998 the Northern and Yorkshire and Trent regions have reported 18 suspensions lasting six months or more at a total cost of approximately £2 million. At 31 December 1999, the latest date for which figures are available, 10 hospital and community medical and dental staff had been suspended for six months or more at a cost of approximately £1 million.
An internal management review has identified four areas for improvement in the current suspension procedures. Further work on these findings has been subsumed into the wider proposals for managing poor performance set out in the Chief Medical Officer's consultation document "Supporting doctors, protecting patients". The consultation period has just ended and the Department is currently considering the responses.
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Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce his new NHS dental service strategy. [116340]
Mr. Hutton:
Our plans for modernising National Health Service dentistry will be published shortly.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health which EU countries allow the use of single-dose vaccines for measles and mumps; and if he will make a statement about the use of such vaccines in the UK. [116492]
Yvette Cooper:
Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is recommended in all European Union countries, none recommend the use of single vaccines. The availability of single dose vaccines is a matter for individual countries.
To protect public health, United Kingdom medicines legislation restricts the importation of all unlicensed medicines, including single-dose vaccines. Unlicensed medicines may be imported only if there is no licensed medicine available or suitable for the individual patient concerned, and the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) does not object on specific grounds of safety or efficacy. In the case of unlicensed single vaccines, the MCA will object to their import unless a prescribing doctor has decided that the patient has a known medical condition that makes the licensed product (MMR) unsuitable. In addition the MCA objects to the import of the single dose mumps vaccine (Rubini strain) because of concerns about its efficacy.
There is no evidence that the use of single vaccines benefits children and good reasons exist why their use may put children at significant disadvantage.
Mr. Chaytor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned on the health implications of the Sellafield MOX plant; and if he will make a statement. [115530]
Yvette Cooper
[holding answer 27 March 2000]: No specific study into the possible effects of the MOX plant at Sellafield on the health of the general public has been commissioned. However, the independent advisory Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) has been asked to examine the geographical distribution of childhood cancer in Great Britain, and as part of this study the committee will investigate the incidence of these diseases around all British nuclear installations. This study will include the Sellafield site.
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many responses were received by his Department's Genetics and Insurance Committee to their recent consultation on the use of genetic test results for insurance risk assessment; and if he will list the organisations and individuals concerned. [116571]
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Yvette Cooper:
The Genetics and Insurance Committee received 15 responses to the recent consultation on the criteria that GAIC will use to assess specific genetic tests and the use of their results for insurance purposes. Responses were received from:
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) organisations and (b) individuals asked by his Department's Genetics and Insurance Committee to submit responses to their recent consultation on the use of genetic test results for insurance risk assessment. [116570]
Yvette Cooper:
The consultation on the criteria that the Genetics and Insurance Committee will use to assess specific genetic tests and the use of their results for insurance purposes was sent to patient support organisations, academics, insurers and actuaries and was made available on the Department website. I have arranged for a list of the organisations and individuals concerned to be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the adequacy of cancer surgery provision within the NHS. [115167]
Yvette Cooper
[holding answer 28 March 2000]: We are determined to improve our cancer services and to tackle variations in treatment across the country. The National Cancer Director will be developing over the next few months a national cancer programme which will build on the Calman/Hine Report: "A Policy Framework for Commissioning Cancer" and set out our action to ensure all patients have access to faster better cancer care.
Since 1997 we have invested significant extra resources in workforce, equipment and facilities to speed access to high-quality, evidence-based diagnosis, treatment and care. By the end of 2000, patients with a suspected cancer referred urgently by their general practitioner will see a specialist within two weeks. Over the next five years, the number of cancer specialists will increase by 60 per cent.
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and we will work with professionals and local cancer networks to identify future workforce demands and ways in which they could be met.
Mr. Breed:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of requests for ambulances were met within the target response time in (a) urban and (b) rural areas in the last three years for which figures are available. [117057]
Ms Stuart:
Details about the performance of each National Health Service ambulance trust are contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin "Ambulance Services, England 1998-99", copies of which are available in the Library.
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS beds in each category will form the starting point against which any future changes in bed numbers can be measured. [117027]
Mr. Denham:
Statistics on hospital bed numbers are published in the annual publication "Bed availability and occupancy--England", copies of which are in the Library. Latest figures are for 1998-99.
Ms Church:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the amount to be spent in financial year 1999-2000 on smoking-related illnesses. [117030]
Yvette Cooper:
The information requested is not available on a year-by-year basis. However, a study "Cost Effectiveness of Smoking Cessation Interventions" by the Health Education Authority, in collaboration with the University of York published in 1997, estimated the annual cost to the National Health Service of treating smoking-related disease was between £1.4 billion and £1.7 billion for England.
the Association of British Insurers;
the Alzheimer's Association
Comments from Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing members (obtained at an ACGT meeting);
the Genetic Interest Group;
the Huntingtons Disease Association;
the Nuffield Council on Bioethics;
the Royal College of General Practitioners;
the Royal College of Pathologists;
the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Ethics Sub Committee);
the Scottish Huntingtons Association;
the Scottish Executive;
Health Department;
Public Health Policy Unit;
the UK Forum of Genetics and Insurance (which includes the response from the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries) and from three individuals who provided personal responses.
I have arranged for a list of the organisations concerned to be placed in the House of Commons Library.
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