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Marfan Syndrome

Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his estimate is of the number of people suffering from Marfan syndrome; [48844]

(2) how many patients were diagnosed with Marfan syndrome in each of the last 10 years for which records are available. [48842]

Yvette Cooper: Information about the numbers suffering from, and diagnosed with, Marfan's syndrome is not available in the form requested. Our statistics show that between 1995–96 and 2000–01, there were 707 admissions to National Health Service Hospitals for Marfan's syndrome.

The UK Marfan Association estimates that the incidence of this disease is approximately 1 in 5000 of the population.

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many private finance initiative projects have been subject to refinancing after the contracts have been signed; and what has been the financial effect in each case. [50289]

Mr. Hutton: None of the 23 major PFI schemes which have reached financial close to date have been subject to refinancing after the contracts have been signed.

Scanners

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has for the purchase of new CT scanners. [50593]

Yvette Cooper: The NHS Cancer Plan provided details of diagnostic equipment to be purchased for the NHS. This included a commitment to 200 new Computed Tomography scanners by 2004.

Programmes to deliver this commitment are well underway and by 17 April 2002, 84 Computed Tomography scanners had already been delivered to the NHS through central programmes. This means that, in total, approximately 41 per cent of CT scanners now in use in the NHS are new since January 2000. Programmes to deliver the remaining equipment are on-target to meet the 2004 deadline.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the capital and annual revenue costs of (a) a CT scanner and (b) an MRI scanner; what the annual repair costs are on average for each type of scanner; how much down-time following breakdowns are experienced on average by each type of scanner; and what his estimate is of the number of such scanners in the non-NHS health sector. [49801]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 16 April 2002]: The capital cost of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners will vary according to the exact specification of the equipment. Annual revenue costs will also vary dependent on age and specification of the equipment, staffing levels and workload and casemix at the particular hospital. The following costs are provided for guidance:

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The current list price of a well-specified (a) CT scanner is approximately £0.5 million and (b) MRI scanner is approximately £1 million. These costs are not inclusive of value added tax or any necessary installation or building works.
Annual revenue costs will incorporate both pay and non-pay costs, such as maintenance, film, drugs or contrast agent. Total revenue costs will therefore vary according to staff numbers, scanner activity and type of maintenance contract. However, the average total annual revenue cost for both (a) CT and (b) MRI scanners could be estimated at £0.3–£0.4 million.
The majority of hospitals elect to take out a fully comprehensive maintenance contract for both CT and MRI scanners. The cost of all servicing and repairs is included within a fully comprehensive annual maintenance contract, which costs approximately (a) £50,000 for a CT scanner and (b) £70,000 for a MRI scanner.
Under a fully comprehensive maintenance contract, a supplier of CT or MRI scanners will usually quote an uptime guarantee for new equipment of 98 per cent. This means that the supplier is confident that there will be no more than 2 per cent unplanned downtime, which would roughly equate to 5–6 days per year. Older equipment may have greater servicing requirements and the cost of a maintenance contract with a 98 per cent guarantee could be significantly more expensive. In this case, other contracts, with a lesser percentage guarantee are available at reduced cost. In every case, there are financial penalties to suppliers if they do not meet their uptime guarantee.
It is estimated that there are approximately (a) 40 CT scanners and (b) 60 MRI scanners installed in the non-National Health Service sector in England. It is difficult to provide accurate figures in this respect since private healthcare providers are not required to submit details about facilities or workload to the Department.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority did not publish an annual report in 2001. [50899]

Yvette Cooper: The report is being prepared and we expect it to be published shortly.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many licences for donor insemination for (a) single women and (b) lesbians have been issued by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in each year since it was established. [50900]

Yvette Cooper: The treatment licences issued by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority do not specify who should receive treatment. Licensed centres are required in law to take account of the welfare of any child born as a result of treatment, including the need of that child for a father.

MRSA

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle MRSA; and if he will make a statement. [50687]

Yvette Cooper: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Mr. Loughton) on 15 April, Official Report, column 792W.

Vaccinations

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the possible positive impact of pneumococcal vaccinations for the over-65s; [51131]

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(2) what plans he has to introduce a 65 years and over age recommendation for pneumococcal vaccinations. [51130]

Yvette Cooper: The potential efficacy and cost effectiveness of introducing universal vaccination with pneumococcal polysaccharide for everyone over 65 years is under investigation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). JCVI will meet to review the evidence once these studies have been completed and make their recommendations to the Government.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each of the last five years for which figures are available, the number of people aged (a) 0 to five, (b) six to 15, (c) 16 to 24, (d) 25 to 34, (e) 35 to 44, (f) 45 to 54, (g) 55 to 64, (h) 65 to 74, (i) 75 to 84 and (j) 85 and over, who contracted (i) pneumococcal and (ii) meningitis broken down by (A) region and (B) health authority. [47531]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 10 April 2002]: There is a statutory requirement to notify infectious diseases (listed on the Public Health Laboratory Service website www.phls.org.uk/facts/NOIDS/noidlist.htm) to the local consultant in communicable disease control. Reports received through this notification system are processed and collated by the communicable disease surveillance centre and are based on clinical symptoms only. These reports do not relate to laboratory confirmed cases.

The total number of notifications of pneumococcal and meningococcal meningitis for each of the last 5 years by age and region is shown in Tables 1 and 2. Copies of which have been placed in the library. As the number of cases of meningococcal and pneumococcal meningitis for each health authority broken down by age is very low (and zero in a large number of cases) annual totals by health authority have been provided (Table 3) copies of which are also in the Library. Please note data provided for 2001 is provisional and may change.

Food Standards (Mobile Retailers)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many checks were carried out in 2001 on the safety of food sold from mobile caravans and trailers; how many failed to meet the required standards; and if he will make a statement. [51304]

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is not held centrally.

Such checks would be carried out by local authorities.

Healthcare (Herefordshire)

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes the Budget of 17 April will make to the provision of healthcare in Herefordshire. [51651]

Yvette Cooper: As a result of the Budget, the National Health Service in England will receive an annual average real terms growth in resources of 7.4 per cent for the five years from 2003–04 to 2007–08. Local allocations to primary care trusts will be announced later this year.

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