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8 Sept 2003 : Column 171W—continued
Chelmsford Primary Care Trust
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the prescribing budget is for the Chelmsford Primary Care Trust for the financial year 2002–03. [127462]
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Dr. Ladyman: Audited information in respect of the annual financial position of all national health service organisations must be published in their individual annual accounts and should be available centrally in autumn of each year.
I understand that Chelmsford Primary Care Trust has already made public that it has allocated £13.664 million from its 2002–03 unified budget towards the anticipated cost of prescribing for its general practitioners.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what accumulated deficit has been identified by the Chelmsford Primary Care Trust for (a) the financial year 2002–03 and (b) the current financial year. [127487]
Dr. Ladyman: Audited information in respect of the annual financial position of all national health service organisations must be published in their individual annual accounts and should be available centrally in autumn of each year.
I understand that Chelmsford Primary Care Trust has already made public that it has identified a deficit of £805,000 for the financial year 2002–03 and the deficit for the first quarter of 2003–04 is £228,000.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps will be taken to comply with Lord Laming's recommendations on child protection when formulating future star ratings for (a) hospital trusts, (b) primary care trusts and (c) mental health trusts. [127916]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government's response to the Victoria Climbié Inquiry report, to be published later this year, will set out the situation on performance assessment in the national health service.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether all NHS trusts offer to their nurses and key workers access to expert child protection advice and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and what mechanisms his Department has put in place to ensure that this requirement is being met. [127010]
Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally. However, I have asked the Commission for Health Improvement to assess child protection arrangements in the national health service and to report on the strengths and weaknesses of existing NHS arrangements.
Chlamydia/HIV
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department is undertaking into the links between HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns and education and the incidence of chlamydia in young people. [127545]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health contributes £1 million annually to support a national programme of Sexual Health and HIV research which informs our work to prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The current programme does not include specific research into links between HIV and AIDS awareness and the incidence of chlamydia, although we do know that the widespread HIV prevention campaigns of the 1980s did lead to a reduction in the prevalence of many other STIs. Our
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regular surveys which measure the impact of the Teenage Pregnancy campaign, also provide data on the awareness of STIs among young people. This shows that awareness of HIV is high among this group and that awareness of chlamydia is increasing, possibly as a result of increased publicity on the subject, such as the Government's 'Sex lottery' campaign.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women were tested for (a) chlamydia and (b) HIV in each of the last five years. [127543]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health does not hold central data on the total number of men and women who have undergone testing for chlamydia. We do, however, hold data on those who have tested and received a positive result.
| Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 18,937 | 24,975 |
| 1999 | 21,808 | 29,196 |
| 2000 | 26,632 | 34,815 |
| 2001 | 29,602 | 38,644 |
| 2002 | 34,341 | 43,796 |
Source:Health Protection Agency
Estimates for the number of men and women tested for chlamydia through GUM Clinics, General Practitioners or Antenatal Care Providers in England between 1997 and 2002 are shown in the table. Note that data on antenatal testing of women are available only from 2000.
| Year | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1997(41) | 75,113 | 60,020 |
| 1998(41) | 79,665 | 63,998 |
| 1999(41) | 81,842 | 65,614 |
| 2000(42) | 93,262 | 345,083 |
| 2001(42) | 122,178 | 473,321 |
| 2002 | 161,911 | 544,466 |
In addition, all blood donations are screened for HIV and in the table below are the estimates of the numbers of the donations screened for both men and women.
| Year | Total |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 3,040,022 |
| 1998 | 2,864,483 |
| 1999 | 2,922,045 |
| 2000 | 2,903,565 |
| 2001 | 2,849,740 |
| 2002 | 2,844,465 |
Notes:
(41) Data from Genitourinary clinics and general practitioners only.
(42) Includes preliminary unpublished data from the "National Survey of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood", source: Institute of Child Health.
Source:
In calculating these estimates, data from the following surveys were used: denominator survey (CDSC) to provide GP testing estimates, KC60 (CDSC) to provide GUM testing estimates, National survey of HIV in Pregnancy and Childhood (ICH) to provide Antenatal testing estimates.
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Cholesterol
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the measurement of cholesterol in the over-50s. [127735]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The planning and priorities framework, "Improving, Expansion and Reform", which sets out priorities for the next three years for the national health service, includes a target for practice based registers to ensure that patients with, or at high risk of, coronary heart disease and diabetes receive appropriate care and treatment in line with national service framework standards, including advice on diet, physical activity and smoking. Patients at risk of coronary heart disease include those with hypertension, diabetes and who are obese.
The quality and outcomes framework within the new general medical services contract, being introduced from 1 April 2004, will reward general practitioners who monitor, and can demonstrate control of, the cholesterol level of patients suffering from chronic heart disease.
Clinical Data
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospital files holding clinical data on patients (a) went missing temporarily and (b) were lost in each year since 1995. [127186]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available. The Department of Health does not monitor or gather statistics on the management of clinical records in National Health Service hospitals and trusts and consequently has no record of numbers of files temporarily missing or lost.
Each NHS trust and strategic health authority is legally responsible for managing its own records and complying with legislation and guidance relating to the clinical data they collect on patients.
In the NHS, guidance and governance arrangements have been designed to assure compliance with law and good practice, while minimising the overheads of managing and auditing detailed procedures. Independent authorities, such as the Audit Commission, Health Service Commissioner and Information Commissioner, oversee the governance arrangements and may impose sanctions where there is a significant failure to comply.
Commission for Health Improvement
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which languages the patient surveys issued by the Commission for Health Improvement were published. [127322]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It is not possible to identify from patient records what language a patient speaks. Therefore the initial contact has to be in English. Survey guidance for trusts points to a range of options for helping patients whose first language is not English.
Community Health Councils
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with staff working at Community Health Councils on the closure of such health councils. [127167]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The closure of Community Health Councils (CHCs) was first announced in the NHS Plan in July 2000. Since then, this subject has formed part of the discussions Ministers have had with CHC staff and members as part of various visits around the country and there have been meetings with Stakeholder groups, including the Association of Community Health Council in England and Wales and trades unions. Officials in the Department of Health have had similar meetings and local employers and CHC leads have held open meetings to discuss the closure with staff and members.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Community Health Councils will be closed in England. [127168]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 22–23WS. It is still our intention to abolish Community Health Councils on 1 December 2003.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place on the redundancy payments staff will receive when community health councils are closed. [127169]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I met with trade unions representing Community Health Council (CHC) staff on 16 July to discuss staffing issues and also received feedback from a meeting held recently with key stakeholders, including CHC staff, members of the Association of Community Health Councils of England and Wales, the Council for Patient and Public Involvement in Health and the trades unions.
Officials have worked with the trade unions and a revised human resources framework for CHC staff was issued on 25 July. This document, which was jointly with Unison and Amicus-MSF, covers not only the issue of redundancy but also the support and advice that is available to CHC staff to help them secure alternative posts within the National Health Service. It is hoped that this will address some of the concerns and anxieties raised.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to keep Community Health Councils operational after 1 December 2003. [127429]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It is still our intention to abolish Community Health Councils on 1 December 2003.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Community Health Councils have had to leave their previous premises because of the decision to keep CHCs operational until December. [127430]
Ms Rosie Winterton: To date, no Community Health Councils (CHCs) have had to leave their premises specifically because of the decision to keep CHCs operational until 1 December. However, it is estimated that about 56 CHCs will need to leave their current premises before the abolition date for reasons including the cost of extending the lease arrangements where previous notice had been given. Decisions will be based on local circumstances and suitable alternative arrangements will be discussed with local CHC staff and members.
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Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters his Department has received opposing the abolition of community health councils; and if he will make a statement. [127460]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since the abolition of community health councils was first announced in the NHS plan in July 2000 the Department has received many letters commenting on this issue. However, owing to the volume of correspondence which the Department receives and the way in which that correspondence is filed, the information cold be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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