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HEALTH
Mortality Rate
David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have occurred in the Midlothian constituency since 1990. [27189]
Mr. Foulkes: I have been asked to reply. The information requested is not available in relation to the Midlothian parliamentary constituency. However, the number of deaths in the Midlothian local authority area (Midlothian District Council before 1 April 1996 and Midlothian Council since then) is as follows:
| Males | Females | Persons | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 408 | 416 | 824 |
| 1991 | 390 | 459 | 849 |
| 1992 | 402 | 378 | 780 |
| 1993 | 437 | 424 | 861 |
| 1994 | 370 | 407 | 777 |
| 1995 | 417 | 441 | 858 |
| 1996 | 406 | 448 | 854 |
| 1997 | 405 | 414 | 819 |
| 1998 | 456 | 417 | 873 |
| 1999 | 393 | 434 | 827 |
| 2000 | 423 | 422 | 845 |
If my hon. Friend requires further statistical information on this matter, he may wish to approach the General Register Office for Scotland.
Visual Impairment
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has sent to the recent submission by the Improving Lives Coalition on priorities in health and social care for blind and partially sighted people. [40893]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 March 2002]: A major conclusion of Improving Lives was that large numbers of people who are eligible for registration as blind or partially sighted are not registered. We recognise this problem and the Department has set up a group to investigate ways to improve the way we notify and register sight loss. This group includes representatives of several members of the Improving Lives Coalition.
We have also awarded the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (GDBA) jointly a project grant to develop visual care standards based on Improving Lives.
Capacity
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been made available to each local health authority to increase capacity for the treatment of patients. [40492]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 March 2002]: In 2002–03 £425 million has been earmarked to expand acute capacity, increase activity levels and reduce waiting. This is in addition to funding from general allocations which can be spent to deliver waiting times by agreement
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between primary care trusts (PCTs), health authorities (HAs) and NHS trusts and their partners locally. The earmarked funding will be used to:
- Expand local capacity by expanding diagnostic and treatment centres and/or buying into spare capacity in public or private services locally or nationally;
Commission extra activity
Pay for the consequential costs in community health and social care of this extra activity.
The heath authority total allocations and earmarked funding for capacity are given in the table.
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Ministerial Design Champion
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings the Ministerial Design Champion for his Department has attended in her capacity as Design Champion in the last month; and if he will make a statement. [41962]
Ms Blears: My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (The Lord Hunt of Kings Heath) has recently replaced my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health (Yvette Cooper) as the Ministerial Design Champion for the Department of Health. He attended the last Ministerial Design Champion meeting on 17 January 2002 chaired by Lord Falconer and will be attending the next meeting on 22 May 2002.
23 Apr 2002 : Column 229W
In his capacity as Ministerial Design Champion, Lord Hunt will:
- Deliver the opening speech at the Primary Healthcare Design conference 1 May 2002. This conference has been organised by CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) and The Kings Fund regarding the value of quality design in producing a healing environment, to an audience made up of key decision-makers from Primary Care Trusts.
Deliver the keynote address at the Health Facilities Management Association (HEFMA) annual conference 23 May 2002. This will provide the Minister with an opportunity to further raise the profile of design excellence to an audience of facilities decision-makers who are charged with delivering services at Trust level.
Work closely with the NHS and Architectural bodies, personally mentoring two projects being Walsall Design Exemplar and a South Manchester Primary Care Trust development.
Mixed Sex Wards
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mixed sex wards there are at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford. [41920]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 11 March 2002]: Patients at Broomfield Hospital, part of Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, are treated on wards that are divided into single-sex bays containing four or six beds. All wards have separate toilet and bathroom facilities for male and female patients.
As part of the plans for the development of Broomfield Hospital, the Trust is planning to have single gender wards.
The Trust is aware of the need to maintain the privacy and dignity of patients at all times and places great emphasis on the need to segregate male and female patients.
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