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User Consultation

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new steps her Department took in 2001–02 to consult the users of its services about their wishes and expectations; and if he will publish the findings. [47313]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 April 2002]: Data to monitor the Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to reduce the death rate from cancer amongst people aged under 75 years are obtained from mortality data published by the Office for National Statistics. Data are for England.

This PSA target is the target published in 2000 in the NHS Plan and previously in 1999 in the White Paper 'Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation' for a 20 per cent. reduction against a baseline of the average age standardised mortality rate for the three years 1995–96–97.

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The trend data are as follows:

Three-year average age standardised

PeriodMortality rate per 100,000 population
1995–96–97139.72
1996–97–98136.99
1997–98–99133.43
1998–99–2000130.86

Sun Protection Creams

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures will be taken to promote the use of sun protection creams over the summer. [46755]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 April 2002]: Information about the use of sun protection creams will be available from the normal routes as well as through NHS Direct. We launched on 14 March a new Department of Health website www.doh.gov.uk/sunsafe providing sun safety advice. We are also collaborating with other key stakeholders this year in ensuring that a range of sun safety advice is publicly available. For example, the Department-funded National Radiological Protection Board has recently launched the "Sunsense" posters describing the use of sunscreens.

Experts recommend:


Meningitis

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure people over the age of 55 are aware of the risks posed by meningitis. [47532]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 April 2002]: We have not made specific provision of information of meningitis for adults over the age of 55. Information is provided on meningitis in infants and children, students and adults less than 24 years.

Information is also provided for adults and children travelling especially on the Hajj and other pilgrimages.

Women's Organisations (Consultation)

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the women's organisations which were consulted over proposed legislation by his Department in (a) 2000–01 and (b) 2001–02 sessions; and if their responses have been published. [48013]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 April 2002]: The Department is committed to consultation with women's organisations on a wide range of issues, including those where legislation may result. However, this information is not collected centrally.

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NHS Contracts

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the contracts signed with non-NHS suppliers for the provision of health care services in (a) 2000 and (b) 2001. [50801]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 18 April 2002]: The Department does not hold details of all contracts signed by national health service organisations with non-NHS suppliers for the provision of health care services. These contracts are local matters for primary care trusts and NHS trusts.

NHS Consultants (Private Work)

Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the advantages of withdrawing from NHS consultants with whole time NHS contracts the option of undertaking limited amounts of private work under his review of the consultants' contract. [51266]

Mr. Hutton: We made clear in the NHS Plan that consideration had been given to buying out the bulk of private practice nationally. Analysis suggested this would probably cost at least £700 million and would be unlikely to work in practice. The Government therefore proposed that for an initial period, perhaps seven years, all newly appointed consultants would be restricted from undertaking similar work outside the NHS. After this

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initial period the right to undertake private practice would depend on fulfilling job plans and NHS service requirements. The concept of a maximum part-time contract would be abolished. The relationship between NHS work and private practice remains under discussion as part of the negotiations on a new consultant contract.

"NHS Plan News"

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 847–48W, on "NHS Plan News", of the copies of "NHS Plan News" distributed, how many were returned for recycling. [47544]

Ms Blears [holding answer 10 April 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 22 April 2002 at columns 108–09W.

Prescriptions

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) atypical and (b) traditional prescription items were dispensed in the community in England in 2001; and how many prescription items were dispensed in total, broken down by health authority. [50059]

Ms Blears [holding answer 16 April 2002]: Information about the prescribing of antipsychotic medication is shown in the table.

Number of prescription items dispensed in the community in England for atypical antipsychotics, other antipsychotics and all antipsychotics, 2001
Prescription items (thousand)

Health authority in which item was dispensed Atypical antipsychoticsOther antipsychoticsAll antipsychotics
Avon35.257.592.7
Barking and Havering13.615.929.5
Barnet, Enfield and Haringey37.336.473.6
Barnsley6.714.421.1
Bedfordshire19.222.742.0
Berkshire25.332.658.0
Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich19.924.944.7
Birmingham40.463.9104.3
Bradford19.631.851.4
Brent and Harrow18.518.136.6
Bromley2.13.05.1
Buckinghamshire21.527.248.7
Bury and Rochdale16.134.650.7
Calderdale and Kirklees25.532.357.8
Cambridgeshire24.836.561.3
Camden and Islington16.120.736.8
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly14.734.749.4
County Durham and Darlington21.145.166.2
Coventry19.015.434.4
Croydon15.815.931.7
Doncaster6.820.727.6
Dorset22.242.264.5
Dudley6.822.629.4
Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow24.732.657.3
East Kent25.732.858.5
East Lancashire21.739.461.1
East London and the City26.028.654.6
East Riding and Hull21.536.457.9
East Surrey10.719.830.4
East Sussex, Brighton and Hove34.149.183.2
Gateshead and South Tyneside13.723.737.4
Gloucestershire14.633.147.8
Herefordshire3.310.914.2
Hertfordshire36.640.477.0
Hillingdon6.18.915.1
Isle of Wight Portsmouth and South East Hampshire28.539.968.4
Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster16.111.427.5
Kingston and Richmond13.911.625.5
Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham32.831.964.6
Leeds36.248.684.8
Leicestershire26.548.374.8
Lincolnshire18.945.664.5
Liverpool28.335.964.2
Manchester28.043.171.1
Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth26.126.252.3
Morecambe Bay14.825.540.3
Newcastle and North Tyneside34.629.864.4
Norfolk26.870.297.1
North and East Devon19.830.049.8
North and Mid Hampshire21.523.645.1
North Cheshire9.027.236.2
North Cumbria14.118.933.0
North Derbyshire9.227.036.2
North Essex30.744.575.2
North Nottinghamshire8.724.332.9
North Staffordshire14.030.544.6
North Yorkshire20.440.861.2
Northamptonshire17.131.949.0
Northumberland11.717.128.8
Nottingham5.738.844.6
North West Lancashire24.336.360.7
Oxfordshire23.421.444.8
Redbridge and Waltham Forest18.117.235.3
Rotherham12.424.436.7
Southampton and South West Hampshire26.830.557.3
Salford and Trafford21.945.667.5
Sandwell6.919.226.1
Sefton16.825.742.5
Sheffield12.034.646.6
Shropshire12.824.837.6
Solihull6.18.214.3
Somerset15.622.938.5
South and West Devon28.244.773.0
South Cheshire27.937.865.6
South Essex23.528.552.0
South Humber9.222.932.0
South Lancashire11.814.726.5
South Staffordshire16.830.146.9
Southern Derbyshire11.635.947.5
St. Helens and Knowsley18.828.347.1
Stockport14.534.048.5
Suffolk20.939.560.4
Sunderland11.012.924.0
Tees19.438.457.8
Wakefield15.620.736.3
Walsall8.819.628.4
Warwickshire19.625.144.7
West Kent34.143.477.6
West Pennine15.531.246.7
West Surrey19.725.845.5
West Sussex25.647.072.6
Wigan and Bolton26.534.861.3
Wiltshire23.630.153.7
Wirral20.625.946.5
Wolverhampton7.516.524.0
Worcestershire13.529.843.2
England1,842.02,876.04,718.0

Notes:

1. The prescription information was obtained from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community, ie by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors.

2. Antipsychotics are those drugs defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 4.2.1, "Antipsychotic drugs". The atypical antipsychotics within BNF 4.2.1 are amisulpride, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone and zotepine.


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