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22 May 2003 : Column 967W—continued
NHS Trusts (North-West)
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 66W, what informal meetings have taken place to discuss the financial problems of North Cheshire Hospital NHS Trusts. [113084]
Jacqui Smith: In accordance with the Strategic Health Authority's (SHA) role in monitoring and supporting national health service trusts to meet their financial responsibilities, officers of the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA hold meetings and have discussions with all hospital trusts, primary care trusts and health communities within their boundary, either individually or in groups, on a regular and on-going basis.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when and by whom an approach was made by the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority to the chair of the Five Boroughs Mental Health trust, for assistance with the financial problems of North Cheshire hospitals NHS trust; and what the nature was of the assistance requested. [113085]
Jacqui Smith: The Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (CMSHA) has not approached the chair of the Five Boroughs Partnership national health service trust concerning the financial status of the North Cheshire Hospitals NHS trust. However, the CMSHA has agreed a six months secondment of an experienced
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director of finance from a Merseyside NHS trust to cover a vacancy at the north Cheshire hospitals NHS trust.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 663W, if he will make a statement on the recovery plan agreed in June 2002 for north Cheshire hospitals NHS Trust; how much money was to be transferred from other trusts in north Cheshire; and which services would be affected as a result. [113086]
Jacqui Smith: Recovery plans were developed by the north Cheshire health community, including the north Cheshire hospitals national health service trust. Those plans were reviewed by the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (CMSHA) and after they were seen to be failing, a revision was requested in October 2002, which is now subject to a review by the Audit Commission. No money was to be transferred from other NHS trusts in north Cheshire. However, the CMSHA has facilitated brokerage from other organisations elsewhere in Cheshire and Merseyside to ensure that there is no impact on services in north Cheshire and to facilitate local developments.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 6 May 2003, Official Report, column 663W, if he will place a copy of the Audit Commission's review of the recovery plan for the North Cheshire Health Community in the Library. [113087]
Jacqui Smith: The current review by the Audit Commission will take the form of a facilitative approach to confirm the trust's financial position and further develop cross-organisational co-operation to improve financial and operational performance. It is expected to report back via presentational feedback, rather than as a formal report. However, when the review is completed, the chief executive of the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority will write to the hon. Member for Warrington, North, the hon. Member for Warrington, South (Helen Southworth) and the hon. Member for Weaver Vale (Mr. Hall) with its findings.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average time taken by the Chief Executive of Cheshire and Merseyside SHA to respond to a request from an hon. Member that she telephone them since her appointment. [113089]
Jacqui Smith: The Chief Executive of the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority treats any contact from an hon. Member very seriously. It is her policy to return calls on the same day where possible or at the earliest possible opportunity.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the annual running costs are of the headquarters of the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA; and how many staff are employed there. [113090]
Jacqui Smith: Each strategic health authority was allocated a budget of £4 million in 2002–03 to cover their running costs.
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Organ Removals
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the removal of the brains from deceased patients without the consent of the next of kin ceased in the UK. [113970]
Mr. Lammy: In the past, the Human Tissue Act 1961 has been subject to different interpretations, as it lacks clarity in a number of important respects, not least in the area of consent.
The Department has issued guidance to ensure that consent is sought before the removal of any organs from deceased patients, except where this is covered by the law relating to coroners' post mortems.
This guidance was first issued in March 2000 and new guidance was issued as recently as April 2003, in anticipation of changes to clarify the law.
Patient Forums
Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will issue guidance on setting up patients forums. [114692]
Mr. Lammy: The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) is responsible for all operational matters relating to forums, including organising the recruitment to them and ensuring that they are properly supported.
Therefore, any advice that is issued about the setting up of forums is a matter for the CPPIH.
Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects patients forums to be in place. [114693]
Mr. Lammy: The intention is that all patients forums will be in place by the end of the year.
Pharmacies
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community pharmacies in (a) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, (b) Teesside, (c) the North East region and (d) England were (i) closed and (ii) opened in each year since 1997. [114313]
Mr. Lammy: The table shows information on the number of pharmacies opening and closing in each year since 1997 in Tees Health Authority. For the North East region and England, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend, the Member for Jarrow (Mr. Hepburn), on 28 April 2003, Official Report, column 266–67W. Such information for Middlesborough South and East Cleveland is not held centrally.
| Year(6) | Number of NHS pharmacies opening | Number of NHS pharmacies closing |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 |
(6) Ending 31 March.
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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to publish an interim report at the end of June on the position of his Department in relation to the OFT report on pharmacy services. [115295]
Mr. Lammy: The Government intends to publish a progress report at the end of June and to come forward with proposals in response to the Office of Fair Trading's study on retail pharmacies before the summer recess.
Primary Care (Greater Manchester)
Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the distance from target for each primary care trust in Greater Manchester for each of the three years of the current spending settlement. [113017]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 19 May 2003]: The information requested is shown in the table. It shows distance from target for each primary care trust (PCT) in Greater Manchester, as determined by the weighted capitation formula for 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06.
| Distance from target (percentage)(7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary care trust | 2003–04 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 |
| Ashton, Leigh and Wigan | -3.38 | -3.19 | -3.12 |
| Bolton | -5.12 | -4.83 | -4.71 |
| Bury | -1.99 | -1.87 | -1.82 |
| Central Manchester | 1.03 | 0.79 | 0.59 |
| Heywood and Middleton | -5.21 | -4.92 | -4.79 |
| North Manchester | 0.12 | 0.09 | 0.07 |
| Oldham | -7.73 | -7.30 | -6.00 |
| Rochdale | -4.18 | -3.94 | -3.84 |
| Salford | -1.08 | -1.02 | -0.99 |
| South Manchester | -3.55 | -3.35 | -3.26 |
| Stockport | 2.19 | 1.74 | 1.29 |
| Tameside and Glossop | -2.75 | -2.60 | -2.53 |
| Trafford North | 1.87 | 1.44 | 1.07 |
| Trafford South | 12.82 | 12.32 | 11.75 |
(7) A negative distance from target shows that the PCT is under target. A positive distance from target shows that the PCT is over target.
Prison Health Services
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health services are available in prisons; how much has been allocated to the prison health service since 1997; and what action is taken when a prisoner faces serious health difficulties. [115156]
Jacqui Smith: From 1 April 2003, the Department of Health assumed budgetary responsibility for prison health care in England, other than at contractually managed establishments. There has not, historically, been a separate budget for health care within overall prison service expenditure but the total Home Office baseline costs for 2002–03 were identified as £117.7 million. This baseline was transferred to the Department of Health, which will, over the next three years, make further resources, rising to around an extra £46 million a year by 2005–06, available to improve prison health services.
Prisons which receive prisoners directly from court undertake a full health assessment on a prisoner's first reception into prison custody. There is, at the minimum, a primary health care service at every establishment.
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Most will also have some of a range of other services, such as in-patient facilities in a health care centre and dental, optical, mental health, substance misuse, genito-urinary and communicable disease services. Prisoners with physical or mental health problems which cannot be satisfactorily treated within the prison setting are admitted to hospital.
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