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27 Jan 2003 : Column 676W—continued

Miller Group

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the property portfolio being transferred to Miller Group as part of the acquisition of inventures. [92526]

Mr. Lammy: The list of properties in the portfolio being sold to Miller/HBOS is still in the process of being finalised.

Minimum Wage

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the impact of increasing the minimum wage (a) in line with average earnings, (b) to £4.17 per hour, (c) to £4.87 per hour, (d) to £5.00 per hour and (e) to £5.30 per hour, on the cost of salaries of departmental employees (i) in total and (ii) for each nation of the United Kingdom in the next financial year. [90607]

Mr. Lammy: We are unable to provide data on the impact of increasing the minimum wage in line with average earnings as these statistics are not collected centrally.

There would be no impact on the Department of Health of increasing the minimum wage by the amounts listed.

The minimum wage in the Department of Health, as of August 2002, is 11,100 (Full time equivalent).

For staff based in London (36 hours per week) this works out to be 5.90 per hour.

For staff based outside of London (37 hours per week) this works out to be 5.74 per hour.

Ministerial Visits

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he next plans to visit a children's hospice. [87470]

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Ms Blears: There are no current plans in my right hon. Friend's official diary to visit a children's hospice. Should a request to do so be received in the Department, he will give it his full consideration.

Mixed Sex Wards

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals in the south west have mixed-sex wards. [88004]

Ms Blears: The information requested is not collected at individual hospital level but at trust level.

The reasons for measuring at trust level is because hospital wards generally care for both men and women. To provide the required levels of privacy and dignity for patients, wards are split into single sex bays, or single rooms, or otherwise configured to provide adequate segregation of gender. It is the responsibility of each national health service trust to determine the most appropriate configuration to meet their specific requirements.

In 1998, we set three clear objectives which were designed to deliver separate sleeping areas and separate toilet and washing facilities for men and women, and to safeguard the privacy and dignity of patients who are mentally ill.

Today, 98 per cent. of NHS trusts provide single-sex sleeping accommodation and have robust operational policies in place which protect patients' privacy and dignity. 95 per cent. of NHS trusts have met additional criteria set for mental health facilities. The target to provide separate toilet and washing facilities for men and women will be met by the end of March. 93 per cent. of NHS trusts currently meet this requirement, and a further 2 per cent. of NHS trusts have works underway to deliver the required standard, affecting just 32 wards, which will be completed by the end of the March.

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Nationally, over 98 per cent. of NHS wards meet privacy and dignity guidelines. New hospitals and hospital facilities currently being built will bring the remaining wards to the necessary standard.

Mortuary Provision

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what actions the Government have taken with regard to the provision of mortuary facilities in the NHS in the past year. [88425]

Mr. Hutton: The Government have published the NHS estates document, "Health Building Note 20 Facilities for mortuary and post-mortem room services", giving revised guidance on the planning and design of comprehensive NHS mortuary and post mortem facilities.

The document is available on www.nhsestates.gov.uk.

NHS Advertising

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the purpose was of the recent NHS advertisement in the German press entitled "Become one in a million". [91114]

Mr. Hutton: The aim was to attract suitably qualified senior doctors who were interested in working in the National Health Service.

Dr. Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are for the NHS to advertise for consultants and general practitioners in the foreign media; and if he will list such campaigns since 1 May 1997. [91115]

Mr. Hutton: The Department did not undertake any advertising in foreign media before August 2001. Since that date the following advertisements have been placed.

In addition, national health service employers have placed advertisements for specific vacancies.

The Department plans to advertise the International Fellowship Scheme in March to April and September to October 2003. Plans for additional advertising have not yet been finalised.

Date	Advertisement	Countries
August 2001	Consultant recruitment	Spain
September 2001	General practitioner recruitment	Spain
September 2001	Consultant and general practitioner recruitment	Europe, North America, Australasia and the Middle East
January 2002	Consultant and general practitioner recruitment	Germany
March 2002	International Fellowship Scheme	Europe, North America and Australasia
August 2002	Consultant and general practitioner recruitment	Germany
September and December 2002	International Fellowship Scheme	Europe, North America and Australasia
September 2002	General practitioner recruitment	Europe
December 2002	Consultant and general practitioner recruitment	Europe
December 2002	Seminar publicity	Germany, Austria and Switzerland
December 2002	Consultant and general practitioner recruitment	Spain

Dr. Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what will be the total cost of (a) the recent NHS advertisement in the German press entitled 'Become one in a million' and (b) the seminars referred to in the advertisement. [91116]

Mr. Hutton: The most recent advertisement that appeared in the German press entitled 'Become one in a million' cost £5,794 in total. The seminars referred to in the advertisement in Vienna and Salzburg will cost £5,500. Costs for the seminar in Dusseldorf have not yet been finalised.

NHS Direct

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the expected waiting time is for patients to speak to a doctor when calling NHS Direct. [86070]

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Mr. Lammy [holding answer 10 December 2002]: There is no expected time for a patient to speak to a doctor when calling NHS Direct. NHS Direct is a nurse led service.

NHS Doctors

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual (a) total and (b) percentage increases in the number of NHS doctors have been in each year since 1992. [91593]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.

All NHS doctors⁽³⁹⁾ (excluding GP retainers) in England, 1992–2001

		Change
Year	Total	Year	Percentage
1992	79,232	1992–93	1.9
1993	80,739	1993–94	0.7
1994	81,319	1994–95	3.9
1995	84,459	1995–96	2.5
1996	86,584	1996–97	3.5
1997	89,619	1997–98	2.5
1998	91,837	1998–99	2.3
1999	93,981	1999–2000	2.5
2000	96,319	2000–01	3.0
2001	99,169	—	—

⁽³⁹⁾ Includes NHS Hospital, Public Health Medicine, Community Health Service medical and dental doctors and General Medical Practitioners (GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Salaried GPs, PMS Contracted GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA) and PMS Others). GP Retainers were first counted in 1999 and have been omitted for comparability purposes.

Sources:

Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics. Data as at 1 October 1992–99 and 30 September 2000–01.

Department of Health non-medical workforce census. Data as at 30 September each year.

NHS Indicators

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish key indicators about NHS performance and staffing in 2003. [91478]

Mr. Hutton: As the independent regulator for national health service performance, the Commission for Health Improvement will be responsible for all future publications of NHS performance ratings. The next publication will be in summer 2003.

It is intended that statistics on NHS workforce numbers will be published before the end of the financial year. Vacancy data at March 2003 will be published in the second half of 2003.

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