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Cataract Services
26. Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on cataract services in the NHS. [127535]
Mr. Denham: We intend to improve access to treatment for people who need cataract surgery. We are investing £20 million over two years to modernise cataract services. This will ensure quicker and more efficient services for patients and increase the number of cataract operations performed to 250,000 by the year 2003.
Telecommunications Masts
27. Ms Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the risk to health of people living near telecommunications masts. [127536]
Yvette Cooper: The recently published report of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (the Stewart Group) concluded that the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to health to people living near base stations, but that gaps in knowledge are sufficient to justify a precautionary approach.
NHS Funding
28. Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the planned level of capital investment in the NHS over the next two years; and if he will make a statement. [127537]
Mr. Denham: The planned level of Capital Investment in the National Health Service, including the Private Finance Initiative, is £1.942 billion in 1999-2000 and £2,736 billion in 2000-01.
34. Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the ability of the health authority funding formula to reflect health service needs in each area. [127544]
Mr. Denham: The current formula includes a wide range of health and socio-economic indicators associated with the need for healthcare.
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There have, however, been growing concerns about how well the formula matches cash to health need. The healthcare needs of populations must be the driving force in determining where cash goes. We have therefore asked the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation to oversee a wide-ranging review of the formula.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list (a) the sums required and (b) the percentage increase in funding required to achieve financial balance in each NHS health authority area by 2000-01; and what percentage of the additional NHS funding recently announced is required to achieve financial balance in each case. [128554]
Mr. Denham: Health authorities do not spend money on achieving financial balance. In consultation with local stakeholders they use their allocations to commission services for their local populations. In planning their spending they are required to live within the resources available.
Dental Services
29. Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision of NHS dental services. [127538]
Mr. Hutton: We are aware of the problems in accessing National Health Service dentistry in some parts of the country and have taken steps to address them. Improving access to services will be an integral part of the Government's plans to modernise NHS dentistry, which will be published in conjunction with the National Plan for the New NHS.
Walk-in Centres
30. Mr. Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards establishing the planned new NHS walk-in centres. [127539]
Mr. Denham: 36 National Health Service Walk-in Centre pilots were approved last year. 21 have opened to date, with the remaining sites to open by December 2000. NHS walk-in centres will improve access to and convenience of services for patients.
Patient Choice
31. Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about patient choice in the NHS. [127541]
Mr. Denham: The rights of patients are one of the issues being considered in the preparation of the National Plan.
Consultants
32. Mr. Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to monitor the performance levels of NHS consultants. [127542]
Mr. Denham: We are currently negotiating a new contract for National Health Service consultants and have agreed with the British Medical Association the key areas to be negotiated over the next few months. That will include the introduction of employer-based appraisal for all consultants which, coupled with tighter job planning
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mechanisms, will provide NHS managers with a more effective framework to manage the performance and time of their consultants.
Alcohol Strategy
36. Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the consultation paper on a national alcohol strategy; and if he will make a statement. [127546]
Yvette Cooper: We plan to publish a consultation paper later this year, which will allow a period for comment prior to the publication of the strategy.
Health Inequalities (London)
37. Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to reduce health inequalities in London. [127547]
Yvette Cooper: Action to reduce inequalities in health is a major priority, as are addressing black and minority ethnic health, regenerating deprived areas and improving transport. The reduction in health inequalities is a shared priority for local health and social services.
A London health strategy has been developed over the last year by a partnership with representatives from business, local government, environment, leisure and housing organisations, the National Health Service, academic institutions and voluntary and community groups.
The London health strategy will reduce inequalities in health and this work will complement the implementation of major government initiatives to tackle inequalities and focus them on the particular problems being faced in London.
National Plan (Beds)
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he is making on providing for additional beds under the national plan; and if he will make a statement. [127543]
Mr. Denham: We will be publishing the national plan in July.
Freeman Hospital, Newcastle
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum waiting times are for a consultant appointment at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle; and if he will make a statement. [127804]
Mr. Denham: Latest published data for the quarter ending 31 March 2000 show that 75 per cent. of patients referred by their general practitioner to the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals National Health Service Trust are seen within 13 weeks for first out-patient appointments and 95 per cent. are seen within 26 weeks. Lengthy waits being experienced for orthopaedic surgery are being addressed by the appointment of a new consultant.
Prescription Drugs
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the 10 most expensive drugs, in
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terms of treatment per patient per year, prescribed by the NHS and the number of patients involved in each case in the last year for which figures are available. [127862]
Ms Stuart: It is not possible to provide information in the form requested because individual patients require different treatment regimes, nor is information collected on the numbers of patients receiving medicines.
However, as a general rule the most expensive treatments per patient per year are those used to treat very rare diseases or rare complications of diseases, e.g. Gaucher's Disease or complication of haemophilia.
Nursing Vacancies (Advertising)
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on advertising for nursing vacancies in newspapers and journals by each hospital trust in England and Wales in 1998-99. [128083]
Ms Stuart: Information on how much is spent on advertising in newspapers and journals by each hospital trust in England and Wales for nursing vacancies is not held centrally.
Organ Transplants
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce legislation to secure a greater supply of organs for transplant; and if he will make a statement. [128113]
Mr. Denham: We have no plans at this time to introduce legislation to change the way in which organs are donated for transplant.
Our current publicity campaign, which was launched in 1998, is on-going and encourages people to join the National Health Service Organ Donor Register, carry the donor card and, most importantly, discuss their wishes with their friends and family.
Medical Services (Cleveland)
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many doctors have joined the NHS in each year since 1990 and how many have joined in total since May 1997 (a) nationally, (b) in Teesside and (c) in the constituency of Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East; and if he will make a statement; [128511]
- (2) how many nurses have joined the NHS in each year since 1990; how many joined in total since May 1997 (a) nationally, (b) in Teesside and (c) in the constituency of Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East; and if he will make a statement. [128514]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is shown in the table. Information is not collected for the constituency of Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East.
(13) Includes all hospital medical staff (except Clinical Assistants and Hospital Practitioners, most of whom also work as GMPs); all General Medical Practitioners (except retainers); Public Health Medicine and Community Health Service Medical staff. Excludes locum doctors.
(14) GMP data relate to Cleveland FPC for 1990, Cleveland FHSA for 1991 to 1995 and Tees HA from 1996 onwards.
(15) Figures for 1991 to 1994 may not be fully comparable with other data due to under-recording of fundholding practice staff by FHSAs.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Sources:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census at 30 September each year
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics at 1 October each year
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| England | Tees HA | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 403,100 | n/a |
| 1991 | 400,980 | n/a |
| 1992 | 387,910 | n/a |
| 1993 | 371,060 | n/a |
| 1994 | 357,780 | n/a |
| 1995 | 340,190 | 4,130 |
| 1996 | 342,480 | 4,400 |
| 1997 | 340,700 | 4,460 |
| 1998 | 342,550 | 4,760 |
| 1999 | 349,270 | 4,870 |
n/a = not applicable
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Figures exclude learners and agency staff.
3. A new classification of the non-medical workforce was introduced in 1995. Information based on this classification is not directly comparable with earlier years.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
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