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20 May 2003 : Column 735W—continued
Asthma
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many respiratory specialists there are for asthma patients in Dorset. [113047]
Ms Blears: Information is not collected centrally on the numbers of respiratory specialists for particular patient types. There are nine specialists in respiratory medicine working within the former Dorset health authority area, six of whom are consultants.
BCG Vaccinations
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the new action plan for tuberculosis will be published; and for what reason it has not yet been published. [114068]
Ms Blears: The tuberculosis action plan will give clear objectives and the issues surrounding them are complex. It is for this reason that we have taken time to ensure these are thoroughly thought through.
The Chief Medical Officer will make an announcement on the action plan shortly.
20 May 2003 : Column 736W
Bed Rails
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions (a) his Department and (b) the Medical Devices Agency has held with (i) residential and nursing homes, (ii) NHS trusts and (iii) patients' groups on guidelines for the use of bed rails; and what plans there are to issue further guidelines. [113038]
Jacqui Smith: There have been no recent direct discussions with these bodies by either the Department of Health or the Medical Devices Agency, now the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. There are no current plans to issue further guidelines, as we have recently issued 41,500 wall posters on this subject to care homes, the independent healthcare sector and the national health service, together with our guidance document, DB2001(04), "Advice on the safe use of bed rails". We are embarking upon a programme of countrywide training events for users of bed safety equipment in conjunction with the Disabled Living Centres Council. This will provide useful hands-on experience with a variety of current equipment to care assistants, nurses and occupational therapists.
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are in place on the use of bed rails for people with osteoporosis and similar brittle bone conditions. [113039]
Jacqui Smith: The Medical Devices Agency, now the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), published a guidance document in 2001, DB2001(04), "Advice on the safe use of bed rails", which highlighted the importance of individual risk assessment for every bed occupant, rather than focussing on particular patient groups. No specific guidelines have been published by the MHRA, or any other body that we are aware of, in relation to bed rail use by people with osteoporosis.
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) fatalities and (b) serious injuries from incidents involving bed rails have been reported to the Medical Devices Agency in each year since 1994. [113041]
Jacqui Smith: The available information is shown in the table.
| Fatalities | Serious injuries | |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | 4 | 3 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 |
| 2000 | 7 | 1 |
| 2001 | 4 | 3 |
| 2002 | 7 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 |
These data should be interpreted with caution.
The existence of a report does not imply established causality, and there has been a significant increase in reporting levels for all devices following initiatives by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory
20 May 2003 : Column 737W
Agency to address under-reporting, together with the introduction of mandatory vigilance reporting under the Medical Devices Directive.
Breast Cancer Guidance
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 29 April, ref 109824, what the (a) full title and (b) date of publication are of the breast cancer guidance from NICE referred to in the answer. [111718]
Ms Blears: The breast cancer service guidance referred to in the reply of 29 April is the Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer—Manual Update, published in August 2002. This guidance is an update of the original Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer, published by the Department of Health in 1996.
The full guidance is available on the National Institute for Clinical Excellence website at www.nice.co.uk
Care Standards
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will discuss with the Home Secretary the application of the (a) Care Standards Act 2000 and (b) Police Act 1997 to access for inspectors for the National Care Standards Commission to criminal records information about staff in care homes. [114631]
Jacqui Smith: Officials from the Department of Health and the Home Office meet and are in discussion about the application of the Care Standards Act 2000 and the Police Act 1997 in relation to criminal records checks on care home staff.
National Care Standards Commission inspectors have access to staff records held by care homes. All new staff must have provided a satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau check. Unfortunately, due to delays at the CRB in processing applications for criminal records disclosures, checks on staff in post immediately before April 2002 have been postponed to 31 October 2004. However, this timetable will be brought forward if possible.
Cheshire and Merseyside SHA
Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority spent on obtaining legal advice in 2002–03; and if he will break down the advice by categories of subject. [112412]
Jacqui Smith: The total amount spent on legal advice by Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (SHA) in 2002–03 was £65,708.90. This advice covered employment advice for transitional arrangements for staff transferring to new organisations, and lease arrangements for the SHA headquarters in Warrington.
Consultants
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultant time is commissioned by each DAAT in England and Wales in the current year. [113982]
Ms Blears: This information is not available centrally. Psychiatric consultant time is commissioned by primary care trusts (PCTs), which have access to mainstream
20 May 2003 : Column 738W
funds and the drug treatment pooled budget, which stands at £243.6 million for this year. Each PCT, in consultation with its drug action team partners, must decide how much consultant time is required, according to the needs of the local community. Commissioning should be in accordance with these needs.
Depression (Schoolchildren)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department will take in relation to depression in adolescent girls. [114533]
Jacqui Smith: According to a survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain, carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 1999, 1.9 per cent. of 11–15 year old girls suffered from a depressive episode. All child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are able to respond to referrals to assess and treat depression, including depressive illness in adolescent girls. Since 1999, the Department's CAMHS development strategy has helped to improve significantly the range, quality and accessibility of local services. Over the next three years we will be investing a further £250 million across the national health service and local authorities with the aim of securing comprehensive services, including mental health promotion and early intervention, in all areas by 2006. We recently published for consultation the emerging findings from the children's national service framework, which had a chapter on the mental health of children and adolescents and the outline of what a comprehensive local service should comprise.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to deal with problems of depression amongst pupils. [114787]
Jacqui Smith: A survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain, carried out by the Office for National Statistics in 1999, found that 1.8 per cent. of 11–15 year olds had suffered from a depressive episode. All child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are able to respond to referrals to assess and treat depression, including depressive illness. Over the next three years we will be investing an additional £250 million across the national health service and local authorities with the aim of securing comprehensive services, including mental health promotion and early intervention, in all areas by 2006.
The Department for Education and Skills has issued guidance, to which this Department contributed, that addresses mental health promotion in schools. The guidance is designed to increase awareness about children's mental health among teachers and to provide examples of good practice. We have also recently published for consultation the emerging findings from the children's national service framework, which has a chapter on the mental health of children and adolescents and the outline of what a comprehensive local service should comprise.
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