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Operating Theatres
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to monitor health and safety standards in operating theatres. [25358]
Ms Blears: The statutory responsibility for managing health and safety, including operating theatres, lies with the chief executive of a national health service trust.
The Department has introduced controls assurance standards as part of performance management arrangements. There are 21 controls assurance standards including a health and safety standard, medical devices standard, infection control standard and a decontamination of medical devices standard.
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The controls assurance health and safety management standard requires that individual departments have health and safety policies, which address their own specific health and safety concerns.
NHS trusts are required to undertake risk assessment and the implementation of action plans against criteria defined in the controls assurance standards. NHS trusts must include a controls assurance statement in their annual report.
NHS Staff Budget
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total staffing budget of the NHS was in financial year 2000–01 (a) as an actual figure and (b) as a percentage of the total NHS Budget; and what the equivalent estimates are for (a) and (b) in the NHS Budget for 2001–02. [26595]
Mr. Hutton: Finalised figures for 2000–01 are not yet available. Provisional figures show that the hospital and community health service paybill in 2000–01 is £20.4 billion. This is 46 per cent. of the estimated net national health service expenditure in 2000–01 (£44.6 billion).
Our estimate of the HCHS paybill in 2001–02 is £22.7 billion. This is 46 per cent. of the planned expenditure for the NHS in 2001–02 (£48.8 billion).
Revenue Support Grant
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the category and amount of each item of funding outside the revenue support grant which his Department made available to (a) Westminster and (b) Kensington and Chelsea in (i) 2000–01 and (ii) 2001–02. [26246]
Mr. Hutton: The table lists the category and amount of funding outside the revenue support grant which the Department made available to Westminster in 2000–01 and 2001–02.
| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|
| AIDS Support Grant | 798 | 547 |
| Mental Health Grant | 930 | 1,088 |
| Training Support Programme | 319 | 355 |
| Partnership Grant(36) | 1,500 | — |
| Prevention Grant(36) | 222 | — |
| Promoting Independence Grant(36) | — | 1,979 |
| Carers' Grant | 384 | 554 |
| Children's Grant | 1,234 | 3,216 |
| Improving Information Management Grant(37) | — | 16,666 |
| Deferred Payments Grant(37) | — | 32 |
| Young People's Substance Misuse Planning Grant(37) | — | 51 |
| Building Care Capacity Grant(37) | — | 422 |
| Supplementary credit approvals: | ||
| Mental Health | 50 | 0 |
| AIDS/HIV | 414 | 300 |
(36) The Partnership and Prevention Grants were amalgamated into the Promoting Independence Grant from 2001–02
(37) The grants commenced in 2001–02
The table lists the category and amount of funding outside the revenue support grant which the Department made available to Kensington and Chelsea in 2000–01 and 2001–02.
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| 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|
| Aids Support Grant | 816 | 592 |
| Mental Health Grant | 780 | 891 |
| Training Support Grant | 204 | 195 |
| Partnership Grant(38) | 1,002 | — |
| Prevention Grant(38) | 157 | — |
| Promoting Independence Grant(38) | — | 1,324 |
| Carers' Grant | 270 | 393 |
| Children's Grant | 916 | 2,390 |
| Improving Information Management Grant(39) | — | 16,666 |
| Deferred Payments Grant(39) | — | 26 |
| Young People's Substance Misuse Planning Grant(39) | — | 37 |
| Building Care Capacity Grant(39) | — | 265 |
| Supplementary credit approvals: | ||
| Mental Health | 0 | 350 |
| AIDS/HIV | 0 | 0 |
(38) The Partnership and Prevention Grants were amalgamated into the Promoting Independence Grant from 2001–02
(39) The grants commenced in 2001–02
Strategic Health Authorities
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the anticipated costs are of early retirement associated with the establishment of strategic health authorities. [26612]
Mr. Hutton: The current re-organisation of the national health service involves a significant movement of staff. However, all staff are guaranteed employment until 2003. With this in mind, it is too early to indicate levels (and therefore costs) of early retirement resulting from the forthcoming structural changes.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the anticipated annual saving to the NHS budget is of replacing existing health authorities with the proposed strategic health authorities. [26598]
Mr. Hutton: Strategic health authorities will not be replacing the existing 95 health authorities. Existing health authorities will be disestablished at the end of March and the vast majority of their functions transferred to primary care trusts. Strategic health authorities will have a new role: one of strategic development and performance management. However, the reductions in bureaucracy made as a result of the whole reform programme will lead over time to annual savings of £100 million.
NHS Directors (Early Retirement)
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many executive directors of NHS trusts and health authorities were allowed to retire early in financial year 2000–01; and what cost this represented to the NHS Budget. [26596]
Mr. Hutton: The national health service does not hold details of the number of executive directors who were allowed to retire early in 2000–01, or the cost to the NHS Budget. However, the total compensation for loss of office paid in respect of all NHS directors in trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities, both executive and non-executive, was £3,652,000 for 2000–01.
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Surgical Staff
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what new recruitment initiatives he plans to rectify the shortfall in surgeons in England; what assessment he has made of the feasibility of widening access to training programmes; what expenditure has been allocated to rectify the shortfall; by what date he expects the shortfall to be redressed; and if he will make a statement; [26098]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the shortfall in surgical staff in England. [26097]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Plan work force numbers targets, updated in the Government's manifesto, provide the staff needed to deliver the NHS Plan up until 2005. International recruitment of medical staff including surgical staff is being taken forward to help deliver these targets.
Increases in national health service staffing are funded from the general allocation to the NHS and for staff in training from the multi professional education and training budget. Spending plans beyond 2002–03 are currently being finalised as part of SR2002.
Our current supply projections expect an increase of around 1,320 trained specialists to be available to take up surgical consultant posts by 2009–10. This reflects increases in the numbers of doctors in higher specialist training in surgery as a result of the NHS Plan. Projections to 2009–10 suggest an increasing gap between supply and demand may emerge without further action. We continually review future work force needs as part of our national work force planning processes and take action accordingly to address any shortfalls. This action includes increasing numbers in training but also modernising roles and developing new ways of working for doctors alongside other staff.
Paramedics/Hospital Staff (Assaults)
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults there have been on paramedics and hospital staff in each year since 1997 in (a) the UK, (b) the north-east and (c) South Tyneside. [26040]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the levels of violent incidents by individual staff group is not collected centrally, but may be held at a local level by national health service employers. Data on violent incidents involving all staff in the NHS were not collected centrally for 1997–98.
The Department conducted a survey of NHS trusts in England in 1998–99. The survey found that, on average, seven violent incidents were recorded each month per 1,000 staff. This is equivalent to approximately 65,000 violent incidents against NHS trust staff each year. Details of the survey can be found in Health Service Circular 1999/229: "Managing Violence, Accidents and Sickness Absence in the NHS", a copy of which is in the Library. Figures for recorded violent incidents in 2000–01 are currently being analysed by the Department.
The number of reported violent incidents for South Tyneside Health Care NHS Trust and for the North-East Ambulance Service NHS Trust is shown in the table.
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| Calendar Year | Violent incidents |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 27 |
| 1998 | 114 |
| 1999 | 326 |
| 2000 | 558 |
| 2001 | 401 |
| Financial Year | Violent incidents |
|---|---|
| 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 | 39 |
| 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 | 66 |
| 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 | 142 |
| 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 | 201 |
| 1 April 2001 to 31 December 2001(40) | 188 |
(40) To date
The increase in reported violent incidents by staff is as a result of both on-going local and national campaigns to tackle violence against staff working in the NHS. The reduction in reported violence in 2001 is however a more meaningful comparison, indicating an actual reduction in violent incidents over that 12 month period.
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