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14 Jul 2003 : Column 118W—continued
Free Prescriptions
Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of providing free prescriptions to all patients in England. [124625]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We estimate that the loss of prescription charge income in England would be around £446 million in 2003–04. Additionally, there could be significant additional costs to the drugs bill if people who currently pay charges sought prescriptions for medicines and other items which they currently purchase.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce free prescriptions for those aged 21 or under who are not in full time employment. [124882]
Ms Rosie Winterton: People aged 21 or under who are not in full time employment are entitled to free national health service prescriptions if they hold a maternity or medical exemption certificate; receive income support or income based jobseekers' allowance, are named on a Tax Credit NHS exemption certificate; or hold a NHS low income scheme exemption certificate for full help.
Patients who pay charges and need frequent prescriptions may benefit from purchasing a prescription prepayment certificate.
General Practitioners
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on the accreditation and payment plans of GPs with special interests; [124344]
- (2) whether mental health is included in the new sets of guidelines for GPs with special interests; and if he will make a statement. [124396]
Mr. Hutton: Mental health is one of the new guidelines for general practitioners with a special interest (GPwSI) published by the Department of Health on 24 April. These guidelines were commissioned from the Royal
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College of General Practitioners. They link closely with relevant national service frameworks and draw on good practice and experience nationally to offer support to primary care trusts (PCTs) in extending the range of services offered in primary care. Accreditation and remuneration of GPwSIs are both matters for PCTs to determine locally except, in future, where the GPwSI service falls within the scope of a national enhanced service under the new general medical services contract, when national benchmark prices will apply as a minimum price.
Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he expects the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection to give notice where it intends to enter and inspect premises under clause 62 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. [121175]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We expect that the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) will normally enter and inspect premises by agreement with their owners.
However it will be for CHAI to decide whether it is appropriate to give notice that it intends to enter premises using the power in Clause 60 (formerly Clause 62) of the Bill.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria he has set for the right of entry to be considered necessary or expedient under clause 63 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. [121176]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Secretary of State has set no criteria for the right of entry to be considered necessary or expedient under clause 65: Right of entry: supplementary (formerly clause 63) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a person working at the premises will have the right to refuse to be interviewed under clause 63(1)(c)(i) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill. [121179]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Clause 61 (formerly clause 63(1)(c)(i)) gives the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) power to interview in private any person working at premises which CHAI is inspecting. Clause 61(5) provides that it would be an offence to obstruct CHAI in the exercise of its functions, and this provision is intended to make clear (mirroring existing provision in the Care Standards Act) that a manager must not prevent any person who consents to being interviewed by CHAI being interviewed. In certain circumstances, which will be set out in detail in regulations to be made under clause 61 of the Bill, CHAI will be able to require prescribed persons to give explanations of prescribed matters to CHAI. Failure without reasonable excuse to do so in these circumstances would be a criminal offence.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection will give notice where it requires a person to
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provide it with information, records and other items under Clause 64 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill; where a person is required to provide it with information and records, if these will be protected under the Data Protection Act 1998; and if he will put in place safeguards in such cases to ensure (a) that only records relevant to an investigation are requested and (b) that an individual's right to privacy is protected. [121182]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We expect that the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) will normally obtain information by agreement. Where it exercises the power in clause 62 (previously 64) to require the provision of information or documents, we expect that it will normally do so in writing.Individuals' rights to privacy will be protected by the offence of disclosure of confidential information in Clause 129 of the Bill and also by the Data Protection Act. Under clause 62(1)(b), CHAI may only request information and documents which it considers necessary or expedient to have for the purposes of Chapter 3.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what, under Clause 60 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, will be the specified factors that will determine a fee by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection; [121190]
- (2) who, under Clause 60 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, will appoint the independent person or panel who will be able to review the amount charged by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection in respect of fees for its reviewing and investigating functions; and what their terms of reference will be. [121192]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Section 57(7) (formerly section 60(7)) will allow the Secretary of State to set out in regulations provision for an independent person or panel to review fees payable in particular classes of cases under section 57(1). These regulations may also include any terms of reference the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
Under section 57(3) (formerly section 60(3)) the Secretary of State may also specify in regulations the factors that the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection must take into account in determining any fee payable under section 57(1).
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection will require a notice period to be given to make available for inspection a report published by it under Clause 61 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill; [121193]
- (2) whether, under Clause 61 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill, there will be a scale of fees for providing (a) a copy of a report published by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection and (b) other information relevant to the discharge of the Commission's functions. [121194]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Clause 59 (formerly Clause 6) stipulates that the Commission and Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) must make copies of any report published by it under Chapter 3 of the Health and Social
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Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill available for inspection at its offices by any person at a reasonable time. It does not provide for CHAI to require that a period of notice be given beforehand.
It also provides for CHAI to charge a fee for copies of any report published by it under Chapter 3 of the Bill or to supply other information relevant to the discharge of its functions under this chapter.
It will be for CHAI to determine what constitutes a reasonable fee for any requested report and for any other additional information that an individual may request.
Health Records
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made in investigating the pulping of the public health files in 1974. [124892]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 July 2003]: An informal review is being undertaken by the Department of Health to clarify the facts surrounding the drive for United Kingdom self sufficiency in blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. The review is based on papers available from the time and is not addressing allegations that files from that period went missing.
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to ensure that patients are given access to their medical records relating to plasma; and if he will make a statement. [124894]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 July 2003]: It is the responsibility of individual national health service organisations to ensure that they comply with legal requirements when dealing with requests for access to health records. The Data Protection Act 1998 provides individuals with a right of access to their health records. However there are certain circumstances in which the record holder may withhold information.
Access may be denied, or limited, where the information might cause serious harm to the physical or mental health or condition of the patient, or any other person, or where giving access would disclose information relating to or provided by a third person who had not consented to the disclosure. The decision over whether to grant or withhold access must be made by individual record holders. However individuals do have recourse to the NHS complaints procedure if they feel that their application for access has not been dealt with appropriately.
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