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Suicides
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing the mortality rate from suicide since his target was set. [35499]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 12 February 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 23 October 2001, Official Report, column 147W.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a date has been set to launch the suicide prevention strategy. [35506]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 12 February 2002]: We expect to publish a draft national suicide prevention strategy for public consultation in spring 2002, followed by the final agreed strategy around July 2002.
Patient Consultants (Waiting Times)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 2001, Official Report, column 487W, on patient consultations, what recent research his Department has carried out on the average length of patient consultation times with (a) GPs and (b) hospital consultants; and what the findings were. [24430]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has not conducted any recent research on how long general practitioners or hospital consultants currently spend on consultations.
Children's National Service Framework
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has finished the timetable for the Children's National Service Framework; and if he will make a statement. [35494]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 12 February 2002]: The first part of the Children's National Service Framework, standards for children receiving acute/ hospital care, will be published this year. The timetable for the publication of the rest of NSF has not yet been finalised.
Asbestos
Mr. Sayeed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the relative health risks posed by (i) brown, (ii) blue and (iii) white varieties of asbestos. [35382]
Dr. Whitehead: I have been asked to reply.
13 Feb 2002 : Column 492W
The report of the research by HSE epidemiologists, "The Quantitative Risks of Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer in Relation to Asbestos Exposure", was published in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene on 1 December 2000. This paper evaluated the relative health risks of blue, brown and white asbestos. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.
Parliamentary Questions
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will answer the written question tabled by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak on 25 October, ref. 10662. [16170]
Jacqui Smith: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 28 November 2001, Official Report, column 973W.
Correspondence
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to provide an answer to the question from the hon. Member for Isle of Wight of 4 December 2001, Ref 20380. [35517]
Ms Blears: I replied to the hon. Member on 8 February 2002, Official Report, column 1237W.
Mrs. Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for Broxbourne will receive a reply to her letters of 12 October, 16 November, 12 December 2001 and 9 January 2002, relating to her constituent, Mrs. T. Shah of Cheshunt. [26778]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 14 January 2002]: A reply was sent on 29 January 2002.
Audiology Treatment
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients aged (a) 16 to 59, (b) 60 to 75 and (c) over 75 years were waiting for (i) hearing tests and (ii) other audiology treatment by (A) hospital trust and (B) health authority in each quarter for the last three years. [28845]
Jacqui Smith: Data on waiting times for hearing tests are not collected centrally.
Data are collected on the number of out-patients waiting over 13 weeks for 'audiological medicine'. These are shown in the table. These data are not collected in age-ranges.
Audiology in-patients are treated within the ear, nose and throat specialty. Data on the number of patients specifically waiting for audiology treatment within the ENT specialty are not collected centrally.
The "Action on ENT" initiative, which has been established as part of our modernisation strategy for the NHS, is improving access to ENT and audiology services. One element of the initiative focuses specifically on audiology, with the aim of spreading best practice to all audiology departments. Audiology departments are supported to re-design the way services are provided in order to improve access and reduce waiting times.
13 Feb 2002 : Column 493W
| March 2000 | June 2000 | September 2000 | December 2000 | March 2001 | June 2001 | September 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barking and Dagenham PCT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 9 |
| City and Hackney PCT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Central Manchester PCT | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Royal Surrey County and St. Luke's Hospitals NHS Trust | 8 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 32 | 34 |
| Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust | 260 | 144 | 192 | 303 | 288 | 377 | 435 |
| Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, University Hospital NHS Trust | 55 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Brighton Healthcare NHS Trust | 28 | 40 | 84 | 57 | 182 | 206 | 0 |
| Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 233 | 185 |
| Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust | 69 | 54 | 79 | 51 | 31 | 82 | 93 |
| Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospital NHS Trust | 3 | 17 | 11 | 17 | 11 | 19 | 104 |
| St. Mary's NHS Trust | 0 | 68 | 86 | 83 | 86 | 74 | 17 |
| St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust | 67 | 147 | 192 | 90 | 243 | 377 | 438 |
| King's College Hospital NHS Trust | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 39 | 0 |
| City and Hackney Community Services NHS Trust | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Southern Derbyshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Surrey Sussex healthcare NHS Trust | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North West London Hospitals NHS Trust | 9 | 39 | 22 | 14 | 22 | 28 | 32 |
| Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust | 113 | 141 | 137 | 109 | 76 | 106 | 120 |
| Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust | 0 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 15 | 35 | 37 |
13 Feb 2002 : Column 495W
13 Feb 2002 : Column 497W
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