| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Jan 2003 : Column 684W—continued
Parliamentary Questions
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the questions tabled by the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham Refs. 83295, 83289, 86703, 86805 and 86807. [92593]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the replies that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Lammy) gave on 4 December 2002, Official Report, column 901W and on 10 December 2002, Official Report, column 304W and to the reply that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Ms Blears) gave on 15 January 2003, Official Report, column 688W. The other replies were sent on Monday 20 January and Tuesday 21 January.
Patients Forums
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients forums have been established. [92596]
Mr. Lammy: No statutory patients forums have yet been established.
PHLS Laboratories
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action has been taken to minimise the risks from disbanding the PHLS before the Health Protection Agency is fully functional. [90083]
Ms Blears: In England, most of the Public Health Laboratories Service (PHLS) laboratories which carry out general diagnostic microbiology are planned to transfer to national health service trusts by 31 March 2003. They are transferring with their current level of funding, which will be maintained for at least the first two years. Each transferring laboratory will have a public health microbiologist, who will work with consultants in communicable disease control, local authorities, the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre and other public health agencies. Service level agreements are being prepared to maintain this work. In addition, there will be a regional microbiologist in each of the nine public health regions, who will work with regional epidemiologists in the implementation of key infectious disease programmes as well as in the investigation of outbreaks of communicable disease. Regional microbiologists will also work to co-ordinate the work between the laboratories in the Health Protection Agency and the NHS. In Wales, PHLS laboratories and the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre Wales are transferring to the national public health service—Wales, on 1 April 2003.
The PHLS Board will remain in existence until primary legislation is changed. From 1 April 2003, we intend that it will be responsible for the production of media for microbiology laboratories, following the transfer of its other current functions to the HPA which we propose to create as a special health authority from the same date.
27 Jan 2003 : Column 685W
Pre-hospital Care
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent the National Health Service is bound by the Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison Committee guidelines on pre-hospital care. [92529]
Mr. Lammy: The guidelines on pre hospital care were issued to all ambulance trusts and it was for them to decide whether or not to use them.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to public funds was of the preparation of the Joint Royal College Ambulance Liaison guidelines on pre-hospital care. [92530]
Mr. Lammy: There was no cost to public funds for the preparation of the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison guidelines on pre hospital care.
Press Releases
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many press releases have been issued by his Department in each (a) year and (b) quarter from 1995–96 to 2002–03; and if he will make a statement. [92451]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Financial Year | Number of Press Releases Issued |
|---|---|
| 2002 to 20 January 2003 | 378 |
| 2001–02 | 609 |
| 2000–01 | 697 |
| 1999–2000 | 743 |
| 1998–99 | 559 |
| 1997–98 | 330 |
| 1996–97 | 296 |
| 1995–96 | 431 |
Quarterly figures for the past seven years could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 January (ref. 84461), for what reason primary care trusts need to supplement the national expenditure programme on promoting consumption of fruit and vegetables. [92008]
Ms Blears [holding answer 20 January 2003]: One of the roles of a primary care trust is to improve the health of their communities. This requires them to take the lead on public health issues in their area, develop health improvement and modernisation programmes based on health needs, and integrate service planning and health promotion. Their public health role encompasses, for example, smoking cessation, teenage pregnancy and healthy eating.
By 2004, primary care trusts will be managing up to 75 per cent. of the total national health service budget. They will use the money to commission services to meet the needs of their local population, which may include projects to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are applied in the selection of non-executive directors of PCTs. [92124]
27 Jan 2003 : Column 686W
Mr. Lammy: Details of the qualities required of all primary care trust non-executive directors have been placed in the Library. In addition, particular attributes can be sought for individual vacancies, to ensure that the board has an appropriate mix of skills and experience.
Prostate Cancer
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the causes of the regional differences in the incidence of prostate cancer in Great Britain. [89670]
Ms Blears: Rates of prostate cancer per 100,000 population in 1999, broken down by region, are shown in the table.
| Health regional office of residence | Rate of prostate cancer per 100,000 population (1999) |
|---|---|
| Northern and Yorkshire | 82.3 |
| Trent | 70.0 |
| Eastern | 92.1 |
| London | 71.4 |
| South East | 93.9 |
| South West | 101.3 |
| West Midlands | 89.8 |
| North West | 80.3 |
| England | 84.9 |
Source:
Cancer statistics registrations: Registration of cancer diagnosed in 1999, England (Office for National Statistics 2002)
Prostate cancer is related to affluence. It is also possible that these figures reflect in part differential take-up of prostate specific antigen testing in different parts of the country.
Public Information
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham on 7 January 2003, Official Report, column 208W, on public information, how much it cost to establish his Department's Customer Services Centre; and how many staff work here. [92600]
Mr. Lammy: The team has been established within existing resources. There are 38 members of staff managing correspondence from hon. and right hon. Members and members of the public, departmental e-mails and the call centre.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish his autumn departmental reports on public service agreement targets; and if he will make a statement. [91007]
Mr. Lammy: In December 2002, the Department of Health published the chief executive's report to the National Health Service, setting out progress during 2001–02 and for the first six months of the year. This report sets out clearly how the increased resources within the NHS are being used improve performance by providing more care for patients, improving quality and providing investment for the future.
27 Jan 2003 : Column 687W
We intend to link this report to Her Majesty's Treasury website and will review it to ensure that it covers reporting of Public Service Agreement performance in full.
Reconfiguration of Hospitals
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 8 January 2003, Official Report, column 277W, if he will make a statement on his reference to thinking about how to reorganise services safely and effectively as moved on; what his policy is on the ideal population size to be served by an acute hospital; when the consultation exercise for the new project will be published; and what impact he expects that consultation to have on future plans for the NHS. [91595]
Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the document on reconfiguration of hospitals will be published; and whether it includes an assessment of the place of foundation hospitals in the re-organisation of hospital services. [91503]
Mr. Hutton: A document on the configuration of hospital services is to be published shortly. The document will be relevant to all parts of the national health service.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |