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28 Jan 2003 : Column 823W—continued
Primary Care
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken of inherited deficit in fixing future financial allocations for primary care trusts. [93408]
Mr. Hutton: We allocate resources to primary care trusts on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each primary care trust's target share of available resources.
Public Services (Isle of Wight)
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his statement of 14 January, Official Report, column 662, on public services on the Isle of Wight, if he will make a further statement on issues related to the King Edward VII Hospital that the honourable Member for Tottenham was discussing when the House adjourned. [92295]
Ms Blears [holding answer 21 January 2003]: My hon. Friend's speech would have concluded with the words:
"There remains no lack of commitment on behalf of the National Health Service, who will continue to work with all parties to ensure the continuity of care for NHS patients. The NHS remains prepared to continue with its current commitment to the hospital, which is in excess of £3.4 million per annum."
Runaway Children (Counselling)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidelines on standards of counselling for children who run away from home. [93112]
Jacqui Smith: The recent Department of Health guidance, "Children Missing from Care and from Home—a guide to good practice" (November 2002), provides recommendations that a young person or child who goes missing from home may be a child in need and, where appropriate, should have access to an initial assessment provided by the local authority.
This assessment must conform to the requirements of the framework for the assessment of children in need and their families. It should evaluate the risks if a young
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person were to go missing again and whether or not they and their families might be appropriately offered local support services—such as mediation or counselling.
Social Services, Battersea
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adults resident in Battersea pay for non-residential social services; and how many will no longer have to pay after April 2003. [92131]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.
The Department issued statutory guidance to local councils for home care charges in November 2001. This guidance does not seek to change councils' power to charge or not, but seeks to ensure that, where councils do charge, this will be based on fairer well designed charging policies. An important principle of the guidance is that people whose incomes fall below basic levels of income support plus a 25 per cent. buffer will not be charged for their home care services.
Specialised Services Commissioning
Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress primary care trusts in England are making with preparations for the commissioning of specialised services, with particular reference to those for (a) genito-urinary medicine and (b) haemophilia. [87725]
Ms Blears: Since April 2002 primary care trusts have been responsible for securing health services for their local populations, including the commissioning of specialised services. Regional specialised commissioning groups, whose former health authority members have now been replaced by PCT members, are continuing to exist during 2002–03, to ensure stability and continuity, as are existing consortia arrangements including previously agreed financial commitments and programmes of service reviews.
Responses to the ministerial review on specialised services are now being considered and guidance will be issued shortly on commissioning arrangements for 2003–04 onwards. Haemophilia and HIV treatment and care services will be covered by these arrangements. Genito-urinary medicine (GUM) services are not covered by regional specialist commissioning groups as they are not specialised services. However we have recently issued a Sexual Health and HIV Commissioning Toolkit to support those commissioning and providing sexual health and HIV services including GUM.
Stroke Care
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a definition of what constitutes a specialist stroke unit; which acute hospitals (a) have such a unit and (b) are without such a unit; and which hospitals have plans approved and fully funded to open such a unit before the end of 2004. [91822]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 22 January 2003]: The term "specialist stroke unit" is used to describe hospital based acute care and rehabilitation services designed specifically for people who have had a stroke. A range of elements are associated with such units, in particular a
28 Jan 2003 : Column 825W
complex multidisciplinary process of assessment, early management and ongoing rehabilitation. We do not routinely collect information about acute hospitals with and without such units.
The Sentinel Audit, carried out by the clinical effectiveness and evaluation unit of the Royal College of Physicians and led by the intercollegiate working party for stroke does collect this information but it is anonymous and cannot be used to identify particular hospitals.
The priorities and planning framework for 2003–6 requires all hospitals who care for people who have had a stroke to have specialist stroke services, which include specialist hospital based services, by April 2004. From monitoring against the April 2002 milestones for the national service framework, we know that well over 80 per cent, of such hospitals plan to have a specialist stroke service in place by April 2004.
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans his Department has to improve (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) post-discharge support for stroke victims suffering from depression; [93372]
- (2) what plans are in place to enable health service staff to receive training enabling them to screen stroke victims for depression. [93373]
Jacqui Smith: In March 2001 the Department published the national service framework (NSF) for older people. This includes a standard on stroke. It sets out a comprehensive strategy to ensure fair, high quality integrated health and social care and reduce variations in services.
The priorities and planning framework for 2003–06 requires all hospitals who care for people who have had a stroke to have specialist stroke services, which include specialist hospital based services, by April 2004. From monitoring against the April 2002 milestones for the NSF, we know that well over 80 per cent. of such hospitals plan to have a specialist stroke service in place by April 2004.
By April this year every hospital which cares for older people with stroke will have established clinical audit systems to ensure delivery of the Royal College of Physician's clinical guidelines for stroke. These guidelines include the assessing and treatment of depression.
Statutory Instruments
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Statutory Instruments subject to negative procedure made by his Department (a) came into force and (b) were considered by a delegated legislation committee in each of the last three sessions. [88031]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Number of Statutory Instruments that came into force for each session | Number of Statutory Instruments that were considered by a designated legislation committee | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 224 | 1999–2000 | 3 |
| 2000–01 | 274 | 2000–01 | 1 |
| 2001–02 | 503 | 2001–02 | 5 |
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Surgical Equipment
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the total amount of surgical equipment disposed of each year; and what steps are being taken to recycle this equipment. [91465]
Ms Blears: The Department does not hold central figures on the amount of surgical equipment disposed of each year.
Each national health service trust decides how to dispose of its surgical equipment. The NHS takes into account health and safety issues, such as risk of cross-infection when recycling or reselling surgical equipment. These issues include the possibility of the transfer of infections such as vCJD, HIV, hepatitis and the need for ensuring that staff using the equipment are properly trained.
The risks associated with the re-selling of surgical instruments could well outweigh any potential cost savings.
The Medical Devices Agency has issued guidelines entitled "DB9801 Supplement 2 Guidance on the sale, transfer of ownership and disposal of used medical devices". The key points addressed in the guidance are:
- Transfer of ownership (sale or donation).
Decommissioning.
Disposal as waste.
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