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29 Apr 2003 : Column 345W—continued
NHS Services (Durham)
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of capital investment in the NHS has been in County Durham since 1997. [108599]
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Mr. Hutton: The capital expenditure of National Health Service organisations within the County Durham and Darlington Health Authority since 1997 is shown in the table.
| Financial Year | £000 |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 4,107 |
| 1998–99 | 3,506 |
| 1999–2000 | 6,088 |
| 2000–01 | 25,879 |
| 2001–02 | 35,550 |
Source:
Health Authority audited accounts 1997–98 and 1998–99
Health Authority audited summarisation forms 1999–2000 to 2001–02
NHS Trust audited summarisation schedules 1997–98 to 2001–02
NHS Staff (Military Service)
Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) general practitioners and (b) other NHS staff, broken down by category, in the area served by South Wiltshire Primary Care Trust have been called up for military service in the Iraq conflict; what arrangements have been made (i) to cover their absence and (ii) to fund replacement staff; and if he will make a statement. [110085]
Ms Blears: I am advised by the Avon Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority that one general practitioner and two national health service staff, one consultant surgeon and one nurse, working in the area served by South Wiltshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), have been called out for military service in Iraq.
To cover the GP's absence, South Wiltshire PCT has asked part-time general practitioners to work extra hours. The PCT is not required to pay the called out GP during his period of service, as this is covered by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which means the PCT has been able to redirect this money to the part-time GPs for the extra hours they are working. The PCT should also be able to recover any other costs associated with setting up this arrangement, for example, advertising, etc. from the MOD.
For the consultant surgeon and nurse, their employer, the Salisbury Healthcare NHS Trust, has contracted an associate specialist on a locum basis and utilised bank nurses. Similarly, the trust is not required to pay the salaries of the surgeon and the nurse during their period of service as these are covered by the MOD and has therefore been able to redirect these funds to pay the associate specialist and bank nurses for the cover they are providing. The trust should also be able to recover any other costs associated with setting up this arrangement from the MOD.
The Department of Health has been working closely with the NHS and the MOD to ensure the impact on health care delivery as a result of call outs of NHS staff with military commitments for service in Iraq has been kept to a minimum.
NHS Treatments
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many tattoo removals were performed by the National Health Service in 2002. [108665]
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Mr. Hutton: This information is not collected centrally. During 2001–02, there were 123 finished consultant episodes which treated disorders relating to tattoo pigmentation and the removal of skin by the National Health Service.
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many sex change operations were performed by the National Health Service in 2002. [108666]
Mr. Hutton: Hospital episode statistics show 89 operations for gender reassignment were performed in the National Health Service in 2001–02.
Overseas Health Treatment
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the number of NHS patients who will receive treatment in 2003 in hospitals in EU states outside the UK for (a) hip joint replacements, (b) knee joint replacements, (c) coronary artery by-pass grafts and (d) other cardiac surgical procedures. [105859]
Mr. Hutton: Patients can receive treatment abroad through either the E112 scheme or through direct referral from their national health service trust.
No estimate can be provided for the number of patients that will receive treatment in European Union states in 2003 under the E112 scheme. It is usually patients themselves who initiate the application for referrals, but they also need to obtain the support of the United Kingdom specialist doctor responsible for their care and their local health commissioner.
The option of referring patients abroad is open to all NHS commissioners and so the number of patients treated abroad will be dependent on the take-up of the scheme by NHS trusts. Overseas treatment will be offered nationally to patients within the choice strategy framework from the end of 2005 as one of several options if alternatives are not available in this country. Before then, overseas treatment will be offered on a localised basis in order to provide a more comprehensive choice for patients to meet local circumstances as well as contestability of provision.
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how many patients in each of the last five years the NHS has funded treatment in another European Union country. [109022]
Mr. Hutton: Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 is the European legislation that co-ordinates the healthcare schemes of the member states. In principle, each member state is responsible for paying for treatment given to its own insured persons in another member state. The United Kingdom has bilateral cost arrangements with most other member states, the terms of which vary from member state to member state.
The main groups of people covered by the Regulation are temporary visitors, referred patients, posted workers and state pensioners who have retired to another member state. Claims from foreign authorities are often aggregated to cover several groups across the whole of the United Kingdom.
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There is no central record distinguishing numbers of patients from England, Scotland and Wales treated in other European Union member states. The Department of Health makes settlements in respect of the United Kingdom as a whole.
Information about patients from England, Scotland and Wales referred abroad using the E112 procedure is shown in the table.
| Year | Number of E112s issued |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 813 |
| 1999 | 861 |
| 2000 | 1,099 |
| 2001 | 1,139 |
| 2002 | 1,120 |
In addition to the patients referred abroad under Regulation (EEC) 1408/71, some patients have been referred abroad directly by their National Health Service trust. 190 patients were referred as part of a centrally funded pilot scheme between January and April 2002. Since the pilot, 34 patients were referred by their NHS trust in 2002. A further 218 patients have been referred in 2003 to date. All of these patients were referred abroad by English trusts.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients have been sent to France for treatment. [108985]
Mr. Hutton: Patients can be referred for treatment abroad under the European Union-wide health care co-ordination regulations (the E112 scheme), or through direct referral from their national health service trust.
The table shows the number of patients referred for treatment in France under each of these systems in 2002, and from 1 January to 31 March 2003.
| Referral route | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|
| E112 | 467 | 104 |
| Direct referral | 143 | 218 |
Physical Activity
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has made available to promote physical activity. [109916]
Ms Blears: The Department of Health is committed to developing policies that provide people with the skills, information and support to make and sustain healthy lifestyle choices.
Between April 2002 and March 2003, the Department made available £710,000 to fund a physical activity programme to:
- develop and communicate the evidence base for physical activity;
support the delivery of Planning and Priorities Framework (PPF) targets and National Service Framework milestones; and
work with other Government Departments and stakeholders to enhance opportunities for physical activity.
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Feeding into all three strands of the programme and accounting for £450,000 of the funding allocation in 2002–03 are the local exercise action pilots (LEAP).
The Department, in partnership with the Countryside Agency and Sport England, is investing £2.6 million in LEAP over the next three years to test out innovative approaches to increasing access and participation in physical activity.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to primary care trusts on promoting physical activity. [109917]
Ms Blears: During the past five years, the Department of Health has commissioned in excess of 13 publications providing physical activity-related guidance and briefing and a number of effectiveness reviews.
These publications are aimed at supporting the planning, monitoring and implementation of physical activity interventions and are relevant to policy makers and practitioners in a range of settings, including primary care trusts. For example, the national quality assurance framework for exercise referral systems and the subsequent register of exercise professionals were produced to help improve standards of exercise referral programmes.
Later this year, the Chief Medical Officer will publish a report which sets out the case for physical activity and health. It will bring together the latest research evidence on physical activity and how it can contribute to improved health.
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