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Poisons
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department will publish an annual report of all poisonings recorded by the National Poisons Information Service. [60629]
Ms Blears: A copy of the combined annual report of the National Poisons Information Service centres for the year 2000 will be placed in the Library. The combined report for 2001 is not yet available but it will be placed in the Library in due course. The hon. Member may wish to know that in future it is intended to produce a single annual report for the National Poisons Information
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Service for publication on a wider basis once enhancements to the data collection and analysis systems are completed to enable all centres to record compatible information on the inquiries they receive.
Stroke
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many social workers are (a) working in rehabilitative services for stroke victims and (b) working in stroke units in hospitals. [60134]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.
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Coronary Care
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are available to those who survive heart attacks; and how often these patients were observed after leaving hospital in the last 12 months. [57817]
Ms Blears: The "National Service Framework" (NSF) for coronary heart disease, published in March 2000, sets out the standards of care for the national health service and others to help people who have had a heart attack, with action for secondary care, primary care and rehabilitation services.
The immediate priority identified in the NSF is increasing the use of effective medication for patients who have had a heart attack, following discharge from hospital. Effective medication includes aspirin, statins, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors. Prescribing will depend on individual circumstances. The myocardial infarction national audit project established by the Royal College of Physicians indicates that the targets set out in the NSF for prescription of effective medication are now being achieved nationally.
How often patients are observed after leaving hospital will depend on individual patient needs.
Osteoporosis
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the operations postponed due to osteoporotic hip fractures were cancelled operations in (a) Hull and the East Riding and (b) England and Wales, in the last two quarters for which figures are available. [57575]
Mr. Hutton: Data on the number of operations postponed or cancelled due to osteoporotic hip fractures are not available, as no information is collected on the reasons for cancellations.
Data on the number of operations cancelled in England by the hospital for non-clinical reasons on, or after, the day the patient was due to be admitted are available in the Library.
Information about health services in Wales are a matter for the National Assembly for Wales.
Smoking
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the number of people in the UK who smoke, broken down by region. [59793]
Ms Blears [holding answer 10 June 2000]: The information is given in the table.
(21) Estimated number of smokers rounded to the nearest one hundred thousand.
(22) NHS regional office areas are as at 31 March 2002.
Note:
The number of smokers has been calculated using the 1991 census based population estimates for mid-year 2000, aged 16 and over (provided by the Office for National Statistics to the Department. of Health).
Sources:
Prevalence of smoking:
(a) Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey 2000, published as 'Living in Britain: Results from the 2000 General Household Survey'.
(b) Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency: Continuous Household Survey 2000.
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Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the relationship between the incidence of smoking in particular regions of the UK and the amount of NHS health funding allocated to that region. [59794]
Ms Blears [holding answer 10 June 2002]: The prevalence of current cigarette smoking by region and the health authority total allocation by region are shown in the tables.
The national health service resource allocations take account of a number of factors including population size, age related need and relative need. Smoking prevalence is strongly related to socio-economic group, with prevalence higher in manual groups than non-manual groups. The resource allocation per capita tends to be higher in regions with above average prevalence and conversely, lower in regions with below average prevalence.
| Regional office area(23) | Percentage of cigarette smokers |
|---|---|
| England | 27 |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 28 |
| Trent | 26 |
| West Midlands | 26 |
| North West | 29 |
| Eastern | 25 |
| London | 27 |
| South East | 25 |
| South West | 27 |
(23) NHS Regional Office Areas as at 31 March 2002.
Source:
Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey 2000, published as 'Living in Britain: Results from the 2000 General Household Survey'.
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| NHS regional office area(24) | Total allocation (£000) |
|---|---|
| England | 41,468,469 |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 5,420,886 |
| Trent | 4,197,552 |
| West Midlands | 4,324,033 |
| North West | 5,829,741 |
| Eastern | 4,096,433 |
| London | 6,974,051 |
| South East | 6,694,368 |
| South West | 3,931,405 |
(24) NHS Regional Office areas are as at 31 March 2002.
Source:
Department of Health FID Resource Allocation
Human Genetics Commission
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the letter of the hon. Member for Pontefract and Castleford of 16 April (ref DOH/3/5653/16), what action the Human Genetics Commission is recommending in relation to Japan Tobacco, Corixa, and lung cancer vaccine licensing. [57133]
Ms Blears [holding answer 10 June 2002]: The human genetics commission (HGC) is aware of the concerns surrounding US-patented lung cancer vaccines that have been licensed to an overseas tobacco firm. HGC will continue to consider the broader ethical and social implications of the patenting of genetic inventions and will take note of the findings of various reviews of patenting and intellectual property rights that are under way.
Hepatitis
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines for implementing the antiviral treatment for hepatitis C. [60524]
Ms Blears [holding answer 10 June 2002]: Copies of the guidance on the use of Ribavirin and Interferon Alpha for Hepatitis C from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) have been placed in the Library. The uidance is also available on NICE's website at http://www.nice.org.uk/cat.asp?c=11657.
Diabetes
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much extra funding he plans to provide for the prevention of diabetes over the next five years; and if he will make a statement; [60122]
- (2) how much is spent in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire on the treatment of diabetes; and if he will make a statement; [60120]
(3) what extra funds he is providing to fund the National Service Framework; and if he will make a statement. [60119]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 10 June 2002]: Information is not collected centrally on how much is spent on the treatment of diabetes, nor is information available on expenditure on the treatment of diabetes in
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Gloucestershire. However, it has been estimated that around 5 per cent. of total national health service resources are used for the care of people with diabetes.
The Budget provides the highest sustained growth in NHS history, with annual average increases of 7.4 per cent. 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.
Prevention of diabetes is one of the key areas covered by the diabetes national service framework standards, published in December 2001. Local strategies on promoting healthy eating and physical activity, and reducing overweight and obesity, are also being developed as part of the implementation of the national service framework for coronary heart disease. We are taking forward a wide range of work across Government to reduce obesity, to increase physical activity and improve diet.
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