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Delayed Discharges
27. Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he is taking to tackle delayed discharges from hospitals. [19682]
Jacqui Smith: We are investing an additional £300 million over this year and the next as part of a radical 'cash for change' programme. This is aimed at reducing delayed discharges and targeted on the worst performing areas. This investment and reform will help to free up beds in hospitals, reduce waiting times for treatment and ensure patients, particularly older people, are cared for in the most appropriate place.
Redbridge council has received £369,000 from the £100 million announced on 9 October to fund reductions in delayed discharges in 2001–02.
35. Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on reducing delayed discharges from hospital. [19690]
Jacqui Smith: We are investing an additional £300 million over this year and the next as part of a radical 'cash for change' programme. This is aimed at reducing delayed discharges and targeted on the worst performing areas. This investment and reform will help to free up beds in hospitals, reduce waiting times for treatment and ensure patients, particularly older people, are cared for in the most appropriate place.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the level of delayed discharges. [19848]
Jacqui Smith: Figures for September 2001, the latest available, show some 6.6 per cent. of discharges involved a delay. We have allocated an extra £100 million this year to reduce the number of delayed discharges by at least 1,000 by the end of the financial year.
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Health Authority Funding Criteria
28. Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors other than population are taken into account in calculating the payment made annually to each health authority. [19683]
Mr. Hutton: A weighted capitation formula is used to inform revenue allocations to health authorities. The formula weights each health authority's population according to their relative need for health care and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing health care.
Waiting Times
29. Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about waiting times for NHS treatment. [19684]
Mr. Hutton: The Department regularly receives correspondence from patients and hon. Members about waiting times for both inpatients and outpatients.
Bed Blocking (East Sussex)
30. Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on bed blocking in East Sussex. [19685]
Ms Blears: The Government are aware that delayed discharges remains a particular problem in East Sussex. A Performance Improvement Plan was developed by East Sussex, Brighton and Hove health authority and the East Sussex and Hove social services departments to address the issue. The number of delayed discharges has been falling steadily since September 2001.
Delayed discharges is a problem common to many parts of the country. To address this the Secretary of State, on 9 October, announced an additional £300 million over this year and next to tackle delayed discharges. East Sussex county council was recognised as a local authority in need of extra help and was allocated £1,255,000 this year from that money.
Deep Vein Thrombosis
31. Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he issues to air travellers concerning the risk of deep vein thrombosis. [19686]
Jacqui Smith: The Department's "Advice on Travel Related Deep Vein Thrombosis" was published on 30 November. It has been sent to airlines and will be made available to the public through the health services, the internet, the airlines and NHS Direct.
The advice provides information about deep vein thrombosis and gives practical advice about how air passengers on long haul flights may reduce the risk of getting a blood clotting condition. In particular it describes simple in-seat exercises which should be recommended to all air passengers.
Health Statistics
33. Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to collect and publish regular statistical information on the general state of health of the population. [19688]
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Jacqui Smith: The Department commissions a range of surveys designed to provide regular information on various aspects of the nation's health which cannot be obtained from other sources. It is our normal practice to publish the results of all such surveys. These will be available in the Library and on the departmental website.
Anti-impotence Drugs
34. Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the prescribing of anti-impotence drugs on the NHS. [19689]
Jacqui Smith: Earlier this year we held a public consultation about the arrangements governing eligibility for impotence treatments on the national health service. Expenditure on impotence treatments, at £25 million a year, is above what we expected and continues to increase. We concluded that the extra cost of allowing unrestricted prescribing might involve diversion of funds from other NHS priorities. Therefore we decided to maintain the restrictions introduced on 1 July 1999. To maintain a consistent approach the new drug treatment, Uprima, has been subject to the same restrictions since 1 November 2001.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
36. Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding the chairman of Worcestershire acute hospital trust. [19691]
Mr. Hutton: Two parliamentary questions regarding the chairman of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust were raised recently by the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Luff).
The National Health Service Appointments Commission was established on 1 April 2001 to take over from Ministers the responsibility for appointing, training and appraising chairs and non-executives to the boards of national health service trusts, health authorities and primary care trusts. This includes responsibility for matters relating to resignation of individuals from board positions.
Care Home Beds
37. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care home beds there were in (a) December 2000 and (b) December 2001. [19692]
Jacqui Smith: The main statistical collections on care home beds relate to 31 March each year. There were 539,200 care home beds at 31 March 2000 and 528,000 at 31 March 2001. The Department is currently collecting information on the number of care beds at 30 November 2001. Data on care home beds are requested by local capacity planning groups (that is aggregated at health authority level) as part of work to plan winter capacity. Details including proformas, can be found on the internet at http://www.doh.cov.uk/capacityplanning/capplan.htm
CT and MRI Scanners
38. Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria will be used to distribute the next 50 CT and MRI scanners. [19693]
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Jacqui Smith: Criteria for the distribution of the 50 CT and 50 MRI scanners announced in the NHS Cancer Plan have yet to be decided.
However, databases of current equipment and regional provision as well as local information, such as the cancer networks facilities and equipment strategies, will be used to help formulate criteria for allocation.
York Health NHS Trust
39. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many York Health NHS Trust beds were occupied on average on each day of the last month for which figures are available by patients awaiting discharge to a nursing or residential care home. [19694]
Jacqui Smith: Data are not collected in the format requested. The table shows the number of York Health National Health Service Trust beds occupied by patients awaiting discharge to a nursing home or residential care home at the end of each seven day period during November 2001.
| Seven days ending | Awaiting public funding or residential/nursing home placement |
|---|---|
| 4 November 2001 | 35 |
| 11 November 2001 | 33 |
| 18 November 2001 | 31 |
| 25 November 2001 | 28 |
Edgware Hospital
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about progress on services at the new hospital at Edgware. [19687]
Mr. Hutton: Clearing the site of the new hospital has been completed. Invitations to tender for the building of the new hospital have been invited by 21 December.
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