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Nurses
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of agency and bank nurses in (a) Sutton and (b) London in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the impact of these costs on the respective primary care trusts. [102249]
Mr. Hutton: Expenditure on bank nurses is included within national health service nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff. Expenditure on agency nurses is included within non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff.
The following table contains data outlining the expenditure on non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff within the boundary of the London Department of Health and Social Care.
| Organisation name | Expenditure on non-NHS nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff |
|---|---|
| Epsom and St. Helier NHS Trust | 9,304,846 |
| Nelson and West Merton PCT | 0 |
| Merton Sutton and Wandsworth HA | 0 |
| Total | 9,304,846 |
| London DHSC total | 229,288,793 |
Source:
1. Annual financial returns of health authorities.
2. Annual financial returns of NHS trusts.
3. Annual financial returns of primary care trusts.
In December an agreement was awarded to 72 agencies for the supply of agency nurses, midwives, health visitors and health care assistants to the acute and primary care sectors of the NHS across London.
This agreement will introduce new quality standards both in terms of the agency workers and also the services to be offered by the agencies. Furthermore it is anticipated that the cost of these agency workers will be reduced by between £9 million and £18 million across London during 2003–04.
Oldchurch Hospital
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on meeting targets for Oldchurch Hospital in the London borough of Havering. [101982]
Mr. Hutton: Oldchurch Hospital is part of Barking, Havering and Redbridge National Health Service Trust. It is not possible to differentiate between the two sites as data are aggregated.
The trust met both the 15-month inpatient and 26-week outpatient waiting times targets last year and is working towards achieving a maximum wait of 12 months for inpatients and 21 weeks for outpatients by the end of March 2003.
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The trust has also made significant progress on reducing the numbers of beds used by delayed transfers of care over the year.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the management of Oldchurch Hospital in the London borough of Havering; and what plans he has to visit the hospital. [101983]
Mr. Hutton: I have had no recent discussions with the management of Oldchurch Hospital. However, the North East London Strategic Health Authority directors, who, since Shifting the Balance of Power, now performance manage Barking, Havering and Redbridge National Health Service Trust, regularly meet with trust management.
I last visited Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust on 6 September 2001. I have no current plans to visit the hospital.
Passive Smoking
Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of passive smoking in the workplace. [98501]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: I have been asked to reply.
Research by the Department of Health's Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) into the general effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is continuing.
The results of a survey on smoking behaviour and attitudes, undertaken by the Office for National Statistics in 2002, are due to be published on behalf of the Department of Health this summer.
Smallpox
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the World Health Organisation's advice on smallpox strategy referred to by the Minister for Policing, Crime Reduction and Community Safety, Official Report, column 204WH, in his reply to the debate on civil defence on 4 March 2003. [102501]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 12 March 2003]: A copy of the advice issued by the World Health Organisation in October 2001 has been placed in the Library. This advice followed a review of the WHO guidelines of 1998, and a copy of these guidelines will be placed in the Library.
Teenage Pregnancies
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnancies in girls under the age of 16 there have been in each year since 1995 in (a) Doncaster and (b) the UK. [103509]
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Ruth Kelly : I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Caroline Flint, dated 20 March 2003:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many pregnancies in girls under 16 there have been in each year since 1995 in (a) Doncaster and (b) the UK. (103509)
- The figures requested are given in the table below for 1995 to 2001, the latest year for which figures are available, for Doncaster and Great Britain. Figures for the United Kingdom are not available, as the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply in Northern Ireland.
(21) Includes pregnancies that result in one or more live or still births, or a legal abortion under the 1967 Abortion Act. Figures shown in this table do not include miscarriages.
(22) Metropolitan county district
(23) Information for 2000 includes estimated figures for Glasgow Royal Maternity and Western Isles to allow for a shortfall in data. This also applies to Western Isles for 2001.
(24) Provisional data.
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