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30 Oct 2002 : Column 828W—continued

Foundation Trusts

Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of his departmental officials are involved in work on foundation status for NHS trusts. [74555]

30 Oct 2002 : Column 829W

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 24 October]: Departmental officials currently working on policy development for National Health Service foundation trusts are required to co-ordinate and produce detailed proposals for a new form of NHS organisation in order to meet Government objectives to devolve operational control of the most successful NHS trusts whilst enhancing accountability to local stakeholders. At this stage their usual work primarily includes researching and drafting papers for Ministers on specific policy issues; preparing for the necessary legislation; consulting with key stakeholders; and, handling parliamentary business and ministerial correspondence.

Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 17 October 2002, Official Report, column 922W, what the usual work is of each of the nine staff of his Department working full-time on foundation trusts. [76848]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 24 October 2002]: Departmental officials currently working on policy development for national health service foundation trusts are required to co-ordinate and produce detailed proposals for a new form of NHS organisation in order to meet Government objectives to devolve operational control of the most successful NHS trusts while enhancing accountability to local stakeholders. At this stage their usual work primarily includes researching and drafting papers for Ministers on specific policy issues; preparing for the necessary legislation; consulting with key stakeholders; and, handling parliamentary business and ministerial correspondence.

GP Walk-in Centres

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of GP walk in centres. [75565]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 21 October 2002]: National health service walk-in centres are a programme to pilot delivery of a new type of accessible and nurse led primary care service.

There are now 42 such centres and the independent national evaluation concluded that they were making a valuable contribution to improving primary care access. Walk-in centres and services therefore have an important and continuing role in securing local delivery of NHS Plan targets for access and emergency care. We are currently considering how best to ensure that primary care trust exploits this potential.

Mid-Essex Hospital Trust

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting for in-patient treatment in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust on 31 March 1997; and how many months between 31 March 1997 and the latest available date the number has been below that level. [77137]

Mr. Lammy: The information requested is shown in the table. The in-patient waiting list for the trust was 8,391 at the end of March 1997 and has not been below that level since then.

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Patients waiting for elective admission, Mid-Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, June 1995 to August 2002, ordinary and day case admissions combined, all specialities

Quarter/monthTotal waiting
June 19956,568
September 19956,440
December 19956,350
March 19965,835
June 19966,463
September 19965,909
December 19967,258
March 19978,391
June 19978,690
September 19978,967
December 199710,542
March 199811,360
April 199811,422
May 199811,517
June 199811,834
July 199811,804
August 199811,791
September 199811,615
October 199811,382
November 199811,347
December 199811,359
January 199911,172
February 199910,475
March 19999,967
April 19999,961
May 19999,980
June 19999,824
July 19999,488
August 19999,465
September 19999,395
October 19999,372
November 19999,483
December 19999,851
January 200010,233
February 200010,416
March 20009,865
April 20009,953
May 20009,823
June 200010,154
July 20009,703
August 20009,405
September 20009,486
October 20009,375
November 20009,050
December 20009,466
January 20019,282
February 20019,288
March 20018,894
April 20018,853
May 20018,868
June 20018,850
July 20018,898
August 20018,917
September 20018,968
October 20018,657
November 20018,787
December 20019,228
January 20029,198
February 20029,646
March 20029,732
April 20029,874
May 20029,986
June 20029,838
July 20029,928
August 20029,804

Source: Department of Health form KHO7 and Monthly Monitoring

30 Oct 2002 : Column 831W

National Health Care (Essex)

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the National Health Service Trusts management structures and patient organisations in Essex with specific reference to (a) mental health, (b) dental care, (c) hospital trusts, (d) chiropody, (e) ambulance services, and (f) strategic management; how many (i) managers and (ii) administrative staff are in each category; and if he will make a statement on the reporting structure for national health care in Essex. [75885]

Mr. Lammy: The information requested has been placed in the Library. It is not possible to separately identify those medical and dental staff who are managers. Essex Strategic Health Authority is the headquarters for national health service services in the Essex area. The health authority is accountable to the Department and is responsible for supporting local NHS organisations in delivering the NHS Plan, building capacity and supporting performance improvement across all local health agencies.

National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what procedures are in place to monitor the number of patients and the related cost associated with NICE approved treatments that enable comparisons with the pre-approval phase of the treatment and ensure that NICE guidance is being acted on; [75803]

Mr. Lammy: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has commissioned a research project through the national health service research and development methodology programme to evaluate the impact of its guidance on clinical and managerial practice. Preliminary results are expected in December 2002.

The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection will be the principal external inspector of the implementation of NICE guidance, and details of this inspection are currently being agreed between the Commission and the Department.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all patients have access to testing to ascertain whether they would benefit from a NICE-approved treatment. [75795]

Mr. Lammy: None. The responsibility for arranging tests and deciding what treatment is best for the patient rests with the clinicians concerned. This is done in consultation with the patient, fully taking into account National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidance and informed by the patient's clinical history.

NHS Treatment

Mr. David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the number of people who die prematurely in the UK each year (a) while waiting for NHS treatment and (b) as a consequence of negligent treatment within the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [76292]

30 Oct 2002 : Column 832W

Mr. Hutton: The Department does not collect statistics on the number of people who have died while on the waiting list for treatment. Data are collected on how many patients are removed from the waiting list without being treated but these are not broken down into specific categories.

Data on the number of patients who die prematurely as a result of negligent treatment in the National Health Service are not collected.

Non-specialist Surgeons and Physicians

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations his Department has received concerning (a) the harmful effect on patients of being treated by surgeons and physicians who are not specialists in their field and (b) the chances of such patients making a full recovery; [75773]

Mr. Hutton: None. All doctors must work within the limits of their professional competence, as required by General Medical Council (GMC) guidance, Good Medical Practice. Doctors should not, therefore, be given or take on responsibility for patients if they are not competent to do so. This is to ensure that patients receive the highest quality of care and have the best chances of making a full recovery.

Nevertheless all National Health Service patients in hospital are likely to have some contact with a doctor who is not a fully trained specialist. The NHS in England employs about 31,700 doctors, not yet qualified to work independently, in training grades and about 11,800 staff grade doctors, some of whom are trained specialists. 24,400 NHS consultants supervise the work of all of these doctors and are responsible for the care patients receive. Consultants are all trained specialists included on the specialist register held by the GMC.

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