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Surgical Instruments

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost of re-stocking with re-usable instruments for tonsillectomy following the hazard notice of October 2001. [32777]

Yvette Cooper: The estimated cost of re-stocking with re-usable instruments would have been no more than £1.4 million.

This estimate is based on 150 trusts undertaking tonsillectomy operations, with eight sets of instruments per trust at an average cost per set of £1,200. However, feedback from trusts indicates that a significant percentage of them have retained their original re-usable sets. Therefore, the actual figure may be much less.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he had with surgeons on the acceptability of the disposable instruments purchased for tonsillectomy in 2001. [32782]

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Yvette Cooper: The National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency undertook the procurement process with the support of the British Association of Otorhinolaryngolygists (BAO), whose members were regularly consulted about the acceptability and quality of the products.

In February 2001, all BAO members were invited to attend an inspection of the sample instruments that had been submitted. The feedback from this event was used to determine a shortlist of suppliers.

Instruments from short listed companies were used and evaluated by surgeons selected at random before final decisions were made about which products would be supplied.

Waiting Lists

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been waiting (a) more than six months and (b) more than 12 months for treatment in the 10 health authority areas that receive (i) the highest and (ii) the lowest weighted expenditure per head of population. [32963]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 4 February 2002]: For the reasons set out in the notes to the table, expenditure per head cannot be reliably compared between health authorities, nor necessarily be correlated with waiting times information.

The 10 health authorities with the highest and lowest expenditure per weighted head of population in 2000–01 are shown in the table. The numbers of people waiting for more than six and 12 months for in-patient and for out-patient treatment are shown both as total numbers waiting and also as the numbers waiting per 1,000 head of weighted population.

Health authorities with highest expenditure per capita

		Number of patients waiting for in-patient treatment
Name	Expend per capita (£)	Over six months	Per 1,000 head of weighted population	Over 12 months	Per 1,000 head of weighted population
Morecambe Bay HA	1,346.04	1,085	3.44	112	0.36
Camden and Islington HA	1,067.88	1,147	2.28	236	0.47
Sefton HA	1,040.25	1,811	6.06	385	1.29
Dorset HA	1,023.69	47	0.07	11	0.02
Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster HA	1,011.24	838	1.66	92	0.18
Bromley HA	971.74	1,913	6.54	301	1.03
Barnet HA	959.87	1,298	3.93	217	0.66
East Surrey HA	958.66	3,009	7.89	874	2.29
Sheffield HA	956.59	1,868	3.26	57	0.10
Croydon HA	925.44	2,145	6.55	625	1.91

Health authorities with lowest expenditure per capita

		Number of patients waiting for in-patient treatment
Name	Expend per capita (£)	Over six months	Per 1,000 head of weighted population	Over 12 months	Per 1,000 head of weighted population
Stockport HA	759.28	1,389	4.96	192	0.69
Solihull HA	756.17	473	2.44	17	0.09
Buckinghamshire HA	755.09	3,419	5.60	681	1.12
Hillingdon HA	753.76	987	3.98	200	0.81
St. Helens and Knowsley HA	749.06	1,782	4.72	329	0.87
West Pennine HA	746.22	1,939	4.02	279	0.58
North Derbyshire HA	744.33	1,649	4.53	35	0.10
East Lancashire HA	740.66	2,405	4.28	91	0.16
County Durham And Darlington HA	738.32	1,852	2.76	23	0.03
Wigan and Bolton HA	732.65	2,638	4.29	395	0.64

Notes:

1. In many health authorities there are factors which distort the expenditure per head. These include:

the health authority acting in a lead capacity to commission health care or fund training on behalf of other health bodies;

asset revaluations in NHS trusts being funded through health authorities; and

some double counting of expenditure between health authorities and primary care trusts within the health authority area.

Allocations per weighted head of population provide a much more reliable measure to identify differences between funding of health authorities.

2. Expenditure is taken from health authority and primary care trust summarisation forms which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total spent by the health authority and by the primary care trusts within each health authority area. The majority of General Dental Services expenditure is not included in the health authority or primary care trust accounts and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board.

3. Health authorities and primary care trusts should account for their expenditure on a gross basis. This results in an element of double counting where one body acts as the main commissioner and is then reimbursed by other bodies. The effect of this double counting within the answer cannot be identified.

Sources:

Health authority summarisation forms 2000–01

Primary care trust summarisation schedules 2000–01

Weighted population estimates 2000–01

QF01/QMO8R Waiting times data quarterly returns, end March 2001

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Maternity Units

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the size of maternity units in the NHS. [32965]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 4 February 2002]: The national health service provides care for women during pregnancy and childbirth in various types and sizes of maternity units. This will vary from large units in hospitals to small midwife led units. It is for local health authorities, trusts and communities to decide on the pattern of service provision taking into account the needs of local service users, evidence of effectiveness and available resources.

Emergency Services (Pay and Conditions)

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the pay and conditions of control room staff in the (a) ambulance, (b) police and (c) fire services under the new combined working arrangements. [33052]

Ms Blears [holding answer 4 February 2002]: The pay and conditions of ambulance control room staff will continue to be determined in accordance with national health service pay arrangements. For staff on national contracts, negotiations on pay for 2002–03 will start shortly.

Employment arrangements for staff working in the police and fire services are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions respectively.

Herceptin

Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement relating to the availability to patients in the west midlands of Herceptin prior to the publication of NICE guidance. [33535]

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Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales have asked the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to appraise Herceptin for the treatment of advanced breast cancer, and to issue guidance on its use to the national health service in England and Wales. NICE expects to issue guidance on Herceptin in spring 2002.

Data on the number of health authorities in England and Wales currently authorising the use of Herceptin are not collected. However, as with all newly licensed treatments in advance of a NICE appraisal, the Department's advice is that funding authorities should consider the clinical evidence available for a specific treatment before making any decision.

Care Workers

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to train care workers to NVQ level 2 standard as set out in the domiciliary care standards; and if he will make a statement. [34435]

Jacqui Smith: Provision has been made in the personal social services standard spending assessment (PSS SSA) in 2002–03 and 2003–04 for the training of care workers to NVQ level 2 standard as set out in the draft domiciliary care standards. The PSS SSA is unhypothecated, and it is for individual councils to consider how much to spend on this training in the light of local circumstances.

Clozophine

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time has been for schizophrenic patients who have been prescribed clozophine to receive the drug in the last six months. [34018]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.

7 Feb 2002 : Column 1173W

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