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Foreign Nurses (English Tests)
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will support moves by the UKCC to introduce English tests for foreign nursing recruits. [47871]
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Mr. Hutton: The UKCC was replaced on 1 April by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. It will be for the new Council to consult widely on how it proposes to exercise its functions, which include assessing the knowledge of English of overseas-qualified practitioners, other than nationals of European Economic Area States. In the meantime it will inherit existing policies and procedures, which already provide for such assessments.
Mental Health
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the use of sport in the treatment of depressive illness. [47434]
Jacqui Smith: No formal assessment has been made of the use of sport in the treatment of depressive illness. However, regular physical activity reduces the risk of depression and has positive benefits for mental health including reduced anxiety, enhanced mood and self esteem.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that health and social workers dealing with children and adolescents are trained to recognise mental health problems. [47437]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 10 April 2002]: The national service framework for children, which includes child and adolescent mental health and psychological well being, will consider the training and competencies of health and social care workers and the early recognition of mental health problems.
In September 2003 we are replacing the diploma in social work with a three-year degree level qualification. The qualification will be based on a prescribed curriculum, which will include key areas which students must undertake as part of their learning and assessment. One of these will be human growth and development, which will incorporate mental health matters.
Asthma
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the (a) adult population and (b) population under 16 use (i) puffer inhalers and (ii) spacer inhalers in the treatment of asthma. [47466]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 10 April 2002]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Broomfield Hospital, Essex
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurse and (b) consultant vacancies there are at Broomfield Hospital, Essex at the latest available date. [46709]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 10 April]: Broomfield Hospital is a hospital within Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust. Data is collected at Trust level only.
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| All consultants | Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 month vacancy rates per cent | 3 month vacancies | Staff in post (wte) | Staff in post (hc) | 3 month vacancy rates per cent | 3 month vacancies | Staff in post (wte) | Staff in post (hc) | |
| England Total | 3.0 per cent | 672 | 21,580 | 23,661 | 3.4 per cent | 8,997 | 255,903 | 316,280 |
| Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust | 2.1 per cent | 2 | 100 | 98 | 2.6 per cent | 21 | 776 | 1,005 |
Notes:
1. Three month vacancies are vacancies as at 31 March 2001 which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents)
2. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post from the September 2000 medical & dental and non medical workforce censuses (whole time equivalents)
3. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest ten
4. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place
5. * = figures based on less than ten posts
6. Totals may not equal sum of component parts due to rounding
7. HA figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of healthcare
8. Figures may not match previously published data due to
(i) a different method of rounding used on the staff in post data ii) NHS Trusts "mapped" into different
(ii) NHS Trusts "mapped" into different HA Areas/Regions to be consistents with Vacancies data (as at 31 March 2001)
Source:
Department of Health Vacancies Survey 2001
Department of Health non-medical workforce census 2000
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census 2000
Tobacco Advertising And Promotion Bill
Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to notify the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill to the European Commission as a technical regulation under Directive 98/34/EC. [50050]
Yvette Cooper: We notified the Bill on 28 March 2002. The notification is without prejudice to the Government's view that the Bill does not contain any technical regulations.
Drug-resistant Micro-organisms
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what collections of drug resistant micro organisms are known to the Health Protection Agency; and what steps are being taken to maintain and support such collections. [45751]
Yvette Cooper: Currently, the National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) and National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi (NCPF), are comprehensive collections of pathogenic micro-organisms, including strains known to be drug resistant. Both NCTC and NCPF are maintained by the Public Health Laboratory Service in the NCTC laboratory and supported by the funding provided to the Public Health Laboratory Service by the Department of Health and the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Chief Medical Officer's strategy, Getting Ahead of the Curve, proposes the creation of a Health Protection Agency which will take over functions currently performed by the PHLS and other bodies. We aim to establish the new agency by 1 April 2003.
Health Services (Barnet)
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of waiting times at
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(a) Barnet and (b) Northwick Park Hospitals' accident and emergency departments; and if he will make a statement. [45820]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 25 March 2002]: Waiting times at Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trusts and North West London Hospitals NHS Trust are monitored via the NHS regional office. Information on numbers of patients waiting over 2 hours, between 2–4 hours and over 4 hours for admission is published every quarter. Latest information is available via www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity
Scoliosis
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations for Scoliosis correction were carried out by the NHS in each of the last three years; and what plans he has to increase this number. [45872]
The numbers of Finished Consultant Episodes for patients with a primary diagnosis of scoliosis* who underwent a procedure in the National Health Service for each of the last three years are outlined in shown in the table. It is for health authorities in partnership with primary care groups/trusts and other local stakeholders to decide what services to provide for their populations including those who require operations for scoliosis. There are no plans to introduce national targets specifically for this service.
| 1998–99 | 1999–00 | 2000–01 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finished Consultant Episodes | 1,172 | 1,193 | 1,212 |
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health, England.* ICD-10: M41.0 – M41.9 (ICD-10 refers to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th edition)). This is the international classification system for diseases. The codes are 4 digits (a letter followed by 3 numbers).
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Retirement Health Checks
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) women and (b) men pensioners in 2000–01 broken down by regional health authority completed a free health check on retirement through the pilot scheme announced in the NHS Plan; and if he will make a statement. [46282]
Yvette Cooper: None. The first pre retirement health check pilots began in 2001–2. They are focused on the health needs of people who have not yet retired, in the 50–65 age group, many still in active employment, although some retired people are also involved in them.
NHS Publications
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what publications were published by NHSplus in 2000–01; how many of each publication were printed and distributed; and what the cost was of each publication.[46347]
Yvette Cooper: There were no publications by NHS Plus in 2000–01. (NHS Plus was launched in November 2001. In 2001–2 its only publication was a "flyer" leaflet, "Bringing Good Health To Your Business", the total cost of which was £3,335 for 15,000 leaflets. Generally, NHS Plus provides information via its website (www.nhsplus.nhs.uk).
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