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NHS Census
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many responses to the NHS census he received from people living in the Buckingham constituency. [24860]
Ms Blears: There has been no national health service census. The acute trust patient survey is currently scheduled to take place between January and March 2002. The survey will be part of a programme that the Government are putting in place throughout England. Hospital trusts will carry out a specially designed patient survey programme to seek views on the patient experience.
Improving the experience of the individual patient is central to the NHS Plan. By finding out more, in this systematic manner, we will increase our knowledge of what patients need and expect from the NHS and how well the service responds to their needs and expectations.
Pharmacies
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community pharmacies in the Buckingham constituency (a) closed and (b) opened in each year since 1997. [24855]
Ms Blears: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Year | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 2 | 2 |
Source:
PHS1 return
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest percentage reduction of fees for community pharmacists for dispensing NHS prescriptions. [24708]
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Ms Blears [holding answer 8 January 2002]: The fees paid to community pharmacy contractors vary according to the item prescribed. The large majority of prescriptions attract a basic dispensing fee. From July 1999 to October 2001 that fee was 97.5p per prescription dispensed. In November 2001 it was changed to 87.4p. This represents a reduction of approximately 10.4 per cent.
The basic dispensing fee is one of a number of fees and allowances by which the global sum for community pharmacies is distributed between pharmacy contractors. The global sum is the amount to be paid to contractors overall in the year in question. The global sum for 2001–02 for England and Wales is £806.6 million, an increase of 3.7 per cent. over 2000–01.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the future of pharmacy within the national health service. [25534]
Ms Blears: Our programme for the future of pharmacy in the national health service in England was set out in "Pharmacy in the Future—Implementing the NHS Plan" published in September 2000, a copy of which is in the Library.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to pharmacists for the dispensing of prescriptions; how many prescriptions were dispensed; and what was the unit cost allowed for each prescription in each year from 1992 to 2001. [25536]
Ms Blears: Each year, a figure (known as the global sum) is set for the remuneration to be paid to pharmacies overall in England and Wales for the national health service pharmaceutical services they provide.
The total remuneration to be paid in any given year is distributed through a system of fees and allowances, some of which relate directly to the number (and type) of prescriptions dispensed, some of which do not.
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For the years 1991–92 to 2000–01 (the latest year for which complete information is available), the table shows the global sum, the number of prescription items dispensed and the global sum expressed as an amount per prescription item.
| Year | Global sum (£ million) | Prescription items dispensed (million) | Global sum expressed as an amount per prescription item dispensed (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | 601.4 | 412.8 | 1.46 |
| 1992–93 | 631.1 | 429.4 | 1.47 |
| 1993–94 | 640.6 | 447.3 | 1.43 |
| 1994–95 | 655.3 | 462.2 | 1.42 |
| 1995–96 | 671.7 | 474.7 | 1.41 |
| 1996–97 | 692.7 | 487.9 | 1.42 |
| 1997–98 | 709.3 | 505.8 | 1.40 |
| 1998–99 | 730.6 | 518.3 | 1.41 |
| 1999–2000 | 755.1 | 535.7 | 1.41 |
| 2000–01 | 777.8 | 531.8 | 1.38 |
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to replace the global sum approach to the payment of pharmacists for dispensing NHS prescriptions. [25537]
Ms Blears: We have no current plans to replace the present global sum system.
Waiting Lists
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in the Buckinghamshire health authority area waited more than (a) three months, (b) six months, (c) nine months, (d) 12 months, (e) 15 months, (f) 18 months and (g) 24 months for (i) heart operations, (ii) cancer treatment and (iii) hip replacements in each year since 1997. [24850]
Ms Blears: The information requested is in the table.
| Time from referral for treatment to admission | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data year | Operation/condition | Up to 3 months | More than 3 months | More than 6 months | More than 9 months |
| 1997–98 | Diagnosis of Cancer (ICD10 C00 to D48) | 5,962 | 668 | 310 | 198 |
| 1998–99 | Diagnosis of Cancer (ICD10 C00 to D48) | 5,994 | 835 | 452 | 268 |
| 1999–2000 | Diagnosis of Cancer (ICD10 C00 to D48) | 6,377 | 793 | 337 | 181 |
| 2000–01 | Diagnosis of Cancer (ICD10 C00 to D48) | 5,595 | 708 | 281 | 151 |
| 1997–98 | Heart operations (OPCS4 K01 to K71) | 651 | 192 | 94 | 47 |
| 1998–99 | Heart operations (OPCS4 K01 to K71) | 867 | 354 | 141 | 57 |
| 1999–2000 | Heart operations (OPCS4 K01 to K71) | 888 | 328 | 103 | 36 |
| 2000–01 | Heart operations (OPCS4 K01 to K71) | 831 | 536 | 174 | 93 |
| 1997–98 | Hip replacement (OPCS4 W37 to W39) | 137 | 276 | 194 | 108 |
| 1998–99 | Hip replacement (OPCS4 W37 to W39) | 130 | 331 | 221 | 137 |
| 1999–2000 | Hip replacement (OPCS4 W37 to W39) | 163 | 314 | 210 | 139 |
| 2000–01 | Hip replacement (OPCS4 W37 to W39) | 100 | 361 | 257 | 161 |
(28) The time spent waiting for admission is calculated for HES purposes as being the period elapsed from the initial decision to admit until the date that the patient is actually admitted. This takes no account of any periods when the patient may have been unavailable for admission, or may have been suspended from the waiting list for medical reasons. It is for this reason that this analysis apparently shows patients waiting over 15 months. The waiting time figures published by the Department of Health take these situations into account.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
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Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list NHS trusts by length of average waiting time (a) to see an orthopaedic specialist and (b) for a non-emergency orthopaedic operation. [25449]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
The in-patient average waiting time is calculated as the median time waited so far for patients who were on the trauma and orthopaedics in-patient waiting list at end September 2001, that is it looks at patients who are still waiting for treatment.
For out-patients, the total number of patients still waiting for a first out-patient appointment is not collected. As a result, the average is calculated using data for patients who have already been seen for their first out-patient appointment. Hence the average is calculated as the median waiting time of patients seen during Quarter 2 2001–02 for a first out-patient appointment in trauma and orthopaedics specialty following general practitioner referral.
The in-patient and out-patient averages are approximations only, particularly for trusts who see very few patients. It is difficult to accurately calculate the average.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list average accident and emergency waiting times by NHS trust for (a) triage and (b) definitive treatment in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [25450]
Ms Blears: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the NHS trusts in England where more than 10 per cent. of patients are suspended from the waiting list for an in-patient operation. [25491]
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Mr. Hutton: Trusts with a suspension rate of more than 10 per cent. are shown in the table.
| NHS Trusts with a suspension rate of over 10 per cent. | Suspension rate (percentage) |
|---|---|
| East Cheshire NHS Trust | 10.0 |
| Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust | 10.0 |
| Eastbourne and County Healthcare NHS Trust | 10.0 |
| Royal Devon and Exeter Healthcare NHS Trust | 10.0 |
| West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust | 10.1 |
| Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 10.2 |
| Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust | 10.3 |
| Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Trust | 10.3 |
| Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust | 10.4 |
| Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust | 10.5 |
| Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust | 10.5 |
| Rotherham General Hospitals NHS Trust | 10.6 |
| North Dorset PCT | 10.7 |
| Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust | 10.8 |
| Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust | 11.1 |
| Gloucestershire Royal NHS Trust | 11.2 |
| Greenwich Healthcare NHS Trust | 11.3 |
| Hastings and Rother NHS Trust | 11.4 |
| South West Dorset PCT | 11.4 |
| Harrogate Health Care NHS Trust | 11.6 |
| Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust | 11.9 |
| Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust | 13.0 |
| North West Anglia Healthcare NHS Trust | 13.1 |
| Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust | 13.4 |
| Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust | 13.4 |
| Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust | 13.9 |
| Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Trust | 15.1 |
| Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust | 16.0 |
| Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust | 16.1 |
| West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust | 16.2 |
| Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust | 16.3 |
| Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Community Health Services NHS Trust | 17.6 |
| Mental Health Services of Salford NHS Trust | 21.8 |
| South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust | 26.0 |
| Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust | 31.6 |
Source:
Department of Health forms KH07 and KH07A
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