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19 Mar 2003 : Column 845W—continued
General Practice
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 885W, on the GP Patient Survey, whether a national report will be published on the results of the survey. [102893]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 17 March 2003]: There are no plans to publish a national report. Results have been disseminated on a strategic health authority (StHA) basis, allowing the cross-comparison of primary care trusts' results for local benchmarking purposes. This approach enables StHAs to maintain an overview of how results are formulated into local follow-up plans.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the existing duty of GPs in paragraph 43 of the terms of service to prescribe on the basis of patient need will be included in the new terms of service; [102912]
- (2) what changes are proposed in the duty of GPs in the NHS to treat patients on the basis of clinical need in the proposed new contract; [102913]
(3) whether GPs will be required in their new contracts to take resources into account when recommending and prescribing treatments. [102914]
Mr. Hutton: Under the current general medical services (GMS) and personal medical services (PMS) contracts and under the proposed new GMS contract the fundamental principle that patients receive all of their national health service care and treatment—including prescribing and referral for specialist investigations—strictly according to their clinical needs applies.
The proposed new contract for GMS will, if accepted by the profession, ensure that general practitioners will be rewarded for the quality of services they provide: not just the number of patients they treat.
Hospices
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to provide funding for hospices. [100357]
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Ms Blears: In the NHS Cancer Plan, published in September 2000, we pledged that the national health service contribution to the costs of specialist palliative care, including hospices, would increase by £50 million by 2004.
To enable faster progress towards this commitment we have made available an extra £10 million from central budgets for specialist palliative care for 2002–03. We have also set up a central budget of £50 million per annum exclusively for specialist palliative care, for three years from 2003–04. Local plans are being developed by cancer networks around the country to determine on the appropriate deployment of those resources to support services according to local needs. This represents a significant increase nearly 40 per cent. in the NHS funding of specialist palliative care services. The £50 million is for specialist palliative care services in their entirety and not for voluntary hospices alone, though, as they play an essential role and provide two thirds of all specialist palliative care, it is reasonable to expect they will get a fair slice of this extra money. Further information is available on the Department's website at: www.info.doh.gov.uk/cancer/palliative 03 06.htm.
In-patient Survey
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 887W, on the in-patient survey, whether a national report will be published on the results of the in-patient survey. [102894]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 17 March 2003]: There are no plans to publish a national report. Rather, results are being disseminated on a strategic health authority (StHA) basis, allowing the cross-comparison of trusts' results for local benchmarking purposes. This approach enables StHAs to maintain an overview of how results are formulated into local follow-up plans.
Internal Telephone Directory
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the most recent internal telephone directory for the Department was published; how often it is updated; and if he will place a copy in the Library. [102030]
Mr. Lammy: The Department's internal directory is maintained as a live database available to all staff and is constantly being updated. It is too detailed to be published in full but information on the Department's structure, organisation and responsibilities, with contact details where appropriate, is available on our website.
As part of ongoing improvements to our website, this information is regularly reviewed and updated. Extracts are published in commercial directories, such as the Civil Service Yearbook, the Whitehall Companion and Health and Social Services Yearbook. The full directory is only available in online format, so a copy cannot be placed in the Library without incurring disproportionate cost.
Long-term Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to implement the
19 Mar 2003 : Column 847W
recommendations in the health service Ombudsman's report 'NHS funding for long term care'; and if he will make a statement. [103151]
Jacqui Smith: We have asked strategic health authorities to report back to their Directorate of Health and Social Care by 28 March with details of:
- Whether continuing care criteria in use since 1996 were consistent with the Coughlan judgment;
If criteria were not consistent with the Coughlan judgment, when was this identified and what action was taken;
An estimate of the number of people who may have been wrongly assessed under criteria not consistent with the Coughlan judgment.
We have written to the Commission for Health Improvement and asked that continuing care is included within the inspection of the national service framework for older people, due to begin in 2004.
Meetings
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is his policy to allow (a) the Children's Tsar and (b) the Chief Inspector of the Social Services Inspectorate to attend meetings with (i) individual hon. Members of Parliament, (ii) parliamentary groups, (iii) lobby groups and (iv) commercial companies. [100663]
Mr. Lammy: All meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and guidance set out in the Directory of Civil Service Guidance, copies of which are available in the Library.
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list internal flights made by Ministers in his Department in 2002, including in each case the (a) cost, (b) departure location and (c) destination; and of these how many were (i) first class, (ii) business class and (iii) economy class. [103587]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the response that was given by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Douglas Alexander), on Wednesday 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W.
NHS (International Recruitment)
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has a list of countries from which it regards it as acceptable actively to recruit healthcare professionals. [103086]
19 Mar 2003 : Column 848W
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 17 March 2003]: The Department has worked together with the Department for International Development to produce a definitive list of developing countries and countries that should not be recruited from. This list is available on the Department of Health website at www.doh.qov.uk/international-recruitment/emplovercode.htm
NHS Dentists
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children are registered with an NHS dentist in England; and what the figures were in May 1997. [103731]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 18 March 2003]: On 31 January 2003, 43.9 per cent. of adults and 60.1 per cent. of children were registered with a general dental service (CDS) dentist in England. At 31 May 1997, 51.9 per cent. of adults and 62.2 per cent. of children were registered.
The registration rates at 31 January 2003 and at 31 May 1997 are not directly comparable due to changes in the registration period that affected registration numbers from November 1997.
Registrations now lapse if the patient does not return to their dentists within 15 months of their last appointment. Registration rates therefore exclude patients who have not been to their CDS dentist within the past 15 months and unregistered patients who receive dental treatment from other National Health Service dental arrangements, such as occasional treatment.
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