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5 Nov 2002 : Column 262W—continued
MRSA
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people contacted MRSA and in which hospitals in 2001. [77963]
Ms Blears: These figures are not available as information on Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections, apart from MRSA blood stream infections, is not collated centrally. Mandatory reporting of MRSA blood stream infections was introduced for all acute national health service trusts on 1 April 2001 and data are routinely published. Results by individual trust for the first year of this scheme (April 2001 to March 2002) were published in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly on 20 June 2002 and are available on the Public Health Laboratory Service website www.phls.co.uk/publications/cdr/PDFfiles/2002/cdr2502.pdf.
National Alcohol Reduction Strategy
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many copies of the National Alcohol Reduction Strategy Consultation Paper have been sent out to user groups in the voluntary and commercial sectors. [78180]
Ms Blears: [holding answer 29 October 2002]: The Government launched the National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy Consultation Document on 15 October 2002, and the consultation period will run until 15 January 2003. Copies of the consultation document have been placed on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/alcohol/alcoholstrategy.htm and on the strategy unit website www.strategy.gov.uk/2002/alcohol/consultationdocument.shtml.
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The Government are keen to receive a wide range of responses from all stakeholders including user groups. The document has been circulated either in hard copy or electronically to a wide range of interested groups, including representatives of the alcohol counselling and prevention services (ACAPS), the alcohol service users national alliance (ASUNA) and the London drug and alcohol network (LDAN).
NHS Finance
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per patient of alcohol and drug rehabilitation on the NHS was in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [78532]
Ms Blears: There are around 3,100 bedspaces within the drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation sector. The cost per week, per patient, varies from around #250 for a placement within hostel accommodation to around #1000 for a placement within a medical/clinical facility. There is no information collected at present on community rehabilitation programmes, although work is being developed on this by the national treatment agency.
NHS Information Technology
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on (a) the personal responsibilities of the Director General of NHS Information Technology, (b) his responsibility for the NHS Information Authority and (c) his role in directing the implementation of NHS information technology at regional level. [76323]
Ms Blears: Richard Granger has been appointed as Director General of Information Technology in the national health service and is responsible for delivering the national programme for IT. This focuses on the key developments that will make a significant difference to improving the patient experience and the delivery of care and services. There are four key deliverables: electronic appointment booking, an electronic care records service, an electronic prescribing service and an underpinning IT infrastructure with sufficient connectivity and broadband capacity to support the critical national applications and local systems.
Gwyn Thomas is the Chief Executive of the NHS Information Authority (NHSIA), which is a special health authority. Richard Granger will be working closely with the NHSIA, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the Information Policy Unit in the Department of Health. Working together and maintaining strong working relationships will be important for all parties.
In the new NHS planning system, strategic health authorities (StHAs) are responsible for producing local delivery plans that will link sound local investment plans on IT into the national arrangements and framework. Richard Granger will be working through StHAs to ensure that for IT, the focus is on the key deliverables for the national IT programme. He will work with the chief executives and chief information officers at each StHA to ensure that progress is maintained against the critical
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path for implementation. The chief information officers will report to both their own chief executives and to Richard Granger.
NHS Organisations (Running Costs)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total running costs of NHS organisations serving (a) Portsmouth South and (b) Hampshire were in 1997; what the totals are now; and if he will make a statement. [78965]
Ms Blears: The total expenditure of the local provider organisations serving the former Portsmouth and South East Hampshire health authority area in 1997–98 was #242.9 million. This included Portsmouth Hospitals National Health Service Trust and Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust. The total forecast out-turn expenditure in 2002–03 for Portsmouth Hospitals Trust and the provider functions of the East Hampshire, Fareham and Gosport and Portsmouth City Primary Care Trusts is #383.6 million. It is not possible to provide information for the Portsmouth South constituency.
The total expenditure by health authorities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in 1997–98 was #971.7 million and the forecast outturn expenditure in 2002–03 for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Strategic Health Authority and the 10 constituent primary care trusts which have commissioning functions is #1,501.4 million.
In both cases it is difficult to make direct comparisons between 1997–98 expenditure and 2002–03 forecast out-turn expenditure because of the various organisational changes which have taken place in the intervening years.
NHS Services (Hampshire)
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were employed to carry out administration for NHS services for residents of (a) Portsmouth South and (b) Hampshire in 1997; how many are employed; and if he will make a statement. [78963]
Ms Blears: Information is not collected centrally by constituency. Information by health authority is shown in the table.
| Wholetime equivalents | Headcount | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code/health authority | 1997 | 2001 | 1997 | 2001 |
| All administration staff | 4,490 | 5,370 | 5,540 | 6,600 |
| QD1 North and Mid Hants | 1,130 | 1,340 | 1,420 | 1,650 |
| QD3 Southampton and SW Hants | 1,570 | 1,910 | 1,870 | 2,290 |
| QD4 Isle of Wight | 370 | (25)— | 450 | (25)— |
| QD2 Portsmouth and SE Hants | 1,420 | (25) — | 1,800 | (25)— |
| QEV Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and SE Hants(24) | (25)— | 2,120 | (25)— | 2,660 |
(23) Administration staff comprises of senior managers, managers, clerical and administrative staff.
(24) Isle of Wight HA and Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA merged in 2001 to become Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA.
(25) Not applicable.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of the component parts.
3. 2001 is the most recent year for which information is available.
Source:
Department of Health non-medical workforce census
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NHS Trusts
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mergers between NHS acute services trusts there have been in each year since trusts were formed. [76264]
Mr. Hutton: A list of all national health service trusts that have been involved in major reconfigurations since 1991–92 have been placed in the Library. Most of these have merged by dissolution and establishment of new NHS trusts, but there are also absorption mergers and parts of NHS trusts involved in the formation of new NHS trusts and primary care trusts.
NHS Work Force Statistics
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the next NHS workforce statistics. [78183]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 29 October 2002]: Figures for 30 September 2002 are due to be published in February 2003, in line with timing for previous years.
NICE
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list members of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence who are ethicists. [78954]
Ms Blears: The constitution of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's board reflects its primary role of providing clear guidance on clinical and cost effectiveness to the national health service. It does not include any members appointed specifically because of their formal training in ethics.
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