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28 Apr 2003 : Column 93W—continued
Overseas Health Treatment
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were treated in hospitals outside the United Kingdom but within the EU in (a) 2001 and (b) 2002, for (i) hip joint replacements, (ii) knee joint replacements, (iii) coronary artery bypass grafts and (iv) cardiac surgical procedures. [105858]
Mr. Hutton: No patients were treated abroad in 2001. In 2002, 191 patients were referred abroad for orthopaedic procedures, mainly major joint replacements. Overseas referrals for cardiac procedures will commence in 2003.
Prisoners of War (Health Care)
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list the NHS hospitals that have been designated as suitable places to treat Iraqi prisoners of war in need of health care; [108644]
- (2) if he will list the NHS hospitals that have drawn up contingency plans for dealing with prisoners of war in need of health care; and whether such plans will be placed in the public domain. [108645]
Mr. Hutton: In being ready to receive casualties from the Gulf our approach has been to give the national health service maximum local freedom to respond to the needs of those who return. While it is not the intention to bring prisoners of war back to this country, the NHS would be able to cope if the need arose. Which hospital would be involved would depend on local operational circumstances at the time.
Private Patients
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) ordinary private patient admissions in finished consultant episodes and (b) private patient day cases in the NHS there were in (i) England and (ii) each NHS region in 2001–02. [108137]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
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| Regional office | Ordinary admissions (FCEs) | Day cases (FCEs) |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | 6,545 | 4,889 |
| London | 26,421 | 17,218 |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 5,312 | 4,345 |
| North West | 6,029 | 5,039 |
| South East | 12,644 | 7,318 |
| South West | 6,210 | 5,495 |
| Trent | 2,735 | 2,208 |
| West Midlands | 4,883 | 4,422 |
| England Total | 70,779 | 50,934 |
Notes:
An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year. Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
Hospitals (Avon)
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the consultants who have been employed on the franchising of Royal United Hospital, Bath and Bristol Royal Infirmary (RUH and BRI) what estimate he has made of (a) official and (b) managerial man hours spent on the proposed franchising of RUH and BRI; what the latest estimate is of the cost to public funds of the proposed franchising of RUH and BRI; and if he will make a statement on the future of the Royal United Hospital, Bath. [108538]
Ms Blears: Work on franchising at the Royal United Hospitals Bath national health service trust and United Bristol Teaching Hospital NHS trust has been progressing over the last three months. This work has been informed by specialist legal and financial advice commissioned by Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) at an expected cost of approximately £119,000.
It has become clear that the issues facing the local health community require a system wide approach, rather than looking for solutions within individual NHS organisations. The SHA has concluded that given the scale of the problems—and the management action required to achieve recovery—the SHA will be taking a much more direct role in the overall management of the two trusts than would normally be the case. This decision was based in part on the work carried out over the last three months.
Management time is not recorded by task undertaken and it is therefore not possible to differentiate the amount of time allocated to this task in the SHA.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department issues to people who suspect that they have been infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome. [107932]
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Ms Blears: Advice is issued to the public via travel and web based information. It has described the symptoms of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and advises people to seek medical attention should they show signs of or a combination of these symptoms while in a SARS affected area or within 10 days of being in an affected area.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the epidemiology of the virus which produces severe acute respiratory syndrome. [107929]
Ms Blears: The Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) is one of 11 laboratories in nine countries working together to investigate the cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Two different viruses have been identified in a number of laboratories within the network in cases of SARS: corona viruses and metapneumoviruses. The discovery of these viruses in association with SARS enables work to be developed on tests which detect the presence of these viruses in patients. CPHL are involved in developing and preparing diagnostic tests for both viruses.
Sexual Assault
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 668W, on sexual assault, if he will issue accident and emergency departments with guidelines on the referral of sexual assault victims. [107735]
Ms Blears: The Home Office held a seminar on 4 April, at which the Department of Health was represented, to consider the structure and nature of services that currently exist for victims of sexual assault. We will consider with the Home Office how to take these complex issues forward, including whether guidance to the national health service on the management of victims of sexual assault is necessary.
St. Ebba's Hospital
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current state of discussions is about the future of St. Ebba's Hospital. [107267]
Ms Blears: There have been several meetings involving the Department, the Patient & Relatives Group (PARG), the Surrey Learning Disability Partnership Board, the relevant health authority (HAs) and trusts to discuss the future of St. Ebba's Hospital.
PARG were asked to produce a preliminary feasibility study to reflect the number of residents that a village community could meet, the range of facilities required and the financial robustness of the proposal. The HA and the Surrey Learning Disability Partnership Board have considered the study and have recently forwarded their recommendations to the Department.
Ministers are currently considering these recommendations and will make a decision shortly.
Stroke Treatment
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients at Eastbourne district general hospital were treated for strokes for each year since 1992; and what their survival rates were. [108432]
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Ms Blears: Information about patients treated for strokes by individual hospitals and their survival rates is not collected centrally.
The national service framework (NSF) for older people, published in March 2001, requires all general hospitals that care for people with stroke to have by April 2004, a specialised stroke service, as described in the NSF stroke service model.
Implementation of specialist stroke services is required in "Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the Priorities and Planning Framework for 2003–6." This makes clear that implementation of the older people's NSF is a top priority, and that the 2004 milestone around specialist stroke services is a key target.
Teenage Cancer Treatment
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to reduce the rate of (a) misdiagnosis and (b) late diagnosis among teenage cancer patients. [109398]
Ms Blears: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is in the process of updating the Department of Health's referral guidelines for suspected cancer to help general practitioners identify those patients who are most likely to have cancer and therefore require urgent assessment by a specialist. This will cover teenage cancers.
NICE is also producing "Improving Outcomes" guidance for child and adolescent cancers to ensure services for these patients are capable of achieving consistently good outcomes.
In addition, we are providing funding through the National Cancer Research Network to enable more teenage cancer patients to enter trials of the latest treatments.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list those constituencies which (a) have a Teenage Cancer Trust Unit and (b) do not have a Teenage Cancer Trust Unit. [109400]
Ms Blears: We are aware of eight teenage cancer trust units operating in the national health service. They are situated in the following constituencies: Cities of London and Westminster; Holborn and St. Pancras; Birmingham Edgbaston; Manchester Withington; Sheffield Hallam; Leeds Central; Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central; and Liverpool Wavertree. Further teenage cancer trust units are under development.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which hospitals teenagers with cancer are not treated on wards alongside (a) children and (b) older people. [109401]
Ms Blears: No statistics are available centrally which allow us to show which hospitals treat teenager cancer patients alongside children and which treat them alongside older people.
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