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Nursing
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health care assistants are seconded into nurse education. [117147]
Mr. Denham: Since the 1 April 1997, a total of 1,230 existing National Health Service employees have been seconded on to pre-registration nursing and midwifery diploma training courses. Data are not collected centrally on the proportion of these who are health care assistants seconded on to such courses.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trainee nurses are (a) seconded on salary, (b) receiving his Department's bursary and (c) in receipt of a student loan. [117146]
Mr. Denham: Since the 1 April 1997, a total of 1,230 existing National Health Service employees have been seconded on a salary to pre-registration nursing and midwifery diploma courses.
Information on the number of trainee nurses receiving NHS funded bursaries is not held centrally. Of the 17,451 student nurses currently paid an NHS bursary by the NHS Student Grants Unit (SGU), 14,156 are diploma level students who are not eligible for student loans. The remaining 3,295 are degree level students who are eligible for student loans.
Student loans are a matter for the Department for Education and Employment.
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of student nurses left training before completing their course in each year since 1996. [117148]
Ms Stuart:
Information on the percentage of student nurses who left training before completing their course in each year since 1996 is shown in the table. We do not yet have the data to provide an attrition rate for the 1999-2000 student.
| Year | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 17 |
| 1996-97 | 17 |
| 1997-98 | 15 |
| 1998-99 | 7 |
Note:
The data on attrition are based on a snapshot in time of a particular cohort(s). Since nursing and midwifery students can take up to five years to complete their three-year course, for each year there will be students who have yet to complete their training.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from organisations on age discrimination against elderly patients in the NHS. [117294]
Mr. Hutton:
We have received from Age Concern their thoughtful report "Turning your back on us--Older people and the NHS" which highlighted concern that older people experience ageism within the National Health Service. I met representatives from Age Concern on 6 March to discuss these concerns. Age Concern, Help the Aged and others involved in the care of older people have all contributed to the development of the National Service Framework for Older People which will set
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national standards for the care of older people. This work covers issues of greatest concern to older people such as promotion of health and well-being, and fair access to services. We hope to publish the NSF later this year.
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will initiate an inquiry into age discrimination against elderly patients in the NHS. [117293]
Mr. Hutton:
Discrimination on the grounds of age within the National Health Service is completely unacceptable. Action is and will be taken to challenge and correct any such unfair practices. The task now is to get on with ensuring this delivers the improvements we intend, so that eliminating discrimination and promoting fair access are firmly embedded as mainstream business for the NHS.
The provision of first class care on the NHS is our priority and later this year we will be publishing the National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People. This, for the first time, will set national standards for the care of older people, driving up quality and reducing the variations. The NSF will include performance measures for monitoring progress. The development of the NSF has involved many groups, including service users and carers, and has included the issue of access to services.
We have no plans however to set up any inquiry. Equal opportunities and work against discrimination must be embedded in our total way of working, rather than being treated as a separate and one-off activity.
Mr. Robertson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of "Fit for the Future?" were (a) printed and (b) requested; if he will increase the number of copies available; and if he will make a statement. [117344]
Mr. Hutton:
10,000 copies of "Fit for the Future?" were printed and over 8,000 copies have been sent out in response to requests. We have no plans to print further copies. The document was also made immediately accessible on the Department's internet website, and as at 26 March the "Fit for the Future?" web had been accessed over 46,000 times.
The consultation period ended on 21 January. We are currently carefully considering the comments received on the proposals. "Fit for the Future?" identified over 260 possible standards. We believe that some of the proposals may have only a marginal impact on the quality of care and it is highly unlikely that this many standards will be needed. We intended to publish the final standards and a timetable for implementing them later this year.
Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make funding available to health authorities to ensure that children with severe brittle bone disease will be able to receive bisphosphonate treatment. [117102]
Mr. Denham:
The National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group is considering the current and proposed service for children with brittle bones, including the use of bisphosphonate treatment, and will make recommendations on appropriate commissioning arrangements in the summer.
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Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the question tabled on 27 January (ref. 107991) by the hon. Member for Meriden concerning vaccinations. [117108]
Yvette Cooper:
I replied to the hon. Member on 30 March.
Mr. Edwards:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to require local authorities to promote healthy food policies. [117526]
Ms Stuart:
Although this Department cannot force local authorities to promote healthy food policies, there are a number of initiatives that we are undertaking with the co-operation of these agencies as part of our strategy for combating heart disease, stroke and cancer. For example, the Heartbeat Award Scheme, which promotes healthy eating in restaurants, cafes and other catering establishments, has been running for a decade with the support of local and health authorities. Furthermore, the recently published National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease set out several health milestones, one of which is the delivery by April 2001, of a wide-ranging healthy eating promotion in conjunction with local authorities. Co-operation also extends to local education authorities as part of the Department of Health and Department for Employment and Education-funded Healthy Schools Programme. This initiative requires schools to adopt consistent messages about healthy eating in order to meet the Healthy Schools Standard.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diseases non-human primates are known to carry; how many of these are screened for when such animals are brought into the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [115275]
Ms Quin:
I have been asked to reply.
The diseases that non-human primates are known to carry are numerous and can be found in text books dealing with diseases of non-human primates. The hazards associated with simians are listed in the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens' publication "Working safely with simians: Management of infection risks". A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
All simians that are imported into the UK are required to undergo six months' quarantine against rabies in premises authorised by the Department.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what the maximum daily capacity of the Millennium Dome is between 21 March and 31 December; [115273]
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Janet Anderson
[holding answer 21 March 2000]: The licensed capacity of the Millennium Experience site, including the Dome, is 35,000 visitors at any one time during opening hours.
(2) pursuant to his answer of 14 March 2000, Official Report, column 153W, on the Millennium Dome, for what reason the total number of available tickets varies on a daily basis. [115726]
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