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Male Breast Cancer
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the availability of single sex clinics for the treatment of male breast cancer in each region of the health service; [146811]
- (2) what guidance exists for the treatment of male breast cancer in mixed sex clinics. [146810]
Yvette Cooper: We are committed to improving breast cancer services for both men and women. Male breast cancer is a rare disease with only approximately 200 cases diagnosed every year in the United Kingdom.
Due to the low number of cases of male breast cancer, it is not feasible to have separate clinics for men and women. However, there must be sensitivity to the needs of every patient and factors that could cause embarrassment need to be addressed at a local level.
The NHS Plan set out the intention to make available authoritative guidance on all aspects of NHS cancer care. The "Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer" guidance was first published in 1996 (available in the Library) and an update will be available from March 2001. The guidance recommended that diagnosis of primary disease should normally be carried out using "triple assessment" for each new patient at a single visit. This increases the accuracy of diagnosis and decreases anxiety resulting from any delay.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the number of reported cases of male breast cancer in each of the last five years, broken down by regional health authority; [146814]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the number of reported cases of male breast cancer in each of the last 10 years; [146815]
(3) which health authority had the highest number of reported cases of male breast cancer over the last five years; and by how much this varied from the average authority. [146813]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Eric Pickles, dated 26 January 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions on male breast cancer (146813, 146814, 146815).
- The last 10 years for which cancer registration data are available are 1985-1994. The numbers of reported cases of male breast cancer (International Classification of Diseases ninth revision (ICD9) code 175) for these years at the national and regional health authority levels can be found in the publication "Cancer statistics: registrations", Series MB1 numbers 18-27. These are available in the House of Commons library.
- It is not possible to make valid comparisons of the incidence of male breast cancer among health authorities because there are on average only 2 cases per health authority per year.
Sudden Adult Death Syndrome
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many recorded deaths from sudden adult death syndrome there were in each of the last 10 years. [146916]
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Mr. Denham: In the years to 1999, the last year for which final figures are available, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), classified deaths using the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Disease (ICD9). Unexplained sudden deaths where the cause could not be ascertained would have been classified to a variety of ICD9 codes, depending on what was recorded on the death certificate. For some of these cases insufficient information was available to determine whether they were true sudden adult death syndrome deaths.
However, where death certificates contained a mention of sudden adult death syndrome, these were coded by the Office of National Statistics to ICD9 798.1--instantaneous death, cause unknown. Figures given are those for which this was the underlying cause of death. For the reasons given, these figures may understate the total number of sudden unexplained deaths.
| Number of deaths | |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 0 |
| 1991 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 |
| 1993 | 6 |
| 1994 | 10 |
| 1995 | 22 |
| 1996 | 12 |
| 1997 | 30 |
| 1998 | 49 |
| 1999 | 35 |
(13) 1990-92 based on number of deaths registered in a year.
Note:
1993-99 based on number of deaths occurring in a year.
Nurse Recruitment
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses have been recruited into the NHS from Sub-Saharan Africa in the last three years. [146841]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not held centrally. Information on applications from nurses outside the UK for registration to the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (UKCC) can be found in the UKCC annual statistical analysis of the UKCC professional register. Information on the number of work permits issued to employers is available from the Overseas Labour Service.
Pressure Sores
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects NICE to issue guidelines on the treatment of pressure sores. [147033]
Mr. Denham: We expect the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to issue guidelines on the treatment of pressure sores by summer 2001.
Back Pain
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects NICE to issue guidelines on the treatment of back pain. [147032]
26 Jan 2001 : Column: 754W
Mr. Denham: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has not been asked to issue clinical guidelines on back pain. However, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) produced a guideline on acute low back pain in 1996 and updated this in summer 1999. This guideline is available from the RCGP and is on their website at www.rcgp.org.uk.
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what directions overriding a note of dissent by an accounting officer have been given by the boards of non-departmental public bodies within his Department since May 1997. [147064]
Ms Stuart: There have been no such directions.
Clinical Waste
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has given to the NHS in England with regard to the disposal of clinical waste from hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [147202]
Mr. Denham: The National Health Service has a range of guidance on waste management and in particular the disposal of clinical waste from hospitals produced by NHS Estates Agency (an Executive Agency of the Department of Health) and other organisations. The main sources of information are:
- The Health and Safety Executive
- (i) The Safe Disposal of clinical Waste (1999)
- NHS Estates Agency:
- (ii) Strategic Guide for Waste Management (1991)
- (iii) Strategic Guide for Clinical Waste Management (1994)
- (iv) Health Guidance Note--Clinical waste incineration--joint venture arrangements (1994)
- (v) Health Guidance Note--Safe disposal of clinical waste--whole hospital policy guidance (1995)
- (vi) Health Technical Memoranda 2065--Healthcare waste management--segregation of waste streams in clinical areas (1997)
- (vii) Health Technical Memoranda 2075--Clinical waste disposal/ treatment technologies (alternatives to incineration) (1998).
Copies are available in the Library.
Further guidance is being prepared to re-emphasise the NHS's responsibilities as waste producers, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Cancer Funding
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the distribution of the remaining money available from the New Opportunities Fund for the undertaking of research and other work in the field of cancer treatments; and if he will make a statement. [147221]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 25 January 2001]: In England, the New Opportunities Fund 'Living With Cancer' programme has provided £93 million to fund equipment to screen for, diagnose and treat cancer. A further £23.25 million is funding home care, support for carers and information projects that target socially disadvantaged groups or minority ethnic communities.
26 Jan 2001 : Column: 755W
Over 99 per cent. of these funds have now been awarded. Any remaining funds will be used for similar projects. This programme is not intended to fund medical research.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has recently completed a consultation exercise on new proposals for health. This new programme will build on the 'Living With Cancer' programme and Government plans for the modernisation of cancer services.
Care Home Beds
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2001, Official Report, column 431W, (1) concerning care home bed numbers, how many local authorities were in the survey; and how many responded; [147283]
- (2) if he will set out how and to whom the survey results were disseminated; [147281]
(3) if he will set out the judgments he came to in the light of the survey findings; [147280]
(4) what the estimated cost of the survey was. [147282]
Mr. Hutton: All 150 councils with social services responsibilities provided information. The information was obtained electronically. The cost of obtaining the information was therefore small but cannot be estimated accurately. The information was used to inform judgments by the regional offices of the social services inspectorate about the preparedness of councils. It was only disseminated within the Department.
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