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3 Mar 2003 : Column 876W—continued
Delayed Discharges
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are being put in place to reimburse local authorities who may be subject to the impact of delayed discharges legislation. [97042]
Jacqui Smith: On 28 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced that £100 million per full year of the legislation would be transferred from the national health service to local authorities in order to meet the costs of reimbursement. Areas which are already tackling delayed discharge should have more of this additional funding available to spend on services. An announcement on how this funding is to be distributed will be made shortly.
Hearing Aids
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on progress made in the training of staff to fit digital hearing aids in the second wave of hospital trusts to receive funding for the purpose. [99405]
Jacqui Smith: The training of staff is progressing satisfactorily and is on schedule to enable all second-wave sites to begin fitting digital hearing aids by the end of March.
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the second wave of hospital trusts to receive funding for the roll-out of digital hearing aids (a) are fitting the new devices and (b) will have begun to fit the new devices by the end of March. [99406]
Jacqui Smith: Seventeen of the 30 second-wave sites are already fitting digital hearing aids as part of a modernised service. The remaining 13 will have begun to fit them by the end of March.
The Government are investing £94 million over the next two years to spread the benefits of digital hearing aids across the whole of England by April 2005.
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the savings to be had by patients requiring digital hearing aids if registered hearing aid dispensers were enabled to access the NHS hearing aid contract; and if he will make a statement; [99660]
- (2) when the evaluation of pilot projects in Shrewsbury and Leeds to examine the role that the private sector may play in supporting the modernisation of NHS hearing aid service will be completed; and if he will make a statement; [99661]
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(3) what plans there are to train registered hearing aid dispensers to NHS standards so that they can access the NHS hearing aid contract; and if he will make a statement. [99662]
Jacqui Smith: On 7 February 2003, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health announced a £94 million investment to support the modernisation of hearing aid services, including the provision of digital hearing aids throughout England, by April 2005. Roll-out plans include boosting national health service capacity and improving access for patients by extending public/private partnerships.
The pilot private sector projects in Shrewsbury and Leeds have now been evaluated. The results of the pilot show that private sector hearing aid dispensers can be contracted to fit, assess and follow-up NHS patients with no detriment to the outcome for these patients.
Private sector partners in Shrewsbury and Leeds provided hearing aids obtained via the NHS hearing aid contract for the NHS patients treated as part of the pilot. NHS patients were not charged for their treatment or for the hearing aids. We intend that these arrangements will apply to extended private sector partnership arrangements. There are no plans to give hearing aid dispensers access to the NHS hearing aid contract for their private patients. Hearing aid dispensers in Leeds and Shrewsbury received training to enable them to provide a modernised service to NHS patients, including fitting digital hearing aids. Dispensers involved in extended private partnerships arrangements will be required to meet similar standards of competence and experience.
Domestic Violence
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GP practice nurses are given training to deal with domestic violence victims. [97122]
Mr. Hutton: The Government are committed to tackling domestic violence and have set up a Ministerial group working across Government to provide co-ordinated and concerted action, including the promotion of education and awareness raising.
The Department of Health published "Domestic Violence: A Resource Manual for Health Care Professionals" in March 2000. The resource manual provides a solid foundation for local multi-agency work and supports health care professionals and managers in developing their domestic violence policies, protocols and services to ensure victims receive the support they need. Building on this initiative, in 2001, as part of a three year health visitor and school nurse practice development programme, resource packs were produced which included information on dealing with domestic violence as a health priority.
An extra £50 million has been made available over the past two years to ensure that National Health Service employers have the capacity to deliver health professional training and development effectively and to ensure that all staff, including nurses working in general practice, have better access to training programmes.
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GP Patient Survey
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the general practice patient survey conducted by the National Centre for Social Research will be published. [98918]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 27 February 2003]: The Department is currently making arrangements for the effective dissemination of the results of the general practice services survey.
Health Service Finance
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the income of each primary care trust per head of population served will be in 2003–04. [99554]
Mr. Hutton: Primary care trusts revenue allocations per weighted and unweighted head of population in 2003–04 have been placed in the Library.
Hospitality
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how often Ministers in his Department have received hospitality in restaurants from outside groups in the last 12 months; [99502]
- (2) what hospitality has been offered at public expense in the last 12 months, by each Minister in his Department to outside interest groups, broken down by (a) restaurant, (b) recipient and (c) cost in each case; [99579]
(3) what criteria Ministers in his Department use when determining whether to offer hospitality in restaurants to interest groups at public expense; and if he will make a statement. [99578]
Mr. Lammy: All offers of hospitality are made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting". The giving and receiving of hospitality is conducted fully in accordance with the guidance set out in the "Ministerial Code and Guidance on Contacts with Outside Interest Groups including Lobbyists". The detailed information requested is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's hospitality budget (a) is in 2002–03 and (b) was in each of the last three years; and how much was left unspent at the end of each financial year. [99503]
Mr. Lammy: Expenditure arises on hospitality and entertainment only in the context of promoting the Department's business objectives. All such expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".
No specific budget amount is allocated for hospitality, which is only one element of the Department's overall administrative budget. The amount spent in recent financial years is shown in the table.
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| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | (57)96,935 |
| 2001–02 | 121,968 |
| 2000–01 | 93,091 |
| 1999–2000 | 50,114 |
(57) Up to 31 January 2003.
In-patient Survey
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the in-patient survey conducted last year will be published. [98920]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 27 February 2003]: Local patient survey results are included in "Your Guide to Local Health Services", which primary care trusts published for the first time at the end of 2002 and will be published annually.
National Institute for Clinical Excellence
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent to which acute trusts are rationing drugs that have been approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence; and if he will make a statement. [99727]
Mr. Lammy: National health service bodies are under a statutory obligation to provide funding for treatments recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. We expect them to meet this obligation.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his policy that drugs that have been approved by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence should be available to all patients whose clinicians judge that they would benefit from them. [99734]
Mr. Lammy: Our policy is that treatments appraised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) should be made available in accordance with recommendations of NICE.
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