| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
10 Jul 2003 : Column 997W—continued
HEALTH
Old People's Homes
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to improve the level of care in old people's homes; and what measures have been taken since 2001. [124055]
10 Jul 2003 : Column 998W
Dr. Ladyman: Under the Care Standards Act 2000, since April 2002 all care homes in England have been regulated by the National Care Standards Commission in accordance with statutory regulations and national minimum standards.
Our regulatory reforms provide, for the first time, an independent coherent, consistent and even-handed regulatory system for care homes. The reforms will help to prevent abuse and promote better quality care.
Anti-depressants
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) the UK and (b) Sefton are taking anti-depressant drugs. [124369]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of people taking anti-depressant drugs is not available. However, information is provided on the number of prescription items of anti-depressant drugs dispensed in the community.
In 2002, 26.3 million prescription items of anti-depressant drugs were dispensed in the community in England and 186,500 prescription items of anti-depressant drugs were dispensed in the community in Sefton.
Information relating to Wales and Scotland is a matter for the Devolved Administrations to respond to. While the institution for Northern Ireland is dissolved, responsibility rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.
Attendance Allowances
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid in attendance allowances to members of (a) health authorities, (b) hospital trusts and (c) primary care trusts in England in each of the last 10 financial years; and how much he estimates will be allocated in the current financial year. [118743]
Mr. Hutton: Information on remuneration paid by national health service bodies to chairs and non-executive directors is not collected by the Department. Based on the number of chairs and non-executives now in post, chairs and non-executives will be entitled to receive the following annual remuneration in the current financial year:
| Chairs | Non-executives | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary care trusts | 5.44 | 8.86 | 14.3 |
| NHS trusts | 4.66 | 6.90 | 11.56 |
| Strategic health authorities | 0.59 | 0.97 | 1.56 |
| Total | 10.69 | 16.73 | 27.42 |
Prescribing
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research to assess the financial costs and benefits in areas of responsibility of relevant Government Departments of a more liberal prescribing regime for anti-impotence drugs. [123436]
10 Jul 2003 : Column 999W
Ms Rosie Winterton: We have no current plans to commission such research. The policy on provision of anti-impotence treatments was reviewed in 2001.
Birthrate Survey
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Birthrate Plus survey. [123473]
Dr. Ladyman: We welcome the development of Birthrate Plus, which provides a demand led framework for assessing midwife staffing requirements. It is for individual units and trusts to decide whether it is appropriate for them to use it.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Birthrate Plus system for computing staffing requirements for maternity units. [R] [121868]
Breast Cancer
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to prevent discrimination in the treatment of older people with breast cancer. [124372]
Dr. Ladyman: Standard One of the older people's national service framework (NSF) sets out the general commitment to address age discrimination in access to health and social care. The requirement to provide treatment and care on the basis of clinical need, and not age alone, applies equally to the treatment of breast cancer. Since the publication of the NSF in March 2001, significant progress has been made in starting to tackle age discrimination and there is a now a wider appreciation and awareness across health and social care of age discrimination as an issue.
In November last year, we released a computerised information tool to enable those implementing the NSF at local level to compare their treatment rates in 10 different hospital procedures, in relation to different age groups. This included information on the local age related intervention rates of breast cancer treatment.
Cancer Nursing
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the costs of NHS trusts employing agency cancer nurses relative to cancer nurses in permanent NHS posts in the last 12 months. [123253]
Mr. Hutton: The information is not collected centrally.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) the recruitment and (b) the retention of cancer nurses at (i) NHS trust and (ii) primary care trust level. [123254]
Mr. Hutton: The Government are implementing a range of measures to improve recruitment and retention of all staff, including cancer nurses. These include an increase in pay, encouraging the national health service to become a better employer through the Improving Working Lives and Positively Diverse programmes, increasing training commissions, reducing student
10 Jul 2003 : Column 1000W
attrition, running national and local recruitment and return to practice campaigns and supporting international recruitment where appropriate.
Since 1997, the qualified nursing workforce has grown by nearly 50,000. Between September 2001 and September 2002, there was a net increase in nurses working in the NHS of 17,100 (headcount). The NHS Plan target for nurses has been reached two years early. In addition, over 13,000 qualified nurses have returned to practice in the NHS since 1999.
Chemical Attacks (Preparations)
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts do not have the stocks of chemical, biological and radiological protective equipment recommended by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [104159]
Mr. Hutton: All acute national health service acute and ambulance trusts have been issued with personal protective equipment with the exception of Staffordshire Ambulance NHS trust.
Staffordshire Ambulance NHS trust has not been issued with new personal protective equipment as it has shown it can operate effectively with adapted military techniques with its existing equipment.
Clinical Diagnostics
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the part that clinical diagnostics play in (a) improving health care, (b) improving treatment outcomes and (c) reducing overall health care costs to the NHS; and if he will make it his policy to raise awareness of the role of diagnostics in health care delivery. [122341]
Mr. Hutton: Clinical diagnostics is a key component of health maintenance and disease management. Accurate clinical diagnoses enable early intervention and appropriate choice of treatments helping to manage national health service costs. Clinical diagnostics underpins key principles in the NHS Plan and work is under way nationally to support improvement in this area.
Commission forPublic Patient Involvement in Health
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff will be employed by the Commission for Public Patient Involvement in Health at (a) national head office, (b) regional offices and (c) primary care trust level; and what their cost will be. [124308]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health intends to employ around 50 staff at its head office and up to 17 staff in each of its nine regional offices. It will not be directly employing staff at primary care trust level—rather it will be contracting with third party providers to support patients' forums locally. The total estimated cost for staff in the current financial year will be in the region of £5 million.
10 Jul 2003 : Column 1001W
Commission for Social Care Inspection
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will define the term 'reasonable fee' under clause 84(2) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill; and if he will set a maximum fee that can be charged under clause 84(3). [122951]
Dr. Ladyman: It will be the responsibility of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) to determine what is a reasonable fee under clause 84(2) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill (as introduced, now clause 81(2) as amended by committee). The CSCI will be free to decide which of its reports should be issued without charge. In general, it is Government policy that the cost of providing such services should be met by those who use them.
It is not intended that the Secretary of State will introduce a maximum fee that can be charged under clause 84(3) (81(3) as amended by committee) of the same Bill.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |