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27 Jan 2003 : Column 680W—continued
NHS Staff (Herefordshire)
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general practitioners, (b) nurses and (c) consultants are employed in Herefordshire. [91736]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Numbers (headcount) | |
|---|---|
| General Medical Practioners | 137 |
| Nurses | 1,071 |
| Consultants | 72 |
(40) Includes GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.
(41) Includes HCHS qualified nurses and General Practice Nurses
Sources:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics
Department of Health medical workforce census
Department of Health non-medical workforce census
NHS Treatment Abroad
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with healthcare officials in Tunisia about possible treatment of NHS patients. [92535]
Mr. Hutton: The Department has not held any discussions with healthcare officials in Tunisia about possible treatment of national health service patients, nor has it any plans to do so.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether any of his officials have visited hospitals in Tunisia. [92536]
Mr. Hutton: No departmental officials have visited any hospitals in Tunisia, nor do they have plans to do so.
Nursing Vacancies (Somerset)
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing vacancies there were in each Somerset NHS trust in (a) March 1997 and (b) December 2002; and if he will make a statement. [92561]
Ms Blears: The Department's three-month vacancy survey has been collected yearly since March 1999 and is therefore not available for 1997.
However, the numbers of nursing vacancies in each Somerset national health service trust for the two nearest dates (March 1999 and March 2002) are shown in the tables.
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| Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (excluding HA staff) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three month vacancy rate (percentage) | Three month vacancy (number) | Staff in post (whole-time equivalent) | Staff in post (headcount) | |
| England (excluding HA staff) | 2.8 | 7,147 | 246,965 | 304,230 |
| Somerset HA trusts total | 1.6 | 31 | 1,857 | 2,333 |
| Avalon Somerset NHS Trust | 0.3 | 1 | 304 | 331 |
| East Somerset NHS Trust | 0.7 | 4 | 519 | 704 |
| Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust | 2.4 | 26 | 1,034 | 1,298 |
Notes:
1. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 1999.
2. Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents).
3. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
4. Three month vacancy rates are calculated using staff in post from the Non-Medical Census, September 1998.
5. Staff in post data are from the Non-Medical Census, September 1998.
6. Staff in post data exclude staff employed by health authorities, as vacancy information was only collected from trusts.
7. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
8. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
9. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
10. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.
11. HA figures are based on trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of healthcare.
Sources:
Vacancy numbers and rates: Department of Health Vacancies Survey March 1999
Non medical staff in post: Department of Health Non-Medical workforce census September 1998
| Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff (excluding HA staff) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three month vacancy rate (percentage) | Three month vacancy (number) | Staff in post (whole-time equivalent) | Staff in post (headcount) | |
| England (excluding HA staff) | 3.1 | 8,394 | 265,717 | 329,981 |
| Somerset HA trusts total | 0.4 | 8 | 2,187 | 2,826 |
| Somerset Coast PCT | 3.3 | 6 | 181 | 269 |
| Mendip PCT | 0.0 | 0 | 132 | 175 |
| East Somerset Hospital NHS Trust | 0.0 | 0 | 570 | 756 |
| Taunton and Somerset Hospital NHS Trust | 0.3 | 3 | 975 | 1,263 |
| Somerset Partnership NHS and Social Care Trust | 0.0 | 0 | 329 | 363 |
Key notes:
1. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2002.
2. Three month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents).
3. Three month vacancy rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month vacancies plus staff in post.
4. Three month vacancy rates are calculated using staff in post from the Vacancy Survey, March 2002.
5. Staff in post data are from the Non-Medical Workforce Census, September 2001
6. Staff in post data exclude staff employed by health authorities, as vacancy information was only collected from trusts, PCTs and Special HAs.
7. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
8. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
9. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of component parts
10. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.
11. HA figures are based on trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of healthcare.
12. Avalon Somerset NHS Trust changed name to Somerset Partnership NHS and Social Care Trust on 1 April 1999.
Sources:
Vacancy numbers and rates: Department of Health Vacancies Survey March 2002.
Non medical staff in post: Department of Health Non-Medical workforce census September 2001.
Operation Cataract
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the unit cost was of cataract operations carried out at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary under Operation Cataract by a visiting South African team; and what the equivalent cost is (a) normally at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and (b) on average in NHS hospital trusts in England. [92555]
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Jacqui Smith: The information requested is currently unavailable for cataract operations at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.
A major procurement exercise for clinical services, including cataracts, is currently being undertaken at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and as such is regarded as commercially confidential. However, the average unit
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cost of phakoemulsification cataract extraction with lens implant undertaken as a day case in a national health service trust in England is £632.
Overseas Surgical Teams
Dr. Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of utilising overseas surgical teams was for each trust up until 31 October. [84098]
Mr. Hutton: The information required is not available in the format requested. £24 million has been allocated for various overseas clinical teams initiatives for 2002–03.
Paper Supplies
Sue Doughty : To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the suppliers are of his Department's (a) paper and (b) paper products. [91899]
Mr. Lammy: The Department has three main avenues for the supply of paper and paper products.
Paper used in connection with normal business needs is supplied by the Department's contracted stationery supplier, Guilbert Niceday. Paper used in the production of bulk photocopying is supplied by our reprographics contractor, "erox. Paper products used in publications and reports are not purchased separately but are provided as part of the contract by a range of print suppliers under competitively tendered framework agreements.
Parkinson's Disease
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received the extension of the exemption from prescription charges for sufferers from Parkinson's disease; what estimate he has made of the average annual cost of prescriptions to sufferers of Parkinson's disease; and if he will make a statement on the age profile of those who suffer from Parkinson's disease. [93203]
Mr. Lammy: Since January 2002 we have received 13 letters requesting that Parkinson's disease be included in the list of medical conditions conferring exemption from prescription charges.
There is no cost of prescriptions to sufferers from Parkinson's disease who are aged 60 or over, who are (or their partner is) receiving income support, income based Jobseeker's allowance or tax credits (where income is below a specified limit, currently around £226 net per week) or who have successfully claimed help under the national health service low income scheme. We estimate that most sufferers from Parkinson's disease who are not entitled to free prescriptions will have sufficient prescriptions each year to make purchase of a pre-payment certificate worthwhile. These cost £89 for 12 months.
There are more than 120,000 people with Parkinson's Disease in the United Kingdom. It is uncommon in people younger than 30; after that the risk of developing it increases with age. The incidence of Parkinson's Disease is approximately 1:1000 in the general population, rising to 1:100 over the age of 65 and 1:50 over the age of 80.
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