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8 Sept 2003 : Column 187W—continued
Health Care (EU)
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the recent European Court ruling about the eligibility of all EU citizens to non-hospital care in any EU country. [127635]
Mr. Hutton: The judgment in a similar case before the English courts (Watts v. Bedford Primary Care Trust) is awaited for guidance on the extent to which the recent European Court of Justice ruling in case C (Muller-Faure/van Riet) applies in the United Kingdom. When that is available, careful consideration will be given to any implications for policy and practice in the UK.
Falls
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of ambulance call outs to people over the age of (a) 50 years and (b) 65 years in each of the last five years for which figures are available were as a result of a fall. [127350]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
The national service framework (NSF) for older people, published in 2001, requires the NHS, working in partnership with councils, to take action to prevent falls and reduce resultant fractures or other injuries in their populations of older people. Older people who have fallen should receive effective treatment and prevention and, with their carers, receive advice on prevention through a specialised falls service. All local health and social care systems should have established this service by April 2005 and achievement of this NSF milestone will be monitored centrally.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was spent on the funding of falls co-ordinator posts in England in 2002–03; [127347]
- (2) what he estimates to be the cost of (a) all injuries as a result of a fall, (b) hip fractures and (c) osteoporosis to the national health service in the last 12 months; [127348]
(3) how many designated falls co-ordinators are in post in the United Kingdom. [127364]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the responses given by my hon. Friends the then Minister of State and the then Under-Secretary of State for Health on 5 March 2003, Official Report, column 1121W.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the progress of local health authorities against the national service framework for older people's 2003 milestone on falls prevention. [127351]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department of Health will be monitoring formally the overall falls milestone of integrated health and social care falls services by April 2005 as this is included as one of the key targets in "Improvement, Expansion and Reform", the priorities and planning framework for 2003–06. It is now for strategic health authorities to plan, deliver and monitor progress locally on the other falls milestones in the national service framework for older people.
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Food Additives
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources the NHS is allocating for research into the link between food additives and behavioural deficits in children. [127720]
Miss Melanie Johnson: There are currently no national health service studies on this subject. However, last year the Food Standards Agency (FSA) set up an ad hoc, multi-stakeholder working group to advise on the feasibility of conducting research on a possible relationship between exposure to certain food additives and behavioural effects in children; and to advise on the most suitable experimental strategies. In the light of this advice the FSA advertised for suitable research proposals. Following appraisal, successful proposals are likely to be commissioned early next year.
Food Poisoning
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of food poisoning were notified to his Department in each year since 1997. [127338]
Miss Melanie Johnson: A summary of the food poisoning notifications received in England and Wales for the years 1997–2002, is shown in the table.
| Total | Formally notified | Otherwise ascertained | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 93,901 | 54,233 | 39,668 |
| 1998 | 93,932 | 53,764 | 40,168 |
| 1999 | 86,316 | 48,454 | 37,862 |
| 2000 | 86,528 | 46,481 | 40,047 |
| 2001 | 85,468 | 46,768 | 38,700 |
| 2002 | 72,649 | 38,541 | 34,108 |
Source:
HPA Statutory Notifications of Infectious Diseases—Last updated: July 2003
Food Standards Agency
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultations have been issued by the Food Standards Agency in each year since its inception. [127340]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Since its inception the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has operated under the three guiding principles of putting the consumer first, being open and accessible and being an independent voice. To do this effectively the FSA consults widely before making recommendations, unless urgent action is required, and engages with a plethora of stakeholders as part of its general policy-making process. It uses a wide range of consultative methods such as open/public meetings, specific stakeholder meetings, focus groups, standing consultative groups and questionnaire-based surveys. For formal written consultations, the FSA has published 331 on its website since its establishment in April 2000: 46 between April to December 2000, 80 in 2001, 128 in 2002 and 77 between January to July 2003.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often he plans to meet officials from the Food Standards Agency. [127343]
8 Sept 2003 : Column 189W
Miss Melanie Johnson: I meet the Chair of the Food Standards Agency every four to six weeks and meet its officials on a regular basis for briefings.
Foundation Trusts
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process will be used to recruit members of NHS Foundation Trusts. [127625]
Mr. Hutton: It will be for each national health service foundation trust to determine what approach to take.
A source book has now been developed to help applicants for NHS foundation trust status develop their governance and membership arrangements. NHS foundation trusts will be under a statutory duty to take steps to have a representative membership.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether foundation hospitals established in England will be required to treat patients referred by general practitioners based in Wales. [127376]
Mr. Hutton: Arrangements for cross border referrals to national health service foundation trusts are expected to continue to work in the same way as referrals from NHS Commissioners in Wales to NHS trusts currently operate.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of how many members a foundation trust will have. [127644]
Mr. Hutton: National health service foundation trusts will be required to set their own minimum membership as part of their constitution. The Independent Regulator must be satisfied that the membership is sufficient to ensure that a Board of Governors can be elected according to its constitution and that the actual membership will be representative of those eligible.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for piloting the scheme for foundation hospitals. [127645]
Mr. Hutton: We have no plans to pilot national health service foundation trusts.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to send out the source book for foundation hospital applicants. [127646]
Mr. Hutton: A first version of the governance source book has been made available to applicants. This will be supplemented, over time, to include learning from the experience of first wave applicants.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the role of the Foundation Trusts Regulator. [127662]
Mr. Hutton: Subject to Parliament, the Independent Regulator for National Health Service foundation trusts will be responsible for authorising, monitoring and regulating NHS foundation trusts. Details of the role of the Independent Regulator can be found in the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill.
8 Sept 2003 : Column 190W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Regulator of Foundation Trusts will be required to maintain universal access to healthcare services. [127663]
Mr. Hutton: Subject to legislation, the Independent Regulator will be required to exercise his functions in a manner that is consistent with the performance by the Secretary of State of the duties under sections 1, 3 and 51 of the National Health Service Act 1977.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role he will play in the work of foundation trusts. [127664]
Mr. Hutton: The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for the National Health Service. The Secretary of State sets the strategic vision for the health service, distributes resources to the NHS, sets the national tariff and will set national standards. The Secretary of State's main role, with regard to NHS foundations trusts, will be to decide whether to support proposals for NHS foundation trust status.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps will be taken to ensure that foundation trusts do not turn away patients with chronic conditions. [127665]
Mr. Hutton: The services National Health Service foundation trusts provide for NHS Commissioners will be set out in legally binding contracts.
NHS foundation trusts will be required, under their terms of authorisation, to continue to provide essential NHS services to NHS commissioners.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether each foundation trust will have unique clinical targets and health care priorities. [127666]
Mr. Hutton: National Health Service foundation trusts will be established with the principal purpose of providing NHS services to NHS patients. They will be held to account for delivering the outputs agreed with primary care trusts and other partners in the health economy, as part of the commissioning process.
NHS foundation trusts will be independently inspected by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection against the same national standards as other NHS trusts.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the extent to which foundation trusts will have access to non-public finance. [127681]
Mr. Hutton: National health service foundation trusts will have freedom to decide where to go for capital borrowing.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with City institutions about interest rates available for bond-based finance for foundation trusts. [127682]
Mr. Hutton: The Department of Health has undertaken a wide range of consultations with a variety of City institutions over future financing options for national health service foundation trusts.
8 Sept 2003 : Column 191W
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