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Property Sales

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been raised through the auction of (a) empty and (b) surplus NHS property since the publication of the NHS National Plan. [47822]

Mr. Hutton: The "one-off auction of empty and surplus NHS property" referred to in the NHS Plan is currently proceeding as a Public Private Partnership disposal of the majority of the Department's retained estate which was left following establishment of National Health Service Trusts and the transfer of property to them.

This disposal has been advertised through the Official Journal of the European Community process, and an "Invitation to Negotiate' has been issued to four prospective partners.

In the meantime, since publication of the NHS Plan, disposals of empty and surplus property have realised some £280 million.

Cardiology Services

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for in-patient cardiology treatment in each quater since March 1997. [47842]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.

19 Apr 2002 : Column 1226W

Inpatient Waiting List by Quarter—Cardiology & Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialties

Year	Quarter	Total
1996–7	4	36,000
1997–8	4	38,000
1998–9	1	38,000
1998–9	2	37,000
1998–9	3	38,000
1998–9	4	35,000
1999–0	1	37,000
1999–0	2	36,000
1999–0	3	39,000
1999–0	4	38,000
2000–1	1	41,000
2000–1	2	40,000
2000–1	3	41,000
2000–1	4	38,000
2001–2	1	40,000
2001–2	2	40,000
2001–2	3	41,000

Source:

DH KH07 form.

Note:

Specialty level figures were not collected for Q1–Q3 1997–8.

Chlamydia

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the population of England has access to opportunistic chlamydia screening. [47849]

Yvette Cooper: The information is not collected centrally. A national chlamydia screening programme will start to be phased in later this year to reduce undiagnosed infections. The details of the programme are still being developed but will build on learning from the successful pilots in Portsmouth and the Wirral. The programme will

19 Apr 2002 : Column 1227W

involve opportunistic screening in healthcare settings such as community contraception and genitourinary medicine clinics.

Health Action Zones

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the performance of health action zones is monitored against the local priorities identified when the establishment of the first wave of health action zones was announced on 31 March 1998. [47021]

Mr. Hutton: Health Action Zones (HAZs) were initially set up to focus on local geographical or client group priorities. Until 31 March 2002, these were monitored by the lead health authority for the HAZ. From April 2002 onwards, principal responsibility for performance management of the National Health Service will be undertaken by the 28 new strategic health authorities.

Cancelled Operations

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he intends to take to broaden the definition of a cancelled operation. [47857]

Mr. Hutton: Data on cancelled operations are currently collected for last minute cancellations, where a hospital cancels a patient for non-clinical reasons on the day the patient is due to arrive or after arrival in hospital, and on where a hospital cancels a patient for non-clinical reasons on the day of surgery.

Data are also collected on the number of patients readmitted within 30 days of cancellation (Patients Charter standard) and within 28 days of cancellation (NHS Plan guarantee).

There are no current plans to broaden the definition of a cancelled operation.

NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the activities of the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust. [47821]

Mr. Hutton: The NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (NHS LIFT) initiative was announced in the NHS Plan. The objective of this initiative is to contribute to the overall NHS Plan targets of refurbishing or replacing up to 3,000 premises and 500 new one stop primary care centres by December 2004.

The NHS LIFT approach will bring together a number of individual developments providing a more co-ordinated approach to service development as well as helping to reduce procurement costs. New buildings provided under LIFTs will also enable the co-location of GP and community services, and wherever possible the location of social care agencies.

As a first step, a new public private partnership, Partnerships for Health (PfH) was established between the Department and Partnerships UK in September 2001. PfH will help localities develop and establish local LIFT companies. These local companies will be owned jointly by PfH, the local health economy and the private sector, and will build and develop premises, which will be leased to GPs and other primary care users.

19 Apr 2002 : Column 1228W

In February 2001 the Department prioritised an initial six LIFT schemes, and in January 2002 a further twelve LIFT schemes were identified. Further announcements will be made later this year about a third wave of sites.

Two of the first-wave schemes (East London and the City and Camden and Islington), recently issued tender documentation, and it is expected that the other four first-wave schemes will issue their documentation in the near future. The value of the initial investment requirement in East London & City is £62.5 million and in Camden & Islington is £17 million.

General Practitioners

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 March, Official Report, column 806W, on general practitioners, what amount of time he expects a GP appraiser to spend on appraisals every year which would otherwise be spent on patient care. [47444]

Mr. Hutton: The introduction of General Practitioner appraisal will not be to the detriment of patient care. Indeed, over time we expect GP appraisal to contribute towards improving the quality of National Health Service primary care services offered to local communities. Research suggests that it is reasonable for a primary care trust to expect a GP appraiser to undertake between 10 and 25 appraisals annually. GPs' contractual frameworks include provision spend time on activities other than direct patient care. It will, of course, not always be possible to accommodate all appraisal activity without reducing the time available to the individual GP appraiser for direct patient care. In such cases detailed arrangements will need to be agreed between the primary care trust, the GP appraiser and his/her practice or personal medical services pilot provider. But we have made it clear that all primary care trusts should have a funded policy on the provision of locum cover, to support the implementation of GP appraisal.

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of the National Survey of GP Services. [46996]

Mr. Hutton: The cost of the National Survey of NHS Patients: 1998 General Practice survey was £788,000.

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to complete his discussions with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to establish an evaluation process for international general practitioner recruitment; and when he expects such evaluation to commence. [47027]

Mr. Hutton: Discussions are underway with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. We aim to begin a full evaluation of the whole International Recruitment process later this year.

Overseas Recruitment

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) total number and (b) percentage is of overseas nurses working in the UK as a proportion of nursing staff, by regional health authority in (i) the NHS and (ii) agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [48033]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

19 Apr 2002 : Column 1229W

In order to practise as a nurse overseas applicants must register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), formerly the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing Midwifery and Health Visiting. Overseas nurses registered with the NMC do not necessarily work in the National Health Service. The number of entrants to the register in the last three years are in the table below.

Overseas trained nurses and midwives registering with the UKCC

	1998–1999	1999–2000	2000–2001
Overseas nurses registered with the UKCC	3,621	5,945	8,403

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for

19 Apr 2002 : Column 1230W

Health how many overseas doctors there were working in the UK as a proportion of all doctors practising on NHS patients, broken down by regional health authority in (a) the NHS and (b) agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [48034]

Mr. Hutton: Regional health authorities were abolished in 1996 and replaced by regional offices, the data has therefore been broken down by regional office. The Department does not collect data on the number of overseas doctors working in the UK broken down by agencies.

Available information is shown in the tables. One table contains headcount figures, the other table contains percentage figures.

General Medical Practitioners ¹ and Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): medical staff ² within each region and by country of qualificationnumbers

			1999				2000				2001
	All Staff	United Kingdom	Rest of EEA	Elsewhere	All Staff	United Kingdom	Rest of EEA	Elsewhere	All Staff	United Kingdom	Rest of EEA	Elsewhere
England	91,340	66,330	4,850	20,160	93,910	68,060	4,770	21,070	96,790	69,830	4,810	22,140
Northern & Yorkshire	11,680	8,600	630	2,460	12,030	8,830	620	2,570	12,490	9,170	600	2,720
Trent	9,130	6,570	400	2,160	9,260	6,720	380	2,160	9,570	6,970	380	2,220
West Midlands	9,360	6,450	510	2,400	9,410	6,500	480	2,420	9,770	6,680	480	2,610
North West	13,150	8,590	770	3,790	13,570	8,770	770	4,030	13,780	8,970	720	4,090
Eastern	10,720	8,070	550	2,100	10,840	8,180	510	2,150	11,240	8,400	540	2,300
London	16,370	12,520	980	2,870	17,180	12,960	1,040	3,180	17,800	13,340	1,090	3,370
South East	12,050	8,640	610	2,790	12,410	8,930	560	2,920	12,880	9,100	630	3,160
South Western	9,100	7,080	410	1,610	9,470	7,370	410	1,690	9,820	7,600	400	1,820

Notes:

⁽¹⁾ General Medical Practioners include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.

⁽²⁾ Excludes Hospital Practitioners and Clinical Assistants most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.

Source:

Department of Health medical and dental workforce census as at 30 September each year.

Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics as at 1 October 1999 and 30 September 2000 and 2001.

General Medical Practitioners⁽³⁾ and Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): medical staff⁽⁴⁾ within each region and by country of qualificationpercentages⁽⁵⁾

			1999				2000				2001
	All Staff	United Kingdom	Rest of EEA	Elsewhere	All Staff	United Kingdom	Rest of EEA	Elsewhere	All Staff	United Kingdom	Rest of EEA	Elsewhere
England	100%	72.6%	5.3%	22.1%	100%	72.5%	5.1%	22.4%	100%	72.2%	5.0%	22.9%
Northern & Yorkshire	100%	73.6%	5.4%	21.1%	100%	73.4%	5.2%	21.4%	100%	73.4%	4.8%	21.8%
Trent	100%	72.0%	4.3%	23.7%	100%	72.6%	4.1%	23.3%	100%	72.8%	3.9%	23.2%
West Midlands	100%	68.8%	5.5%	25.7%	100%	69.1%	5.1%	25.7%	100%	68.4%	4.9%	26.7%
North West	100%	65.3%	5.8%	28.8%	100%	64.6%	5.7%	29.7%	100%	65.1%	5.2%	29.7%
Eastern	100%	75.3%	5.1%	19.6%	100%	75.5%	4.7%	19.8%	100%	74.8%	4.8%	20.5%
London	100%	76.5%	6.0%	17.5%	100%	75.5%	6.1%	18.5%	100%	75.0%	6.1%	18.9%
South East	100%	71.7%	5.1%	23.2%	100%	71.9%	4.5%	23.6%	100%	70.6%	4.9%	24.5%
South Western	100%	77.8%	4.5%	17.7%	100%	77.8%	4.4%	17.8%	100%	77.3%	4.1%	18.5%

Notes:

⁽³⁾ General Medical Practioners include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.

⁽⁴⁾ Excludes Hospital Practitioners and Clinical Assistants most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals.

⁽⁵⁾ Percentages were calculated using unrounded figures.

Source:

Department of Health medical and dental workforce census as at 30 September each year.

Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics as at 1 October 1999 and 30 September 2000 and 2001.

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