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19 Jun 2003 : Column 425W—continued
Asthma
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had asthma in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK (i) in 1980, (ii) in 1990, (iii) in 2000 and (iv) on the last date for which figures are available. [113270]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the prevalence of individual conditions is not collected centrally. However, it is estimated that up to 4 per cent., of adults and 4 per cent. to 6 per cent., of children are affected by asthma severely enough to require medical supervision. This equates to around 2 million people in England or 2.5 million in the United Kingdom.
Data are not collected at constituency level or for the year 1980, however data for hospital admissions due to asthma by District Health Authority for the years 1990–91 and by national health service trusts for the years 2000–01 are shown in the tables.
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| District health authorities | Total finished in-year admission episodes |
|---|---|
| South Tyneside | 197 |
| Sunderland | 594 |
| North Tyneside | 320 |
| Newcastle | 611 |
| Gateshead | 255 |
| England | 75,872 |
| NHS trusts | Total finished in-year admission episodes |
|---|---|
| South Tyneside healthcare NHS trust | 190 |
| City hospitals Sunderland NHS trust | 341 |
| Gateshead health NHS trust | 342 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals NHS trust | 523 |
| Northumbria health care NHS trust | 397 |
| England | 60,376 |
Notes:1. The primary diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital2. Figures in this table have not been adjusted for shortfalls in dataSource:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
Audiology
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department is issuing to schools regarding the risks to hearing associated with loud music. [117856]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
Our health and safety advice to schools directs them to Health and Safety Commission guidance specific to schools, which mentions noise as a risk that should be managed. Health and safety law overall applies to everyone in a school, including pupils. We will repeat advice on exposure to noise in forthcoming guidance on acoustic design of schools.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatments are available to the hard of hearing on the NHS; and what support is given to deaf groups to assist people who have recently lost their hearing. [119561]
Dr. Ladyman: Following diagnosis of hearing impairment, the national health service will provide hearing aids or ear surgery—including fitting of cochlear implants and bone anchored hearing aids, as appropriate given the cause, type and degree of hearing impairment and the individual's needs. Support and hearing therapy available includes counselling, communication training/tactics, tinnitus therapy and help in coping with balance problems.
The Department provides funding to a number of organisations who assist people with hearing loss. For the current financial year, this includes the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, National Association of Deafened People, National Deaf Children's Society, Link
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Centre for Deafened People, Deafblind UK, Sense, The Ear Foundation, Sign, UK Council on Deafness and the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People.
Autistic Spectrum Disorders
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to change the provision of (a) supported and (b) sheltered accommodation for those suffering from autistic spectrum disorders. [119162]
Dr. Ladyman: It is the responsibility of the relevant local statutory bodies to ensure that the particular health and social care needs of each person with autism are met with genuine choices for both clients and families, through the most appropriate community based services, in a cost-effective way. These options may, of course, include sheltered or supported accommodation.
We are currently investing £154,000 over three years, through the Section 64 Scheme of Grants to Voluntary Organisations, in the National Autistic Society project "Independence and Autism: Good Practice for Service Providers". This will support the development of new services to enable adults with autism or Asperger's syndrome to live independently.
Bridlington Hospital
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accredited training posts are in place at Bridlington Hospital; and what changes are planned to this number. [119170]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 13 June 2003]: There are currently five accredited senior house officer training posts at Bridlington and District Hospital. Options for future numbers of accredited training posts at the hospital are currently being considered.
- Source:
- Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust
British Sign Language
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many British Sign Language interpreters are provided by the NHS to teach and assist with treatment of people hard of hearing. [119562]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on British sign language (BSL) interpreters provided by the national health service is not held centrally. The provision of BSL interpreters is a local arrangement between the NHS service provider, client and local organisation providing a BSL interpreting service.
Cancer
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cancer treatment centres there are (a) in the UK and (b) in each GO region; how many people were treated at each centre in 2002; and what percentage of these were teenagers being treated in (a) specialist teenage cancer units and (b) general cancer centres. [118156]
19 Jun 2003 : Column 428W
Miss Melanie Johnson: Cancer services in England are organised in 34 cancer networks. Cancer networks bring together primary, secondary, tertiary and voluntary service providers to plan and deliver specialist services across the patient pathway. Figures are available for the number of admissions by age group. In 2001–02, out of a total of 1,256,495 admissions for patients with cancer, 21,114 admissions were for patients between the ages of 13 to 19 years.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money is being allocated to cancer services in 2003–04 in North Yorkshire; and how much was allocated in 1997–98. [118501]
Dr. Ladyman: Resources for funding cancer services are included in general primary care trust allocations for 2003–04 and in the general allocations to health authorities for 1997–98. The Department does not have a figure for spending on cancer services in North Yorkshire in either year. We are confident that in 2003–04 national spending on cancer services will be over £570 million more than in 2000–01.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was allocated to cancer services in Cornwall in each of the last 10 years. [119531]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Resources for funding cancer services are included in general primary care trust allocations for 2003–04 and in the general allocations to health authorities in the previous years. The Department of Health does not have a figure for total spend on cancer services in Cornwall. The South West Strategic Health Authority has advised that there has been significant investment in improving cancer services in Cornwall.
- Royal Cornwall Hospitals National Health Service Trust has invested over £7.2 million in improvements to its cancer services in the last two years;
a new Clinical Oncology Department was opened at Treslike Hospital, Truro in April 2002, and received New Opportunities funding of £1 million for a new linear accelerator. The Department also has an additional chemotherapy suite; and
in 2001–02, the cancer workforce at Treslike hospital increased by an additional four cancer nurse specialists; a lymphoedaema specialist; a speech and language therapist; and a cancer dietician. In 2002–03, a further five chemotherapy nurses and a senior cancer and palliative care pharmacist were recruited.
Care Standards
Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations the Department has received from local authorities about the payment of the 12-week property disregard since the Care Standards Act 2000 came into force; and if he will make a statement. [119241]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department has received no representations from local authorities about the payment of the 12-week property disregard since the Care Standards Act 2000 was passed.
19 Jun 2003 : Column 429W
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements his Department has made to implement section 91 of the Care Standards Act 2000. [119801]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 17 June 2003]: The arrangements for employers to access the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List will be implemented when the list comes into operation. Before that, we will be consulting on draft guidance on the arrangements underpinning the operation of the list.
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