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Waiting Lists
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on waiting lists if consultants were contractually required to see NHS patients on three days a week as a minimum. [131462]
Mr. Denham: We are determined to reduce waiting lists and times for all patients. As part of the National Plan for the National Health Service, the Patient Care: Speed of Access Modernisation Action Team has been looking at improving patients' access to NHS services, including the reduction of waiting lists and times.
Any NHS consultant who carries out private work is expected to devote substantially the whole of their professional time to their NHS work. It is for employers and employees to agree the balance between private and NHS work and for employers to take appropriate action if individual consultants do not meet their contractual commitments. Their responsibilities for the clinical care of their NHS patients must come first.
Children Act 1989
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish updated statistics to fulfil the undertaking given in the Children Act report 1995 to 1999. [132558]
Mr. Hutton: I have today published on the Department of Health internet website a supplementary report entitled "Children Act Report--1999 Supplement" and copies have been placed in the Library.
Long-term Care
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many cases financial responsibility for existing patients (a) in nursing homes and (b) being supported in their own homes, has been assumed by the National Health Service since the appeal decision in R. v. North and East Devon health authority ex parte Coughlan; and if he will make a statement. [131750]
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Mr. Hutton: Information is not available in the format requested. Information on numbers of people newly meeting eligibility criteria for continuing National Health Service in-patient care is collected on a quarterly basis. From 1 July 1999 to 31 March 2000, 17,639 people newly met eligibility criteria for continuing in-patient care funded by the NHS. This figure includes an element of forecast data.
Hammersmith Hospital/Imperial College
Imaging Department
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the report on the Hammersmith Hospital/ Imperial College Imaging Department commissioned by the former Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson); what plans he has to implement the recommendations contained in this report; and if he will make a statement. [131970]
Mr. Denham: Professor Cameron's report was prepared on the basis that it would be confidential to Ministers. He has, however, provided a comprehensive summary of his findings, conclusions and recommendations and this has been made public.
I announced on 29 June that I had accepted Professor Cameron's recommendations and was instructing the National Health Service Executive to implement them.
Professor Cameron's report draws a line under these events: no further ministerial statement is planned.
Hospital Waiting Times (Norfolk)
Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the area covered by the Norfolk Health Authority had been waiting over 12 months for elective admission in (a) March 1997, (b) March 1998, (c) March 1999 and (d) March 2000. [132031]
Mr. Denham: Norfolk Health Authority was established on 1 April 1999. Prior to its establishment, the area was covered by East Norfolk Health Authority and by part of North West Anglia Health Authority.
Figures from the period prior to the establishment of Norfolk Health Authority are not directly comparable with those following its establishment.
The number of patients waiting more than 12 months for elective admission in East Norfolk Health Authority, North West Anglia Health Authority and Norfolk Health Authority are shown in the table.
| Health authority | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| East Norfolk | North West Anglia | Norfolk | |
| March | |||
| 1997 | 146 | 122 | -- |
| 1998 | 592 | 481 | -- |
| 1999 | 575 | 511 | -- |
| 2000 | -- | -- | 1,133 |
Source:
Inpatient waiting lists England by health authority
21 Jul 2000 : Column: 369W
Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the area covering the Norfolk Health Authority had been waiting more than 12 months for orthopaedic surgery in (a) March 1997, (b) March 1998, (c) March 1999 and (d) March 2000. [132030]
Mr. Denham: Norfolk Health Authority was established on 1 April 1999. Prior to its establishment, the area was covered by East Norfolk Health Authority and by part of North West Anglia Health Authority.
Figures from the period prior to the establishment of Norfolk Health Authority are not directly comparable with those following its establishment.
The number of patients waiting more than 12 months for trauma and orthopaedic treatment in East Norfolk Health Authority, North West Anglia Health Authority and Norfolk Health Authority are shown in the table.
| Health authority | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| East Norfolk | North West Anglia | Norfolk | |
| March | |||
| 1997 | 66 | 36 | -- |
| 1998 | 272 | 234 | -- |
| 1999 | 372 | 254 | -- |
| 2000 | -- | -- | 687 |
Source:
Inpatient waiting lists England by health authority. (The figures shown are for trauma and orthopaedic cases).
Hospital Waiting Times
(Chase Farm and North Middlesex Hospital)
Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long the current waiting lists are at (a) Chase Farm and (b) North Middlesex Hospital. [132256]
Mr. Denham: Information is collected by trust and is provided in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust | 7,407 |
| North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust | 3,053 |
Source:
Department of Health monthly monitoring
NORTHERN IRELAND
Forensic Science Northern Ireland
Mr. Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what key targets were set for Forensic Science Northern Ireland in 2000-01; what further plans have been prepared by Forensic Science Northern Ireland; and what arrangements have been made for the publication of this year's plans. [132555]
Mr. Mandelson: The following key targets were set for Forensic Science Northern Ireland in 2000-01:
- Quality of Service
- To turnaround 85 per cent. of cases in which a file is required to be submitted to the DPP within the notified scale.
- To turnaround 90 per cent. of all reports within the timescale notified to the investigating officer in cases where there is no DPP file.
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- Quality of Science
- Maintain the UKAS accreditation of those scientific processes identified by the Ministerial Advisory Board.
- Service Provision
- To have obtained the agreement of the RUC User Board that FSNI is effectively meeting the needs of the RUC as defined in the Service Level Agreement for the year ending 31 March 2001.
- Financial Performance
- Recover from customers the full cash cost of the services delivered to them.
- Reduce the Unit Cost by 2 per cent.
Achievement against these key targets will be recorded in the Agency's Annual Report for 2000-01 which will be published in July 2001.
FSNI has published a summary of its Corporate plan 2000-03 and annual Business Plan 2000-01 which explain its business and organisation, describe its key targets for 2000-01 and set out the assumptions about work loads and resources which support its planned activities. Copies of the summary plans have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament. Copies will be available to the public from FSNI.
CABINET OFFICE
Disaster Contingency Measures
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what research she has undertaken into the effects of a major computer failure in central Government; and what contingency measures have been taken to reduce the impact of such an event. [128868]
Mr. Ian McCartney: Individual Government Departments are responsible for research into, and contingency planning against, the risk of a major failure in the computer systems they operate. Government as a whole learnt valuable lessons about business continuity planning from handling the Millennium bug.
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