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Health Authority Expenditure
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list health authorities by expenditure per weighted head in the last 12 months. [37378]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 450W.
HIV
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral statement of the Under-Secretary of State for Health, the hon. Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), of 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 732, what his policy is on recruitment of HIV-positive nurses to the NHS; and how many such nurses have been recruited. [30845]
Yvette Cooper: The national health service does not target developing countries for recruitment of nurses and no recruitment activity is planned in countries of sub-Saharan Africa, which have been hardest hit by the HIV epidemic. However, many developing countries have invited the UK to offer job opportunities to health care professionals, particularly to enhance their clinical practice and to benefit from further education and training in the NHS.
While the safety of patients is of paramount importance, it should be recognised that the procedures involved in most nursing duties do not pose a risk of HIV infection to patients, provided normal infection control precautions are observed. There have been no reported cases of HIV transmission from infected health care workers to patients in the UK.
Existing guidelines place health care workers who are or may be HIV infected under ethical and legal duties to protect the health and safety of their patients by seeking counselling and HIV testing if they believe they have been at risk of infection. If infected, they are required to seek and follow confidential occupational health advice about the need to modify or limit their working practices.
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Information on the numbers of HIV infected nurses working in the NHS is not held centrally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on HIV in the west midlands; and what measures are being taken to combat cases in Coventry. [37307]
Yvette Cooper: The west midlands regional surveillance system of HIV provides an accurate picture of the epidemiology of HIV infection in the west midlands in order to ensure appropriate targeting of preventative interventions and to monitor progress in tackling the epidemic.
I am advised that Coventry health authority has highly proactive educational, preventive and support programmes that work with individuals and their families and various target groups. The health authority works closely with national health service providers as well as the Terrence Higgins Trust and has a continuous programme of needs assessment in order to tailor the services to the changing epidemiology. Coventry also has a well established needle and syringe exchange scheme.
In terms of funding, in 2001–02, the west midlands received £7.7 million for HIV treatment and care and £4.3 million for HIV prevention. During the same period, Coventry health authority received £481,000 for HIV treatment and £268,000 for HIV prevention.
Hospital Virus Outbreak
David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to contain the outbreak of the virus at the Victoria Infirmary and the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow. [31336]
Ms Blears: This is a matter for the Scottish Executive. However, infection control is an issue that we take seriously and we are determined to ensure that there are universally robust infection control arrangements in place. This should ensure that all patients receive the level and quality of care they expect. National standards for infection control have been developed to be delivered in all national health service trusts in England. These are independently reviewed and monitored by both the Audit Commission and the Commission for Health Improvement.
NHS Operations (Europe)
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who pays the fares of patients travelling to Europe for NHS operations. [37939]
Mr. Hutton: Regulations have now come into force to amend the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988 to permit NHS bodies to pay for the travel of NHS patients going overseas for treatment funded by the NHS. Where patients travel abroad for treatment the NHS meets the cost of the patient's travel from the point at which they begin their international journey (the airport, ferry port or international train station) to the foreign provider. Reimbursement of travel expenses between the patient's home to the airport, ferry port or international train station are governed by the same rules that apply to payment of travelling expenses to hospitals in England. This change
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ensures that patients treated overseas under the auspices of the NHS are not disadvantaged by having to travel further for that treatment.
Empty Properties
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 6 February 2002, Official Report, column 1046W, what the area in square feet of the property is that has been empty since July 2000. [37895]
Ms Blears: The Glenthorne Youth Treatment Centre in Birmingham comprises of 6,954 m 2 of building space and 3.2 hectares of open ground.
NHS Operations (Private Sector)
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the value for money provided by private sector contracts to perform NHS operations. [35527]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 21 January 2002, Official Report, column 686W.
Unmarried Couples (Adoption)
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received regarding adoption by unmarried couples. [35528]
Jacqui Smith: Since the introduction of the Adoption and Children Bill on 19 October 2001, the Department has received representations regarding adoption by unmarried couples from BAAF Adoption and Fostering, three hon. Members and one private individual.
Road Traffic Incidents
Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of visits to accident and emergency departments in the last 12 months for which figures are available were by people injured in a road traffic accident, broken down by health authority; and what estimate he has made of the saving to the NHS which an (a) 5 per cent. (b) 10 per cent. and (c) 20 per cent. reduction in road traffic injury represents. [37461]
Ms Blears: The Department does not collect figures relating to accident and emergency department (A&E) attendances as a result of road traffic accidents. However, the number of in-patient admissions for traffic accidents via A&E departments are shown in the table.
The Department is able to recover the cost of treating those road traffic accident victims who go on to receive personal injury compensation. In 2000–01, hospitals in England recovered £67,001,618.
(3) An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year.
Notes:
1. The cause code is a supplementary code which indicates the nature of the condition.
2. Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
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