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19 Sept 2002 : Column 364W—continued
Post Mortems
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many post mortems took place in each of the last five years. [71154]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 July 2002]: The number of post mortems carried out in England and Wales in the last five years is shown in the table.
| (000s) | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital post mortems 1 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Coroner's post mortems 2 | 123.0 | 124.4 | 124.8 | 124.5 | 121.1 |
| Total | 126.1 | 127.9 | 128.3 |
1 Series DH1: Mortality Statistics general. Review of the Registrar General on deaths in England and Wales.
2 Home Office Statistical Bulletin (annual): Deaths reported to Coroners, copies of which are in the Library.
Statutory Instruments
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many statutory instruments have been (a) introduced, (b) removed and (c) amended by his Department since 1 January. [71043]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 July 2002]: Information relating to the number of statutory instruments made by the Department since 1 January 2002 has been placed in the Library.
Community Hospital (Malvern)
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the future of the proposed community hospital at Seaford Court in Malvern. [70791]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 July 2002]: The South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust is currently considering the business plan for the development of the proposed new unit at Seaford Court. These will be reviewed over the coming weeks, culminating in a discussion at the joint professional executive committee board meeting on 4 September.
[This information is correct as at Friday, 2 August 2002]
Cancer
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to investigate cancer rates at Burnham-on-Sea. [71553]
Ms Blears: The Department is aware of the recent survey by green audit of cancer in Burnham-on Sea, however, it has not been provided with details of the results of the survey. Government are advised on cancer clusters near to nuclear installations by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) which was set up in 1985. This committee is carrying out a very large study of childhood cancer in Great Britain which includes all cases registered since the 1960's (some 33,000 cases). This study is expected to report in 2003 and will include areas around all nuclear installations in Great Britain including Burnham-on Sea. The Government are considering a feasibility study by the small area health statistics unit (SAHSU) of all adult cancers in the areas around nuclear power installations in Great Britain.
Social Workers
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the vacancy rates are for social workers in each local authority in England at the latest date for which figures are available. [71106]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 18 July 2002]: Information on vacancy rates for social workers is not available centrally.
Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which coastal shellfisheries the Food Standards Agency has divided the area into zones for the purpose of testing for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. [71810]
Ms Blears: The Food Standards Agency having considered expert advice has divided four shellfish production areas, the Solent, the Wash, West Mersea, and the Thames estuary, into zones as a result of presence of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Food Standards Agency will divide the Burry Inlet Shellfishery into zones to permit cockle gathering in the parts of the estuary testing free of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. [71811]
Ms Blears: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently reviewed whether it would be possible to divide the Burry Inlet into zones in order to permit cockles to be gathered in parts of the estuary. Taking expert advice into account, the FSA does not currently consider the Burry Inlet to be suitable for dividing into zones at this time due a number of issues but primarily due to the erratic pattern of the results for the toxin detection on both sides of the Inlet. The FSA is keeping the situation in the Burry Inlet under review and will continue to liase with the local enforcement agencies and industry.
19 Sept 2002 : Column 365W
Wage Costs
Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the difference in wage costs between Surrey and Durham. [71913]
Mr. Hutton: The weighted capitation formula used to calculate health authority target shares of National Health Service revenue allocations includes a staff market forces factor (MFF) that reflects geographical variations in staff costs. The staff MFF is based on the new earnings survey data set produced by the Office for National Statistics.
In the 2002–03 allocations formula the weighting factor used for Surrey was 1.15 and the weighting factor for Co. Durham was 1.00.
Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health
Authority
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate his Department has made of the shortfall of (a) nurses, (b) general practitioners, (c) cancer specialists and (d) consultants in (i) the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority, (ii) Hampshire and (iii) the South East; and if he will make a statement; [72032]
19 Sept 2002 : Column 366W
- (2) how many (a) mental health nurses and (b) doctors specialising in mental health care there were and what was the estimated shortfall in (i) mental health nurses and (ii) doctors specialising in mental health care in (A) the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority, (B) Hampshire and (C) the South East in each year since 1996; what the projected figures are for (1) 2002 and (2) 2003; and if he will make a statement. [72029]
Ms Blears: Information on vacancy rates has been collected in the National Health Service Vacancy Survey since 1999. Information, taken from the surveys for 1999 to 2002, has been placed in the Library. Details of shortfalls and projected vacancy rates are held at trust level and, therefore, are not available centrally.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much expenditure there was on mental health services in (a) the Isle of Wight, (b) Hampshire and (c) the South East in each year since 1996; what the projected expenditure is for (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003; and if he will make a statement. [72031]
Ms Blears: The information on expenditure on mental illness, not including primary care services for those with mental illness, for the years 1996–97 to 2000–01 is shown in the table.
| Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority | Hampshire | South East | |
|---|---|---|---|
| £000 | £000 | £000 | |
| 1996–97 | 36,312 | 89,118 | 412,979 |
| 1997–98 | 39,161 | 92,295 | 438,880 |
| 1998–99 | 39,084 | 96,686 | 463,522 |
| 1999–2000 | 44,276 | 113,129 | 524,989 |
| 2000–01 | 51,866 | 122,780 | 615,425 |
Notes:
Figures are secondary mental illness expenditure by the HA and for 2000–01 by PCTs.
Source:
Health authority audited accounts 1996–97 to 1998–99.
Health authority audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 and 2000–01.
Primary care trust audited summarisation schedules 2000–01.
Information for 2001–02 is not held centrally nor is a projection on mental health spending for 2002–03.
Food Imports
Mr. Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tests have been carried out by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise on imported foods and ingredients in each of the last five years, broken down by category; and what proportion of those tests identified unauthorised GMO samples. [71252]
Ms Blears [holding answer 19 July 2002]: Responsibility for tests on food imported direct to the United Kingdom from third countries rests with the port health authorities and local authorities which have responsibilities for port health work. Information on tests carried out on imported foods is not held centrally.
Cardiac Services
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Government's support for heart failure patients. [71657]
Ms Blears: Increased investment and sustained efforts from National Health Service staff in recent years means the NHS is delivering life saving treatment to more people more quickly. A greater number of lives are being saved from premature death through heart attacks. This means more people are surviving with weakened hearts which, with an ageing population, has resulted in a growing number of people living with heart failure.
The national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease recognised that there was more to be done to improve the care and quality of life that patients with heart failure experience, and to reduce the number of avoidable hospital admissions. As the early priorities for the NSF are now being delivered, heart failure is now a top priority for the next phase of delivery of the NSF.
The Department will be working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation, the NHS and other key players to ensure high quality care for these patients.
19 Sept 2002 : Column 367W
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many heart failure patients there were in the UK in each of the last three years. [71658]
Ms Blears: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospital admissions for heart failure | 82,382 | 80,055 | 74,441 |
Source:
Department of Health, Hospital Episode Statistics
Note:
The data shown represent the number of episodes that were the first in the spell of hospital in-patient treatment rather than a "count" of the number of patients.
These figures are for England only. Information for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with (a) patient groups, (b) doctors and (c) pharmarceutical company representatives on heart failure. [71659]
Ms Blears: Ministers recently met with the British Heart Foundation to discuss services for heart failure, and Departmental officials have been in discussion with a range of clinicians and pharmaceutical companies. In addition, an expert sub-group of the coronary heart disease taskforce which includes patient representatives has met to inform the development of policy and practice to implement the national service framework chapter on heart failure.
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