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Shrewsbury Hospitals
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations he has received against moving hospital services from Copthorne South to Copthorne North in Shrewsbury; and if he will make a statement [131703]
Yvette Cooper: To date, the Secretary of State for Health has received no representations against moving hospital services from Copthorne South to Copthorne North in Shrewsbury.
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Copthorne South hospital buildings in Shrewsbury to be demolished; and if he will make a statement. [131705]
Yvette Cooper: The demolition of buildings on Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) South will occur after the site is subsequently sold, and will be undertaken by the new owners. The timing of this will depend on when a suitable scheme is agreed for moving the services from RSH South currently being developed as part of the business case.
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health and safety category has been given to Copthorne South hospital buildings; and if he will make a statement. [131701]
Yvette Cooper: The trust has assessed the buildings on Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) Copthorne South as being predominantly either Health and Safety Category C or Category DX.
In order to mitigate the risks which arise from this, the trust is expected to have in place a formal Risk Management Plan which enables a safe environment to be maintained for patients, staff and visitors until the accommodation can be reprovided elsewhere. Such a plan may involve, for example, additional training for staff, the production of safe working procedures for all staff and the employment of additional staff where required for safety. The trust is of course required under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to carry out general risk assessments and the development of the Risk Management Plan should be informed by these.
The trust in conjunction with its local colleagues is submitting a business case to the NHS Executive Regional Office for the movement of services from RSH Copthorne South by the end of this financial year.
28 Jul 2000 : Column: 990W
Hospital Staff (Shropshire)
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many additional (a) doctors and (b) nurses have been recruited by Shropshire's hospitals since May 1997. [133202]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing, Midwifery and Health visiting staff: | ||||
| Whole time equivalents | 2,100 | 2,180 | 2,240 | |
| Numbers (headcounts) | 2,620 | 2,770 | 2,970 | |
| Hospital Medical staff: | ||||
| Whole time equivalents | 370 | 380 | 420 | |
| Numbers (headcount) | 440 | 460 | 520 | |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
2. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
3. Figures exclude learners and agency staff.
Source:
Department of Health non-Medical Workforce Census.
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census.
Dentistry (Shropshire)
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new dentistry schemes have been funded in Shropshire since May 1997; and how many patients have benefited. [133201]
Ms Stuart: The Investing in Dentistry scheme has seen £409,000 in grants approved in return for promises of 23,900 new National Health Service patient registrations in Shropshire.
The health authority is also piloting a dental access centre, which has been operational since February 1999. The access centre, funded centrally, will see up to 10,000 patients a year.
Health Funding (Shropshire)
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what have been the increases in funding for Shropshire Health Authority in cash and percentage terms for each year since May 1997. [133199]
Mr. Denham: The Information is shown in the table.
| £ million | Increase, real percentage | Increase, cash percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-98 | 169.6 | 2.0 | 4.1 |
| 1998-99 | 178.3 | 2.1 | 4.9 |
| 1999-2000(1) | 247.6 | 3.9 | 6.5 |
| 2000-01(1) | 265.7 | 4.3 | 6.9 |
| 2001-02(1) | 271.0 | 6.44.3 | 9.0 |
(1) Not directly comparable from 1999-2000 onwards due to introduction
of unified budgets for HA and primary care services.
(1) Original.
(1) Including budget announcement.
Source:
Department of Health
28 Jul 2000 : Column: 991W
Waiting Lists (Shropshire)
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reductions in hospital waiting lists have been achieved in Shropshire since May 1997. [133200]
Mr. Denham: The information for Shropshire Health Authority area is provided in the table.
| Total | |
|---|---|
| Q1 (June) 1997 | 7,221 |
| GQ4 (March) 2000 | 6,831 |
(1) Including day cases
In-patient Waiting Lists
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients on the in-patient waiting list in each NHS trust has been suspended from the list in each year since May 1997. [130513]
Mr. Denham [holding answer 20 July 2000]: Patients are suspended from the waiting list because they are medically unfit for the operation, or for social reasons (where a patient is unavailable for admission because of family commitments, holidays or other reasons). The information has been placed in the Library.
Pathologists
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital pathology laboratories there are in England; how many have unfilled vacancies; and if he will make a statement. [132318]
Mr. Denham: Statistics for England are collected centrally from 221 National Health Service trusts which have pathology laboratories and from four other statutory organisations.
The available information on their vacancies is contained in the table:
| Total employed | Total vacancies(1) | Three month vacancies(1) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathology staff | 20,580 | 470 | 150 |
(1) Posts that Trusts were actively trying to fill at 31 March 1999
(1) Posts that had been vacant for three months or more at 31 March 1999
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies exist within the National Health Service for persons qualified to carry out medical testing on (a) analytical investigation of blood, (b) tissue sampling, (c) virology, (d) microbiology and (e) immunology histopathology. [132813]
Mr. Denham: The detailed information requested is not available centrally. General information about vacancies in the National Health Service for medical, scientific, therapeutic and technical staff working in the Pathology Group is contained in the Department of Health
28 Jul 2000 : Column: 992W
Recruitment, Retention and Vacancies Survey, March 1999. Data are only available for that year. Copies of the survey are available in the Library.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the present salary structure for graduates who will carry out medical tests on behalf of the NHS on recruitment and retention; and if he will make a statement. [132815]
Mr. Denham: Medical tests are carried out by a wide range of non-medical graduates employed by the National Health Service in a range of staff groups that include clinical scientists, clinical perfusionists, radiographers, biomedical scientists among others. Many of these staff groups are not separately identified in the 1999 Recruitment and Retention and Vacancies Survey, a copy of which is in the Library.
The National Health Service pay system is in need of modernisation. We are working in partnership with the trades unions and professional organisations to negotiate a new pay system which will offer NHS staff a more attractive career structure and which will enhance recruitment and retention.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained staff capable of carrying out medical testing within the National Health Service left in each of the last three years. [132814]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not available centrally. Information about the number of National Health Service trusts reporting retention difficulties for medical, scientific, therapeutic and technical staff working in the Pathology Group, is contained in the Department of Health Recruitment, Retention and Vacancies Survey, March 1999. Data are only available for that year. Copies of the survey are available in the Library.
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