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14 Jan 2003 : Column 515W—continued
HEALTH
NHS Services (South Wiltshire)
16. Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Ministry of Defence about the impact of Project Allenby on the provision of NHS services in south Wiltshire; and if he will make a statement. [90204]
Ms Blears: Although Ministers have not been directly involved in the discussions that have taken place, I understand that at official level the discussions have been positive. I am advised that the Ministry of Defence planned improvements include the provision of an Army Primary Health Care Team to meet the health care needs of army personnel.
The impact of Project Allenby on local health services is expected as a result to be minimal.
Overseas Doctors
17. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his assessment is of the speed and efficiency of procedures to assess the competence of overseas qualified doctors; and if he plans to revise them. [90205]
Mr. Hutton: Assessing the competence of doctors who have qualified outside the European Economic Area is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, the Specialist Training Authority and the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice. At present this process can be unduly lengthy. We are consulting on legislation which will replace two of these bodies with a single new body—the Postgraduate Medical Education Training Board. The Board will be under a duty to complete the processing of applications from overseas doctors within three months.
Health Services (East Kent)
18. Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the reconfiguration of health services in East Kent. [90206]
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Ms Blears: A decision on the reconfiguration of acute services in East Kent could not be made while the judicial review of the consultation process was under consideration. This has now been completed and Ministers will shortly be considering the recommendation made by Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority. A decision will be made as soon as possible.
Medical Negligence
19. Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS of medical negligence compensation payments was in the last year for which figures are available. [90207]
Mr. Lammy: The latest figure, for the financial year 2000–01, is that national health service expenditure for clinical negligence amounted to #392 million. Figures for the financial year 2001–02 are being prepared by the National Audit Office and will be available later this year.
Nurses
20. Tony Baldry: To as the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the retention of nurses. [90208]
Mr. Hutton: The Government are committed to retaining more staff in the national health service. As a result of the action we have taken on better pay, working conditions, and access to training and development vacancy rates for nurses are falling and the NHS Plan target for an extra 20,000 more nurses was met two years early. Since 1997, there are more than 40,000 extra nurses working in the NHS.
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
NHS Trust
22. Mr. Bacon: To as the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the re-financing of the PFI project for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust. [90210]
Mr. Hutton: Initial discussions have taken place involving Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust, its Private Sector Partner Octagon and the Department of Health about the possible re-financing of the PFI scheme at the trust. If an agreement is reached, the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust will benefit from a 30 per cent. share of resulting gains.
Surrey and Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust
23. Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the financial position of the Surrey and Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust. [90211]
Ms Blears: Surrey and Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust has a budget of #140 million. The Trust has reported a deficit to the end of November of #2.8 million and is projecting a surplus of #193,000 by the year end.
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Multiple Sclerosis
24. Andrew George : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the prescription plus initiative in respect of sufferers of multiple sclerosis. [90212]
Jacqui Smith: A survey of Strategic Health Authorities conducted last autumn showed that services were being developed to initiate treatment under the scheme. We understand that the majority of designated specialist centres are now recruiting patients under the scheme.
Children's Hospices
25. Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on the funding of hospices for children; and if he will make a statement. [90213]
Ms Blears: I met the Association of Children's Hospices on 9 January to discuss ways in which funding levels can be determined through negotiation with primary care trusts. We also discussed the benefits to be obtained through the New Opportunities Fund. Awards from this programme will be announced later this month.
Attention Deficit Disorder
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates he has made of the number of adults suffering from (a) ADD and (b) ADHD. [89677]
Jacqui Smith: No such assessment has been undertaken.
Capita Group
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the contracts that have been awarded to the Capita Group by his Department. [89969]
Mr. Lammy: The Department does not centrally hold a record of individual contracts.
Expenditure by the Department with the Capita Group for the last three years is shown in the table.
| Financial year | # |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 792,433 |
| 2001–02 | 250,172 |
| 2002–03 | 125,942 (to 12/02) |
The bulk of the expenditure has been in relation to contracts placed with Capita RAS (part of the Capita Group) for staff recruitment exercises.
Care Homes
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his answer of 9 December 2002, Official Report, column 152W, on care home inspectors, when information on the number of different types of establishment will be available. [90119]
Jacqui Smith: Data will be available from the end of March.
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Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methodology was used in indicating the increase in the number of people being supported in care homes in the next three years as set out in the document XImprovement, Expansion and Reform: The next three years". [83465]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 28 November 2002]: The modelling methodology took account of projected changes in the numbers of older people generally and in the numbers of emergency hospital admissions of older people between 2003–06.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many CAMHS consultants are employed in the NHS in each health authority. [85156]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the tables. The data shows an increase since 1997 of 9.1 per cent., in the number of child and adolescent psychiatrists.
| All specialities | Child and adolescent psychiatry | |
|---|---|---|
| England | ||
| 1997 | 21,370 | 440 |
| 1998 | 22,220 | 460 |
| 1999 | 23,220 | 490 |
| 2000 | 24,310 | 480 |
| 2001 | 25,690 | 490 |
| 2002 | 26,350 | 480 |
Note:
Figures are at 30 September each year, except 2002 which is at 31 March.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
| At 31 March 2002 | |
|---|---|
| Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire | 20 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 10 |
| Birmingham and The Black Country | 20 |
| Cheshire and Merseyside | 20 |
| County Durham and Tees Valley | 20 |
| Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire | 10 |
| Cumbria and Lancashire | 10 |
| Dorset and Somerset | 10 |
| Essex | 0(1) |
| Greater Manchester | 20 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 20 |
| Kent and Medway | 10 |
| Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland | 10 |
| Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire | 30 |
| North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire | 10 |
| North Central London | 20 |
| North East London | 20 |
| North West London | 30 |
| Northumberland, Tyne and Wear | 20 |
| Shropshire and Staffordshire | 10 |
| South East London | 20 |
| South West London | 20 |
| South West Peninsula | 0(1) |
| South Yorkshire | 10 |
| Surrey and Sussex | 30 |
| Thames Valley | 30 |
| Trent | 30 |
| West Yorkshire | 20 |
(1) Figure less than 5.
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Department of Health 2002 consultant census.
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