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27 Mar 2003 : Column 398W—continued
National Programmes
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 6 March 2003, Official Report, column 1214W, on the National Programmes, whether he plans to make copies of the presentation available to hon. Members in advance of its presentation to the Healthcare Computing Conference. [103364]
Ms Blears [holding answer 17 March 2003]: The current plan is to make copies or summaries of presentations available after the conference. The conference organisers also include copies of presentations in their packs that are available after the event. A copy will be placed in the Library.
NHS Estates Contract
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to prevent conflicts
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of interest concerning property valuation as part of the NHS estates contract; and if he will make a statement. [102879]
Mr. Hutton: NHS Estates follows guidance set out in 'Estatecode', which reflects 'Government Accounting'. The guidance advises that a professional valuation must be obtained prior to a property being marketed to act as a guide price. This valuation can be undertaken either by qualified in-house staff, the District Valuer or a suitably qualified private sector valuer.
If a sale is complex, the potential use is unclear or the sale proceeds exceed £5 million, a professional valuation is to be obtained independent of the marketing agent. An alternative would be the District Valuer or a surveyor in private practice.
NHS Management Consultants
Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) names and (b) fees for each contract of the management consultants currently employed by the NHS; and if he will make a statement on their role within the NHS. [104654]
Mr. Hutton: This information is not collected centrally. The placement of contracts for management consultants is mainly undertaken at a local level by National Health Service trusts themselves.
NHS Numbers
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the authorised uses of the NHS number are; whether the use of the NHS number for non-NHS purposes is permitted; if he will bring forward legislation to limit the use of the number for non-NHS purposes; and if he will make a statement. [104518]
Mr. Lammy: The national health service number is an administrative identifier created by the NHS and used to maintain the privacy of patient information and to provide an unambiguous means of linking health care records.
All those delivering health and social care services either within, or in conjunction with, the NHS, are authorised to use the NHS number. Health and social care services includes preventative medicine, clinical diagnosis, clinical research, and the provision of care and treatment.
The use of the NHS number for other purposes is not permitted.
The NHS number is personal data for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 and therefore must be used and processed in accordance with data protection principles. Officials are obtaining legal advice on whether specific regulations for the use of the NHS number need to be introduced under UK and European data protection legislation.
The NHS number sits at the heart of the modern health care agenda as a vital tool for sharing information within the NHS and with its partners in delivering health and social care services. It is central to the vision of seamless patient care and the life-long electronic health record. Access to the NHS number
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tracing service is restricted to NHS health and social care staff, and is subject to strict confidentiality and security safeguards.
NHS Trusts
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of doctors in (a) West Suffolk Hospital trust, (b) Norfolk and Norwich Health Care NHS trust, (c) James Paget NHS trust, (d) Ipswich NHS trust and (e) Addenbrookes NHS trust, is per 100 beds. [104798]
Mr. Lammy: The information is shown in the table.
| All Staff | All Beds(27) | Staff per 100 beds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All specified trusts of which | 2,099 | 4,207 | 49.9 |
| Addenbrookes NHS Trust | 855 | 1280 | 66.8 |
| Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust | 307 | 769 | 39.9 |
| James Paget Healthcare NHS Trust | 210 | 551 | 38.1 |
| Norfolk and Norwich Healthcare NHS Trust | 519 | 928 | 55.9 |
| West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust | 208 | 679 | 30.6 |
Notes:
(27) Average daily number of total available beds in 2001–02Source:Department of Health medical and dental workforce census and Department of Health form KH03
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the NHS trusts in Worcestershire to (a) bring their annual expenditure of income into balance and (b) eradicate their cumulated deficits; and if he will make a statement. [104986]
Mr. Lammy: There are two National Health Service trusts within Worcestershire—Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is predicting a £7.6 million deficit for 2002–03 and has no other previous brought forward deficit. A financial strategy is currently being formulated which will explore a number of options to achieve financial balance.
Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust has no 2002–03 deficits and no brought forward deficit to address.
Nursing Vacancies
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing vacancies there were in each (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk, (c) Essex and (d) Cambridgeshire NHS trust in each year since 1999. [104812]
Mr. Lammy: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing vacancies there were in each Essex NHS trust in (a) 1997 and (b) 2002. [103121]
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Mr. Lammy: The first Department of Health vacancy survey was conducted in 1999. Information requested for March 2002 is shown in the table.
| 3 month vacancy number | |
|---|---|
| England (excluding HA staff) | 8,394 |
| North Essex HA | 190 |
| Tendring PCT | 0 |
| Epping Forest PCT | 8 |
| Harlow PCT | 6 |
| Maldon and South Chelmsford PCT | 14 |
| Colchester PCT | 0 |
| Uttlesford PCT | 11 |
| Essex Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 13 |
| Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust | 34 |
| New Possibilities NHS Trust | 0 |
| Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust | 19 |
| Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust | 70 |
| North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust | 15 |
| South Essex HA | 48 |
| Southend On Sea PCT | 0 |
| Billericay Brentwood and Wickford PCT | 0 |
| Thurrock PCT | 2 |
| Basildon PCT | 1 |
| Southend Health Care NHS Trust | 23 |
| Basildon and Thurrock General Hospitals NHS Trust | 13 |
| South Essex Mental Health and Community Care NHS Trust | 9 |
Three 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)
General notes:
1. Vacancy numbers 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 health care.
Sources:
Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2002
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 4 March 2003, Official Report, column 1004W, on Primary Care Trusts, what the equivalent figure is for the Kennett and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust; and what her definition is of per weighted head of population. [102691]
Ms Blears: Weighted head of population is defined as the primary care trust's population adjusted for age, additional need and market forces factors.
There is no equivalent figure for the Kennett and North Wiltshire PCT as it only became operational on 1 April 2002.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of Government targets on primary care trusts; and if he will make a statement. [104233]
Mr. Hutton: Primary care trusts are responsible for improving the health of their local population. Planning is now undertaken at a local level with primary care
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trusts leading and agreeing how targets will be met within the three year planning framework. The national health service is being asked to concentrate its planning activity against the priorities in the Priorities and Planning Framework 2003–06. This has resulted in the majority of current planning requirements being replaced by a single three year local delivery plan. There will be routine monitoring of national standards to ensure they continue to be met. Inspection programmes for both health and social care are well established which generate independent performance ratings. These are aligned to the priorities and planning framework and based on the primary care trust's performance against a number of key targets and a wider set of balanced scorecard indicators.
In September 2001 primary care trusts' performance was assessed for the first time against a range of suitable indicators but they were not given an overall star rating.
In December 2002 proposed key targets and performance indicators for primary care trusts for inclusion within 2002–03 performance ratings were announced. This year will be the first time that full performance ratings have been given to primary care trusts. The final indicator lists for primary care trusts will be announced shortly.
The intention is to announce the 2003–04 key targets and performance indicators for all NHS organisations as soon as possible so they know for the start of the performance year in question the basis of the future rating.
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the income per capita of population is for primary care trusts in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk, (c) Essex and (d) Cambridgeshire. [104813]
Mr. Lammy: Primary care trust revenue allocations per unweighted head of population in 2002–03 in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire are shown in the table.
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