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"The Bulletin"
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the leaflet "The Bulletin" issued to general practitioners has cost since its inception. [34140]
Mr. Hutton: Currently the GP Bulletin is circulated to all general practitioners in England. Around 50 per cent. of GPs receive "The Bulletin" electronically, the remainder receive it by hard copy distribution.
14 Feb 2002 : Column 675W
Since its inception the Department has issued seven editions of "The Bulletin", each edition costing around £43,768 (value added tax inclusive). The cost will vary slightly with size.
The Department is conscious of the cost of hard copy distribution. Future editions will be circulated electronically, reducing the cost of distribution approximately to £21,000 (VAT inclusive).
Complaints Procedure
Mr. Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a right of appeal for a patient against a decision made by an internal NHS inquiry following a complaint against a medical practitioner; and if he will make a statement. [34142]
14 Feb 2002 : Column 676W
Mr. Hutton: The national health service complaints procedure already contains an independent review element if a complainant is not happy with the initial response to their complaint at local resolution. A complainant also has the option of complaining to the health service ombudsman if they are not happy with the response of the NHS to their complaint.
District Nurses
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district nurses there are per head of population in each health authority in the north-west. [34075]
Ms Blears [holding answer 7 February 2002]: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Whole-time equivalents | Per 100,000 population | Headcount | Per 100,000 population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North-west total | 1,610 | 20 | 1,960 | 30 |
| QC1 South Lancashire HA | 80 | 20 | 90 | 30 |
| QC2 Liverpool HA | 120 | 30 | 150 | 30 |
| QC3 Manchester HA | 120 | 30 | 140 | 30 |
| QC4 Morecambe Bay HA | 70 | 20 | 80 | 30 |
| QC5 St. Helen's and Knowsley HA | 50 | 10 | 50 | 10 |
| QC6 Salford and Trafford HA | 100 | 20 | 120 | 30 |
| QC7 Sefton HA | 50 | 20 | 70 | 20 |
| QC8 Stockport HA | 110 | 40 | 150 | 50 |
| QC9 West Pennine HA | 110 | 20 | 130 | 30 |
| QCT Bury and Rochdale HA | 110 | 30 | 140 | 30 |
| QCV North Cheshire HA | 130 | 40 | 150 | 50 |
| QCW South Cheshire HA | 130 | 20 | 180 | 30 |
| QCX East Lancashire HA | 150 | 30 | 190 | 40 |
| QCY North West Lancashire HA | 90 | 20 | 100 | 20 |
| QDA Wigan and Bolton HA | 140 | 20 | 160 | 30 |
| QDC Wirral HA | 50 | 20 | 60 | 20 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
3. Figures exclude learners and agency staff.
Sources:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Accident and Emergency Units
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on trends in waiting times in accident and emergency units since 1997. [34861]
Ms Blears: We are committed to reducing waiting times in accident and emergency departments. The NHS Plan set the target to reduce the maximum wait in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge to four hours by 2004.
Over 12-hour trolley waits have been reduced by over 50 per cent. since 1999 and over 24-hour waits have been virtually eliminated. The NHS is on track to meet the four-hour target, currently 77 per cent. of all accident and emergency attenders spend four hours or less in accident and emergency.
Negligence Claims
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated to meet medical negligence claims in 2002–03. [35239]
Ms Blears: The budget allocated for clinical negligence for 2002–03 is £403.276 million.
This can be found in the Health Authorities Revenue Resource Limits Exposition book, which was published in December 2001, copies of which are available in the Library.
Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford
Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for a first appointment with a consultant at Broomfield hospital, Chelmsford, Essex in June (a) 1999, (b) 2000 and (c) 2001. [34851]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested for numbers of patients waiting 13 weeks or more for a first appointment for Mid Essex Hospital Services national health service trust is shown in the table.
Separate figures for Broomfield hospital are unavailable.
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| Month | Number |
|---|---|
| June 1999 | 3,284 |
| June 2000 | 3,212 |
| June 2001 | 2,146 |
Source: QM08 quarterly return waiting times collection.
Patient Deaths (Hospital Transfers)
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients died (a) in transfer between hospitals and (b) in NHS transport to hospital in the last year for which information is available, broken down by (i) the health authority responsible for the transport involved, (ii) the length of journey by distance, (iii) the condition for which treatment was to be provided and (iv) the type of transport involved. [34764]
Ms Blears [holding answer 8 February 2002]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
NHS Direct Nurse Advisers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) nature and (b) length is of the specialist training for NHS Direct nurse advisers on (i) self-harm and (ii) suicide. [35497]
Ms Blears: [holding answer 12 February 2002]: All NHS direct nurse advisers are qualified nurses with several years of front-line experience. They receive a supplementary three-day intensive programme of training to develop their competence in the identification of mental health problems over the telephone which includes assessment of risk of self-harm or suicide. In addition, they are given on-site supervision by a senior mental health nurse; they utilise an interactive CD Rom based training package designed to enhance their general knowledge and understanding of mental health issues, and they attend regular refresher courses.
Community Hospitals (Kent)
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of outpatients from the Kent and Canterbury hospital are being treated in community hospitals; [35400]
- (2) what proportion of outpatients from the East Kent health authority area are being treated at the Faversham Cottage hospital; [35398]
(3)what proportion of outpatients in the East Kent health authority area are being treated in community hospitals. [35399]
Ms Blears [holding answer 12 February 2002]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Eastbourne District General Hospital
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled at the Eastbourne District General Hospital in each of the last 60 months for which figures are available. [36243]
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Ms Blears: Data on cancelled operations were not collected by National Health Service Trust prior to this year (2001–02). The information is available only for quarters and the figures for Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust are shown in the table.
| Quarter | Last minute cancellations for non clinical reasons |
|---|---|
| 1 | 63 |
| 2 | 85 |
Source:
D of H forms—QMNG
Data on cancelled operations were previously provided at health authority level. That information is available in the Library.
Commission for Health Improvement
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the 2000–01 annual report of the Commission for Health Improvement will be published. [37197]
Ms Hutton: The combined annual report and accounts "Holding a mirror up to ourselves" is being published today and copies have been placed in the Library.
Correspondence
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for North-East Derbyshire which was acknowledged on 7 December, reference P0000821. [36040]
Ms Blears: A reply was sent to my hon. Friend on 13 February.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he will reply to the letter to him dated 3 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J Titterington; [14369]
- (2) further to his holding reply, if he will explain the reason for his delay in replying to the letter to him dated 3 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J. Titterington. [16245]
Ms Blears: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend's letter of 3 October regarding his constituent Mr. Titterington on 19 November. I apologise for the delay in replying to my right hon. Friend's letter. The initial draft reply did require amendments and there was also a need to liaise with the Home Office due to the subject area.
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