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Care Home Beds (London)

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of care home beds in London. [128765]

Dr. Ladyman: The number of care home places in Greater London as at 31 March 2001 was 47,430, an increase of four per cent, over the 1997 figures. This compares to a one per cent, increase for England over the same period. Figures for later years have been collected by the National Care Standards Commission and will be published this autumn.

Carers

Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals he has to identify family carers; whether he plans to create a family carers list; and what health, financial and other assistance can be granted to family members who care for relatives. [129104]

Dr. Ladyman: There are no proposals either to identify or create a list of family carers.

As with all carers, family carers are entitled to an assessment to determine their needs as carers and eligibility for support. The Carers Grant, worth £100 million this year, provides money for local councils to provide short breaks and services for carers to enable them to continue in their caring role. Carers are also entitled to cash payments for carers' services to enable them to purchase the type of support they require and promote a better quality of life.

Delayed Discharges

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the most recent national delayed discharges figures which are available. [129844]

Dr. Ladyman: The latest figures on delayed discharge (June 2003), which have been placed in the Library, show that around 4,170 patients of all ages were occupying an acute bed with a delayed transfer at the end of the quarter. This is over 1,300 fewer patients than at the same time the previous year.

Disabled Children (Family Support)

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many families with (a) severely disabled children and (b) severely learning disabled children have received family support in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority; and if he will make a statement. [125978]

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Dr. Ladyman: Responsibility for the area now rests with my hon. Friend, the Minister for Children, at the Department for Education and Skills.

I refer the hon. Member to the response given to him by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Children at the Department for Education and Skills (Margaret Hodge) on Monday 1 September, Official Report, column 716W,

Health Professionals (Suicide)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths from suicide were recorded of (a) doctors and (b) nurses in 2002. [129483]

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Claire Curtis-Thomas, dated 15 September 2003:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning deaths from suicide among (a) doctors and (b) nurses in 2002. I am replying in his absence. (129483)

The latest year for which data are available is 2001. I refer you to the answer given in the Official Report Volume Number 395 of 4 December 2002, column 910, to Evan Harris MP, which gives the information requested for that year.

Health Protection Agency

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether resources for the Health Protection Agency's civil contingency planning will come from the NHS's general budget. [128664]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Health Protection Agency's funding for civil contingency planning—like all of its other central funding—is from Section F (central and miscellaneous services) of the Department of Health's "Request for Resources 2 (RfR2)". The national health service's "general budget" is in "Request for Resources 1 (RfRl)".

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether stocks of emergency materiel for the Health Protection Agency will be funded from his Department's overall budget. [128665]

Miss Melanie Johnson: It is not a function of the Health Protection Agency to stockpile material for national medical emergencies. Any such material procured centrally by the Department of Health is funded from the resources and moneys voted to it by Parliament in the Central Government Supply Estimates.

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from what accounts the Health Protection Agency will be funded. [128668]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Health Protection Agency is funded from the resources and moneys voted to the Department of Health by Parliament in the Central Government Supply Estimates. The relevant part is Section F (central health and miscellaneous services) of Request for Resources 2 (RfR2). The Main Estimates for 2003–04 were approved by Parliament on 6 May 2003.

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Health Service (Worcestershire)

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the capacity of the medical assessment unit and the accident and emergency department at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital. [129310]

Dr. Ladyman: Worcestershire Royal Hospital is currently engaged in Wave 1 of the NHS Modernisation Agency Emergency Services Collaborative programme. Through this, we would expect the collaborative methodology to review and assess the impact and effectiveness of different parts of the emergency service, including any assessment units they may have.

In July 2003, the Department of Health published a checklist for assessment units on the emergency care website at www.doh.gov.uk/emergencycare. This provides advice and recommends good operational practice. The type and size of assessment unit provided depends on the exact model of care adopted which should reflect local needs.

The Department is currently carrying out a voluntary survey of emergency assessment and observation units within acute trusts across England.

Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the implications for children's health of the reduction in health visiting services in South Worcestershire. [129311]

Dr. Ladyman: It is for local organisations to determine the health visiting work force required to deliver local and national health priorities including child health. The proposals which have been put forward by South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust are based upon the commitment to provide a family-centred health visiting service which will work with individuals, families and communities to improve child health and tackle health inequalities.

The Department of Health is currently funding a range of initiatives to support PCTs in promoting recruitment, retention and return to practice within the primary care nursing and health visiting work force.

Heartburn

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the connection between heartburn and cancer of the gullet. [127450]

Dr. Ladyman: Cancer of the oesophagus affects around 6,000 people a year in England and Wales, the majority of whom are aged 40 or over. Common symptoms of the cancer are heartburn and difficulty in swallowing. Most people also lose weight and about half have anaemia, which causes severe tiredness.

Cancer of the oesophagus or gullet develops as a result of cell changes in the lining of the oesophagus. There are two main types of cancer of the oesophagus: squamous carcinoma, which is more common at the upper end of the gullet; and adenocarcinoma, which is more common at the lower end, particularly around the

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junction between the gullet and the stomach. There has been a recent increase in the proportion of tumours arising close to the junction of stomach and gullet, but the reasons for this are not yet known.

We know that cancer patients need to be diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible. This is a very stressful and anxious time for them and they want a diagnosis of their condition as quickly as possible. The Government launched the NHS Cancer Plan on 27 September 2000. This sets out the first ever comprehensive strategy to tackle the disease. It is a major programme of action linking prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care and research.

The Cancer Plan sets out new waiting time targets for cancer treatment. A two-week out-patient waiting time standard was introduced for all urgently referred suspected cancer patients in December 2000 and the most recent figures show that over 98 per cent. of all urgent referrals were seen with two weeks.

By 2005, all cancer patients will wait a maximum of one month from diagnosis to treatment and a maximum of two months from urgent general practitioner referral to treatment. The Government's ultimate goal is that no patient should wait longer than one month from an urgent referral for suspected cancer to the beginning of treatment, except for a good clinical reason or through personal choice. It is planned to achieve this by 2008.

However, past decades of under investment mean this goal is not yet within reach. We are making significant extra investment—an extra £570 million a year by 2003–04—the biggest ever single cash investment in cancer equipment, additional doctors and nurses working in new ways and modernisation through the Cancer Services Collaborative, which aims to cut out delays in the patient journey.

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