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4 Jul 2003 : Column 535W—continued
Congenital Heart Disease
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the estimated change in the occurrence of congenital heart disease is over the next 10 years; [122394]
- (2) what the estimated change in the number of children born with congenital heart disease is over the next 10 years. [122395]
Dr. Ladyman: It is estimated that for every thousand live births there will, sadly, be eight children born with congenital heart disease. This rate is not expected to increase. However the Government Actuary's forecast for the number of live births predicts a small increase in the birth rate over the next ten to fifteen years. This means that the overall incidence of congenital heart disease is set to rise slightly; that is, from 4,577 children in the year 2002 to an estimated 4,723 children to be
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born in 2014. The prevalence of congenital heart disease; that is, the total number of people living with the disease, will continue to rise, as treatments continue to become more successful.
Dementia/Alzheimer's
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding the Government put into researching Alzheimer's disease and dementia in the last 12 months. [122891]
Dr. Ladyman: The main Government agency for research into the causes and treatments of disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its funding from the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. The MRC's expenditure on research into Alzheimer's disease, general dementia and related conditions in 2001–02 was £6.6 million. A figure for 2002–03 is not available.
The Department of Health funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in health and social care. The Department spent £1.6 million on research into Alzheimer's disease and dementia in 2002–03.
Doctors (Minority Ethnic People)
Mrs. Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of NHS doctors who are from the black and ethnic minority community; and if he will list the percentage for (a) consultant and (b) non-consultant grades. [121313]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the tables.
| All Staff | |
|---|---|
| All medical and dental staff | 73,846 |
| 2001 Population Census Ethnic Group Categories | |
| All Ethnic Groups | 28,003 |
| White | 17,661 |
| Black or Black British | 918 |
| Asian or Asian British | 5,928 |
| Mixed | 478 |
| Chinese | 538 |
| Any Other Ethnic Group | 1,473 |
| Not Stated | 1,007 |
| Earlier Ethnic Group Categories | |
| All Ethnic Groups | 45,843 |
| White | 31,015 |
| Black | 1,906 |
| Asian | 8,472 |
| Any Other Ethnic Group | 3,744 |
| Not Stated | 706 |
Note:
From 1 April 2001, newly appointed staff have been asked to classify themselves using the ethnic categories listed in the 2001 population census. Existing staff will be reclassified over time but data returns currently include a mixture of 2001 categories and older information based on 1991 population census categories.
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| Of which: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All staff | Consultants | All other medical and dental staff | |
| All medical and dental staff | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2001 Population census ethnic group categories | |||
| All Ethnic Groups | 37.9 | 30.9 | 41.6 |
| White | 23.9 | 24.6 | 23.5 |
| Black or Black British | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| Asian or Asian British | 8.0 | 3.4 | 10.5 |
| Mixed | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 |
| Chinese | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Any Other Ethnic Group | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.5 |
| Not Stated | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.8 |
| Earlier ethnic group categories | |||
| All Ethnic Groups | 62.1 | 69.1 | 58.4 |
| White | 42.0 | 55.7 | 34.7 |
| Black | 2.6 | 1.9 | 3.0 |
| Asian | 11.5 | 6.5 | 14.1 |
| Any Other Ethnic Group | 5.1 | 4.4 | 5.4 |
| Not Stated | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
Notes:
1. From 1 April 2001, newly appointed staff have been asked to classify themselves using the ethnic categories listed in the 2001 population census. Existing staff will be reclassified over time but data returns currently include a mixture of 2001 categories and older information based on 1991 population census categories.
2. General practitioner data, by ethnic category, is not collected by the Department.
Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
Epidemics
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what preparations his Department has made in the event of an outbreak of (a) tularaemia, (b) viral haemorrhagic fever, (c) plague and (d) botulism. [122099]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Guidance on the management and control of viral haemorrhagic fevers was produced by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) in December 1996.
The Department of Health published specific guidance in October 2001 concerning the public health response to a deliberate release of botulism, plague or tularaemia. This advice is available on the Department's website at
http://www.doh.gov.uk/epcu/cbr/response/introph.htm
It is complemented by operational guidance and advice for professionals and the public, developed in conjunction with the Health Protection Agency and hosted on their website at http://www.phls.org.uk/topics az/deliberate release/menu.htm
In preparing to respond to a deliberate release or large outbreak involving these agents, the Department holds a national stockpile of antibiotics and anti-toxin required for treatment of plague, tularaemia and botulism.
Farmed Salmon
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he has collated in respect to the
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discovering of radioactive pollution from technetium 99 in farmed salmon; and what discussions he has had on the discovery with the chairman of the Food Standards Agency. [122280]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Food Standards Agency (FSA), in conjunction with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, has obtained samples of salmon from 15 fish farms in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The preliminary results of the analyses of these samples show that the concentrations of technetium 99 are very low. The FSA has published data on technetium 99 in other marine species in its annual "Radiation in Food and the Environment" reports.
I have had no discussions with the chairman of the FSA on this matter.
Fruit and Vegetables
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of (a) men, (b) women and (c) children who eat five portions a day of fruit and vegetables. [122463]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Health Survey for England in 2001 estimated that 24 per cent. of men, 28 per cent. of women and 13 per cent. of children ate five portions or more of fruit and vegetables a day. One portion is 80 grams (it is estimated that eating at least five portions a day of a variety of fruit and vegetables would reduce overall deaths from chronic diseases by a fifth).
General Practitioners
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether GPs will be required to make payments to hospitals under the plans to recover NHS costs from compensation settlements. [122377]
Dr. Ladyman: Subject to parliamentary approval, the proposals in Part 3 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill will mean that anyone who makes a compensation payment to another in respect of a personal injury will also be liable to pay associated national health service costs if the injured person receives NHS hospital treatment for the injury. This will apply to general practitioners in the same way as it will to anyone else. Any NHS costs payable will be in addition to the compensation payment made, not recovered from it.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what powers a local pharmaceutical committee has to remove the right of a general practitioner to dispense; [122500]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the powers to reclassify areas covered by dispensing doctors from rural to urban under the NHS Pharmaceutical Regulations Act 1992. [122501]
Ms Rosie Winterton: National health service primary care trusts (PCTs) determine whether an area is rural in character, which is a key element in deciding whether or not a doctor can provide pharmaceutical services to certain of their patients. Such determinations can be appealed.
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A PCT can revisit a determination at any time where a substantial change of circumstances affecting the relevant area takes place. Otherwise, if the PCT has not considered a particular area for five years, either the local medical committee or local pharmaceutical committee can require the PCT to re-consider the area and make a fresh determination, which can likewise be appealed.
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