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16 Jul 2003 : Column 416W—continued
Infectious Patients
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2003, Official Report, column 721W, on infectious patients, if he will publish the results of the risk assessments undertaken in 2000. [124553]
Miss Melanie Johnson: These risk assessments were not collected centrally. Chief executives in acute national health service trusts were required to:
- undertake a risk assessment to determine appropriate provision of isolation facilities within the trust; and
agree the level and type of provision with the regional office.
IT Procurement
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Shires Acute and Community Hospital EPR Procurement Programme was terminated. [120372]
Mr. Hutton: The Shires Electronic Patient Records (EPR) procurement did not proceed to final award of contract primarily on grounds of affordability. This was a local procurement that decided it did not have sufficient funds to cover the costs and contract for the first three years.
The National Programme for Information Technology (NpfIT) in the national health service is currently procuring an integrated care records service, which will provide, as part of its first phase, the functionality that the Shires EPR would have delivered. The national procurement approach will provide better value for money for taxpayers.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on IT procurement policy for the NHS; [123504]
- (2) if he will make a statement on IT procurement policy in (a) the south-west region and (b) the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority area; [123505]
(3) what role Integrated Line Records Services will play within future IT procurement policy. [123506]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 4 July 2003]: The approach to procurement for the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) in the national health service was published in January 2003 and can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/ipu/whatnew/procapp.pdf
NPfIT is currently managing a national procurement for an integrated care records service (ICRS). An Official Journal of the European Community (OJEC)
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contract notice was issued on 31 January 2003 and we are now evaluating pre-qualified bidders responses before proceeding to shortlist. It is proceeding as rapidly as good practice allows.
Phase 1 of ICRS to December 2004 will provide clinicians, whether they are in primary, community or secondary care settings, with the capability to email, browse internet/intranet sites, view basic clinical information relating to their patients (demographics), electronically transfer limited clinical correspondence, laboratory reports and some radiology results. New ICRS solutions will also provide integrated support for national service framework data collection.
Procurement in the South West will be part of national arrangements designed to minimise risk and maximise value for money in the NHS by the award of contracts to local service providers. For the provision of IT services by local service providers, England will be grouped into five geographic clusters based upon the pairing of geographically adjoining Government Office regions and will each incorporate a number of strategic health authorities (SHAs).
There will be a total of five contracts awarded and a maximum of five local service providers covering: London; North East, Yorkshire and Humberside; South East and South West; East of England and East Midlands; West Midlands and North West. The first two contracts will be awarded by the end of October 2003 to London and North East, Yorkshire and Humberside.
Each SHA will have a relationship with a dedicated local service provider to provide a range of applications, systems and services and will be responsible for integrating or replacing the computer systems needed to support the clinical applications being delivered by the NPfIT. Each local service provider will also have responsibility for the management of legacy systems as part of their overall remit.
Knee and Hip Replacements
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 1 July 2003, Official Report, column 232W, on knee and hip joints, what auditing procedures are in place for charges made to NHS and private patients for the parts used in knee and hip joint replacement operations. [124879]
Mr. Hutton: All national health service trusts are required to have in place financial management and audit arrangements. These aim to ensure that private patients are correctly charged for the goods and services they receive, including prostheses used in hip and knee replacements. NHS patients are not charged for their treatment or for the prostheses.
Midwives
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age of midwives was in each year since 1990. [124255]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
(41) Average ages are rounded to the nearest year.
(42) For 1991 to 1993, the age of midwives is known only within bands.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census.
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MRI Scanners
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the recommended minimum number of radiographers is to each MRI scanner. [125149]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 11 July 2003]: The Department of Health has not issued a recommendation on the minimum number of radiographers required for each mirror resonance imaging scanner. Staffing levels for all clinical and medical staff groups are determined locally, consistent with trust requirements, professional recommendations and other local healthcare needs.
Neurology Nurse Specialists
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the need for neurology nurse specialists in the hospital trust areas covering Portsmouth; what the current staffing requirement is for each of the trusts; what the current level of staffing is of each; what plans he has to make changes to staffing levels; and if he will make a statement. [124857]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally. The non-medical workforce census collects information annually on the number of nurses employed in the national health service as at 30 September each year but cannot distinguish those who are specialist neurological nurses.
Workforce is recognised as key to the successful delivery of the NHS Plan and the national service frameworks. The long term conditions care group workforce team (LTC CGWT) has been set up to support workforce development in the fields of diabetes, renal and long term conditions. The LTC CGWT addresses workforce planning for neurological nurses. Its aim is to help deliver a multidisciplinary and
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integrated health and social care workforce to support service improvement. Membership of the LTC CGWT includes representatives of the Neurological Alliance and the North West Clinical Neuroscience Partnership.
NHS Professionals
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many agency staff of all grades NHS Professionals has employed to carry out its central functions and administration in each month; and at what cost; [124303]
- (2) what the (a) start up and (b) quarterly costs of NHS Professionals have been since its inception; how many staff have been employed; and at what cost; [124304]
(3) which NHS trusts NHS Professionals has had contracts with in each month since its inception; when those contracts were entered into; when they ended; and what their value was; [124305]
(4) how many agency staff NHS Professionals has deployed in each month since its inception; what the cost was to NHS Professionals of deploying staff; and what the income received from NHS trusts was; [124306]
(5) how many and what grades of staff have been retained for agency work by NHS Professionals in each month since its inception. [124307]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested on the staffing of NHS Professionals is not collected centrally, but is available from individual NHS Professionals service providers.
NHS Professionals was allocated £7 million to support the start up of pilot sites. A further £24 million has been invested in 2002–03 to support roll out and we will continue to invest in NHS Professionals to ensure implementation. We have also earmarked up to £35 million to support the establishment of the NHS Professionals Special Health Authority by the end of this year, and continuing development in 2004–05. Thereafter, the special health authority should operate on a self-financing basis delivering more cost effective temporary staff to the national health service.
The NHS trusts which are using NHS Professionals are shown in the following list. Information on contracts and staffing is not available centrally.
NHS trusts which host NHS Professionals include the expenditure for deploying agency staff in their accounts and financial returns. The trusts are St. Mary's NHS Trust Paddington, Barking, Having and Redbridge NHS Trust, West Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, John Radcliffe NHS Trust, East and North Herts NHS Trust and North Bristol NHS Trust. NHS trusts which utilise the services of "NHS Professionals" are recharged for these services and will also include these payments in their own accounts and financial returns.
There are 50,000 staff registered with NHS Professionals. Information on grades of staff is not available.
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NHS Trusts using NHS Professionals
- Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust
Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust
Bath and NE Somerset PCT, Bath
Cherwell Vale PCT, Oxfordshire
Christie Hospital NHS Trust, Manchester
City Hospital Sunderland NHS Trust
Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Stourbridge
East and North Herts NHS Trust, Stevenage
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
Epping Forest PCT
George Eliot NHS Trust, Nuneaton
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust
Harlow PCT
Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust, Newport
Lancashire Care NHS Trust, Preston
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester
Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Wakefield
North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol
North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust
North East Oxfordshire PCT
North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
North Mersey Community NHS Trust
North Middlesex University Hospital
Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust, Oxford
Oxford City PCT
Oxford Learning Disability NHS Trust
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust
Oxfordshire Mental Healthcare NHS Trust
Penine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Oldham
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust
Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust
Royston, Buntingford and Bishops Stortford PCT
Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
South East Oxfordshire PCT
South Leeds PCT
South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust
South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, Middlesbrough
South West Oxfordshire PCT
South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust
St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust
St. Marys NHS Trust, London
Stockport NHS Trust
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Trust
University Hospital, Nottingham NHS Trust
Uttlesford PCT, Essex
Walsall PCT
Walton Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust, Liverpool
West Middlesex University Hospitals NHS Trust
Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Worcestershire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
16 Jul 2003 : Column 421W
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