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25 Feb 2003 : Column 524W—continued
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for public consultation on the operation of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. [97950]
Mr. Lammy: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which is being created on 1 April this year, will have new governance arrangements, designed to ensure that the Agency is responsive to the views of its customers, beneficiaries and stakeholders. The Agency will be led by a Chairman and a Board of directors, including a majority of non-executive directors, which will be responsible for developing the
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policies of the Agency within the framework set by Ministers. The Agency's Chairman, Professor Alasdair Breckenridge, will be responsible for increasing its public profile and, in particular, for ensuring that the public is well-informed about issues concerning the safety of medicines and medical equipment. The Agency will also publish an annual report on its operations.
Medicines Control Agency
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to act upon the recommendations made in the recent National Audit Office report on the Medicines Control Agency. [97951]
Mr. Lammy: The National Audit Office report was published on 16 January and officials of the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) are currently considering the recommendations of the report. The Board of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will take the recommendations fully into account when it considers the operation of the new Agency. Officials from the Department of Health and the MCA will be giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on the subject of the report in March.
Mental Health
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessments have been made of the effectiveness of assertive outreach teams on the take up of aftercare services by mental health service users discharged from hospital. [97661]
Jacqui Smith: Although the Department has not undertaken a direct assessment of this, studies have reported that those receiving assertive community treatments were more likely to remain in contact with services than people receiving standard community care. People allocated to assertive outreach teams were less likely to be admitted to hospital than those receiving standard community care and spent less time in hospital, results show a 35 per cent. decrease in hospital admissions, hence reducing the use of in-patient beds.
Studies have also shown that in terms of clinical and social outcome, significant and robust differences between assertive community treatment and standard community care were found on accommodation status, employment and patient satisfaction. More users were maintained in treatment longer than in routine case management, users experienced fewer admissions involving the police and there were fewer involuntary admissions.
Mental Health NHS Trusts
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many new posts of Development Manager have been created in Mental Health NHS trusts in the last year. [97874]
Mr. Hutton: Information is not collected centrally on posts which carry this description or title.
Minor Injuries Units
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the running costs of the (a) St Charles Hospital Minor
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Injuries Unit, (b) Soho Walk-In Centre and (c) South Westminster Minor Injuries Unit have been in each of the last three years. [95618]
Mr. Hutton: The running costs of the St Charles Hospital Minor Injuries Unit and the South Westminster Minor Injuries Unit are not held centrally. This information would be available by contacting the Chair of Westminster Primary Care Trust directly.
In the first three years of their existence the Department provided specific additional funds to primary care trusts who host national health service walk in centres. For Soho walk in centre the central contribution is shown in the table.
| Year | Contribution |
|---|---|
| 2000–2001 | 616,000 |
| 2001–2002 | 683,000 |
| 2002–2003 | 620,000 |
Mixed Sex Wards
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress he has made over the last year to end the use of mixed sex wards in NHS hospitals in England; how many mixed sex wards there are in NHS hospitals in England; and how many there were in February (a) 2002, (b) 2001, (c) 2000, (d) 1999 and (e) 1998. [97835]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 24WS.
Information on the number of mixed-sex wards is not available.
National Institute for Mental Health
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the proposed expenditure on each regional centre for the National Institute for Mental Health. [97875]
Jacqui Smith: Each regional development centre for the National Institute for Mental Health has been allocated £500,000 in each of the next three financial years. North Yorkshire and Humberside regional development centre will be getting an additional £100,000 per annum as it has a larger catchment than the others.
Additional funding will be available for time limited projects undertaken by the development centres.
National School Fruit Scheme
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the future funding of the national school fruit scheme. [96515]
Ms Blears: The Government have made a commitment to introduce a National School Fruit Scheme for four to six-year-olds across England by 2004. It will be free to schools, parents and children. Region wide pilots for the scheme are being introduced in 2002–03 and 2003–04 with funding from the New Opportunities Fund.
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NHS Dental Care (North-West)
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices are taking on new NHS patients in (a) the Ribble Valley and Fulwood, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West of England. [97803]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not available centrally.
Arrangements are in place to ensure that all patients can gain access to National Health Service dental services by calling NHS Direct.
NHS Mental Health Trusts
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the compensation payments to former directors of NHS Mental Health trusts not transferred to new Partnership NHS trusts for mental health. [97873]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not collected centrally.
NHS Procurement Programme
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the entry in the Guidance to the National NHS Procurement Programme on page 10 which states that contracts will be structured so that payments only start when value has been delivered. [97707]
Mr. Lammy: The guidance to the national National Health Service procurement programme explains the principles the national programme will use in its future contractual relationships with suppliers. It intends to structure contacts so that payment will only start once demonstrable value in terms of goods or services have been delivered.
NHS Senior Managers
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many senior managers employed by the NHS (a) had their employment within the NHS terminated rather than being moved to another job within the NHS and (b) were sacked and then re-employed in another capacity in the NHS in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [98317]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 24 February 2003]: The information requested on the termination of employment contracts of senior managers and their re-employment in another capacity in the National Health Service is not collected centrally.
NHS Treatment (Europe)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health establishments which have treated NHS patients on the Continent; and which other establishments he plans to use. [98155]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 24 February 2003]: Patients have received treatment in three hospitals in France and eight hospitals in Germany. The French hospitals are Polyclinique de la Louviere, Lille; Institute Calo-Hesdin, Berck sur mer; and Clinique Pasteur, St Chamond. The German hospitals are Lutherhaus, Essen; Eduardus Krankenhaus, Cologne;
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Henriettenstiftung, Hanover; Das Klinikum, Osnabruck; Gilead, Bielefeld; Endo Klinik, Hamburg; Ostseeklinik, Damp; and a clinic in Celle.
The lead commissioners are currently conducting a procurement process to identify additional overseas capacity. It would be inappropriate to speculate about which other establishments are likely to be used in the future, as this may influence the contracting process.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 5 February, Official Report, column 316W, on NHS treatment abroad, whether the figure includes payments for search agents identifying suitable health establishments to be used by NHS patients in (a) France and (b) Germany; and which search agents were used in each case and at what cost. [98157]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 24 February 2003]: The figure quoted in the answer of 5 February includes some payment for searches undertaken to identify health establishments. This refers to the hospital used in France, which was identified by the lead commissioner at Kent and Medway health authority. Three separate intermediaries were used to identify suitable hospitals in Germany: Guy's and St Thomas' Trust, Germedic and German Medicine Net.
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