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25 Mar 2003 : Column 201W—continued
Military Service (Salisbury)
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many clinicians from Salisbury District Hospital, by speciality, have been called up for military service since January; and if he will make a statement on the implications for health care in Salisbury. [103475]
Ms Blears: Two members of staff from Salisbury District Hospital have been called up for military service. One is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and the other is a senior nurse. Salisbury National Health Service Trust has put in place contingencies to cover the immediate situation and currently does not expect a
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major impact on services provided as a result of call-ups for military service. Contingency planning is on-going between the Department and the trust to minimise the effect of any call-up.
Mobile Phone Masts
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment has been made of the effects of mobile phone masts on human health; what current research he has commissioned on the effects of mobile phone masts on human health; what comparison he has made of the level of emissions from mobile phone masts in the UK with those in other European countries; and what plans he has to regulate the level of emissions from mobile phone masts. [103706]
Ms Blears: The public health implications of mobile phone base stations were assessed by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (IEGMP), chaired by Sir William Stewart. Their report, issued in May 2000, was a comprehensive review of relevant research and can be found on the Group's web site at www.iegmp.org.uk. A main conclusion was that:
- The balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines.
The Stewart Group proposed that gaps in knowledge were sufficient to justify a precautionary approach to the development of this technology and recommendations were made for further research. A comprehensive research programme has now been established under an independent programme management committee. Information can be found on the web site at www.mthr.org.uk.
The UK uses the same GSM/mobile phone technology and frequencies as other European countries. Measurement programmes exist in a number of European countries. Wide variations in emissions data are noted, but the measurements show emissions are significantly inside the exposure guidelines. Similar results have been obtained by the RA base station audit programme and by the NRPB in the United Kingdom.
Mobile phone and mast emissions fall within the Radio equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (R&TTE). The European Commission issued a mandate requesting the European standardisation bodies prepare and adopt harmonised standards covering the aspects of emissions of electro-magnetic frequencies covered by the R&TTE Directive. It was stated that standards should take into account the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) limits laid out in the Council Recommendation 1999/519/EC to allow presumption of conformity to Article 3.1(a) of the R&TTE Directive.
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Three groups of standards on measurement of exposure from mobile phone masts have been, or are in the process of being agreed. Upon completion of this family of standards the mobile operators will have clear obligations to comply with the ICNIRP Guidelines though the European Council Recommendation on exposure, the R&TTE Directive and the relevant standard. In the absence of a final harmonised measurement standard, the obligation under the R&TTE Directive and the Recommendation would still apply.
Neonatal Intensive Care
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of neonatal intensive care provision; and if he will make a statement. [104234]
Jacqui Smith: A national review of neonatal intensive care provision has been undertaken, which addresses how best to assure equity of access to intensive care for premature and critically ill babies and support for their families. Ministers are currently considering the report following from this review and expect to determine the next steps in this process shortly.
We are also currently developing the children's national service framework, which includes maternity services and will set national standards of care for antenatal, intrapartum and post natal services as well as for the care of children in hospital.
NHS Dentists (Buckinghamshire)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children in Buckinghamshire are waiting to go on to the list of an NHS dentist. [103770]
Ms Blears: This information is not collected centrally.
North Staffordshire Hospital
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other staff have been employed on (i) an agency and (ii) a non-agency basis at the North Staffordshire hospital in each year since 1999–2000. [104147]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested on agency staffing is not collected centrally. The data for non-agency staff are shown in the table.
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All staff | 5,980 | 5,990 | 6,420 |
| Medical and dental staff | 530 | 530 | 530 |
| All non-medical staff | 5,450 | 5,460 | 5,890 |
| Of which: | |||
| Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff | 1,940 | 1,950 | 2,120 |
| Other non-medical staff | 3,510 | 3,510 | 3,770 |
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Figures exclude agency staff as this data is not collected.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical workforce census
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
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Nursing Care (Elderly)
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent report by the Ombudsman on the funding of nursing care for the elderly. [104317]
Jacqui Smith: The Government has welcomed the Health Service Ombudsman's report, "NHS funding for Long Term Care", published on 20 February. We have since asked strategic health authorities to report back to their Directorate of Health and Social Care (DHSC) 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.
Nursing Vacancies (Thames Valley)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many three month vacancies there are for nursing posts in each NHS trust in the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority area; and what the three month vacancy rate is in each case. [103769]
Ms Blears: The Department's three-month vacancy survey has been collected yearly since March 1999. The most recent number of three-month nursing vacancies in each national health service trust in the Thames Valley Health Authority area is shown in the table.
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| 3 month vacancy rate percentage | 3 month vacancy number | Staff in post (whole-time equivalent) | Staff in post (headcount) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2002 | September 2001 | |||
| England (excluding HA staff) | 3.1 | 8,394 | 265,717 | 329,981 |
| Thames Valley | 3.7 | 362 | 9,653 | 12,885 |
| Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust | 2.9 | 17 | 676 | 850 |
| Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust | 0.7 | 2 | 344 | 401 |
| East Berkshire Community Health NHS Trust | 6.2 | 13 | 226 | 341 |
| Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust | 10.6 | 94 | 893 | 1,213 |
| Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust | 7.8 | 49 | 564 | 818 |
| Nuffield Orthopaedic NHS Trust | 0.0 | 0 | 244 | 335 |
| Oxford Radcliffe Hospital NHS Trust | 1.7 | 37 | 1,952 | 2,350 |
| Oxfordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust | — | 0 | — | — |
| Oxfordshire Learning Disabilities NHS Trust | 7.0 | 6 | 91 | 106 |
| Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust | 0.0 | 0 | 390 | 470 |
| Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust | 0.9 | 11 | 1,214 | 1,713 |
| Royal Berkshire Ambulance NHS Trust | n/a | n/a | — | — |
| South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust | 4.8 | 40 | 783 | 1,090 |
| Stoke Mandeville Hospital NHS Trust | 5.9 | 36 | 547 | 750 |
| Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust | 0.0 | 0 | 54 | 70 |
3 month vacancy notes:
1. Three month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2002
2. Three month vacancies are vacancies which Trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole time equivalents)
3. Three moth Vacancy Rates are three moth vacancies expressed as a percentage of three moth vacancies plus staff in post
4. Three month Vacancy Rates for non-medical staff are calculated using staff in post from the Vacancy Survey, March 2002
5. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place
6. '—' figures where sum of staff in post (as at 31 March 2002) and vacancies is zero
7. n/a = did not receive a return.
Staff in post notes:
1. Staff in post data is from the Non-Medical Workforce Census, September 2001
2. Staff in post data excludes staff employed by Health Authorities, as vacancy information was only collected from Trusts, PCTs and Special Health Authorities
3. '—' figures where staff in post (as at 30 September 2001) is zero
General notes:
1. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number
2. Calculating the vacancy rates using the above data may not equal the actual vacancy rates
3. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of component parts
4. StHA figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of health care
Sources:
Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2002
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census, September 2001
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