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1 Sept 2003 : Column 955W—continued
Queen Alexandra Hospital (Cosham)
Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the hon. Member for Portsmouth, North (Syd Rapson) relating to the funding of Queen Alexandra Hospital at Cosham. [126959]
Ms Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health met my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth, North (Syd Rapson) on 7 July 2003 to discuss issues relating to the Queen Alexandra Hospital.
Radiologists
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole-time equivalent radiologists were working in the NHS in each of the last five years. [127000]
Mr. Hutton: The table shows the number of whole-time equivalent medical staff specialising in clinical radiology in the last five years.
| England as at 30 September | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All clinical radiology staff | 1,895 | 1,935 | 2,028 | 2,134 | 2,256 | 2,371 |
| Of which: | ||||||
| Consultants | 1,364 | 1,387 | 1,414 | 1,460 | 1,492 | 1,582 |
Figures rounded to the nearest whole number.
Source:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
1 Sept 2003 : Column 956W
The number of whole-time equivalent consultant radiologists increased by 16 per cent. between September 1997 and September 2002.
Research Investment
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much and what proportion of public scientific research investment in the last five years went on research into (a) heart disease, (b) cancer and (c) stroke and stroke-related problems. [126530]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Funding for research in cancer, heart disease and stroke is provided from a number of different sources, including the Government, charities and industry. The Department of Health does not routinely collect information on all research expenditure.
The main Government agency for research into the causes of and treatments for disease is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its funding via the Department of Trade and Industry. The Department of Health funds research to support policy and the delivery of effective practice in the national health service. The Department also provides NHS support funding for research commissioned by the research councils and charities that takes place in the NHS.
Management of much of the research supported by NHS research and development funding is devolved and expenditure at project level is not held centrally by the Department. The information is therefore not available in the format requested for all years.
Available figures for Departmental and MRC estimated expenditure on cancer research are shown in the table:
| Department of Health | Medical Research Council | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | not available | 75.0 |
| 2000–01 | 83.8 | 70.0 |
| 1999–2000 | 77.4 | 52.0 |
| 1998–99 | 75.4 | 28.5 |
| 1997–98 | 53.0 | 27.0 |
It is important to note that scientific definitions have evolved over time and that the MRC has improved methods of capturing data and identifying spend. For these reasons, spend figures from one year to the next are not comparable.
The MRC's estimated expenditure on stroke research for the last five years is shown in the table.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 3.9 |
| 2000–01 | 3.4 |
| 1999–2000 | 4.0 |
| 1998–99 | 4.0 |
| 1997–98 | 3.3 |
1 Sept 2003 : Column 957W
The MRC spent £12.3 million on heart disease research in 1998–99 and £10.5 million in 1999–2000. Figures for subsequent years are for circulatory disease research: £24.7 million in 2000–01 and £26.3 million in 2001–02.
Estimated figures for departmental spend on cardiovascular disease and stroke research are £48.9 million in 1998–99, £49.1 million in 1999–2000 and £50.9 million in 2000–01.
Annual figures for net Government spend on research and development are published in The Forward Look 2003, which is available on the Office of Science and Technology website (www.ost.gov.uk/research/forwardlook03/).
Residential Care Homes
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of residential care homes (a) in East Sussex and (b) in England have been inspected by the National Care Standards Commission since 1 April 2002. [126689]
Dr. Ladyman: All care homes in East Sussex and in England have been inspected by the National Care Standards Commission since 1 April 2002.
Smoking
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies he has received of the consequences for health of banning smoking in public places. [126090]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 16 July 2003]: The Department of Health is aware of a range of studies set out in the 1998 Report of the independent Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (ISBN 0–11–322124-X) and more recently in the key chapter entitled "Second Hand Smoke—Getting Serious About It" in the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer, published in June 2003 (32189). Copies of the publications are available in the Library.
Stroke Services
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the target of 100 per cent. of general hospitals to have a specialist stroke unit by April 2004. [126525]
Dr. Ladyman: A monitoring exercise conducted at the end of 2002 suggested that 83 per cent. of hospitals had plans in place to have a specialist stroke service by April 2004.
The Department of Health will be monitoring formally the overall stroke milestone in April 2004, as this is included as one of the key targets in "Improvement, Expansion and Reform", the priorities and planning framework for 2003–06. Progress on this key target will be monitored through the 2003–04 local delivery plan reporting mechanism and information will be available later in the year.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated for strokes (a) in each NHS trust and (b) in each strategic health authority in each year since 1997. [126526]
1 Sept 2003 : Column 958W
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards the Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation, target for reducing strokes in those under 75 years. [126531]
Dr. Ladyman: There is no target in Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation specifically for reducing strokes.
There is a target in Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation for reducing the rate of mortality from 'All Circulatory Diseases'. This includes stroke, also coronary heart disease and related diseases. The Our Healthier Nation target is "to reduce the death rate from all circulatory diseases in people under age 75 years by at least 40 per cent. by 2010".
Progress in respect of the Our Healthier Nation mortality target for all circulatory diseases is monitored using a three year moving average of the age standardised mortality rate for people aged under 75 years.
The most recent data show a fall of almost 19 per cent. in the rate since the baseline period of 1995 to 1997.
| Years | Three-year average mortality rate |
|---|---|
| 1995/6/7(83) (Baseline) | 141.5 |
| 1996/7/8(83) | 135.7 |
| 1 997/8/9(83) | 128.7 |
| 1 998/9/2000(83) | 122.0 |
| 1999/2000/01(83) | 114.8 |
| Milestone (2004/5/6) | 106. 1 |
| Target (2009/10/11 | 84.9 |
| Percentage change in rate since baseline | -18.9 |
Source:
Office for National Statistics.
(83) Rates for years other than 1999 and 2001 calculated using numbers of deaths coded under ICD9. Adjusted to be on the same basis as ICD10. See note B below.
Single year rates and numbers of deaths from stroke among people in England aged under 75 over the same time period are shown in the following table:
| Year | Single year Mortality rate(84) | Number of deaths |
|---|---|---|
| 1995(84) | 26.5 | 13,465 |
| 1996(84) | 26.3 | 13,190 |
| 1997(84) | 25.0 | 12,498 |
| 1998(84) | 24.4 | 12,140 |
| 1999 | 23.2 | 12M293 |
| 2000(84) | 21.2 | 10,561 |
| 2001 | 20.6 | 10,947 |
Note:
Change: 1995 to 2001—17.9 per cent.
Source:
Office for National Statistics.
(84) Rates calculated using numbers of deaths coded under ICD9 adjusted to be on the same basis as ICD10—see Note B below:
Note B: Causes of death in England and Wales were coded to the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9) from 1979 to 2000. Cerebrovascular diseases which includes stroke and related conditions, were coded to 430–438. In the Tenth Revision (ICD-10), introduced in 2001, the same conditions are coded to 160–169. However, the way in which the underlying cause of death is selected from the conditions written on the certificate changed in ICD-10. This led to an increase of about 13 per cent. in the number of deaths attributed to cerebrovascular diseases in men and 9 per cent. in women. Time trends should therefore be interpreted with caution. The effects of the change in classification has been described in detail in ONS publications.
1 Sept 2003 : Column 959W
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what monitoring arrangements are in place to ensure that (a) primary care trusts and (b) NHS trusts have reviewed arrangements to identify those at greatest risk of stroke; [126536]
- (2) what monitoring arrangements are in place to ensure that (a) primary care trusts and (b) NHS trusts have agreed local priorities to improve the rates of identification and effective intervention in stroke. [126537]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department of Health will be monitoring formally the overall stroke milestone in April 2004 as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for the National Health Service for 2003–06. It is now for strategic health authorities to plan, deliver and monitor progress locally on the other stroke milestones in the national service framework for older people.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made to ensure that by April 2004 every general practice, using protocols agreed with local specialist services, can identify and treat patients identified as being at risk of a stroke because of high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation or other risk factors. [126541]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department of Health will be monitoring formally the overall stroke milestone in April 2004, as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for the National Health Service for 2003–2006. It is now for strategic health authorities to plan, deliver and monitor progress locally on the other stroke milestones in the national service framework for older people. Therefore progress on this key target will be monitored through the 2003–04 local delivery plan reporting mechanism and information will be available later in the year.
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