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Hospital Trust Boards
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rules govern the appointment of vice-chairs for hospital trust boards. [71869]
Mr. Lammy: The rules are set out in regulations (13) and (14) of the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990 (SI No. 2024). Chairs and non-executives board members of trusts are appointed by the National Health Service appointments commission. However, vice chairs are appointed from amongst the non-executives by all the other directors of the trust.
Inpatient Waiting Times
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of patients waiting for inpatient treatment have been waiting over one year; [71911]
- (2) which 10 health authorities have the highest percentage of patients waiting for more than one year for inpatient treament; and which health authorities have no patients waiting more than nine months for inpatient treatment; [71998]
(3) if he will list, in rank order of health authority, the proportion of patients waiting a year or more for in-patient treatment (a) at the latest available date and (b) 12 months ago. [72413]
Mr. Hutton: Two per cent. of patients were waiting over one year for elective admission at 31 March 2002. This is the latest available data on a health authority basis.
The table shows the equivalent figures at health authority level ranked in descending order for both March 2001 and March 2002. The table includes the ten health authorities that have the highest percentage of patients waiting more than one year for elective admission.
All health authorities have patients waiting more than nine months as at March 2002.
Source:
Department of Health form QF01.
Note:
"." denotes not applicable.
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Patient Environment Action Teams
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits have been made by patient environment action teams since their inception; which hospital trusts have been visited; and what improvements have been registered by hospital trusts visited by patient environment action teams. [71089]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 July 2002]: Since publication of the NHS Plan, patient environment action teams (PEATs) teams have undertaken four rounds of assessment visits to acute National Health Service trusts. The first was made in Autumn 2000 to "spot check" the quality of the patient environment, validate the trusts' action plans, and identify what work still needed to be done to raise standards. Subsequent visits were made during Spring and Autumn 2001 and Spring 2002, to assess improvements made and to determine whether trusts had been successful in bringing standards up to a higher level.
PEAT visits have largely concentrated on the acute sector and assessments have taken place at all of the acute trusts; some of the larger mental health units have also been assessed. To date a total of 1,289 unannounced inspections have been carried out. Details of all the trusts' including examples of advancements in improvements made, can be found in "The NHS Plan—Clean Hospitals" report which can be located on the clean hospitals web site at www.cleanhospitals.com
The clean hospitals' programme has been a clear success and has had a significant impact on standards of cleanliness, decoration and supporting services. Patient areas, visitors' toilets, outpatients and accident and emergency units have been thoroughly cleaned and maintained. Many have been refurbished and redecorated. Trusts have increased resources devoted to maintaining standards of cleanliness—some have employed additional cleaning staff, others have increased the frequency with which their hospitals are cleaned. There are now no hospitals in England where cleaning standards are found to be less than acceptable.
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Acute Wards
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the bed occupancy rate in acute wards in (a) England, (b) each region and (c) each NHS trust was in each of the last six years, including the most recent year for which figures are available. [70240]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the average occupancy rate for beds in acute wards in each National Health Service trust, NHS region and England from 1996–97 to 2000–01 is available from the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity—1996–97 is the first year information on occupied beds was collected.
Surrey and Sussex Health Authority
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by the Surrey and Sussex Health Authority to avoid manipulation of the waiting lists at hospitals in its area. [70343]
Ms Blears: Surrey and Sussex Health Authority has introduced a number of procedures to review waiting list data on a weekly, monthly and quarterly basis; on both Trust and population basis.
The health authority will be working closely with all health organisations in its area to ensure they are fully supported in achieving performance targets.
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what process is available to inform doctors and patients as to the state of the waiting lists for (a) neurophysiology and (b) MRI scanning in the Surrey and Sussex Health Authority area; [70342]
- (2) what his Department's policy is on the Association of British Neurologists' recommendation that there should be more full-time neurologists per 100,000 of population in (a) the Surrey and Sussex Health Authority area and (b) the rest of England; [70340]
(3) how many full-time neurologists there are per 100,000 of population in (a) the Surrey and Sussex Health Authority area and (b) the rest of England; [70339]
(4) how many patients in (a) the Surrey and Sussex Health Authority area and (b) the rest of England have not had the treatment to address neurological conditions as recommended by their doctors. [70341]
Ms Blears: Information is not held centrally on the numbers of patients who have not had neurological treatment recommended by their doctors. Surrey and Sussex Health Authority has advised me that waiting times for non-urgent neurophysiology tests are longer at Hurstwood Park Neurological centre than the other service providers in London, although an urgent or priority request is dealt with on the same day or within 1–2 days depending on clinical priority. Waiting times for magnetic resonance imaging scans are also determined by the urgency of the case. Close links are maintained between local consultants and specialist service providers so information on waiting times is readily available, allowing patients to be kept informed of the expected waiting time for their treatment.
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Information held centrally on the number of Neurologists per 100,000 population is as follows:
| As at 30 September 2001 | Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Numbers per | ||||
| numbers | 100,000 | |||
| population | ||||
| England | 230 | 0.5 | ||
| of which | ||||
| Surrey and Sussex(81) | 10 | 0.4 | ||
Source:
Department of Health 2001 medical and dental workforce census.
Note:
(81) Includes East Surrey HA, West Surrey HA, East Sussex, Brighton and Hove HA, West Sussex HA.
The Department fully supports the need for an increase in the number of neurologists. Indeed, recommendations by the medical workforce review team are for the numbers of consultants in Neurology to grow by some 50 per cent. by 2010, from 326 in 2001 to 496 in 2010.
Workforce has been recognised as key to the successful delivery of the NHS Plan and the national service frameworks. New national workforce planning and development structures have been set up to help deliver a multidisciplinary and integrated health and social care workforce to support service improvement.
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