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30 Jun 2003 : Column 172W—continued
Physical Activity
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 3 June 2003, Official Report, column 82W, on physical activity, if he will list the programmes supported by the £710,000 funding. [119427]
Miss Melanie Johnson: In 2002–03, the Department of Health coronary heart disease and cancer prevention business area allocated £710,000 to fund physical activity specific work.
The £710,000 was broken down according to the following areas of work:
- £450,000 was allocated to funding the local exercise action pilot programme.
£239,000 was allocated to programme budgets.
£21,000 was used to fund 'Cycle West' under Section 64 funding arrangements.
- work to develop physical activity and fitness measures to support general practice and for possible inclusion in the Health Survey for England.
Sustrans support for 'green' travel plans across the national health service.
funding of the Register of Exercise Professionals to support the National Quality Assurance Framework for Exercise Referral Systems.
Kids Club Network—nine regional 'roadshows' on physical activity for after-school providers.
the Countryside Agency—contribution to funding of pedometers as part of the 'Walking the Way to Health' Initiative.
research into the impact of the law upon the promotion of physical activity.
preparatory work for a Chief Medical Officer's report on physical activity and health.
Miss Melanie Johnson: The South East Public Health Observatory prepared a report for internal use by the Department of Health in March 2002 to review the capacity and progress of primary care trusts (PCTs) and other health bodies to meet the information collections defined by milestone 3 of chapter one of the national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease (CHD). It was never intended that this report would be published.
The Department of Health considered the recommendations of the report and this influenced the document, "National Service Frameworks: A practical aid to implementation in primary care", which was published in August 2002 as a series of topic leaflets to support general practices and primary care trusts (PCTs). The topic leaflet, "Health Prevention and Improvement", also captures information on effective
30 Jun 2003 : Column 173W
interventions to encourage and promote physical activity that emerged from Health Development Agency surveys of local prevention strategies under the national service framework for CHD.
The report also influenced the programme of local exercise action pilots, which supports local strategies on promoting physical activity. There will be one PCT-led pilot in each of the regions in England, based in neighbourhood renewal areas. The ongoing results will inform and lead action on physical activity across the national health service.
Under "Shifting the Balance of Power", performance management of PCTs in accordance with local priorities is largely the responsibility of strategic health authorities. Local strategies and policies to increase physical activity will be included in the Commission for Health Improvement/Audit Commission joint national study into the implementation of the NSF for CHD. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the Department of Health to propose an additional assessment of the promotion of physical activity by primary care trusts.
Physiotherapists
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physiotherapists who qualified in the last five years in (a) England, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Cambridgeshire and (e) Essex have since left the NHS. [120416]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Target Funding Allocations
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 234W, on Target Funding Allocations, if he will list the additional allocation in 2003–04 for each primary care trust; and if he will estimate the time to reach the target for each primary care trust. [121007]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the increases in revenue allocations in 2003–04 for each primary care trust has been placed in the Library.
We consider our allocations policy for each round of allocations in the light of all the circumstances at that time.
We are committed to bringing primary care trusts to their target allocations as soon as is practicable, consistent with all primary care trusts having sufficient extra funding to enable them to deliver on national and local priorities.
Private Hospital Operations
Mr. Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many main operations were carried out during 2002 in private hospitals under contract to the NHS; and how many of them were performed by surgeons who were at the same time under contract to the NHS. [121281]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 26 June 2003]: The Department of Health does not hold information on operations carried out on national health service patients by private hospitals.
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Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district general hospitals offer pulmonary rehabilitation services; and whether it is his policy to extend and fund the pulmonary rehabilitation services in all such hospitals. [121282]
Dr. Ladyman: That information is not held centrally. However, a recent survey by the British Lung Foundation (BLF) and British Thoracic Society (BTS) found that 160 out of 266 hospitals across the country provide some form of pulmonary rehabilitation to lung patients.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently developing a guideline on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care. NICE is due to publish the guideline in 2004. In January 2003, the Respiratory Alliance published their guidance, "Bridging the Gap", which aims to help primary care trusts (PCTS) to commission and deliver high quality allergy and respiratory care.
Substantial new investment in both health and social care services were announced in the 2002 Budget. This amounts to the largest sustained increase in funding of any five-year period in the history of the national health service. Over the years 2003–04 to 2007–08, these plans mean that expenditure on the NHS in England will increase on average by 7.4 per cent. a year over and above inflation—a total increase over the period of 43 per cent. in real terms. This means that over the same five-year period, there will be an increase of £34 billion.
It is the role of strategic health authorities, in partnership with PCTs, to decide what services to provide for their populations including those with respiratory conditions. They are best placed to understand local health needs and commission services to meet them.
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when pulmonary rehabilitation will be available to lung patients in all parts of the country. [121448]
Dr. Ladyman: We do not keep information about the specific availability of pulmonary rehabilitation services throughout the country. However, a recent survey by the British Lung Foundation and the British Thoracic Society found that out of 266 hospitals across the country, 160 provide some form of pulmonary rehabilitation to lung patients.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently developing a guideline on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care. NICE is due to publish the guideline in 2004. In January 2003, the Respiratory Alliance published their guidance, "Bridging the Gap", which aims to help primary care trusts to commission and deliver high quality allergy and respiratory care.
Purley Hospital
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the population is of the catchment area of the proposed new Purley Hospital. [120659]
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Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally. Information from the South West London Strategic Health Authority is that the proposed new Purley Hospital will serve, as a minimum, the Croydon South locality, with a population of 78,000.
Radiotherapy
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for the start of radiotherapy following diagnosis for cancer patients in each hospital trust in England; and what the average waiting time was in each of the last six years. [120378]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on waiting times for radiotherapy is not collected centrally. However, the National Health Service Cancer Plan set out maximum waiting time targets for first definitive cancer treatment, which could include radiotherapy. From December 2001, there was a one month maximum wait from diagnosis to first treatment for breast cancer and a one month wait from urgent general practitioner referral to first treatment for children's cancers, testicular cancer and acute leukaemia. From 2002, there is a maximum two month wait from urgent referral to treatment for breast cancer. By 2005, there will be a maximum two months from urgent referral to treatment and a maximum one-month wait from diagnosis to first treatment for all cancers. Performance data on current cancer waiting times targets are published on the Department's website at www.doh.qov.uk/cancerwaits
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