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Medication
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will review the obligations on general practitioners to carry out tests and examinations as recommended by drug manufacturers (a) prior to placing patients on medication and (b) during treatment; [127482]
- (2) if he will review the obligations on general practitioners and chemists to provide patients with dosage for prescription-only medicines. [127481]
Ms Stuart: General practitioners should carry out a proper assessment before initiating a patient on any treatment and thereafter review the patient's treatment at regular intervals.
The British National Formulary, which is issued twice a year to all GPs and pharmacists, recommends that the dose and the dose frequency should be stated on a prescription, which will then be put on the label by the pharmacist.
Hospital Readmissions
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each NHS region were readmitted to hospital within one month of their discharge in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [127165]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 22 June 2000]: Information on the number of patients readmitted to hospital within one month of discharge was originally published in June 1999 in "Quality and Performance in the NHS: Clinical Indicators, Technical Supplement". This document contains data for 1996-97 and 1997-98 and is available in the Library.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care groups have made representations against conversion into primary care trusts. [127488]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 23 June 2000]: All 22 primary care trusts (PCTs) already operating or announced enjoy the full support of their predecessor primary care groups (PCGs).
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We have made clear that the move to PCT status should be locally driven and determined by the preferences of the PCG(s) and other local stakeholders. Any proposal which enjoys PCG support automatically goes to public consultation and PCGs may also express a view on PCT proposals prepared by others.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers, citing as the reason that the information is (a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested and (c) not available. [127434]
Ms Stuart: Out of the 2,797 Parliamentary Questions tabled to the Department in the period between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000, we were unable to give substantive answers to 82 because the information was either not held centrally or not available. Substantive answers to a further two Questions could not be given because the information was not held in the form requested.
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between the 19 October 1999 and the 20 April, which requested information, pursuant to his previous answers. [127672]
Ms Stuart: Of the 2,797 questions tabled to this Department in the period between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000, 79 were pursuant to previous answers.
Cystic Fibrosis
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) children and (b) adults in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) the United Kingdom receive treatment for cystic fibrosis and conditions resulting from cystic fibrosis. [127449]
Mr. Denham: It is estimated from the incidence data in the Morbidity Study of General Practice for 1991-92 and data from the mid-1992 census estimates, that 3,725 patients in England and Wales consulted their general practice with cystic fibrosis. These figures are the latest available. This information cannot be used to estimate the number of general practice consultations in the West Midlands region or Coventry.
The figures in the table show the number of hospital admissions in 1998-99 in Coventry, the West Midlands region and England, where the primary diagnosis was cystic fibrosis. Information about hospital admissions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a matter for the devolved administrations.
| Area of residence | Children (Aged 0-17) | Adults (18+) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coventry | 24 | 7 | 31 |
| West Midlands | 460 | 257 | 717 |
| England (area of treatment) | 5,065 | 4,109 | 9,164 |
The databases available to the Department do not
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record whether one particular condition has resulted from another, and figures about other conditions caused by cystic fibrosis are therefore not available.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what advice he has issued to hospitals on dealing with patients who receive treatment as children but have it discontinued when they reach adulthood due to insufficient resources; [127445]
- (2) what provision is made for young adults with cystic fibrosis when they cease to qualify for treatment in children's wards; [127447]
(3) if he will make a statement on the treatment received by people with cystic fibrosis when they cease to qualify for treatment in children's wards. [127446]
Mr. Denham: For health care to be effective National Health Service commissioners will need to ensure that there are clear pathways to provide a continuity of care taking patients from childhood, into adolescence and beyond. This is particularly important in chronic conditions such as cystic fibrosis which have benefited from advances in medical science and where patients now survive into adulthood. The new arrangements for commissioning specialised services will develop a more systematic approach to commissioning that will ensure there are properly co-ordinated arrangements for the delivery of services for all cystic fibrosis patients.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what resources are available for the treatment of cystic fibrosis and conditions resulting from cystic fibrosis for (a) children and (b) adults in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) the United Kingdom; [127450]
- (2) what assessment he has made of a reasonable distance to travel for treatment for people with cystic fibrosis; [127448]
Mr. Denham: Patients with cystic fibrosis and conditions resulting from cystic fibrosis have access to an extensive range of diagnostic and remedial resources both in hospitals and in primary care. For some treatments patients may need access to specialist skills or equipment that are best provided in a smaller number of centres where clinicians can regularly see a large number of patients. In these circumstances patients may need to travel to gain access to that expertise. The Hospital Travel Costs Scheme, which is part of the National Health Service Low Income Scheme, is available to assist those who are in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Crop Contamination
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what powers his Department has to prevent crop contamination. [123920]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 5 June 2000]: In respect of possible transfer of pollen from GM crops to conventional or organic crops, my Department has wide
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powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to prevent the marketing or planting of GMOs without a valid consent.
The Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment assesses the safety implications of all forms of possible gene transfer from GM crops and only those which present no adverse implications to public health or the environment are granted approval to be grown.
My Department has recently announced that checks for the presence of GM material will commence on imported conventional seed. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture has launched a review of GM crop separation distances.
Mr. Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on which date he requested the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment Department to give advice on whether the crops of GM contaminated Hyola oilseed rape were safe for the environment, when he received the advice; and what it was. [124323]
Mr. Meacher: The information given by Advanta, at their meeting with officials from my Department and MAFF, on 17 April was extremely sketchy. At that stage, Advanta had been warned by the German authorities that some GM contamination in some supplies of seeds might have occurred. They did not at that stage know for sure whether a GM had been involved, or which GM it was, or which seed batches had been affected, to which countries those seed batches had been dispatched, or in which years. Advanta informed my Department at that time that they were initiating urgent inquires. However, it took until 10 May to obtain sufficient information, particularly on which GM was involved to be able to provide ACRE with a basis for their decision, and in some respects the investigation is still going on.
ACRE's advice is that there are no adverse implications for human health or the environment.
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on what basis he and his advisers concluded that there was no environmental risk arising out of the contamination of Advanta rapeseeds. [124155]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The first step was to identify the types of genetically modified seeds present in the affected batches of oil seed rape.
The affected seeds were in fact a well-known herbicide-tolerant rape line grown commercially in North America. This line has also been grown in field trials in the UK and there are currently 12 consents for field trials of these plants. On each occasion, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) had considered a full dossier on information about the GM rapeseed and its possible environmental impact, before consent was granted.
Therefore, when ACRE were consulted about the Advanta seeds, they were able to give advice about the possible environmental risks from growing oilseed rape containing a small proportion of these seeds.
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