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Wessex Neurological Centre
Mr. Butterfill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he will take to restore operations on the neurosurgical lists of the Wessex Neurological Centre; and if he will make a statement. [54030]
Ms Blears [holding answer 2 May 2002]: A clinical governance review by Southampton University Hospitals NHS trust identified the need to strengthen senior anaesthetic cover in the neurosciences intensive care unit at the Wessex Neurological Centre. In the short term this could only be achieved by redeploying anaesthetists from the neuro-operating theatres. This necessitated a temporary reduction in operating time. From 15 April only emergency surgery and urgent cases from the waiting list have been treated. The trust envisages that a full service will resume on 13 May.
The trust is taking action to recruit additional anaesthetists.
Anthrax Vaccine
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what facilities are available in the United Kingdom for anthrax vaccine production; and if it is produced by biotechnological methodologies. [53900]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 2 May 2002]: Anthrax vaccine in the United Kingdom is produced at the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research at Porton Down.
It is produced from the vaccine strain of Bacillus anthracis (known as the Sterne strain) using biotechnological methods, but is not a recombinant product.
Coronary Care
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients who received a bare stent in a percutaneous coronary intervention were readmitted for a repeat re-stent or coronary bypass grafting procedure in the last five years for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the total cost to the NHS of such readmissions. [54349]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 7 May 2002]: The Department does not collect the data relating to the number of patients who received a bare stent in a percutaneous coronary intervention and were later readmitted for a repeat re-stent or coronary bypass graft. It is not possible, therefore, to estimate the cost to the national health service of such readmissions.
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if readmission procedures for in-stent restenosis are recorded as separate patient episodes. [54350]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 7 May 2002]: I can confirm that readmission for in-stent restenosis are recorded as separate patient episodes.
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Heart Bypass Operations
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many heart bypass operations have been carried out in the NHS in each of the last 10 years. [53283]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 29 April 2002]: Patients who need revascularisation may be treated by angioplasty (PTCA) a non-surgical intervention to open arteries that have become blocked, or by coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), a surgical procedure which bypasses blocked arteries. As the technology has improved angioplasty has become the appropriate treatment for an increasing proportion of patients. A table providing data on the number of finished consultant episodes for angioplasty and coronary artery bypass in England for the last 10 years has been placed in the Library.
Information about operations undertaken in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
Diabetes
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what projections were provided by his Department to the Wanless Review Team for (a) the prevalence of diabetes in the years to 2010–11 and (b) the reduction in the number of people with undiagnosed diabetes by 2010–11; [54653]
- (2) what assumptions underlie the Wanless report concerning the relationship between more effective care for diabetes and lower expenditure on coronary heart disease and renal disease; [54650]
(3) what proportion of the cost of implementing the NSF for diabetes, as projected by the Wanless report, is attributable to (a) expanded treatment programmes and (b) an increase in diagnosed prevalence. [54651]
Jacqui Smith: During the early years of implementation of the diabetes national service framework (NSF) we would expect the majority of available resources to be directed towards improvements in treatment for those people with diabetes who have not received systematic high quality treatment in the past. In subsequent years, the cost of implementing the NSF is likely to be increasingly attributable to the rising prevalence of diabetes and the maintenance of a high quality of care across the patient population.
Optimal blood glucose control and tight blood pressure control are two key interventions in the diabetes NSF. Evidence indicates that these interventions may reduce the rate of certain complications of diabetes, including renal failure and heart attack, which might therefore lead to reduced expenditure on coronary heart disease and renal disease.
The Department provided the following prevalence projections to the Wanless review team for diabetes in England for the years up to 2011:
| Year | Diagnosed prevalence | Total patients (million) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2.63 | 1.316 |
| 2003 | 2.70 | 1.355 |
| 2004 | 2.78 | 1.399 |
| 2005 | 2.87 | 1.448 |
| 2006 | 2.97 | 1.502 |
| 2007 | 3.07 | 1.561 |
| 2008 | 3.19 | 1.624 |
| 2009 | 3.31 | 1.689 |
| 2010 | 3.44 | 1.759 |
| 2011 | 3.57 | 1.832 |
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Additionally, officials undertook some sensitivity analysis on the prevalence rates for the Wanless team that focused on different scenarios regarding the size and integration of the undiagnosed diabetes population into the system.
The Wanless report has informed decisions about the overall level of funding that the national health service has received. The Budget provides the highest sustained growth in NHS history, with annual average increases of 7.4 per cent. a year in real terms over the five years 2003–04 to 2007–08. Decisions about the allocation of the increased funding will be announced later this year.
Renal Failure
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the principal causes for the increase in end stage renal failure in the last five years. the Minister of State, Department of Health. [54652]
Jacqui Smith: There is a world-wide increase in end stage renal failure, although the number of new patients in England still falls behind other European countries. The principal causes of end stage renal failure include diabetes and hypertension, and the effects of increasing age. As the incidence of diabetes and hypertension (which are both major risk factors) increase so does the number of people who develop renal complications. People with diabetes make up 16 per cent. of all new patients with end stage renal failure. Additionally people from ethnic minority groups are at greater risk of developing the disease and the number of patients being treated in these groups is rising as the ethnic population ages.
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Warrington Primary Care Trust
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications were received for the post of Chairman of Warrington PCT from (a) Warrington, North constituency and (b) Warrington, South constituency; and what percentage of applicants from each constituency were interviewed. [54227]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 7 May 2002]: Ten applications were received, four of which were from candidates living in Warrington, North and six living in Warrington, South. All of the three candidates interviewed lived in Warrington, South.
Ambulances
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from local authorities on the funding of the ambulance services; and if he will make a statement. [54441]
Ms Blears [holding answer 7 May 2002]: The Department is not aware of any representations that have been made by local authorities on the funding of the ambulance service.
Building Projects
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the building projects under construction; and what coolant will be used for the building services water chilling system for such projects. [52052]
Ms Blears: A list of building schemes currently under construction and with a total cost of over £2.5 million, including VAT, is given in the table. Information on the coolant used in building services chilled water systems is not collected centrally. However, all refrigerants used in chilled water systems should comply with EC Regulation EC 2037–2000 which came into force on 1 October 2000. The NHS Estates Model Engineering Specification Rev 3 November 1997, MES C10 Refrigerant Plant—General advises the use of refrigerant R134a or 407c and its associated blends, which are ozone friendly.
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