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Consultants Contracts

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in his negotiations over NHS consultants' contracts, including the proposed seven year commitment to whole-time NHS work; and if he will make a statement. [41378]

Mr. Hutton: Our proposals for the new consultant contract were published in February 2001 and these, alongside the British Medical Association's own proposals, form the basis of continuing negotiations

The proposals envisage that for an initial period, perhaps seven years, the terms of the contract would prevent newly appointed consultants engaging in similar work outside the national health service whether the individual is employed on a full-time or part-time basis. This is designed to maximise consultants' contribution to the NHS, but not to prevent doctors from working part-time if they wish to do so.

Child Protection

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure adequate funding of area child protection committees; and if he will make a statement. [41938]

Jacqui Smith: Area child protection committee (ACPC) expenditure, and administrative and policy support, is a matter for local agreement. As a multi- agency forum, the ACPC should be supported in its work by its main constituent agencies, reflecting the investment of each agency in activities which are of benefit to all, in particular inter-agency training.

East Riding and Hull Health Authority

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many posts will be made redundant when the East Riding and Hull health authority is terminated. [41377]

Jacqui Smith: No decision has yet been taken on this issue.

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Arrangements are being made for staff to be transferred to strategic health authorities until such time as their futures are determined.

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of constructing the East Riding and Hull health authority HQ in Willerby. [41371]

Jacqui Smith: The cost of constructing the East Riding and Hull health authority HQ in Willerby in 1993 was £3.4 million.

Intermediate Care (Adur/Worthing/Arun PCT)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Adur/Worthing/Arun PCT has not qualified for additional allocations from the intermediate care investment programme. [42212]

Ms Blears: There was a joint bid from Worthing and Southlands and Worthing, Adur and Arun primary care groups for intermediate care capital. This bid, to provide 25 dedicated overnight beds and 10 day places for assessment and care is currently being developed.

Cancelled Operations

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancelled operations there were in the last two years in each hospital trust in England. [7606]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 15 October 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the hon. Member to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.

Data on the number of operations cancelled at the last minute are placed in the Library. Data on the number of last minute cancelled operations by national health service trust were not collected until April 2001, prior to this, data were collected on last minute cancelled operations within each health authority.

A cancellation is counted as 'last minute' when the operation is cancelled on, or after, the day the patient is due to be admitted to hospital, for non-medical reasons.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his definition is of operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons. [42306]

Mr. Hutton: Operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons include any operation cancelled by the hospital except where the patient is not medically fit for surgery or where surgery would no longer be medically appropriate at the scheduled time.

Clinical Decisions

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with representatives of healthcare professionals on the impact of Government targets on clinical decision- making. [36520]

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Mr. Hutton [holding answer 26 February 2002]: Ministers in the Department regularly meet representatives of the health care professions to discuss all aspects of the Government's strategy for investment and reform in the national health service.

Mixed Sex Wards

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts have applied for extra funding to implement the Department's policy of partitioning hospital wards to ensure non-mixed sex wards; and if he will make a statement as to the level of the financial settlement received by individual authorities and name those authorities in receipt of this extra funding. [42263]

Ms Blears: Guidance on maintaining privacy and dignity was first issued to the service in 1997 and the date for achieving single sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of trusts is December 2002.

Trusts are expected to use their centrally allocated funding, including block allocation for building improvements, by prioritisation of their resources over that period of time. No extra funding programme exists and it is for trusts to manage their capital to address these issues.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for Wyre Forest (Dr. Taylor) on 26 February 2002, Official Report, column 1077W, if he will make a statement on the progress being made to reach the target of eliminating mixed sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of national health service trusts by December. [42359]

Ms Blears: The national health service is continuing to work to the target to eliminate mixed sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of national health service trusts by December 2002.

On-going monitoring of progress continues to ensure that the target date is met.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer given on 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 763W, if he will define the meaning of partitioning in mixed-sex wards in hospitals. [42360]

Ms Blears: Partitioning can be used to divide wards into bays as a means of achieving an acceptable method of protecting patients' privacy and dignity.

To ensure that they provide adequate physical separation, sound reduction and visual privacy the partition must be permanent, rigid and fixed to the building structure.

A mobile privacy screen alone is not an acceptable solution to enhancing privacy and dignity for the patient.

"NHS Plan News"

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost is of producing and distributing "NHS Plan News"; and how many copies were distributed. [42307]

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Mr. Hutton: The cost of producing and distributing "NHS Plan News" was £800,000 a year for four quarterly issues. This is a cost of 0.2p per copy. Approximately, one million copies per edition were distributed.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his plans are to replace "NHS Plan News". [42368]

Mr. Hutton: As part of the continuous drive for effectiveness and value for money in its communications the Department is currently seeking proposals from commercial organisations about partnership arrangements to produce a regular publication for NHS staff. A commercial tendering process is under way. Any contract awarded as a result of this will be duly announced.

Brighton Health Care NHS Trust

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many formal complaints have been received by the Brighton Health Care NHS trust in each of the last five years. [42284]

Ms Blears: Information on complaints received by national health service trusts is contained in "Handling Complaints: Monitoring the NHS Complaints Procedures" statistical report. Copies are available in Library.

Ambulances

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance has been provided to hospital trusts from his Department for requiring NHS patients to pay for private ambulance services for transfer between hospitals to obtain specialist treatment within the NHS; and on what basis NHS ambulances will not be provided. [42278]

Ms Blears: In 1991, guidance was issued to the national health service which set out eligibility for transport (HSG(91)29 issued in 1991 with booklet "Ambulance and other patient transport services"). A copy is in the Library. The guidance states that if a patient has a medical need for transport as determined by the clinician in charge of their case, then transport should be provided free of charge, as part of NHS treatment. Medical need for non-emergency patient transport must be determined locally by a clinician and will depend on the medical condition of the patient, the availability of private or public transport and distance to be travelled. The principle applied is that a patient should be able to reach hospital in a reasonable time, in reasonable comfort, without detriment to their medical condition. Transport may be provided by either a NHS ambulance trust or other private or voluntary organisation.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from the Brighton Healthcare NHS Trust about shortage of funds restricting availability of ambulances to transfer NHS patients to alternative hospitals for treatment. [42280]

Ms Blears: There has not been any restriction placed on the use of ambulance services at Brighton Health Care NHS Trust by the Surrey Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SAST). In agreement with Brighton Health Care, an additional dedicated routine services ambulance has been

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made available since 1 February 2002, controlled by Brighton Health Care, to assist with transfers and discharges. This operates from 09.30 to 18.30 daily.

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