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3 Jul 2003 : Column 486W—continued
London Mayor
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times he and his predecessors met the Mayor of London in official meetings at the Department in each of the past three years. [122141]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The then Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Darlington (Mr Milburn), had a meeting with the Mayor of London on 20 September 2001.
Maternity Services
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on prescribing by midwives. [121867]
Mr. Hutton: Registered midwives are able to train to prescribe from the nurse practitioners' extended formulary.
There are also provisions under medicines legislation which allow registered midwives to sell or supply and to administer a range of medicines in the course of their professional practice.
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Mental Health
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to develop mental health treatment and support services for vulnerable groups, with particular reference to (a) women, (b) children and (c) members of minority ethnic communities; and if he will make a statement on the funding and nature of schemes (i) in operation and (ii) being developed. [121639]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Development of mental health services, as set out in the national service framework for mental health (MHNSF) and the NHS Plan is aimed at improving services for everyone including vulnerable groups.
In addition, guidance is being developed for services on meeting the particular needs of women and black and minority ethnic groups. This will support the MHNSF and NHS Plan implementation and services obligations under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.
The NHS Plan provided over £300 million investment by 2003–04 to support implementation of the targets and standards set. Commissioners and services locally are developing a number of schemes and initiatives to ensure that within this the needs of vulnerable groups, such as women and people from black and minority ethnic groups, are met. The Department does not keep records centrally on these initiatives.
The National Institute for Mental Health in England has been established to support services in implementing the MHNSF, NHS Plan priorities and guidance for women and black and minority ethnic groups through its equalities and black and minority ethnic mental health programmes.
The Government's strategy for the development of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), initiated in 1999–2000, is ongoing with the aim of improving the overall quality and accessibility of local services for children and young people with mental health problems. In the four years ending 31 March 2003, we invested £105 million in CAMHS developments across the national health service and local authorities, which resulted in significant increases in staffing, new or expanded services and better joint working between the main providing agencies.
Our objectives for the further development of CAMHS, set out in the Department's Priorities and Planning Framework 2003–06 "Improvement, Expansion and Reform", include year-on-year increases of at least 10 per cent. across the service, according to agreed local priorities, leading to a comprehensive service in all areas by 2006. These developments will be underpinned by additional central investment of some £250 million over the three years and by guidance contained in the new children's national service framework (NSF). The recently published Emerging Findings from the NSF include a chapter on the mental health and psychological well-being of children and the content of a comprehensive CAMHS.
Mixed-sex Wards
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many mixed-sex wards in NHS hospitals there were
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in each of the last three years; what plans he has to eliminate mixed-sex wards; and what timetable he has established to achieve this goal. [120687]
Mr. Hutton: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 14 January 2003, Official Report, column 24WS.
Information on the number of mixed-sex wards is not available.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from women about mixed-sex wards. [123243]
Mr. Hutton: Since the beginning of January the Department of Health has received 18 written representations mentioning mixed-sex wards, including three parliamentary questions from right hon. and hon. Members. 12 of these have been from women.
Mobile Phone Masts
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to set up further studies into the health effects of mobile telephone masts; [122023]
- (2) what programme of research he has commissioned into the effects upon health of mobile telephone masts; and what budgetary provision he has made for such research. [122024]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The public health implications of mobile phone technologies in general were comprehensively assessed by the independent expert group on mobile phones (IEGMP) in May 2000—www.iegmp.orq.uk. In respect of base stations, the IEGMP concluded that:
- "The balance of evidence indicates that there is no general risk to the health of people living near to base stations on the basis that exposures are expected to be small fractions of guidelines."
The LINK Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme was established under an independent programme management committee (PMC), following the publication of the IEGMP report. The programme has a research budget of £7.36 million and is jointly funded by Government and industry.
MTHR research studies already under way are mainly concerned with the use of mobile phone handsets. In response to more recent public concerns about possible health risks from exposure to emissions from base stations, the PMC has commissioned researchers at Imperial College to undertake an epidemiological study investigating the incidence of childhood leukaemias and other cancers around base stations. Applications for further research into the effects of radiofrequency emissions from mobile phone base stations are currently being considered. Further information about this study and the programme as a whole can be found on the MTHR web site at www.mthr.orq.uk.
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Multiple Sclerosis
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of multiple sclerosis patients receive the drugs that they request in the last year for which figures are available. [122456]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We do not hold the information requested. However, the risk-sharing scheme is making disease-modifying drugs more widely available. Consultant neurologists, in consultation with patients, have a choice of treatments within the scheme taking into account expected benefit and potential side effects. The products included in the scheme are Avonex, Betaferon, Copaxone and Rebif.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the availability of hydrotherapy treatment for MS sufferers; and if he will make a statement. [122800]
Dr. Ladyman: Hydrotherapy is a form of physiotherapy conducted in a heated pool. Supervised by state-registered physiotherapists with specific training in hydrotherapy, patients undertake specifically designed exercises that can help to strengthen muscles, mobilise joints, relieve pain and promote relaxation.
We do not hold information centrally on the availability of these therapies. It is the role of strategic health authorities, in partnership with primary care trusts, to decide what services to provide for their populations, including those with multiple sclerosis. They are best placed to understand local health needs and commission services to meet them.
Mutuality
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what models of mutuality in health the Government are investigating; and what expertise he has sought from abroad with regard to this mode of delivery. [116447]
Mr. Hutton: We have established an external reference group to provide advice on how national health service foundation trusts might learn from the experience of mutual and co-operative sectors. The membership covers a range of organisations from the not-for-profit sector. We have also explored the experience in other countries such as Spain, Denmark and Sweden relevant to the development of NHS foundation trusts.
Nanoparticles in Drugs
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department has made an assessment of the need to regulate the toxicity of nanoparticles used in drugs. [117006]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department considers that the toxicity of nanoparticles used in drugs is already adequately regulated and assessed during the marketing authorisation assessment process of the individual products. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), on behalf of the Licensing Authority, grants marketing authorisations for medicinal products, provided that satisfactory quality, safety and efficacy data have been submitted for the medicinal product for use in the proposed indication and that the risk benefit is deemed favourable. Part of
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the assessment process involves ensuring that the toxicity of the final drug product has been adequately investigated and tested in the clinical trials submitted in support of the application. Appropriate trials will need to be conducted with the particle size of the drug in the final product that is intended for marketing. The drug manufacturer will also have to satisfy the MHRA that it can consistently produce the product from batch to batch, including particle size.
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