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Child Deaths
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children aged under 16 have died non- accidental deaths while receiving treatment from a paediatric toxicologist in each of the last five years. [128047]
- (2) how many children aged under 16 have died non-accidental deaths in each of the last five years while receiving treatment from (a) general practitioners and (b) paediatricians. [128048]
Ms Stuart: The information requested is not available centrally.
Surgical Instruments
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS operations in England have been cancelled in the last 12 months for which records are available due to delays in procuring surgical instruments; and if he will make a statement. [128021]
Mr. Denham: Quarterly reports of figures for all cancelled operations in England, which arise on the day a patient was due to come into hospital, or after they have been admitted, are available in the Library. We do not collect data on the reasons for the cancellation of operations but we have no information to suggest that delays in the procurement of surgical instruments have caused cancellations.
Residential Homes
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that older people
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living in residential homes have sufficient opportunities for leisure and recreational activities; and if he will make a statement. [128144]
Mr. Hutton: The Care Standards Bill makes provision for a new independent regulator for care homes, as well as a range of other care services. The National Care Standards Commission will register and inspect care homes against national minimum standards. Statements of these standards will be developed which will be based upon the regulations made under clause 21 of the Bill. We intend to publish the finalised standards for care homes before the end of the summer, and we will be aiming to ensure that residents in care homes have their social, cultural, religious and recreational needs satisfied.
PFI Hospitals
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average period is between completion of the Full Business Case and signing of the Final Contract for PFI hospitals; and what delays have been experienced in the delivery of services under those contracts. [128102]
Mr. Denham: The length of time between the approval of the full business case and signing of the final contract for the major private finance initiative hospital schemes (capital value greater than £25 million) which have reached this stage is shown in the table. All these schemes are in the construction phase, for which they are either on or ahead of schedule, except Carlisle, which became operational in April 2000, 34 days ahead of schedule.
| Period between FBC approval and contract signature | Scheme |
|---|---|
| Less than 7 days | Calderdale Healthcare NHS Trust |
| North Durham Healthcare NHS Trust | |
| Leeds Community and Mental Health Services NHS Trust | |
| Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust | |
| Greenwich Healthcare NHS Trust | |
| King's Healthcare NHS Trust | |
| St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust | |
| Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | |
| Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust | |
| Less than one month | South Durham Healthcare NHS Trust |
| Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust | |
| South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust | |
| Worcester Royal Infirmary NHS Trust | |
| Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust | |
| Greater than one month | |
| 52 days | Carlisle Hospitals NHS Trust |
| 65 days | South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust |
| 640 days | Norfolk and Norwich NHS Trust |
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to monitor the (a) service provided by hospitals delivered under the Private Finance Initiative and (b) performance of PFI contracts for hospitals. [128100]
Mr. Denham: National Health Service guidance requires NHS trusts to establish arrangements to monitor the implementation and performance of the private finance initiative contract in both the period up to
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completion and commissioning of the new facility and during the operational phase of the contract during which services are provided to the NHS trust.
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what penalty clauses there are in the standard PFI contract for hospitals; and how often these have been invoked. [128101]
Mr. Denham: The payment mechanism in a private finance initiative contract, which includes mechanisms for the withholding or deduction of payments to private sector partners for their failure to perform to time or to standard, is negotiated individually for each scheme within guidelines set out by the National Health Service Executive.
There has only been one instance to date of a penalty clause being invoked at the new major PFI hospital schemes.
NHS Consultation Process
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in the recent NHS consultation process (a) how many leaflets were issued, (b) how many leaflets were returned by 5 June, (c) how the leaflets were distributed and (d) what conclusions he has drawn; and if he will make a statement. [127901]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 28 June 2000]: Over 12 million leaflets were produced and made available to the public and National Health Service staff through hospitals, general practitioners, surgeries, supermarkets and other retail outlets asking for an outline of the top three things that would make the NHS better.
The Department has received 219,943 responses. The top three priorities for the public were more capacity (doctors, nurses and pay), less waiting and doing things differently.
Health Services (North Yorkshire)
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) intensive care, (b) acute, (c) recuperative, and (d) intermediate beds are maintained by Harrogate District Hospital. [128085]
Mr. Hutton: The number of intensive care beds for Harrogate Health Care National Health Service Trust as at 15 January 2000 was three intensive care and five high dependency beds in a combined unit.
The average daily number of available acute beds during 1998-99 was 310. Data on recuperative and intermediate beds are not collected as a separate ward classification.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nursing and (b) residential beds are paid for by North Yorkshire Health Authority. [128084]
Mr. Hutton: Central information on bed numbers is only available on a National Health Service trust basis. The total number of available beds in trusts bounded by the North Yorkshire Health Authority is 2,641. General and acute beds make up 1,937 of this total. Data on nursing beds are not collected as a separate ward classification.
Data on residential beds are not available centrally.
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Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent consultation has taken place on reorganisation of the health services in North Yorkshire. [128079]
Mr. Hutton: The North Yorkshire Health Authority has recently consulted on proposals by York Health Services National Health Service Trust for the development of services for older people with mental health problems in Easingwold. The consultation ended in January 2000.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies for (a) junior doctors, (b) consultants, (c) nurses, and (d) locum staff there are at Harrogate District Hospital. [128086]
Mr. Denham: The information is given in the table.
| Staffing description | Whole-time equivalents |
|---|---|
| Junior Doctors | (17)2.0 |
| Consultants | (17)1.0 |
| Nurses | (18)18 |
(17) Locum staff and agency staff are currently employed by the trust to cover these posts. There is also one locum employed covering annual leave and one locum covering sickness.
(18) Where nursing vacancies exist, bank and agency staff are used.
Source:
Harrogate Health Care National Health Service Trust
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will hold a public consultation on the future configuration of health services in North Yorkshire. [128077]
Mr. Hutton: The development of primary care trusts requires all local health communities to consider the implications for the configuration of National Health Service organisations. The North Yorkshire health authority has been working with a wide range of local stakeholders, including National Health Service trusts, primary care groups and local authorities, on future organisational configuration issues. Local Members of Parliament have been kept informed about these discussions.
Should these discussions result in formal proposals for the reconfiguration of National Health Service trusts, these would be subject to a full public consultation.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has taken to help ensure people in North Yorkshire health authority have access to drugs and other treatment for Alzheimer's disease. [128088]
Mr. Hutton: It is the responsibility of individual health authorities to have policies in place for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Drugs for Alzheimer's disease will be reviewed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and guidance should be issued to the National Health Service by December 2000.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the (a) accident and emergency, (b) cardiac, (c) orthopaedic and (d) cancer care at the (i) Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and (ii) York and Scarborough NHS Health Trust. [128080]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has made no formal assessment of these services. Such work would normally be undertaken by the relevant National Health Service trusts and health authorities.
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Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) junior doctors, (b) consultants, (c) nurses, and (d) locum staff are contracted (i) full-time and (ii) part-time to Harrogate District Hospital. [128087]
Mr. Denham: The information is shown in the table.
Data on hospital and community health services medical and dental staff holding either directly employed or agency locum appointments have not been collected centrally since 1996.
| Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff | Consultant(19) | Junior doctors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 780 | 40 | 50 |
| Full-time | 470 | 40 | 50 |
| Part-time | 280 | (20)-- | (20)-- |
| Bank | 40 | (21)-- | (21)-- |
(19) Consultants with maximum part-time contracts are included with full-time staff to reflect their substantially full-time commitment to the NHS
(20) Five or less and greater than zero
(21) Not applicable
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten
2. Figures exclude learners and agency staff
3. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts
Sources:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of Harrogate District Hospital. [128078]
Mr. Denham: Harrogate District Hospital will remain a general hospital serving the local community. Achieving this will require development of clinical partnerships with neighbouring general hospitals, and work to achieve this is under way across North Yorkshire. It has benefited from a major capital development of £37 million. The main phases have been completed and final construction work will be completed in November 2000.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of MRSA have been reported in the past five years in (a) Harrogate District Hospital and (b) North Yorkshire Health Authority; and what measures his Department has taken to eliminate instances of MRSA. [128089]
Mr. Denham: The data requested are not held centrally. Tackling hospital acquired infection, including MRSA, has been set as a "must do" for the NHS. We have developed and issued national standards for infection control that places responsibility on chief executives of NHS trusts to deliver locally. Progress on compliance with these standards will be independently reviewed and monitored by both the Audit Commission and the Commission for Health Improvement.
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