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28 Apr 2003 : Column 254W—continued
Alzheimer's Disease (Memantine)
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will decide whether the drug Memantine should be made available on the NHS to treat Alzheimer's disease; and if he will make a statement. [106520]
Jacqui Smith: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) will appraise memantine, for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, as part of the eighth wave of its work programme. Until NICE has made its recommendations, local decisions are being made about its availability on the National Health Service based on each area's interpretation of publicly available effectiveness data.
Arthritis
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when variations in access to services for arthritis sufferers across England will be eliminated; and if he will make a statement. [109236]
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Jacqui Smith: We have made clear our commitment to cut National Health Service waiting times for all patients. Patients in need of orthopaedic procedures are already benefiting from this. Between December 2001 and December 2002, the number of people waiting longer than 12 months fell by 60.3 per cent. The NHS is on target to reduce maximum waiting times to six months by the end of 2005.
Our policies to improve general hospital care, especially through the new single assessment process, will ensure that the health care needs of older people—who are the main sufferers from arthritis—will be properly targeted. This will ensure that the services that are provided are most appropriate to older people's needs, including people with arthritis.
In the past year, two new classes of drugs, Cox II inhibitors and anti-TNF therapy have been made available to arthritis patients, following reviews by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). In addition, NICE is reviewing the drug, Anakinra, for its clinical and cost effectiveness in treating rheumatoid arthritis.
We have issued directions obliging strategic health authorities and primary care trusts to provide appropriate funding for treatments recommended by NICE. This is in line with our manifesto commitment to ensure that patients receive drugs and treatments recommended by NICE on the NHS if considered appropriate by their clinicians.
We are determined to ensure that the obligation of health bodies to follow NICE guidance is carried out. The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) and NICE have agreed a methodology for CHI to incorporate the monitoring of NICE guidance in its clinical governance reviews. Specifically, CHI now looks to see if NHS trusts have mechanisms in place to implement and comply with NICE guidance. CHI will also support and facilitate clinicians to discuss when NICE guidance is and is not followed on an individual patient basis.
NHS Staff (Shrewsbury)
Mr. Paul Marsden To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many ambulance workers based in Shrewsbury were subjected to (a) verbal and (b) physical attacks in the last year; [109674]
- (2) how many (a) verbal and (b) physical attacks there were on NHS staff working at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in the last year. [109684]
Mr. Lammy: At the Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals National Health Service Trust from 1 April 2002 until 31 March 2003, there were 14 physical assaults and 35 incidents of verbal abuse on staff. Figures are collected by organisation and therefore are not available for ambulance workers based in Shrewsbury.
- Source:
- Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals NHS Trust.
Audiology Tests
Mr. Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of waiting times for audiology tests in NHS hospitals in (a) West Kent and (b) England. [109080]
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Jacqui Smith: We do not collect waiting times centrally for non-consultant led specialities such as audiology.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of waiting times for audiology tests in NHS hospitals in (a) the Hemsworth constituency and (b) England. [109875]
Jacqui Smith: We do not collect waiting times centrally for non-consultant led specialities such as audiology.
We know that demand for hearing aids rises when local services begin to provide digital hearing aids as part of a modernised hearing aid service, and this, combined with a recognised shortage of audiologists, can affect waiting times. The Royal National Institute for the Deaf project team and the Modernisation Agency Team are working with services as they modernise, to help them tackle increased demand and keep waiting lists as low as possible. We are introducing a new, more streamlined patient process in modernised sites, are looking at ways to increase the number of trained audiologists in the longer term and are exploring the role that the private sector can play in boosting national health service capacity and reducing waiting times.
Blood
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS money has been paid out in each of the last five years to people as a result of (a) clinical errors from blood transfusions and (b) infection from contaminated blood and blood product. [103981]
Ms Blears: Information is not collected separately on compensation for clinical errors from blood transfusions and infection from contaminated blood and blood products arising in National Health Service hospitals. However, the NHS Summarised Accounts in England specify that the gross figure for all claims for clinical negligence in 2001–02 was £446 million.
The National Blood Authority (NBA) has settled seven claims in the past five years, which involve either clinical errors from blood transfusions or infection from contaminated blood or blood products. The table shows the total payments made by the NBA in respect of these claims including the legal costs of both sides.
| Year | Clinical errors from blood transfusions | Infection from contaminated blood and blood products |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 7,131 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 0 | 99,188 |
| 2001–02 | 29,320 | 485,739 |
| 2002–03 | 0 | 1,098,147 |
| Total | 36,451 | 1,683,074 |
In addition, the NBA has made payments of:
| Year | £ |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 5,114,035 |
| 2002–03 | 6,105,277 |
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following Mr. Justice Burton's judgment of 26 March 2001 under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 in respect of patients infected with hepatitis C through blood transfusions between March 1988 and September 1991.
Cancer Services
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle the shortage of radiologists needed for breast cancer screening. [108297]
Mr. Hutton: Consultant numbers in the radiology group have risen by 14.3 per cent., from 1,473 in September 1997 to 1,683 in 2001. In 2003–04, central funding is available to support the implementation of 78 additional training posts in clinical radiology. This will support further increases in consultant numbers. In addition, the Department's global recruitment campaign and the International Fellowship Scheme have encouraged consultants, including radiologists, to apply for work in the National Health Service.
Action to address shortfalls not only includes increasing numbers in training but also modernising roles and developing new ways of working for doctors alongside other staff.
A specific component of the current skill mix projects in radiography is developing the role of the radiographer into both advanced and (non medical) consultant practice.
These new and innovative ways of working have been tried, tested and evaluated in breast screening and are now being implemented across the service. In addition to the advanced radiographer roles, a new grade of assistant practitioner, who will also undertake some of the tasks currently carried out by radiographers, will be introduced, providing them with the capacity to develop and enhance their role.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Government have achieved their targets in increasing the numbers of (a) diagnostic radiographers, (b) therapeutic radiographers and (c) radiologists as set out in the Cancer Plan. [108299]
Mr. Hutton: The Cancer Plan set targets for diagnostic radiographers to increase by 4 per cent., therapeutic radiographers to increase by 16 per cent., and consultants in radiology to increase by 17 per cent., by 2006 over 1999 levels.
The Government has made significant progress towards these targets. As at September 2001, there were 11,160 diagnostic radiographers and 1,540 therapeutic radiographers employed in the National Health Service, increases of 3 per cent., or 320 and 3 per cent., or 50, respectively since the baseline. As at March 2002, there were 1,680 consultants in radiology, an increase of 11 per cent., or 173, since the 1999 Cancer Plan baseline.
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a teenage cancer unit in the Solihull constituency. [108528]
Mr. Lammy: There is no teenage cancer unit in Solihull. Teenage and other cancer sufferers are likely to be referred to either the University Hospitals
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Birmingham National Health Service Trust or the Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Trust, the providers of specialist cancer services for the area.
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