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Haemophiliacs
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to make a decision on the provision of recombinant to haemophiliacs. [66842]
Ms Blears [holding answer 4 July 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health my hon. Friend the Member for Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) gave him on 11 June 2002, Official Report, column 1212W.
Teaching Hospital, Hertfordshire
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to create a university teaching hospital in Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement. [66767]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer Thursday 4 July 2002]: There are currently no plans to create a university teaching hospital in Hertfordshire.
Copaxone
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Copaxone will become available on the NHS. [66740]
Ms Blears [holding answer 4 July 2002]: Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) is available on the national health service under the "risk-sharing scheme" for disease- modifying drugs for multiple sclerosis that came into operation on 6 May 2002.
Insulin Pump Therapy
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive guidance from NICE on insulin pump therapy. [66739]
Ms Blears [holding answer 4 July 2002]: I understand that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's provisional publication date for its guidance on insulin pump therapy is April 2003.
DNA
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's proposals to prevent DNA samples being obtained from the public without consent. [66871]
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Ms Blears [holding answer 4 July 2002]: It is a general legal and ethical requirement for a health professional to seek consent before starting to treat or examine a patient, which would include the obtaining of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples. The position is laid out clearly in the Department's reference guide to consent for treatment and examination.
There are exceptions to the principle of consent for certain uses of DNA samples, for example the obtaining of non-intimate DNA samples by the police for use in the prevention, detection or investigation of a crime.
The human genetics commission's report "Inside Information" has recommended a new criminal offence of the non-consensual or deceitful obtaining or analysis of genetic information for non-medical purposes. The Government are still considering this report and will respond in due course.
Macular Degeneration
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on the use of photodynamic therapy for age-related macular degeneration. [66877]
Ms Blears [holding answer 4 July 2002]: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence published its final appraisal determination on photodynamic therapy on 12 June. This has been appealed against. An appeal panel will now be convened to hear the appeal and decide the outcome. If the appeal is not upheld then guidance will be published; however, if it is upheld, then the appeals panel will ask the appraisal committee to reconsider the evidence in light of the appeal panel's decision. The earliest guidance could be available to the national health service is early August.
Improving Working Lives Standard
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) primary care and (b) hospital trusts have put Improving Working Lives standard into practice. [68286]
Mr. Hutton: "Improving Working Lives" (IWL) is an integral part of the human resources performance management process within the national health service. Existing NHS organisations are required to achieve "Practice" stage of the standard by April 2003, and the target for new organisations is April 2004.
Twenty trusts have already been assessed against the IWL standard and recommended as achieving "Practice" status ahead of the target date.
Prostate Cancer
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of PC SPES as a treatment for prostate cancer. [66870]
Ms Blears [holding answer 10 July 2002]: PC SPES has not been licensed as a medicinal product in the United Kingdom. However, I understand that it has been recalled by its American manufacturers as it has been found to contain undeclared prescription drug ingredients. The four research studies into its effectiveness that are being
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funded by the national centre for complementary and alternative medicine in the United States have also been put on hold.
"Feet First Two"
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the recommendations of the report, "Feet First Two", are regarding (a) removal of regional and local variations in service provisions and (b) improving the availability of services in the south of England. [66344]
Jacqui Smith: We currently have no plans to publish any findings from the review of "Feet First". In April 2001, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State made a statement about the review in his response to a question from the hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Mr. Stunell). I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 604W.
NHS Appointments Commission
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of appointments to health trusts and authorities by the NHS Appointments Commission have been (a) women and (b) black or Asian. [68515]
Mr. Hutton: The latest figures available (for April 2002) show that since the National Health Service Appointments Commission was established, 44.6 per cent. of appointments made to NHS boards have been women, and 8.9 per cent. from black and ethnic minority communities.
Cardiologists
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cardiologists are working in the NHS; and how many will be working in the NHS in 2002–03. [68273]
Mr. Hutton: There were 590 hospital consultants working within the cardiology specialty in England as at 31 March 2002. This represents an increase of 26 per cent. since 1999 1 .
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We expect to see further significant growth this year.
- 1 Source:
- Department of Health March 2002 Medical and Dental Consultant Workforce Census.
Nurse Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurse consultants are employed in the NHS. [68281]
Mr. Hutton: Over 750 nurse, midwife and health visitor consultants' posts have now been approved in 10 tranches, the first in January 2000 and the latest in June 2002.
HIV/AIDS
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died from AIDS in the United Kingdom in the last 12 months. [67798]
Ms Blears: There were 362 HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2001 reported in the United Kingdom by the end of March 2002. This total, which includes deaths in HIV-infected individuals without reported AIDS, is likely to rise as late reports are received.
- Source:
- Public Health Laboratory Service
Diabetes
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's estimate is of the average cost to the NHS of treatment for a diabetic in each of the last five years. [68008]
Mr. Lammy: The only cost data currently collected centrally on diabetes relate to treatments undertaken by National Health Service Trusts. These exclude costs for diabetes within general practice and other primary care settings. Costs in the financial year 2000–01 are shown in the table. Comparable data are not available for earlier years.
| Elective in-patients | Non-elective in-patients | Day case patients | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Unit cost (£) | Number | Unit cost (£) | Number | Unit cost (£) | |
| Diabetes with hypoglycaemic emergency (aged more than 69 or with co-morbidities) | 48 | 1,395 | 3,027 | 954 | 10 | 222 |
| Diabetes with hypoglycaemic emergency (aged less than 70 or without co-morbidities) | 198 | 796 | 2,406 | 567 | 97 | 352 |
| Diabetes with hyperglycaemic emergency (aged more than 69 or with co-morbidities) | 22 | 1,808 | 3,164 | 1,126 | 4 | 253 |
| Diabetes with hyperglycaemic emergency (aged less than 70 or without co-morbidities) | 26 | 1,024 | 6,072 | 659 | 9 | 261 |
| Diabetes with other hyperglycaemic disorder (aged more than 69 or with co-morbidities) | 392 | 1,534 | 7,132 | 1,288 | 946 | 224 |
| Diabetes with other hyperglycaemic disorder (aged less than 70 or without co-morbidities) | 389 | 871 | 6,250 | 686 | 2,503 | 274 |
| Diabetes with lower limb complications | 523 | 2,183 | 5,280 | 1,726 | 82 | 323 |
Source:
Reference Costs 2001—published on the Department of Health website at www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/refcosts.htm.
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on his spending priorities relating to diabetes; [68011]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the adequacy of funding for the Diabetes National Standards Framework to meet the costs of diabetics in the period up to 2010. [68009]
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Mr. Lammy: Funding for diabetes is being considered as part of the current Government spending review, together with other priorities. The Budget provides the highest sustained growth in national health service 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.
The pace of change for delivery of diabetes national service framework will take account of the resources that will be available.
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the link between diabetes and CHD. [68010]
Mr. Lammy: There is a well established association between diabetes and coronary heart disease. There are a number of common risk factors. In particular, people who are overweight or obese, those who are not physically active and those who do not enjoy a balanced diet are at greater risk of both Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The standards for the diabetes national service framework, published in December 2001, highlight the importance of common strategies for prevention and treatment. In doing so, they build on the frameworks for coronary heart disease and older people.
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's estimate is of the likely rise in cases of diabetes by 2010. [68006]
Mr. Lammy: The Department provided the following prevalence projections to the Wanless review team for diabetes in England for the years up to 2010:
| Year | Diagnosed prevalence | Total patients (million) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2.63 | 1.316 |
| 2003 | 2.7 | 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 |
There are considerable uncertainties involved in predicting the increase in numbers of people with diabetes, due to the many factors that affect estimates including obesity, aging and ethnicity.
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's estimate is of (a) the number of patients awaiting diagnosis for diabetes and (b) the percentage of newly diagnosed diabetics who show signs of complications. [68007]
Mr. Lammy: Estimates of the number of people awaiting diagnosis for diabetes vary depending on which study is consulted. The Department has based its estimates upon the health surveys for England. Extrapolation from the 1993 survey, the largest and most representative study on this question, leads to an estimate of around 550,000 people currently with undiagnosed diabetes. However, other smaller studies suggest that the number could be greater.
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We have not estimated the percentage of people with newly diagnosed diabetes who show signs of complications.
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