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Diego Garcia
Mr. Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 15 November 2000, Official Report, column 686W, on Diego Garcia, if he will list the research programmes on Diego Garcia being undertaken by the US authorities for which they have sought UK approval over the last five years. [139616]
Mr. Battle: Two research programmes have been undertaken by the US authorities in the last five years. They were:
- (1) Environmental Impact Assessment of ship husbandry activities at Diego Garcia (undertaken as request of BIOT Government)
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- (2) Cable survivability testing: to determine the susceptibility and depth variability of underwater cables to the bite threat from reef fish.
UK approval was sought for both.
HEALTH
Phentermine
Dr. Brand: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for phentermine (Ionamin) there were in the NHS and the private sector in the last three years; and if he will make a statement on the licensing history of this drug. [138773]
Ms Stuart: The number of National Health Service prescription items for phentermine dispensed in the community in England from 1997 to 1999 is shown in the table. Information on prescriptions dispensed in NHS hospitals or the private sector is not available.
| England | Thousand |
|---|---|
| Year | Number of prescription items |
| 1997 | 23.4 |
| 1998 | 20.5 |
| 1999 | 19.8 |
Note:
1. The data are from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) systems and are based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community ie by the community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Total prescriptions include not only prescriptions originating from general practices in England but also from nurses, hospital doctors and dentists provided they were dispensed in the community. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospitals or private prescriptions.
The marketing authorisation for phentermine was withdrawn by the European Commission on 9 April. It was subsequently reinstated on 7 August following a legal challenge to the European Court.
Dentists
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentures were provided and fitted by NHS dentists in each year since 1990. [138816]
Mr. Hutton: The table shows the number of treatment items for dentures in the General Dental Service in England from 1990-91 to 1999-2000.
Better oral health in the population has contributed to a decline in the number of people requiring dentures.
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(2) Single bar
(3) Multiple bars
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Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of dentists from (a) Italy and (b) Greece who are practising in the United Kingdom; what mandatory vocational training is given to dental graduates in these countries before being allowed to practise; and if he will make a statement. [138815]
Mr. Hutton: I am advised that at 1 January 2000 the General Dental Council had accepted onto their register 84 dentists with a primary qualification from Greece and 27 with a primary qualification from Italy. European Community Directive 78-686 makes provision for free movement of European Economic Authority dentists with EEA qualifications and mutual recognition of their qualifications. Although the Directive lays down minimum standards of training, the amount of time devoted to vocational training is a matter for individual member states to determine.
Parkinson's Disease
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what circumstances sufferers of Parkinson's disease are exempted from paying prescription charges; and what plans he has to change these criteria. [139281]
Ms Stuart: People suffering from Parkinson's disease are entitled to free prescriptions if they are aged 60 or over, are suffering from an exempting medical condition (Parkinson's disease itself is not an exempting condition) or they (or their partner) are receiving income support, income based jobseeker's allowance or tax credits (with
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their maximum credit reduced by £70 or less per week). They may also claim for help under the NHS Low Income Scheme. We have no plans to review these arrangements.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason he has not answered the question tabled for answer on 13 November, by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to correspondence concerning Mr. D. Garnett. [139679]
Ms Stuart: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend's letter on 20 November.
Operations (Walsgrave Hospital)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) cataract, (b) knee joint replacement, (c) hip joint replacement and (d) hernia operations were performed at Walsgrave Hospital in each of the last three years. [139045]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 21 November 2000]: The figures for Walsgrave Hospital, part of the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, formerly called the Walsgrave Hospitals NHS Trust, would exclude cataracts and knee and hip joint replacements, as Orthopaedics and Ophthalmology are based at the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital site.
The table shows all-operation count of episodes on the number of cataract removal, knee joint replacement, hip joint replacement and hernia carried out at the former Walsgrave Hospitals NHS Trust from 1996-97 to 1998-99.
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| OPCS4R Codes used | Operation | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C71-C72, C74-C75 | Cataract removal | 1,951 | 1,569 | 1,995 |
| W40-W42 | Knee joint replacement | 123 | 113 | 213 |
| W37-W39, W46-W48 | Hip joint replacements | 261 | 251 | 414 |
| T19-T21 | Hernia | 520 | 549 | 692 |
(4) An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provided.
Note:
1. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within a year.
2. These figures represent a count of all FCEs where the procedure was mentioned in any of the four operation fields in the HES data set.
3. The data in the table have not been adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) Department of Health
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