House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 8 Sept 2003 (pt 67)

8 Sept 2003 : Column 268W—continued

Testicular Cancer

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has taken over the last 12 months to raise awareness of testicular cancer and the importance of self-checking, with specific reference to men aged under 35 years; and what further measures he plans to take in the future. [127485]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Testicular cancer is almost always curable if found early. The disease responds will to treatment even if it has spread to other parts of the body. More than nine out of 10 patients are cured.

There is currently no method by which a man can reduce his risk of developing the disease, but awareness of its early signs and symptoms should be encouraged. Men should be aware of any unusual changes and consult doctors early in order to ensure the maximum chance of a cure. That is why, in April last year, we collaborated with Cancer Research UK in the production of a testicular self-awareness leaflet, "Testicular Cancer: Spot the Symptoms Early".

We are also currently working with the Department of Psychiatry of Disability at St. George's Hospital Medical School on the production of testicular awareness materials for men with learning difficulties.

Teeth

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have had impacted third molars removed in each year since 1997; and how many showed signs of pathology in their teeth. [127093]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of children who have had impacted third molars removed in England in 1997–98 to 2002–03 is shown in the table. Children are

8 Sept 2003 : Column 269W

defined as being under 18 years of age. Records of the pathology of the teeth prior to extraction are recorded as part of the patient's clinical notes, but are not collected centrally. Nevertheless, the table provides encouraging evidence of progress on implementation of the recommendations that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) made in 2000 that the routine prophylactic removal of pathology-free wisdom teeth should be replaced by standard routine follow-up.

General, Personal and Hospital Dental Service: Number of children who have had impacted third molars removed in 1997–98 to 2002–03, England

Total General Dental Service⁽⁸¹⁾ Personal Dental Service⁽⁸¹⁾ Hospital Dental Services⁽⁸²⁾

1997–98 ⁽⁸³⁾3,700 ⁽⁸³⁾2,100 0 1,544

1998–99 3,562 1,861 10 1,691

1999–2000 2,685 1,356 9 1,320

2000–01 1,842 891 6 945

2001–02 1,516 724 5 787

2002–03 n/a 684 5 n/a

	Total	General Dental Service⁽⁸¹⁾	Personal Dental Service⁽⁸¹⁾	Hospital Dental Services⁽⁸²⁾


1997–98	⁽⁸³⁾3,700	⁽⁸³⁾2,100	0	1,544
1998–99	3,562	1,861	10	1,691
1999–2000	2,685	1,356	9	1,320
2000–01	1,842	891	6	945
2001–02	1,516	724	5	787
2002–03	n/a	684	5	n/a

n/a = data not available.

⁽⁸¹⁾ Based on dental treatment claims for payment.

⁽⁸²⁾ Number of admissions for surgical removal of impacted third molar based on finished consultant episodes. Patients may have more than one admission within a year.

⁽⁸³⁾ Estimated using figures for number of teeth extracted in the general dental service.

Sources:

⁽⁸⁴⁾ Dental Practice Board.

⁽⁸⁵⁾ Hospital Episode Statistics.

Treatment Availability

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the (a) efficacy and (b) availability within the NHS of (i) gold, (ii) Enbrel and (iii) Remicade. [127553]

Dr. Ladyman: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) was asked to appraise the use of infliximab (Remicade) and etanecerpt (Enbrel) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. NICE issued its guidance on 22 March 2002, which recommended the use of etanecerpt for the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and etanecerpt and infliximab for adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Clinicians will still be responsible for exercising judgment in individual cases in the light of NICE's guidance and the evidence on which it was based.

Gold therapy may be used to suppress the disease process in rheumatoid arthritis. It may be given by intramuscular injection as sodium aurothiomalate, or given by mouth as auranofin.

These drugs are available on the national health service for use in cases where the clinician and patient decide this is the best option.

Tuberculosis

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed as suffering from tuberculosis in (a) 2002, (b) 2000, (c) 1998, (d) 1996 and (e) 1994. [127431]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: Statutory notifications to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre of the Health Protection Agency show that the number of people diagnosed with pulmonary and non-pulmonary tuberculosis in England and Wales for the years mentioned are shown in the table.

Notifications

1994 5,591

1996 5,654

1998 6,087

2000 6,797

2002 ⁽⁸⁶⁾6,891

	Notifications
1994	5,591
1996	5,654
1998	6,087
2000	6,797
2002	⁽⁸⁶⁾6,891

⁽⁸⁶⁾ Provisional figure

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffering from AIDS are also infected with tuberculosis. [127432]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The numbers of HIV-infected individuals diagnosed with AIDS in the last five years in England, for whom pulmonary or non-pulmonary tuberculosis was the first AIDS-defining illness, are shown in the table.

Number of cases

1998 117

1999 93

2000 142

2001 168

2002 ⁽⁸⁷⁾206

	Number of cases
1998	117
1999	93
2000	142
2001	168
2002	⁽⁸⁷⁾206

⁽⁸⁷⁾ Numbers may rise, particularly for the most recent year, as further reports are received.

Source:

Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Health Protection Agency (data to end June 2003).

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 (a) departmental and (b) non-departmental special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity; what places were visited; and how much each visit cost. [126668]

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times special advisers have accompanied ministers on overseas visits in the last 12 months for which figures are available; which countries were visited; and what the total cost of each individual visit was. [127472]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Between 31 March 2002 and 31 March 2003 special advisers have travelled abroad in an official capacity on three occasions: to Washington DC, Brussels and Mexico.

Destination Cost (£)

Washington 5,784

Brussels 1,170

Mexico 10,220

Destination	Cost (£)
Washington	5,784
Brussels	1,170
Mexico	10,220

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Waiting Times/Lists

Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting more than 21 weeks at the end of March for an outpatient appointment, broken down by NHS hospital trusts. [127320]

Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of patients at each National Health Service trust and primary care trust (as a provider) who have been waiting more than 21 weeks for a first consultant outpatient appointment following a general practitioner written referral at 31 March 2003, has been placed in the Library.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients in each health authority in England were waiting for treatment for more than 12 months in 2001–02. [127521]

Mr. Hutton: Information on the percentage of patients who were waiting over 12 months at the end of each quarter for elective inpatient admission by English health authorities in 2001–02, has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffering from (a) motor neurone disease, (b) migraines, (c) Parkinson's disease, (d) epilepsy and (e) Alzheimer's disease waited (i) up to four weeks, (ii) four to 13 weeks (iii) 13 to 17 weeks, (iv) 17 to 21 weeks, (v) 21 to 26 weeks and (vi) more than 26 weeks from the receipt of a GP written referral request to a first out-patient attendance in each quarter since Quarter 1 of 1996–97 in each NHS trust and primary care trust. [127024]

Dr. Ladyman: Information at the level of detail requested is not available centrally. We have set targets to reduce the waiting between referral and first out-patient appointment in all cases to 16 weeks by 1 April 2004. Each year maximum waiting times will fall so that, by the end of 2005, the first out-patient appointment will be cut to three months. Urgent cases will continue to be treated much faster. People with neurological conditions will benefit from these reductions in waiting times.

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of people suffering from strokes waited for less than four hours for admission to accident and emergency in each quarter for which data is available since Quarter 1 of 1996–97 in each NHS trust and primary care trust; [127026]

Dr. Ladyman: Information about stroke services at the level of detail requested is not available centrally. The most comprehensive source of information on stroke services is the National Sentinel Stroke Audit, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians. The results can be found at http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/strokeaudit01–02.pdf.

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Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest average waiting time is for in-patient treatment in (a) Greater London and (b) England. [127501]

Mr. Hutton: The table shows the latest estimated average waiting times for elective inpatient admission for England and each London strategic health authority.

Average (median) waiting times for elective inpatient admission: England and London SHAs (commissioner based):Position at 31 May 2003

Median waiting times (months)

England 2.80

North West London HA 2.69

North Central London HA 2.73

North East London HA 2.99

South East London HA 2.92

South West London HA 2.74

	Median waiting times (months)


England	2.80
North West London HA	2.69
North Central London HA	2.73
North East London HA	2.99
South East London HA	2.92
South West London HA	2.74

Source:

Department of Health form QF01

The Medians in the table are based on aggregate data, categorised into waiting time bands, and do not reflect shifts in the waiting time profiles within these bands, only between bands. Progress on delivering maximum waiting times may not necessarily translate into a reduction in the median waiting time, because of shifts in low time bands.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting times are in each hospital trust; and what these were 12 months ago for (a) hip replacements, (b) cataract operations and (c) heart operations. [127558]

Mr. Hutton: Information on waiting times for elective in-patient admission is not collected by type of operation.

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting times outside Accident and Emergency departments were in each health authority in each year from 1995–96 to 2001–02. [127718]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

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