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Care Homes
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost has been to the East Riding of Yorkshire council for administrating the registration of care homes in the last 12 months. [32098]
Jacqui Smith: For 1999–2000, the latest year for which information is available, East Riding of Yorkshire council reported total gross expenditure on registration and inspection activities, other than inspection of under-8s, of £143,000. They reported that, of this, £76,000 was recovered in fees so that the net cost to them was £67,000.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) amount spent on funding care homes through local authorities and (b) the cost of care by region in 2001 was; and if he will make a statement. [33590]
Jacqui Smith: In 1999–2000 (the latest year for which data are available) £3.2 billion gross was spent on funding residential care homes through local authorities. The table gives a breakdown of this expenditure by region and client group.
Source: Form RO3, General Fund Services Revenue Account (Personal Social Services)
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to collect centrally the figures for survival rates following unplanned moves of care home residents from their care home; and if he will make a statement. [33593]
Jacqui Smith: Data on survival rates following unplanned moves of care home residents from their care home are not currently collected, and have not been prioritised for future collections.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many older people moved into care owing to reaching the cost ceiling for care in the home in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [33591]
Jacqui Smith: Data on the number of people moved into care as a result of reaching the cost ceiling for care at home are not collected centrally.
Councils with social services responsibilities should plan supported admissions to residential care in consultation with prospective residents and other interested parties. Final decisions should be based on a full consideration of assessed needs, agreed outcomes, the quality of care, and costs. The Department will be publishing guidance on this point shortly.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many older people are waiting for an assessment before being admitted to a care home in the Portsmouth area; and if he will make a statement. [33922]
Jacqui Smith: In September 2001 (the latest information available centrally) 25 people of all ages within the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire health authority area had their discharge from hospital delayed because they were awaiting an assessment of their future care needs. The assessment determines their future care needs, these may be met in a range of settings, including care homes or their own home.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many county council residential homes for the elderly there were in England in (a) 1990, (b) 1997 and (c) at the most recent date for which figures are available. [34571]
Jacqui Smith: Information on the number of local authority staffed residential care homes for older people 1 is shown in the table.
- 1 Includes local authority staffed care homes for elderly mentally infirm people.
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| At 31 March | Local authority staffed homes | Total places in local authority staffed homes |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2,480 | 103,600 |
| 1997 | 1,500 | 54,680 |
| 2001 | 1,190 | 41,830 |
Source:
Department of Health's annual returns
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nursing homes and (b) residential homes are (i) known to have conformed by 1 April 2001 and (ii) expected to conform by 1 April 2002 to the care home standards to be implemented on 1 April 2002; and what proportion they represent of all such homes. [34765]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 8 February 2002]: It will be for the National Care Standards Commission to decide in the particular circumstances of each individual home whether the home conforms to the standards necessary to meet the assessed needs of its residents. The standards were extensively consulted on and the Department has no evidence to suggest that large numbers of care homes will be unable to meet them. The Commission will form a more detailed picture of care homes' compliance with the national standards as it completes its first cycle of inspections of providers in England during 2002–03.
Hospital Infections
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he is taking to protect surgical patients from exposure to poisons; [32779]
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made to ensure total sterilisation of surgical instruments; and if he will make a statement. [32798]
Yvette Cooper: We have received advice from the Spongiform Encephalopathies Advisory Committee that a key factor in reducing the risk of person-to-person spread of vCJD during surgery is a high standard of decontamination of surgical instruments. This is confirmed by the Risk Assessment that we published on 16 March 2001.
Since October 2000, we have carried out a comprehensive survey of decontamination facilities and practices in the national health service in England, the
11 Feb 2002 : Column 137W
results of which we published on 11 December 2001. Those hospitals falling below the standard required were helped to produce action plans. As a result, all NHS acute hospitals in England now have access to satisfactory decontamination services.
The modernisation of NHS decontamination services is a long-term process, not a one-off event, and we will continue to ensure that appropriate precautions, based on evidence and scientific advice, are taken to ensure patient safety.
Hospices
Mr. Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what sums of money that have been recently announced for the hospice movement will be available to the private sector. [32549]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 1 February 2002]: Hospices are provided either by the voluntary sector or by the national health service.
In the NHS Cancer Plan we pledged that the NHS contribution to the costs of specialist palliative care (including voluntary sector hospices) would increase. By 2004 the NHS will invest an additional £50 million in specialist palliative care. This will match on a national basis the funding provided by the voluntary sector and will enable the NHS to increase their contribution to the costs hospices incur for agreed levels of services.
Disabled Parking
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many disabled parking spaces are available at North Durham University Hospital. [33495]
Jacqui Smith: The University Hospital of North Durham has 876 car parking spaces of which 32 are disabled bays.
Preventive Care
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding is given to preventive support for older people; what assessment has been made of required resources for intermediate care; and if he will make a statement. [33920]
Jacqui Smith: The NHS Plan announced an extra £900 million annually by 2003–04 for new intermediate care and related services to promote independence and improve quality of care for older people, together with targets for additional intermediate care beds and non- residential places and the number of people to benefit.
Full details are in the intermediate care circular Health Service Circular 2001/01:Local Authority Circular (2001)1 published in January last year, copies of which are available in the Library.
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