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8 Apr 2003 : Column 233W—continued
Children in Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training has been provided to (a) GPs and (b) carers in identifying children who (i) have problems in schools, (ii) have alcohol or drug misuse problems and (c) are committing anti-social or criminal behaviour as set out in paragraph 2.15 of Command Paper 5778. [106783]
Jacqui Smith: Paragraph 2.15 of Command Paper 5778 refers to general practitioners as one gateway into more specialist services for parents and carers who need extra support in differing circumstances.
The children at risk cross-cutting review looked at the issue of training for professionals working with children and young people and recommended the development of a common core of learning and skills objectives.
The Government will be publishing a Green Paper that will examine how well services are meeting the needs of children at risk, of poor outcomes, including educational failure, offending, victimisation and abuse and ill health. It will examine what could be done to make services more responsive and better able to intervene earlier in the life cycle rather than in response to crisis.
Community Health Council Properties
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Community Health Council properties are owned by the NHS; how many such offices are leased; how many leases will be ended in the next six months; how many such offices will be allocated to other NHS uses; and what the cost implications are for the NHS of these property changes. [105965]
Mr. Lammy: There are 25 Community Health Council properties owned by the national health service; another 158 are leased and 76 of those leases will be ended in the next six months. As is usual in such circumstances, surplus CHC office premises will in the first place be offered to other NHS organisations. If no alternative health service use can be found, the leases will be determined or, if freehold, the premises sold. It is not possible at this stage to estimate the costs involved.
Community Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts employ community pulmonary rehabilitation nurses. [106495]
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Mr. Hutton: Nurses have a significant contribution to make to the care of people with respiratory conditions. Pulmonary rehabilitation is increasingly offered in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, particularly to older people, to help people achieve their highest level of function and independence. However, information on local service configuration in England such as the number of pulmonary rehabilitation services, and their staffing profile, is not collected centrally.
We expect all primary care trusts however, to plan provision of services that meet the needs of all patients including those who have pulmonary disease.
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the role of community pulmonary rehabilitation services in reducing emergency admissions to acute hospitals; and if he will make a statement; [106496]
- (2) what guidance he has issued to primary care trusts on community pulmonary rehabilitation services; and what performance targets he has set for these services. [106494]
Jacqui Smith: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently developing a guideline on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care. NICE is due to publish the guideline in 2004. In January 2003, the Respiratory Alliance published its guidance, "Bridging the Gap", which aims to help primary care trusts to commission and deliver high quality allergy and respiratory care.
We have issued no guidance to primary care trusts on community pulmonary rehabilitation services nor made any assessment of the role of community pulmonary rehabilitation services in reducing emergency admissions to acute hospitals.
Consultants
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants there are in each accident and emergency department in England. [106207]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of accident and emergency (A&E) consultants within trusts which have an A&E department have been placed in the Library.
Where this figure is less than 10, there is a risk that individual doctors could be identified. This is contrary to the Data Protection Act 1998. For this reason, published data is rounded to the nearest 10 or where the figure is less than five, the number is replaced with a star.
Coronary Care
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants were working in coronary care in the NHS in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each NHS trust in each of the last six years. [106602]
Mr. Hutton: The three specialties involved in coronary care are cardiology, cardio-thoracic surgery and paediatric cardiology. Information on the number
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of consultants for each specialty by strategic health authority and national health service trust has been placed in the Library.
Where this figure is less than 10, there is a risk that individual doctors could be identified. This is contrary to the Data Protection Act 1998. For this reason, published data is rounded to the nearest 10 or where the figure is less than five, the number is replaced with a star, *.
Dental Charges
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Department's policy on NHS dentists' charges for missed appointments. [106855]
Mr. Lammy: The dentists' terms of service, Schedule 1 to the NHS (General Dental Services) Regulations 1992 as amended, allows a dentist to claim from a patient in respect of loss of remuneration resulting from a failure of a patient to keep an appointment for general dental services. Patients must be informed that failing to keep an appointment will result in a charge.
Diabetes
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make insulin pumps available to diabetes sufferers on the national health service. [105747]
Mr. Lammy: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued its full guidance on the use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion for diabetes in February 2003. The guidance states that insulin pump therapy is an option for some people with Type 1 diabetes. Health professionals are expected to take full account of this guidance when exercising their clinical judgement. Hospital consultants may prescribe equipment such as insulin pumps as part of national health service treatment. It is for the NHS locally to make decisions about the best use of its resources on the basis of its priorities and needs.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on progress with the implementation of the national service framework for the treatment of diabetes. [107152]
Mr. Lammy: We continue to lay the building blocks for implementation of the diabetes national service framework (NSF). We have appointed a National Clinical Director for Diabetes to lead progress and provide support to the national health service in delivering the NSF. The diabetic retinopathy screening programme is being developed and the screening pilots for Type 2 diabetes are already under way.
Dual Diagnosis
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish detailed guidance for treatment of mental health dual diagnosis patients; which categories of dual diagnosis are being considered for such guidance; and if he will make a statement. [107240]
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Jacqui Smith: The Department of Health published the "Dual Diagnosis Good Practice Guide" as an addition to the "Mental Health Policy Implementation Guide" in May 2002. The guide explicates the policy and good practice in the provision of mental health services to people with severe mental health problems and problematic misuse of any drug including alcohol but not tobacco.
The National Treatment Agency for substance misuse (NTA), in partnership with the Department of Health, has recently published "Models of Care", which sets out a national framework for the commissioning of an integrated drug treatment system for adult drug misusers in England. This includes detailed guidance on provision of services for psychiatric co-morbidity (dual diagnosis) and the document also cross-references the "Dual Diagnosis Good Practice Guide" for mental health services.
The Department of Health also commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to publish an information manual for multi-disciplinary practitioners based on expert review of the evidence and its implications for safe and effective practice entitled "Co-existing Problems of Mental Disorder and Substance Misuse (Dual Diagnosis)—An Information Manual" in 2001. This has since been distributed widely. In addition, a literature review and collection of abstracts on this subject was commissioned from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is available on request.
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