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9 Jun 2003 : Column 683W—continued
Diabetes
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support NHS trusts in implementing the National Service Framework for diabetes. [116899]
Mr. Lammy: We published the "National Service Framework for Diabetes: Deliver/Strategy" in January this year. The delivery strategy offers a framework for the national health service to deliver the national targets.
Underpinning national action to support local implementation includes:
- the appointment of a national clinical director for diabetes, to lead progress and provide support to the NHS
a "Diabetes Information Strategy" to develop information systems so that information is easily available to support people with diabetes and professional carers
a workforce programme to develop new roles and new skills
National Screening Committee pilots to test the practicalities of systematic screening for Type 2 diabetes in high-risk populations in primary care
NHS Modernisation Agency help to local NHS and partner organisations
In addition, £200,000 has been awarded to Diabetes UK to work with the National Clinical Director on a package of support to ensure people with diabetes are fully involved in helping the local NHS to plan, design and deliver diabetes services.
A copy of the delivery strategy is available in the Library.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on major screening programmes for diabetes in the NHS; and how they will be funded. [116900]
Mr. Lammy: "Improvement, Expansion and Reform: the next three years", the planning and performance framework for 2003–06, includes a specific national target. It states that, by 2006, a minimum of 80 per cent. of people with diabetes are to be offered screening for the early detection and treatment, if needed, of diabetic retinopathy as part of a systematic programme that meets national standards, rising to 100 per cent. coverage of those at risk of retinopathy by end 2007.
Funding totalling £27 million for the national health service to purchase state-of-the-art digital cameras and related equipment for screening people with diabetes for the signs of diabetic retinopathy was announced on 22 April 2003.
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The Department of Health is funding a pilot project, which will inform the policy development on screening for Type 2 diabetes, focusing on those populations among whom the prevalence of diabetes and risk factors is highest.
Digital Hearing Aids
John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the age profile of hearing aid users who have been using analogue hearing aids for more than three years. [116686]
Jacqui Smith: Although we have made no detailed age profile, as part of the modernising hearing aid services project a sample was taken of just over 5,000 patients who had been using hearing aids for about three years or more before the project began. This showed a mean age of 70 years with a standard deviation of 14 years, that is, just over two thirds of patients in the sample were aged between 56 and 84 years.
Direct Payment Schemes
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which authorities operate direct payment schemes; and when each started to do so. [116458]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested is not held centrally.
The most recent data outlining the number of direct payments recipients by local council is in the Autumn Position Statement, September 2002. Further details can be found on the direct payments website at ww.doh.gov.uk/directpayments/index.htm.
From 8 April 2003, The Community Care, Services for Carers and Children's Services (Direct Payments) (England) Regulations 2003 requires councils to offer direct payments to people using community care services who have an assessed need and are able to manage them (alone or with assistance).
We have a performance indicator which serves as a further incentive and a strong challenge to encourage progress in this field. For 2003–04 we will be introducing a key performance indicator (KPI) that will mean that councils' overall performance will be reflected in their successful or otherwise implementation of direct payments.
Domiciliary Oxygen Services
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will announce the results of the review of domiciliary oxygen services initiated in March 2000. [115564]
Mr. Lammy [holding answer 4 June 2003]: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, South-West (Dr. Starkey) on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 362W.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when there will be an announcement of the result of the review of domiciliary oxygen services initiated in March 2002; [117792]
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- (2) what conclusions have been reached concerning provision of ambulatory oxygen for domiciliary use; and whether scope exists to improve the efficiency of domiciliary oxygen through the prescription of conserving devices. [117793]
Mr. Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes, South-West (Dr. Starkey) on 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 362W.
Eggs
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the (a) quantity, (b) quality and (c) source of non-UK produced eggs used by hospital catering services. [115760]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 3 June 2003]: All eggs contracted for by the National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHSPASA) are from United Kingdom sources.
While the majority of NHS trusts use the NHSPASA contract, there may be some who buy eggs from non-contract sources. Information from trusts who buy eggs from their own sources is not held centrally.
Elderly People
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people were hospitalised as a result of cold in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997. [114759]
Mr. Lammy: I am unable to provide the figures asked for. The numbers of cases of elderly people hospitalised as a result of cold (hypothermia) within the two areas, for each year, are low. Under the terms of use for these data, including the Data Protection Act, figures under six are not disclosed due to the potential for identification for the patient involved.
Endometriosis
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much government funding is provided to groups working to help sufferers of endometriosis. [116362]
Jacqui Smith: The Department provides funding to voluntary organisations in the field of women's health through the Section 64 Scheme. The scheme provides funding to voluntary organisations whose activities support Department of Health policy objectives.
Funding is provided to a wide range of general women's health organisations, supporting women with a variety of conditions. The Pennell Initiative for Women's Health has been awarded £7,000 in 2003–04. Women's Health Concern will receive £12,000 in 2003–04. Women's Health will receive a core grant of £15,000 and in addition, a project grant of £10,000 in 2003–04. The Department also provides funding to organisations that focus on specific conditions, such as endometriosis. The National Endometriosis Society (NES) will receive £25,000 from the Department in 2003–04 as a contribution towards the cost of its core activities. In the autumn, the NES and all the other
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organisations in the women's health field will have the opportunity to apply for further funding under the scheme for the 2004–05 round.
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the level of funding of endometriosis services by health authority area over each of the past 10 years. [116365]
Jacqui Smith: This information is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services.
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided for research into endometriosis in each of the last 10 years. [116366]
Jacqui Smith: The main Government agency for research into the causes and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its funding from the Department for Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. The MRC can provide figures for spend on research relevant to endometriosis only for the last five years and these are shown in the table.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 1.7 |
| 1998–99 | 1.8 |
| 1999–2000 | 1.8 |
| 2000–01 | 1.2 |
| 2001–02 | 1.2 |
These figures cover research on both endometriosis and the general physiology of the endometrium.
The MRC always welcomes high quality applications from the scientific community for support into any aspect of biomedical research and these are judged in open competition with other demands on funding.
The Department of Health funds the National Health Service research and development programme, which aims to identify NHS needs for research and to commission research to meet those needs. Commissioning is undertaken through national programmes of research, including the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme. The report of a HTA project costing nearly £0.5 million on the management of menorrhagia was published in February 2003. Menorrhagia is sometimes associated with endometriosis. The report of a £0.3 million HTA project on diagnosis of endometrial abnormality is expected to be published in November 2003.
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