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Pancreatic Cancer
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review pancreatic cancer services in the north- west of England; and if he will make a statement. [5454]
Yvette Cooper: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him 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.
Following publication of the national guidance on the organisation of services for upper gastro-intestinal cancers in 2001, including pancreatic cancers, the three cancer networks in the north-west have been reviewing these
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services and are engaged in developing appropriate service plans as part of their overall Service Delivery Plans.
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the record and policy of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool on the treatment of pancreatic cancer. [5457]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 20 July 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him 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.
The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a specialist referral service for pancreatic surgery to hospitals in Merseyside and Cheshire and beyond. The service plays a major role in research and audits its clinical activities regularly through the trust's clinical governance arrangements. Over the last twelve months, since introducing a four-bedded post operative critical care facility, the trust has not had to cancel any pancreatic surgery and waiting times for surgery have improved. The service will be externally appraised as part of the next round of the regional cancer services appraisal programme which is due to commence in June 2002.
MMR
David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of children aged (a) one to two, (b) two to three and (c) three to four years have been given MMR inoculations in Cumbria since May 1997. [5825]
Yvette Cooper: I apologise to the right hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him 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.
The information requested is shown in the table.
| By their 5th birthday(23) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| At 31 March | By their 2nd birthday | First dose | First and second dose |
| North Cumbria | |||
| 1998 | 96 | — | — |
| 1999 | 93 | — | — |
| 2000 | 95 | 98 | 91 |
| Morecambe Bay | |||
| 1998 | 91 | — | — |
| 1999 | 88 | — | — |
| 2000 | 90 | 95 | 83 |
(23) Information about uptake of MMR immunisation at age five was collected for the first time in 1999–2000.
Source:
Department of Health, Statistics Division SD2B
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter of 5 October
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from the hon. Member for West Derbyshire on the current position regarding single dose and MMR triple vaccinations. [21473]
Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the reply sent to him on 10 December 2001.
Digital Hearing Aids
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason there is no centre for the provision of digital hearing aids in the south-east of England. [6058]
Ms Blears: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer the him 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.
There are currently three centres for the provision of digital hearing aids in the south-east region of the national health service. They are situated at East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust, Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust and Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust.
Care Homes
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who will assess the needs of care home service users; who will pay for such an assessment as required under care home standards; and if he will make a statement. [8059]
Jacqui Smith: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him 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.
The national minimum standards require that prior to a service user moving into a home an assessment of his or her needs should be undertaken. In most cases this will have been undertaken either by social workers or nurses depending on where the service user is prior to moving. Where a self funding service user has not had an assessment this should be undertaken by the provider prior to that person moving into the home. Either the provider or at least one other member of staff should be suitably trained in conducting assessments. Since in the majority of cases the cost of assessing service users before they enter a home falls to local authorities or the national health service the cost impact on providers would be marginal. The regular review of assessed needs should be a normal part of the conduct of care homes.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what investigations his Department has carried out into minimum data sets where care homes are concerned in the last five years. [8554]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 18 October 2001]: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him 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.
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In October 2000 my Department published for consultation the Core Information Requirements for Children's Social Services, as part of the Quality Protects initiative. The resultant full set of children's services documents is available at http://www.doh.gov.uk/ qualityprotects/info/publications/coreinforma tionreq.htm.
Version 1 of the Adults Aged 18 and Over Social Care Core Information Requirements was published in August 2001 for consultation and is available at http:// www.doh.gov.uk/scg/adultcoreinfo/index.htm.
Revisions of both sets of documents are due to be published later this year. Although the information requirements documents are not specifically for care homes, there is mention of the current central statistical returns for care homes. The Department is also promulgating the Mental Health Minimum Data Set, covering information about patients who are subject to the Care Programmes Approach, some of whom may be resident in care homes. This is planned for implementation from April 2003.
Orthodontics
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what discussions are taking place between the Department of Health and representatives of the dental profession about orthodontic provision; and when he proposes to publish guidance on criteria for acceptance for orthodontic treatment under the NHS; [6360]
- (2) if he intends to change the criteria for acceptance for orthodontic treatment under the NHS; and what changes to NHS orthodontic services he plans. [6361]
Ms Blears: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him 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.
Our national health service dental strategy "Modernising NHS Dentistry—Implementing the NHS Plan" set out our intention to reform orthodontic treatment to encourage the most appropriate treatment within the general dental service for patients, taking into account the approach being piloted using the index of treatment need which was already being widely used in the rest of the NHS. Officials have had very helpful discussions with the profession on changes to the current system to enable these valuable NHS resources to be targeted towards cases of greatest clinical need. We hope to reach agreement on charges, including any transitional arrangements, later this year.
Departmental Projects
Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) building and (b) refurbishment projects are planned by his Department in (i) the current year and (ii) the next financial year; and what the costs will be of each project. [6585]
Ms Blears: I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer her to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon.
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Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
There are two buildings where there are significant refurbishment projects being undertaken in this current year in relation to buildings occupied by or the direct responsibility of this Department or its agencies. The costs for both fall into this financial year. These are:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| St. Nicholas Building, Newcastle | 1.2 |
| Goldings House, London | 2.2 |
There are also a significant number of other buildings where there are works of a more minor nature and the fitting out of local offices in preparation for occupation by the National Care Standards Commission.
This reply does not include information about the national health service.
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