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Health Authority Spending
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been spent in each region on voluntary sector and prevention work by health authorities in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [150391]
Mr. Denham: The information requested is not held centrally in the form requested and cannot be collected without incurring disproportionate cost.
The NHS Plan sets out the actions needed by the National Health Service to tackle the causes of ill health. The NHS must work in partnership with other agencies including the voluntary sector.
Doctors' Hours
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS junior doctors in England are routinely working hours above those set out in the New Deal on working hours. [150388]
Mr. Denham: At 31 September 2000, 38.4 per cent. of junior doctors in England were working hours which did not comply with the New Deal hours limits and rest requirements. Monitoring figures for 31 March 2001 will be available in May.
Mobile Phone Technologies
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been commissioned into the health implications of mobile phone technologies since the publication of the Stewart report. [150178]
Yvette Cooper: The Stewart report on mobile phones and health made a recommendation that a substantial research programme should be set up under the aegis of a demonstrably independent panel and financed by the mobile phone companies and the public sector. This programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, was announced in December 2000 and was launched at a scientific workshop in London on Friday 9 February when the first call for proposals was issued. The research will be undertaken under the direction of an independent programme management committee chaired by Sir William Stewart.
The Department is also continuing to provide financial support for the World Health Organisation International Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Project which is comprehensively reviewing EMF effects, including those of radio waves.
Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of mobile telephone masts on elderly people's and children's health; and what plans he has to carry out research on this in the future. [150991]
Yvette Cooper: The Stewart report on mobile phones and health was published in May 2000. This rigorous and comprehensive assessment of existing research considered the possible effects on health of mobile phones and base stations (masts). The report concluded that the balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to health of people living near base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines. However, in view of the concerns expressed by residents near base stations and the indirect effect on people's
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wellbeing, the report made a number of recommendations aimed at improving the public consultation and the availability of information about the siting of base stations.
In its summary the Stewart group commented that the upsurge of mobile phone technology should be matched by good quality research. It recommended that a substantial research programme should be set up under the aegis of a demonstrably independent panel and financed by the mobile phone companies and the public sector. This programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, was announced in December 2000 and was launched at a scientific workshop in London on Friday 9 February when the first call for proposals was issued. The research will be undertaken under the direction of an independent programme management committee chaired by Sir William Stewart.
Readmitted Patients
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients, by health authority, were readmitted to hospital within one month of their discharge in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [150392]
Mr. Denham: Information for 1998-99 on emergency readmission to hospital within 28 days of discharge was published in tabular form in July 2000 in "Quality and performance in the NHS: NHS Performance Indicators", copies of which are available in the Library. Standardised rates for all health authorities for 1998-99 and for the years 1997-98 and 1996-97 are available on the Department of Health's website, http://www.doh.gov.uk/ nhsperformanceindicators/hlpi2000/h1137t.html
Figures for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
TB Inoculations
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the injection rates for TB have been in each year since 1990; what percentage of the United Kingdom population has been inoculated against TB in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [150396]
Yvette Cooper: Information about immunisation against tuberculosis (BCG) is contained in the Statistical Bulletin "NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 1999-2000". A copy of the bulletin is in the Library and can also be found on the Department of Health website www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0026.htm.
Although the routine schools immunisation programme for 10 to 14-year-olds was suspended in September 1999 due to severe manufacturing problems encountered by the sole United Kingdom licensed source, Celltech Medeva, BCG vaccine against tuberculosis has always been available for those individuals at higher risk of TB. On 19 July, the Department announced that there is now sufficient supply of vaccine to initially restart the routine schools programme in the London area, where the highest rate of tuberculosis in the country currently occurs.
The Department is doing all it can to secure a robust supply of UK licensed and batch released BCG vaccine, and will announce as soon as possible when the routine schools programme can resume across the country. All
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those who missed their BCG vaccination due to the suspension of the programme will be recalled as part of a catch-up programme.
Dystonia
Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for improved training of medical staff and general practitioners in diagnosing and treating dystonia; and how much is spent annually on research into the causes and treatment of dystonia. [150423]
Mr. Denham: All doctors, including general practitioners, and medical staff receive training designed to ensure they have the basic skills, knowledge and experience to provide quality services to patients and to respond to changing patterns of disease and modern methods of health care delivery.
The main Government agency for research into the causes of, and treatment for disease, is the Medical Research Council (MRC) funded via grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
The MRC has spent the following amounts on research related to dystonia:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 1,435,000 |
| 1995-96 | 1,702,000 |
| 1996-97 | 1,784,000 |
| 1997-98 | 1,731,000 |
| 1998-99 | 1,769,000 |
In 1999-2000 the MRC spent over £3 million on research into movement disorders including dystonia.
Food Labelling
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations the Food Standards Agency has made on mandatory country of origin labelling. [150241]
Ms Stuart [holding answer 13 February 2001]: The Food Standards Agency is pressing for changes to labelling rules at European and international levels to require compulsory origin labelling on a wider range of foods, particularly meat products, and for clear rules on the use of terms like "produce of".
Variant CJD
Mr. Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals do not have the facilities to sterilise instruments against VCJD; and if he will make a statement. [150432]
Mr. Denham: We have received advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee that a key factor in reducing the theoretical risk of person-to- person spread of variant CJD during surgery is high standards of decontamination of surgical instruments. In October, we issued a circular (Health Service Circular 2000-032) to the National Health Service emphasising the importance of effective decontamination in preventing the spread of variant CJD. As a result of this circular, all
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NHS trusts in England have been instructed to perform an all-embracing review of their decontamination facilities and procedures. In addition, the Department is carrying out a comprehensive survey of the NHS in England to assess the effectiveness of decontamination and we expect it to be complete by April 2001.
On 4 January I announced that we were investing £200 million to modernise NHS decontamination and sterilisation facilities. The money will ensure that surgical equipment is cleaned and sterilised to the highest standards possible to protect patients from a theoretical risk of variant CJD. The investment will underpin a major overhaul to provide the NHS with the most up-to-date decontamination services.
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