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25 Mar 2003 : Column 205W—continued
Obesity
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many obese people there are in the UK population; and what evaluation he has made of the average resultant cost to the NHS per individual. [102656]
Ms Blears [holding answer 19 March 2003]: The Health Survey for England 2001 shows that the prevalence of obesity continues to rise and that 21 per cent. of men and 23.5 per cent. of women were obese. Analysis of the Health Survey for England 1999 showed the prevalence of obesity in children was 10 per cent. at age six rising to 17 per cent. at age 15.
Information is not available on the direct cost for each individual to the national health service of treating obesity. However, the National Audit Office report "Tackling Obesity in England", published in February 2001, estimated that the direct cost to the NHS of treating obesity in 1998 was £9.4 million. Treating the consequences of obesity cost the NHS approximately £480 million per year, or about 1.5 per cent. of the total NHS expenditure for that year.
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The Government are committed to halting the current trend of increasing overweight and obesity in both children and adults through cross-government work on diet and physical activity.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children were diagnosed in each region as being clinically obese in each of the last 10 years. [103803]
Ms Blears: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in children in England. Information is not collected centrally on how many children are diagnosed as being clinically obese in each region. However, analysis of the Health Survey for England 1999 estimated the prevalence of obesity to be 10 per cent. at age six rising to 17 per cent. at age 15.
Orthodontic Treatment (Buckinghamshire)
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time is for (a) primary and (b) secondary orthodontic treatment in Buckinghamshire. [103771]
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Ms Blears: The information on waiting times for orthodontic treatment that is available is the number waiting for a first outpatient appointment at a hospital and the number waiting for admission to hospital for orthodontic treatment.
At 31 December 2002, 59 patients were waiting for a first outpatient appointment for orthodontic treatment in Buckinghamshire. 39 of these patients had been waiting less than 13 weeks; the remaining 20 of these patients had been waiting 13 weeks or more.
There were no patients waiting for admission to hospital for orthodontic treatment in Buckinghamshire at 31 December 2002.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average figure is for the number of decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth for children aged 12 in Buckinghamshire. [103772]
Mr. Lammy: The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) carries out surveys to monitor the dental caries experience of 12-year-old children. The most recent survey of 12-year-olds was carried out in 2000–01. The results of this survey for Buckinghamshire are shown in the table.
| Buckinghamshire Health Authority | 0.62 |
| South East | 0.68 |
| England | 0.86 |
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average figure is for the number of decayed, missing or filled teeth for five-year-olds in Buckinghamshire; and what percentage of five-year-olds in Buckinghamshire have no dental decay. [103774]
Ms Blears: The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) carries out surveys to monitor the dental caries experience of five-year-old children. The most recent survey of five-year-olds was carried out in 2001–02. The results for the Buckinghamshire area are shown in the table. Information is given for three of the four primary care trusts (PCTs) in the former Buckinghamshire Health Authority area and also for the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority.
| Average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth | Percentage of five-year-olds with no tooth decay | |
|---|---|---|
| Aylesbury Vale PCT | 1.11 | 69.4 |
| Milton Keynes PCT | 0.97 | 66.8 |
| Wycombe PCT | 1.02 | 75.2 |
| Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire PCT | n/a | n/a |
| Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority | 1.23 | 66.4 |
| England | 1.47 | 61.2 |
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Peto Institute
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support he has given to (a) the Peto Institute and (b) connected institutions in the last 10 years. [103392]
Jacqui Smith: The Government contributed £1.75 million towards the capital costs of a new International Peto Institute in Budapest in 1991, in return for benefits for United Kingdom residents. Due to lack of progress on construction, the funding remained, unspent and accruing interest, in Hungary until 1997 when it was agreed that what was then approximately £2 million would be used to extend and refurbish the existing Peto Institute.
In addition, the Department of Health provided a grant of £40,000 in 1995–96, under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968, to the National Institute of Conductive Education in Birmingham for computer equipment.
Pharmacies
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to ensure that pharmacies are located conveniently for (a) those living in rural communities and (b) patients and their relatives who do not have access to a car; [103789]
- (2) how many pharmacies (a) opened and (b) closed during each of the past six years; and what progress has been made in expanding the number of pharmacies in the UK; [103791]
(3) what progress has been made in broadening the range of services and advice provided by local pharmacies; [103790]
(4) what discussions he has had with primary health care trusts on the role of local pharmacies. [103792]
Mr. Lammy: Under the National Health Service Act 1977, it is the responsibility of national health service primary care trusts (PCTs) to arrange the provision of pharmaceutical services in their area. This includes determining whether it is necessary or desirable to secure adequate provision of services by granting applications to open new NHS pharmacies. Additionally, the Health and Social Care Act 2001 empowers PCTs to devise contracts for local pharmaceutical services which address particular local needs, including access to a NHS pharmacy.
We launched "Pharmacy in the Future—Implementing the NHS Plan" in September 2000. This sets out the Government's programme to maintain and improve access to and the range and quality of services offered by NHS pharmacies. Three waves of the medicines management collaborative are under way, involving 106 PCTs. All NHS Direct sites are now able to refer callers where appropriate to their local community pharmacy. Repeat dispensing schemes in selected sites which enable patients to get their pharmacy to dispense medicines for up to a year, rather than going back to their general practitioner for a new prescription each time and new arrangements for pharmacists to prescribe on the NHS in accordance with an agreed clinical management plan start later this year.
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We are currently discussing with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the NHS Confederation, which represents NHS bodies including PCTs, a new national contractual framework to further support these objectives.
The table shows the number of pharmacies opening and closing in England and Wales in the last six years. Over three in five pharmacies opening were more than one kilometre from the nearest pharmacy. Over one in two pharmacies closing were within 500 metres of another pharmacy.
| Year ending 31 March | Number of NHS pharmacies opening | Number of NHS pharmacies closing |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 66 | 55 |
| 1998 | 48 | 46 |
| 1999 | 51 | 56 |
| 2000 | 27 | 37 |
| 2001 | 36 | 40 |
| 2002 | 30 | 34 |
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many independent pharmacies are located in mining villages; and how many he expects to be located in mining villages in five years' time. [104444]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 24 March 2003]: Under the National Health Service Act 1977, it is the responsibility of primary care trusts to arrange the provision of pharmaceutical services in their area. There is no national planning of pharmaceutical services. We do not, therefore, collect information centrally about which industries are locally significant in towns and villages where pharmacies are located. Nor do we predict either where pharmacies are likely to be located in the future, or whether there will be changes to the nature of local economies in towns or villages where pharmacies are currently located.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified pharmacy staff there are in (a) the Portsmouth area and (b) the UK; and if he will make a statement. [104236]
Mr. Hutton: The available information on national health service employed pharmacists in England and the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire area is shown in the table.
Information on the number of community pharmacists is not collected centrally and information for Scotland and Wales is a matter for the devolved Administrations. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.
Between September 1997 and 2001, there has been an increase of 2,140 or 26 per cent. in the number of qualified pharmacists employed in the NHS in England. As at 30 September 2001, there were 10,630 qualified pharmacists employed in the NHS.
The Government are looking to achieve an increase in staff numbers across all scientific, therapeutic and technical staff groups, including hospital pharmacists. "'Delivering the NHS Plan", published in April 2002, set out the Government's latest forecast for growth. By 2008, we expect the NHS to have net increase over the September 2001 staff census of at least 30,000 therapists
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and scientists, including pharmacists. To support this, we are increasing the number of pre-registration pharmacy training places in NHS hospitals. Over 550 were planned for 2002–03—at least 60 per cent. more than were available 10 years ago.
| Whole-time equivalent | Headcount | |
|---|---|---|
| England | 9,372 | 10,633 |
| of which: | ||
| Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA total | 117 | 135 |
| Isle of Wight PCT | * | * |
| Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA | * | * |
| Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust | 94 | 106 |
| Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust | 20 | 25 |
* Five or less and greater than zero
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
2. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
3. HA figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of healthcare.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS prescriptions were dispensed (a) in total, (b) through community pharmacies, (c) through hospital pharmacies and (d) through GP surgery pharmacies in each of the last six years. [104950]
Mr. Lammy: The information available is shown in the table.
| Total (all dispensers) 1 | Community Pharmacy and Appliance Contractors 2 | Dispensing Doctors and personal administration 3 | Items prescribed in hospital and dispensed in the community 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 587.0 | 533.1 | 53.9 | 3.7 |
| 2000 | 551.8 | 500.5 | 51.3 | 3.1 |
| 1999 | 529.8 | 481.9 | 47.9 | 2.7 |
| 1998 | 513.2 | 467.1 | 46.1 | 2.4 |
| 1997 | 500.2 | 454.3 | 45.8 | — |
| 1996 | 484.9 | 441.0 | 43.9 | — |
Notes:
1. The data are for all national health service prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England.
2. It is not possible to separate figures for community pharmacists from those for appliance contractors.
3. Includes all items that are personally administered by GPs.
4. These items are included in total (all dispensers).
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of prescriptions currently dispensed by community pharmacists are for pensioners. [104949]
Mr. Lammy: In the 12 month period to September 2002, 56 per cent. of the prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors were to people aged 60 and over.
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