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HEALTH
Accident and Emergency Staff Assaults
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS staff have been assaulted in hospital casualty departments in each of the last five years; how many of these assaults have been alcohol
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related; and how many cases have resulted in prosecutions (a) in England and (b) in the City of Durham. [119092]
Mr. Hutton: The figures of reported violent or abusive incidents involving staff in National Health Service trust and health authorities, in England for 2000–01 were 1 101,000 and for 2001–02 were 112,000. These are the only national figures collected by the Department using a common definition of violence for reporting purposes.
Information on the level of assaults by type of incident and individual staff groups is not collected centrally, but may be held at a local level of NHS employers.
Data on prosecution brought against individuals who assault NHS staff is not currently collected by NHS employing organisations. From 1 April 2003, the new Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) special health authority took over lead responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff. The programme of work they will be taking forward includes introducing a strengthened national reporting system to record incident of violence and aggression against staff using a common definition with the ability to track cases through to conclusion. This is intended to give the NHS hard and accurate information around incidents and outcomes, particularly where a criminal or civil sanction is pursed to deal with offenders.
A snapshot survey undertaken in March 2003 found that 51 prosecutions had been brought directly by NHS trusts since updated guidance was issued to NHS employing organisations in June 2002. The guidance states that NHS trusts should consider with their lawyers the need, where appropriate, to support a prosecution against an individual in cases where the Crown Prosecution Service decides not to do so.
- 1 The 20001–01 and 2001–02 totals have been estimated to include organisations which did not provide figures and the results are based on surveys by the Department of Health and the National Audit Office.
Aneurysm Screening
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to set up an aneurysm screening programme that avoids the need for those with abdominal aortic aneurysm to wait for action that may result from consideration by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. [119774]
Mr. Hutton: The United Kingdom national screening committee (NSC) makes recommendations to Ministers on all aspects of screening programmes. It is currently considering the resource costs and workforce implications of implementing a screening programme following the publication of a multi-centre study funded by the Medical Research Council last year. Until these recommendations are received, screening should not be started. There are no plans at present to refer this topic to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.
Care Homes
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care home beds were (a) available and (b) in use in (i) Bury St. Edmunds, (ii) Suffolk, (iii) Essex,
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(iv) Cambridgeshire and (v) Norfolk in the last quarter for which figures are available; and how many were available in the preceding eight quarters. [120413]
Dr. Ladyman: The latest available information on the number of care home places in Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk at 31 March each year is shown in the table. Information is centrally collected annually, not on a quarterly basis. The number of care home places in Bury St. Edmunds is not centrally available, however the figures for Suffolk include care home places in Bury St. Edmunds.
Information on the number of care home places in use is not centrally available.
| Total number of care home places(19) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| As at 31 March | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
| Suffolk area(20),(21) | 6,580 | 6,540 | 6,600 |
| Essex area(22) | 14,730 | 14,200 | 14,230 |
| Cambridgeshire area(23) | 4,460 | 5,580 | 5,620 |
| Norfolk area(24) | 9,680 | 10,350 | 10,440 |
(19) Total includes places in residential LA staffed, independent and dual registered homes, and beds in general and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics.
(20) Care home places in nursing homes in Suffolk health authority and residential homes in Suffolk shire county.
(21) Includes care home places in Bury St. Edmunds.
(22) Care home places in nursing homes in North and South Essex health authorities and residential homes in Essex shire county and Southend and Thurrock unitary authorities.
(23) Care home places in nursing homes in Cambridge health authority and residential homes in Cambridgeshire shire county and Peterborough unitary authority.
(24) Care home places in nursing homes in Norfolk health authority and residential homes in Norfolk shire county.
Source:
RA Form A and RH(N) forms, Department of Health.
Clinical Negligence
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the Chief Medical Officer's Review of Clinical Negligence. [119340]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, has reviewed a wide range of options to tackle the complex issues involved in improving the present system for handling clinical negligence claims, including no fault compensation. We hope to publish his proposals for reform as a consultation document soon.
Consultants Contract
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the rejection of the proposed new consultants contract; and what action his Department plans to take as a result of this. [119673]
Mr. Hutton: The Department was disappointed that a majority of consultants voted against the new contract, agreed with the British Medical Association in June 2002. We remain committed to rewarding those consultants who achieve the most for the national health service, as well as offering a more flexible approach to
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working patterns, better opportunities to control consultant workload and improvements in the way consultant time is managed.
To achieve these aims we announced on 17 April 2003 a new framework for rewarding those consultants who do the most for the NHS. The new framework provides flexibility to NHS trusts locally in choosing how best to use extra resources to reward consultants, reform working practices and improve patient services. There is a national framework within which local health services have a choice of:
- Investing in local implementation of the new contract where there is significant consultant support for doing so; and
Investing in new annual incentives for consultants who make the biggest contribution to improving patient care.
Diagnostic and Treatment Centres
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where diagnostic and treatment centres (DTCs) will be located; what the status will be of NHS consultants employed on a sessional basis by DTCs; what formal arrangements will be concluded for after-care; and what the budget for DTCs will be. [119486]
Mr. Hutton: A list of the locations of the 46 national health service-run diagnosis and treatment centres (DTCs) open or in development is shown in the table. The location of the independent DTC chain units, for which a procurement process is currently underway, will depend on the response of the independent sector to the clinical requirements of the NHS and the value for money for NHS commissioners offered by the different solutions.
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The status of NHS consultants employed on a sessional basis by NHS DTCs will depend on local circumstances. Where consultants work in an NHS DTC as part of their contract with an NHS trust, their current terms and conditions of service will apply. But alternative arrangements can be agreed locally. Independent sector DTC providers will take clinical and managerial responsibility for any work carried out by NHS staff in their units.
For both NHS and independent sector DTCs, arrangements for aftercare will be agreed locally between NHS commissioners and the providers concerned.
£350 million capital has been invested in NHS DTCs. The cost of services delivered by NHS DTCs is for local agreement between the NHS provider and local NHS commissioners. The cost of services delivered through independent sector DTCs will be determined as part of the current procurement exercise.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnostic and treatment centres will be (a) NHS units and (b) private hospitals; and how the decision will be taken on the criteria to be used to determine whether private bidders should be awarded contracts. [119487]
Mr. Hutton: There will be 46 NHS-run diagnosis and treatment centre (DTC) units: 15 of these are already open.
In December 2002, a procurement process for a set of DTCs run by the independent sector was launched. 11 of these schemes are being procured under locally-managed competitions by national health service commissioners; these supplement a national procurement process for seven chains of independent sector DTCs. The exact number of independent sector DTC units will be determined as part of the negotiations, in the light of the
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responses to the clinical requirements of the NHS and a determination of the value for money offered to NHS commissioners.
Preferred bidders for independent sector DTCs will be selected through a bid evaluation process. Bids will be evaluated according to clinical competence, governance and quality; fit with the overarching aims of the DTC programme, such as providing extra staff for the benefit of NHS patients; the legal and financial standing of the bidder; and good value for money.
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) names and (b) qualifications of the National Implementation Team who will manage the procurement process for diagnostic and treatment centres; and what arrangements for after-care will be provided by NHS local hospitals. [119570]
Mr. Hutton: The National Implementation Team is part of the new Commercial Directorate of the Department of Health. Answering to the new Commercial Director, Ken Anderson, the team is headed by a clinician, Dr. Tom Mann, and brings together staff with a range of clinical, financial and commercial skills relevant to the procurement of clinical services.
The diagnosis and treatment centre programme, in both the national health service and the independent sector, aims to provide patients with a clearly-structured, patient-focused care pathway. Where this involves different providers taking responsibility for different parts of the care pathway, these arrangements will be agreed locally between NHS commissioners and independent sector providers.
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