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16 Jun 2003 : Column 70W—continued
Foundation Hospitals
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Department is intending to remove the funding advantages that would be given to foundation hospitals in the south east, and other areas of high prices, from the sale of land and property. [106809]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 8 April 2003]: The establishment of the national health service foundation trusts will not reduce the amount of capital available for developing NHS services for NHS patients. Proceeds from NHS trust asset sales are not added to central funds but instead remain in the local health economy. The creation of NHS foundation trusts will not therefore reduce the central funding available to the NHS. There will be no unfair funding advantages that will accrue to asset rich trusts.
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely effect on recruitment in the NHS in Wales of the establishment of foundation hospitals in England adjacent to the Welsh border. [118044]
Mr. Hutton: Staff already move between national health service organisations throughout the United Kingdom. NHS foundation trusts established in England will operate the same national pay and conditions of service agreements under Agenda for Change as other parts of the NHS, including NHS bodies in Wales.
Health Care Inequalities
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of inequality in healthcare provision. [118718]
Mr. Hutton: A weighted capitation formula is used to determine primary care trusts' (PCTs) target shares of available resources to enable them to commission similar levels of healthcare for populations with similar healthcare needs.
From 2003–04, the healthcare need element of the formula has been updated to use better measures of deprivation which are now available.
It is for PCTs, 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 improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services.
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Medical Treatment Overseas
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) men and (b) women living in England and Wales have travelled to another European country for medical treatment during the last 12 months. [117161]
Mr. Hutton: Patients can be referred for treatment abroad under the European-wide health care co-ordination regulations (the E112-scheme) or through direct referral from their national health service trust.
In the 12-month period from 1 June 2002 until 31 May 2003, 253 patients received treatment abroad through the direct referral route and 1,050 patients received authorisation for treatment abroad through the El 12 scheme.
Information regarding the gender breakdown of these patients is not available centrally.
NHS Redundancies
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff in the NHS in the last two financial years have been made redundant with redundancy packages valued at (a) £50,000 to £100,000; (b) £100,000 to £250,000; (c) 250,000 to £500,000; and (d) more than £500,000. [117975]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 23 January 2003, Official Report, column 480W.
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NHS Staff
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how the NHS categorises administrative staff; [117391]
- (2) how many (a) painters, (b) gardeners and (c) administrative staff the NHS employs. [117392]
Mr. Hutton: Non-medical staff, including administrative staff, are classified according to a simplified set of occupation codes introduced in 1995. The occupation codes are based on what staff do and make no reference to payscale information. This allows staff in particular work sectors of the national health service to be identified in a consistent way. The relevant groups for administrative staff are:
- senior managers—staff at executive level (for example, chief executive and board members) plus those managers who report directly to the members of the executive;
managers—service and functional managers who report directly to senior managers; and
administrative and clerical staff—more junior managers and supervisors as well as those involved principally in administrative duties within the NHS, with no direct patient contact.
Painters and gardeners are included within the 'hotel, property and estates' area of work within the 'maintenance and works' staff group, of whom there were 11,674 employed in the NHS as at September 2001. A breakdown of administrative staff areas of work is shown in the table.
| Central functions | Hotel property and estates | STT(3)support | Clinical support | Ambulance service support | All areas of work | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Manager | 7,801 | 451 | 115 | 1,302 | 71 | 9,740 |
| Manager | 13,108 | 1,527 | 391 | 2,333 | 325 | 17,684 |
| Clerical and administrative | 81,439 | 8,516 | 13,374 | 77,861 | 3,039 | 184,229 |
| Total administrative staff | 102,348 | 10,494 | 13,880 | 81,496 | 3,435 | 211,653 |
(3) STT—Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Source:
Department of Health 2001 non-medical workforce census.
Non-NHS Medical Staff
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on non-NHS medical staff in (a) England and (b) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years; and if he will make a statement. [114421]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library. Expenditure data for strategic health authorities (SHA) are not yet available. Provisional SHA figures for their first year of establishment are expected to be available from October 2003 and fully validated data from February 2004. Expenditure data for non-national health service medical staff expenditure broken down by individual health authorities and primary care trusts are in the Library.
Overseas Nurses
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of overseas nurses his Department plans to recruit to diagnostic treatment centres. [114984]
Mr. Hutton: The recruitment of staff into national health service run diagnosis and treatment centres (DTCs)—is a matter for the NHS trust managing the unit. We expect NHS trusts to explore the full range of options available to them, including the recruitment of overseas nurses.
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The recruitment of staff for independent sector-run DTCs will be a matter for successful bidders. As part of the current procurement, bidders are asked to propose staffing solutions for these new units that meet a core objective of the programme to secure a genuine increase in capacity, including workforce capacity. Bidders are asked to describe their approach to international recruitment of staff and how they will abide by the Code of Practice for NHS employers involved in the international recruitment of healthcare professionals. The exact number of non-NHS staff, including those from overseas, by the independent sector will depend on local circumstances.
Paediatricians
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained paediatric consultants work in the NHS. [117767]
Mr. Hutton: The table shows the number of hospital and hospital dental consultants in the paediatric specialties working in the national health service in England at 31 March 2002. Since September 1997, the number of consultants within the paediatrics group has risen by 29 per cent.
| England, as at 31 March 2002 | Numbers (headcount) |
|---|---|
| Paediatric Group | 1,586 |
| of which: | |
| Paediatric cardiology | 54 |
| Paediatrics | 1,532 |
| Paediatric surgery | 24 |
| Paediatric dentistry | 119 |
Note:Only consultant and GP data was collected in the March 2002 mini-census.Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paediatrically trained doctors working in the NHS there are per head of population. [117770]
Mr. Hutton: The standard ratio used by the Department of Health is per 100,000 of population.
The table shows how many doctors, trained in the paediatric specialties, were working in the National Health Service as at 30 September 2001, per head of population and per 100,000 of the population.
In addition, there are a number of general practitioners who have undergone training in paediatrics as part of their general practice training.
(4) Comprises registrar group, senior house officers and house officers.
Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census 2001 ONS Population Census
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