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Primary Care Groups
10. Mr. Gordon Marsden (Blackpool, South): What assessment he has made of the priority given to public health and healthy living programmes in the future plans of primary care groups and trusts in the north west. [122869]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Yvette Cooper): Health improvement programmes across the north-west include an assessment of the health needs of local populations, and the funding of primary care group investment plans is aligned with programmes' priorities. Primary care groups and trusts have huge potential to improve people's health and prevent illness, and the north-west regional office will continue to support that developing role.
Mr. Marsden: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer, and I am encouraged by her emphasis, and that of primary care groups, on preventive health measures. The primary care group in my constituency is pressing ahead on that front with preventive measures on osteoporosis and is introducing nutritional standards for the elderly and nursing standards. Such issues are especially important in the north-west because of the diet and life style challenges in the area. What incentives can my hon. Friend provide to primary care groups and trusts to take such measures so that outcomes are adequate and contribute to definite improvements in diet and life style?
Yvette Cooper: An immense amount of work can be done through primary care groups to promote health, prevent ill health and tackle health inequalities. The primary care group in my constituency is working with the Castleford Tigers to promote healthy eating in schools. In developing the national plan, we are seeking ways to spread best practice by primary care groups to every area so that we can tackle the health inequalities whereby people in low income areas are most likely to become ill.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield): Public health and healthy living programmes are vital to the future health of the next generation, but does the Minister agree that it is critical that confusion about the roles of primary care groups and hospital trusts should not lead to duplication of facilities? Will she ensure that those roles are clearly defined and that the position of trusts such as
the East Cheshire NHS trust in my constituency is not eroded by the future development of primary care groups, which will eventually become trusts?
Yvette Cooper: Health promotion and prevention of ill health do not cause problems of duplication; rather, there is a need to fill gaps. For too long, there has not been sufficient emphasis on preventing people from becoming ill and on tackling the huge unacceptable health inequalities throughout the country. We need to encourage people throughout the NHS to work with the community, not in duplication but in partnership, to deliver health improvements for every member of our population.
Dental Service Strategy
11. Mr. Peter L. Pike (Burnley): What discussions he has had with the British Dental Association about the proposed new NHS dental service strategy. [122872]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Denham): My noble Friend the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath has met representatives from the British Dental Association on several occasions, during which the content of the forthcoming dental strategy has been discussed.
Mr. Pike: My hon. Friend will know that in Burnley, as in many constituencies, many dentists have left the NHS, and it is increasingly difficult for adult patients to get on the list of an NHS dentist. I met BDA members, from both the private sector and the NHS, in Burnley recently, and they are anxiously waiting for the new strategy because they want to know what it means for the dental profession and for the public, and whether there is to be a future for the NHS dental service--I am sure that the Government want one.
Mr. Denham: My hon. Friend is right to refer to the importance of the dental strategy, which we intend to publish in conjunction with the national plan later this summer. Mr. John Renshaw, the chairman of the BDA's executive board, is a member of the modernisation action team, which is examining patient care and speed of access. In the meantime, the Government have taken action to promote NHS dentistry, and my hon. Friend will know that an investing in dentistry grant of £44,000 has been agreed with a practice in Burnley in return for the promise of up to 3,400 new NHS patient registrations. I hope that that will go some way to tackling the problems that he has outlined.
Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham): In the development of the NHS dental service strategy, what scope does the Minister envisage for co-operation with the private dental sector?
Mr. Denham: Many dentists already offer both private and NHS treatment, but we are especially keen to extend access to NHS dentistry to those who have no access to it. We hope that, by the end of the year, some 40 dental access centres will be open where they are most needed, providing high-quality NHS dentistry for those who cannot find a dentist with whom to register. Because we want dentists engaging in both NHS and private practice
to do more in the NHS, we are negotiating a package of about £17 million with the BDA to encourage further NHS registrations.Commission for Health Improvement
12. Jean Corston (Bristol, East): What role the Commission for Health Improvement has in tackling differences in health service provision between postcode areas. [122873]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Ms Gisela Stuart): Tackling unacceptable variations in health care is a key challenge for the national health service.
The Commission for Health Improvement will regularly review the steps being taken in the NHS to address unjustifiable variations in the quality of, or access to, treatment and care, including action taken to implement national service frameworks and the uptake of guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Jean Corston: It is clearly early days for the commission, which has been operating for only two months. Does my hon. Friend agree, however, that while it is right and proper for local health authorities to be given responsibility to provide for the health needs of their populations, people do not understand the disparity in the availability of some services? I am thinking of, for instance, infertility treatment, and the prescribing of beta interferon and certain cancer drugs. Will the commission have a role in addressing those disparities?
Ms Stuart: Not only will the commission be able to reassure patients and the public that effective systems are in place to deliver high quality; it will work with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which was created to ensure that every patient has fair access to quality treatment. That is done by identifying the best practice, and spreading it quickly.
Mr. David Tredinnick (Bosworth): Does the Minister agree that one of the greatest disparities across the country is in the use and provision of complementary and alternative medicine? Surveys show that 75 per cent. of the population want such medicine to be available on the health service. Does the Minister agree that now is the time for her Department to consider how it can be provided by the health service, at the point of delivery, throughout the nation?
Ms Stuart: The hon. Gentleman is right: there is a move in favour of complementary medicine. NICE has terms of reference for an investigation based on science and evidence which will focus mainly on the major killers, but, as I am sure that the hon. Gentleman knows, bodies such as NHS Direct will be able to advise on where people can find alternative and complementary medicine. We have not closed our minds to that.
Workington Infirmary
13. Mr. Dale Campbell-Savours (Workington): If he will make a statement on the future of Workington infirmary. [122874]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Hutton): The West Cumbria Health Care national health service trust is working with the North Cumbria health authority and West Cumbria primary care group on an outline business case to develop modern community and primary care facilities in Workington to replace existing services provided at Workington infirmary.
Mr. Campbell-Savours: Can my hon. Friend assure me that there will be no delay anywhere in the system that would in any way impede the earliest possible introduction of the new provision in Workington? The provision is required, and the proposal is popular.
Mr. Hutton: I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. As he knows, the outline business case will be submitted later in the summer, and we fully expect the trust to meet its original target date of June 2002 for the reprovision of services in Workington.
My hon. Friend will know better than I do that parts of Workington infirmary are 115 years old. There is an obvious need to improve NHS services and premises in his constituency, and I hope it will be possible for me to go to Workington later in the summer to talk to him and his constituents about that important reprovision.
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