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9 Jul 2003 : Column 860W—continued
Disability Discrimination Act
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what he estimates the cost will be of the Primary Care Trusts' inspections by building surveyors, of individual medical and dental practices for compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [124124]
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Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 July 2003]: An estimate of the cost of inspections by suitable consultants of individual medical or dental practices is not available, as records of such costs are not held centrally.
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients underwent electroconvulsive therapy in the last year for which figures are available; what percentage gave written consent in advance of the treatment; and which primary care trusts do not provide written information on electroconvulsive therapy before treatment commences. [122406]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The latest information available on electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is contained in the Department of Health's publication Statistical Bulletin Electro Convulsive Therapy: Survey covering the period from January 2002 to March 2002, England. This was a follow-up to an earlier survey of the period January to March 1999 and it looked at information gathered from a survey of National Health Service and independent sector care settings, including nursing homes and was undertaken to provide data on ECT that are not currently available elsewhere. In summary the survey found that:
- there were 12,800 administrations of ECT compared to 16,500 in January to March 1999;
2,300 patients received ECT treatment compared to 2,800 in 1999;
of the 2,300 patients who received ECT treatment 1,800 gave consent compared to 2,300 in 1999. The survey did not collect information on the formof consent given.
Information on which primary care trusts do not provide written information on ECT before treatment is not collected centrally. However, health professionals and mental health services managers are expected to ensure that ECT is administered to patients in accordance with the detailed guidance published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT entitled "The ECT Handbook—The Second Report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT". In particular, the Handbook contains two appendices. A factsheet for you and your family and additional information for out-patients receiving ECT which should be copied and given to patients. Copies of this document can be downloaded from the college's website at http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/cr/83 4.htm.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has also established the ECT Accreditation Service that will promote standards and training nationwide.
The recently published guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the use of ECT will help health professionals and service managers to ensure that ECT is administered as safely, appropriately and effectively as possible. Copies of this guidance can be downloaded from the NICE website at http://www.nice.org.uk/pdf/59ectfullguidance.pdf .
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Foundation Hospitals
Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he will define the electorate for a foundation hospital based on North Manchester General Hospital. [124039]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 July 2003]: The Pennine Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust, of which North Manchester General Hospital is part, has not applied for NHS foundation trust status, so no membership community has been defined.
Membership communities will vary across NHS foundation trusts. Subject to meeting the minimum legislative requirements set out in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, a NHS foundation trust will have the flexibility to define its own membership community.
Inventures
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 30 June, Official Report, column 155W, on Inventures, whether the real estate partnership deal now being considered by his Department for the sale of surplus NHS properties is sufficiently different from the original terms of the sale offer to merit opening negotiations up to the original underbidders. [124031]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 July 2003]: The real estate partnership deal is still the subject of commercial negotiation with the preferred bidder and is still based on the original terms of the sale.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 156W, on Inventures, what valuations of NHS properties being considered for sale have been concluded by Insignia Richard Ellis in the last 18 months and at what cost. [124044]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 July 2003]: Insignia Richard Ellis have not carried out formal valuations of the properties being considered for sale.
Mental Health
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of mental health patients have care plans in each primary care trust. [122397]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the percentage of mental health patients with care plans in each primary care trust (PCT) has been placed in the Library.
The data in the table has been provided from the Quarter 4 Service and Financial Framework Return for 2002–03 on the percentage of patients with copies of their care plans by PCT.
It should be noted that there are some data quality issues and not all of the organisations have returned data, hence the blanks in the table. This does not therefore represent a true England figure.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the status is of the document Inside Outside; to whom it has been officially circulated; and what response is expected from them. [122474]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: Inside Outside is a key national document on improving mental health services for black and minority ethnic communities. The recommendations of Inside Outside will form the basis of the Departments action plan, which will be sent out for formal consultation shortly.
It has been disseminated widely and is freely available via the internet and the Department's free response line.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is being done to improve the care of people with mental help problems regarding service redesign and strengthening local partnerships across traditional organisational boundaries in (a) the UK and (b) the South Sefton Primary Care Trust. [124397]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The mental health access, booking and choice programme provides the opportunity for mental health communities in England to access the tools and techniques of the service redesign methodology. To date, all eight National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) development centres have participated in the programme, with approximately 160 project teams, representing 90 per cent. of all mental health communities, joining the programme.
Plans for 2003/2004 are to engage every local mental health community in the access, booking and choice. South Sefton Primary Care Trust has not been involved in the work to date, but will have the opportunity to be part of phase two of the programme of work.
Information relating to Wales and Scotland is for the devolved administrations to respond to. While the institution for Northern Ireland is dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.
Microsoft
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid to Microsoft in licensing fees by the NHS in each of the past three years. [121508]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 24 June 2003]: A central licensing agreement was negotiated with Microsoft for the majority of software products with effect from 4 October 2001.
Figures for licensing fees prior to that date, or for software outside the agreement, are not available centrally.
Payments for software licences covered by the central licensing agreement are as follows:
- 2000–01 (figures not available)
2001–02 £16.9 million from October 2001
2002–03 £62.3 million
Midwives
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of midwife units were not able to provide one-to-one midwifery care to all women in labour in each year since 1990. [123476]
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Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally. The recent information on one-to-one care which we are aware of was collected by the English National Board (ENB) and published in its Midwifery Practice Audit in 2000–2001. The ENB audit said that 78 per cent. of maternity units always provided one-to-one midwifery support to all women in established labour. However, the audit does not distinguish between midwife-led units and obstetric-led units.
The Department of Health sees one to one care for all women as the gold standard. We will be working through the maternity module of the children's national service framework, which we are currently developing, to see how this can be achieved.
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