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Respiratory and Circulatory Disease (Easington)

Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the Easington Primary Care Group area suffer from respiratory and circulatory illnesses as a percentage of (a) the local population and (b) the population covered by the Durham health authority. [26770]

Jacqui Smith: Between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2001, approximately 5,700 patients from Easington were admitted to hospital with respiratory or circulatory diseases, representing 5.8 per cent. of the local population and 0.9 per cent. of the population covered by County Durham and Darlington health authority.

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Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients suffer from diabetes in the Easington Primary Care Group area as a percentage of (a) the local population and (b) the population covered by the Durham health authority. [26771]

Jacqui Smith: Local registers indicate that 2,630 patients from Easington currently suffer from diabetes, representing 2.7 per cent. of the local population and 0.4 per cent. of the population covered by County Durham and Darlington health authority.

Care Home Beds (Buckinghamshire)

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds were available in Buckinghamshire in the care home sector between 1997 and 2001. [27119]

Jacqui Smith: The table shows the number of places in residential care homes and registered beds in nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics in the Buckinghamshire area between 1997 and 2001.

Residential places⁽²⁷⁾ and registered nursing beds in the Buckinghamshire area⁽²⁸⁾ in 1997 and 2001Number

At 31 March	Places in residential care homes	Registered nursing beds in nursing homes(29),(30)
1997	2,438	1,735
1998	3,253	2,054
1999	3,383	1,966
2000	3,399	1,896
2001	3,426	1,951

⁽²⁷⁾ Excludes places in children's homes.

⁽²⁸⁾ Information is presented for the area represented by the county of Buckinghamshire prior to local government re-organisation on 1 April 1998. Figures for 31 March 1999 onwards relate to the unitary authority of Milton Keynes and the reduced shire county area of Buckinghamshire.

⁽²⁹⁾ Registered beds in general and mental nursing homes, hospitals and clinics. Information is presented on nursing beds for the Buckinghamshire health authority (which equates to the former county of Buckinghamshire prior to local government re-organisation).

⁽³⁰⁾ Information for registered nursing beds in 1997 relates to the period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997.

Source:

Department of Health's annual returns

Migraine

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include migraine in the new NHS framework for long-term neurological conditions. [26953]

Jacqui Smith: Detailed decisions about the scope and content of the national service framework for long-term conditions have not yet been made, other than outlining that it will draw out some of the common issues faced by people with a long-term condition, and also pay particular attention to specific neurological diseases.

We held a scoping workshop on the 12 November 2001 attended by patients and service users, national health service professionals, NHS managers, social care professionals, and representatives from voluntary organisations and other Government Departments.

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Tees Health Authority

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting (a) more than six months and (b) more than 12 months for in-patient treatment in the Tees health authority area in (i) December 1996 and (ii) December 2001. [26738]

Jacqui Smith: Information relating to in-patient waiting times in Tees health authority is shown in the table. Data relating to December 2001 are not yet available so the most recent published data has been given.

	Number of patients waiting:
	over 6 months	over 12 months
As at December 1996	2,712	10
As at November 2001	2,408	66

Mental Health (Children)

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many school-age children from ethnic minority communities suffer from mental health problems; and if he will make a statement. [26737]

Jacqui Smith: A survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain was carried out in 1999 by the Office for National Statistics on behalf of the Department of Health, the Scottish Health Executive and the National Assembly for Wales.

Nearly 10 per cent. of white children and 12 per cent. of black children were assessed as having a mental health problem whereas the prevalence rates among Asian children were 8 per cent. of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi children and 4 per cent. of the Indian children.

Despite the large number of interviews achieved in this survey, ethnic differences are difficult to interpret because of the small numbers in the sample who regarded themselves as belonging to particular ethnic groups. Nevertheless, Indian children, particularly girls, seem to have far lower rates of mental disorder than both white or black children.

Mental health services for children will be part of the Children's National Service Framework. Part of the remit of the framework will be to tackle problems surrounding access and inequality, which can particularly affect people from ethnic minorities.

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision exists for school-age children who suffer from mental health problems (a) in the UK and (b) in the Teesside area; and if he will make a statement. [26739]

Jacqui Smith: The responsibility for the provision of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in England lies with health authorities and local authorities. They are required to have joint development strategies which will ensure that a comprehensive range of services are available for children and young people.

We have an ongoing commitment to the improvement of CAMHS and it will be an important part of the Children's National Service Framework. We shall be working closely with the Department for Education and Skills when developing the CAMHS module of the

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National Service Framework. This is a major development and will safeguard the quality of child mental health services.

The Department for Education and Skills is developing a number of initiatives designed to help schools and teachers work with children with a range of emotional and behavioural needs. In June 2001 they issued their guidance "Promoting Children's Mental Health within Early Years and School Settings". This covers not only mental health problems faced by children but the approaches schools can take to promote children's mental health.

The framework for comprehensive service provision contained in "Promoting Children's Mental Health within Early Years and School Settings" sets out four service levels. Tier 1: a primary level provided by non-specialists, tier 2: a level provided by uni-professional groups, tier 3: a specialist service for more severe, complex and persistent disorders, and tier 4: tertiary services such as day units and in-patient units for older children and adolescents who are severely mentally ill or at suicide risk.

In Teesside, services for children with mental health problems requiring input at tiers 1 and 2 are provided through educational psychology service links with schools and school nurses. This ensures that the identified teachers link with locality CAMHS groups to ensure continuity.

At tier 3 psychiatrists, Grade A and B clinical psychologists and community psychiatric nurses from Tees and North East Yorkshire national health service trust's Roseberry Centre at Middlesbrough provide out-patient outreach services along with primary care link workers.

At tier 4, for children up to the age of 12 requiring in-patient care, the health authority utilises the Fleming Nuffield Unit at Newcastle. Children in the age group over 12 to 18 years have in-patient provision through the Roseberry Centre. If it is identified by clinicians that an adolescent requires a more secure environment because of behavioural presentation or offending behaviour, the adolescent forensic service at Newcastle is utilised.

Hospital Doctors (Criminal Convictions)

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will require hospital doctors registered as practitioners in England and Wales to disclose any criminal convictions they have in any jurisdiction. [26743]

Mr. Hutton: Department of Health circular Health Service Circular 2001–019 (Appointment Procedures for Hospital and Community Medical and Dental Staff) requires applicants for hospital and community medical and dental posts in the national health service in England to declare if they have ever been convicted of any criminal offence, bound over or cautioned in the United Kingdom or any other country. Employees already in post have a contractual duty to inform their employer if they are charged with a criminal offence.

Practitioners in Wales are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.

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