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Queen Alexandra Hospital

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additions have been made to the originally agreed Private Finance Initiative scheme for the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, which have affected the cost of the initiative; and if he will make a statement. [70426]

Mr. Hutton: No additions have been made to the scheme that have added to the projected costs.

Wood Preservatives

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received regarding risk assessments his Department has performed on CCA pressure-treated wood. [69659]

Ms Blears: The Department has not carried out any risk assessment of wood pre-treated with copper/ chromium/arsenic (CCA) wood preservative, nor has the Department received any representation on this issue.

In the United Kingdom wood preservative products are regulated under the Control of Pesticide Regulations (1986) and the Health and Safety Executive lead on such non-agricultural pesticides. CCA is approved for use in products for pressure impregnation at industrial sites. This follows the advice to Ministers from the independent advisory committee on pesticides that such products do not present any risk to human health or the environment.

Recently an expert advisory committee to the European Commission, the scientific committee on toxicity, ecotoxicity and the environment has reviewed the safety of wood treated with this preservative and has concluded that there may be a risk to health of children from the use of such treated timber in playground equipment and also when treated wood is burnt or disposed.

The European Commission has drawn up proposals under the Marketing and Use Directive to prohibit the use of CCA wood preservatives but by way of a derogutim to continue to allow its use in a number of essential areas where human contact is limited. Draft proposals are currently being considered by member states.

Podiatric Surgery

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to announce plans to recruit more domestically trained and qualified podiatric surgeons. [70375]

Mr. Hutton: Podiatric surgery is a specialism within chiropody/podiatry. We do not plan numbers of podiatric surgeons centrally but would expect the national health service locally to consider how to develop the role of chiropodists as numbers expand.

Between 1999 and 2001 the number of chiropodists employed in the NHS has increased by 190 (5.5 per cent.) and our latest estimates, based on historic trends and planned increases in students entering training, suggest a further increase of 750 (20 per cent.) in the number of chiropodists working in the NHS by 2009.

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Cancelled Operations

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Wealden (Mr. Hendry), of 25 June 2002, Official Report, column 864W, on cancelled operations, how many operations were cancelled in the past three quarters in each NHS trust. [67176]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 5 July 2002]: Data on the total number of operations cancelled are not collected. The number of operations cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical reasons on, or after the day the patient was due to be admitted, broken down by national health service trust, are available in the Library.

Smoking

Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect on health outcomes of smoking in the last five years, broken down by region. [59792]

Ms Blears [holding answer 10 June 2002]: The information is not available in the form requested. In 'The UK Smoking Epidemic: Deaths in 1995' (published by the Health Education Authority, 1998) it was estimated that in the United Kingdom in 1995, smoking caused more than 120,000 deaths of people aged 35 years or more; one in five deaths at all ages. Men of 35 who smoke will, on average, die seven years earlier than men who have never been smokers. Similarly, women of 35 who smoke will, on average, die six years earlier than women who have never been smokers. As well as being the prime cause of cancer and heart disease, smoking also causes other fatal conditions and chronic illnesses among adults.

In 'Smoking Kills' published in 1998, the Government set out a comprehensive programme to tackle smoking. A key element of this programme has been the development of smoking cessation services which were launched in the health action zones in 1999–2000, and were rolled out to all health authorities in England in 2000–01 and 2001–02.

Regional prevalence data shows how the burden of smoking has varied over the past five years. Table 1 shows a regional breakdown of the prevalence of smokers among adults aged 16 and over. Table 2 details by region the number of people who had successfully quit at the four week follow-up and rates per 100,000 population for April to December 2001. Table 3 illustrates the regional variations in coronary heart disease. Table 4 illustrates the regional variation in cancer mortality.

Table 1: Prevalence of current cigarette smoking among adults aged 16 and over, by standard region, 1996 to 2000
Per cent.

Weighted
Standard Region 1996199819982000
England 28272827
North31272828
Yorkshire and Humberside28282928
North West30313230
West Midlands26262725
East Midlands28282926
East Anglia25222326
Greater London29303127
Outer Metropolitan Area25   24 2525
Outer South East28
South West27242527

Notes:

1. Data for 1998 and 2000 weighted for under representation in some groups (eg young men). Comparisons for 1996 and 1998 should be done on unweighted data: comparisons between 1998 and 2000 should be done on weighted data.

Source:

Office for National Statistics: General Household Survey 2000, published as 'Living in Britain: Results from the 2000 General Household Survey'.


17 Jul 2002 : Column 427W

Table 2: People successfully quitting during the period April to December 2001 and success rate per 100,000 population aged 16 and over (based on self-report), by NHS regional office area

NHS regional office areaNumber of people who had successfully quit at four weeks (self-report)Per 100,000 population(39)
England79,051198
Northern Yorkshire19,518385
Trent6,866166
Eastern6,453148
London6,271107
South East6,80197
South West8,092201
West Midlands9,602227
North West15,448295

(39) Number of people who had successfully quit at four weeks (self-report) per 100,000 population aged 16 and over.

Notes:

1. A client is counted as having successfully quit smoking at the four week follow-up if he/she has not smoked at all since two weeks after the quit date. The figures presented here are based on self-report of smoking status by the client at the four week follow-up.

2. The population rates in this table have been calculated using the 1991 census based population estimates of persons aged 16 and over for mid year 2000 (provided by the Office for National Statistics).

Source:

DH Statistical press release: Statistics on smoking cessation services in Health Authorities England, April to December 2001


Table 3: Trends in mortality from coronary heart disease (ICD410–414): standardised mortality ratios (SMR) 1995 to 2000 annually, all ages, by Government office region (standard rates are age-specific mortality rates in 1993)

Government office region199519961997199819992000
England898681787469
North East10710499978882
North West1039893928679
Yorkshire and the Humber969490888075
East Midlands898681797568
West Midlands959186817973
East of England807873726764
London848073716865
South East787571686461
South West817974726966

Source:

Department of Health: Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators 2001


17 Jul 2002 : Column 428W

Table 4: Trends in mortality from cancer (ICD9 140–208): standardised mortality ratios (SMR) 1995 to 2000 annually, all ages, by Government office region (standard rates are age-specific mortality rates in 1993)

Government office region199519961997199819992000
England979694939189
North East112114109111105103
North West10410510210110098
Yorkshire and the Humber10010097979591
East Midlands969492918987
West Midlands999794949190
East Of England929088888584
London969593938886
South East929189888684
South West918988868684

Source:

Department of Health: Compendium of Clinical and Health Indicators 2001



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