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9 Apr 2003 : Column 325W—continued
Human Sperm Donor Services
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on his Department's arrangements for monitoring companies offering human sperm donor services; [106228]
- (2) what human sperm donor services are not covered by the Human Fertilisation Embryology Authority; and if he will make a statement; [106229]
(3) what assessment his Department has made of risks facing women who purchase human sperm over the internet. [106230]
Ms Blears: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 requires the storage of donor sperm and its use in the provision of fertility treatment services to be carried out under a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). The Act does not cover sperm donor services that provide sperm only, and not treatment, except where the sperm is stored.
Where the HFEA becomes aware that an organisation in the United Kingdom is offering services that may be covered by the Act, a thorough investigation is made to establish the nature of the service. If licensable, the HFEA will require that activity to cease until such time as a licence may be granted.
Women wishing to have a child using donor sperm are strongly advised by the HFEA to seek treatment from a licensed clinic, where they can be sure that the services will be provided in a safe and ethical environment. Patients obtaining fresh donor sperm from the internet for personal use, which is not subject to a licence from the HFEA, cannot be sure that the sample has undergone the same rigorous health checks to prevent the risk of transmitting HIV or serious genetics disorders.
Mental Health
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 343W, on mental health, what
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involvement the National Patient Safety Agency has had in the last year with serious untoward incidents by mental health patients in mental health trusts. [106551]
Ms Blears: The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has already begun collecting and analysing key information on adverse events from local organisations, including reports from a number of mental health trusts, as well as from other sources.
Following on from piloting of the national reporting and learning system for adverse events in 28 hospitals and primary care units, the reporting system is undergoing further testing and development prior to being implemented across the national health service from summer 2003.
By collecting and analysing data on adverse events, the agency will be able to identify trends and patterns of avoidable adverse events, including those involving mental health patients, provide feedback to organisations to enable them to change their working practices, help develop models of good practice and systems solutions at national level and support ongoing education and learning.
The NPSA is also providing training and support to all trusts, to enable them to develop the skills to carry out root cause analysis investigations of serious incidents, such as suicides in mental health patients, to ensure that lessons are learnt.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2003, Official Report, column 343W, on mental health, how much funding was given to the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness this financial year; and if he will make a statement on the work of the group. [106552]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The funding given to the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide (CISH) in the financial year 2002–03 was £444,407. The CISH will publish academic papers based on the findings reported in 'Safety First' and maintain the collection of statistics on suicides and homicides by people with mental health problems across the United Kingdom, explore ways to provide feedback on findings and initiate new studies.
Mobile Phones
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme is making; when he expects to receive its first report; and what consideration has been given to including the Wishaw mobile telecommunications mast in Sutton Coldfield in its investigations. [107391]
Ms Blears: The LINK mobile telecommunications and health research (MTHR) programme was set up in response to the recommendations of the Stewart report in May 2000, available on www.iegmp.org.uk
The programme is jointly funded by industry and government to the value of £7.36 million. Decisions on funding are made by an independent programme management committee. The first 15 research projects to be funded under the first call were announced in January 2002. Two further calls for proposals have also
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been made. Two projects are nearing completion. Researchers are expected to publish in the open literature, and results will be publicised on the programme website. Twice yearly progress reports are presented to the programme funders and in November 2002, the programme ran the first of a series of annual research meetings. Details are published on the programme's website at www.mthr.org.uk
The projects follow the research recommendations identified in the Stewart report and most relate to the use of mobile phones handsets. However, in practice many of the experimental studies will also be valuable in providing evidence on any possible effects on people of exposures from mobile phone masts. The programme includes a recently announced epidemiological study on the incidence of cancer around mobile phone base stations. The third call, issued in December 2002, included a request for proposals, which will examine the basis of symptoms attributed to exposure from base station emissions.
The Radiocommunications Agency "audit" of mobile phone mast emissions shows that the maximum measurements taken at Wishaw Riding School was 1/13623 of the ICNIRP exposure guideline levels—www.radio.gov.uk
Nurses (Buckinghamshire)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many nurses are employed in each of the hospitals located in the Buckinghamshire Health Authority; [106990]
- (2) how many nursing vacancies there are in the Buckinghamshire Health Authority area; and what the average figure is for each hospital trust. [106989]
Ms Blears: The number of nursing vacancies in the Buckinghamshire Health Authority Area is shown in table 1.
| Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff—March 2002 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Three monthvacancy rate(percentage) | Three monthvacancynumber | |
| Buckinghamshire HA | 4.7 | 135 |
| Buckinghamshire HA | — | — |
| Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust | 0.7 | 2 |
| Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust | 7.8 | 49 |
| Milton Keynes PCT | 2.8 | 7 |
| South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust | 4.8 | 40 |
| Stoke Mandeville Hospital NHS Trust | 5.9 | 36 |
| Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust | 0.0 | 0 |
| Vale of Aylesbury PCT | 0.9 | 2 |
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).
3. Three month Vacancy Rates are three month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three month 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. Not available as vacancy information was only collected from Trusts, PCTs and Special Health Authorities.
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 healthcare.
Source:
Department of Health Vacancies Survey, March 2002
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The information for the number of nurses employed in each of the hospitals located in the Buckinghamshire Health Authority area is not collected centrally at individual hospital level. However, this information is shown by trust and primary care trust (PCT) in table 2.
| Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff—September 2001 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Whole-time equivalent | Headcount | |
| Buckinghamshire HA | 2,824 | 3,859 |
| Buckinghamshire HA | (42)— | (42)— |
| Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Trust | 344 | 401 |
| Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust | 564 | 818 |
| Milton Keynes PCT | 310 | 377 |
| South Buckinghamshire NHS Trust | 783 | 1,090 |
| Stoke Mandeville Hospital NHS Trust | 547 | 750 |
| Two Shires Ambulance NHS Trust | 54 | 70 |
| Vale of Aylesbury PCT | 222 | 351 |
(42) 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. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
4. HA figures are based on Trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of healthcare.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census, September 2001.
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