| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 May 2003 : Column 957W—continued
Western Sahara
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects the UN Secretary General and James Baker to publish their proposals for the Western Sahara. [113527]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UN Secretary-General is due to report to the Security Council on the situation in Western Sahara in advance of the expiry of the current mandate of United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) on 31 May 2003.
Zimbabwe
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning an award by Interpol to the Commissioner of Police for Zimbabwe; and if he will make a statement. [114988]
Mr. Rammell: We were not involved in Interpol's decision to appoint the Zimbabwe Police Commissioner as Honorary Vice President, and we believe it was wrong. With our strong support, the EU Presidency will write to the Secretary General of Interpol, expressing the EU's concern and asking them to reconsider this appointment.
HEALTH
Amputations
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) NHS audits and (b) other statistical assessments which require records to be kept of amputations. [111768]
Mr. Lammy: Clinical audit is organised both locally and nationally. All clinicians are required to participate in clinical audit. Given this requirement it is expected that vascular and orthopaedic surgeons, those most likely to perform amputation procedures, participate in a range of local clinical audit activities. There is no central record of local clinical audits.
The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) has the responsibility for developing a programme of national clinical audits. Currently there is no national clinical audit in the programme specifically targeted at amputation. The development of a national clinical audit for diabetes may provide data of associated amputations.
22 May 2003 : Column 958W
The Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland maintains a clinical database of activity related to vascular surgery, and is actively considering a national clinical audit of amputation.
Amputation data is collected through the Department's Hospital Episodes Statistics system. Current in-patient data from the HES system is shown in the table.
| OPCS 4operationcode | 3 char main operationdescription | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| X07 | Amputation of arm | 113 | 111 | 116 |
| X08 | Amputation of hand | 3,126 | 3,074 | 3,081 |
| X09 | Amputation of leg | 5,462 | 5,505 | 5,415 |
| X10 | Amputation of foot | 580 | 568 | 569 |
| X11 | Amputation of toe | 5,028 | 4,980 | 4,777 |
| Total | 14,309 | 14,238 | 13,958 |
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.
The main operation is the first of four operation fields in the HES data set, and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode.
Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
Information is also available on the National Amputee Statistical Database (NASDAB), managed by representatives from UK NHS Prosthetic Centres, British Healthcare Trade Association, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, and Information and Statistics Division Scotland. The database records, and publishes annually, the considerable detail about new referrals to UK prosthetic centres.
Care Standards
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role the Commission for Health Inspection and Audit will play in assessing the quality of (a) health care and (b) clinical governance as it affects residents in care homes. [114745]
Mr. Lammy: Clause 99 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill will, subject to Parliamentary approval, transfer the regulation of independent healthcare from the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) to the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI).
22 May 2003 : Column 959W
All other NCSC functions, including the regulation and inspection of care homes will transfer to the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).
Under clause 116 of the Bill, CSCI will be able to ask CHAI for help with the discharge of its functions.
Cheshire and Merseyside SHA
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what arrangements are in place for reviewing the performance of the Chief Executive of Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority; and when, and by whom, such reviews are carried out; [112308]
- (2) by what means hon. Members can contribute to a review of the performance of a Chief Executive of a health authority. [112798]
Jacqui Smith: The performance of chief executives of strategic health authorities (SHAs) is the responsibility of the relevant SHA board in partnership with senior officials at the Department of Health. Hon. Members can convey their views to the relevant SHA Chair.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people applied for the post of Chief Executive of the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority; and how many were interviewed. [112310]
Jacqui Smith: At the time when the chief executive posts for the strategic health authorities (SHAs) were advertised, the boundaries had not been identified. Candidates were therefore required to express an interest in the following areas: Eastern; London; North West; Northern and Yorkshire; South East; and South West.
As such no candidates expressed an interest in, or were interviewed for the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA.
Children's National Service Framework
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether performance indicators will be included in the Children's National Service Framework to measure outcomes. [114764]
Jacqui Smith: It is intended that the national service framework (NSF) for children, young people and maternity services will contain advice on possible performance indicators to measure outcomes of NSF implementation. These indicators are to be developed by the NSF in conjunction with the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of regional variations in staff turnover in his Department. [112747]
Mr. Lammy: The Department regularly monitors turnover for staff working in London and in other parts of the country. The most recent information, for January to October 2002, is shown in the table.
| Location | Percentage by location |
|---|---|
| London | 10 |
| Elsewhere | 13 |
| Overall total | 11 |
22 May 2003 : Column 960W
Depression (Schoolchildren)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health professionals are available in schools to deal with problems of depression among pupils. [114788]
Jacqui Smith: The Government's strategy for the development of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), initiated in 1999, has made significant progress in improving the overall quality and accessibility of local services for children and young people with mental health problems. Our current investment programme, £250 million over the coming three years, aims to secure comprehensive services in all areas by 2006 and will increase the capacity of 'core' specialist CAMHS to underpin the work of other key agencies, including education.
The Department for Education and Skills "Behaviour Improvement Programme" funds multi-agency teams, which offer targeted support to pupils who have mental health problems such as depression. The teams known as behaviour and education support teams (BESTs), have a complementary mix of education and health professionals, which may include clinical psychologists, educational psychologists, social workers and mental health workers. There are approximately 80 BESTs working in 33 local education authorities (LEAs) supporting over 70 secondary and 300 primary schools. BESTs are being implemented in a further 27 LEAs during 2003.
Drug Addiction
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the clinical effectiveness of ibogaine in treating drug addiction; and what funds are available for further trials. [112364]
Ms Blears: No specific assessment has been made on the clinical effectiveness of this drug. It is not licensed for use in the treatment of drug dependence. Licensing of medicines in the United Kingdom is determined by science. The same standard of safety and efficacy would be required for ibogaine as for any other medicine.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |