| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Sept 2003 : Column 840W—continued
Community Health Councils
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff, previously employed by the community health councils, have left their jobs in the last six months. [127518]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Figures on Community Health Council (CHC) staff leavers, which have been available since February 2003 when clearing houses were introduced, indicate that to end of June 2003, 100 CHC staff have left their jobs.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he estimates the last community health council will cease to function. [130319]
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 (Mr. Lammy) on Wednesday 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 22–23WS. It is still our intention to abolish community health councils on 1 December 2003.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the staffing levels of community health councils; and what estimate he has made of their likely staff levels on 1 November. [130711]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: The Department is working closely with the employing authorities of community health council (CHC) staff and is regularly monitoring the staffing level of CHCs in the run up to the abolition date of 1 December. It is estimated that on 1 November there will be approximately 380 CHC staff.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are being put in place to ensure that those community health councils which have to move from their premises prior to 1 December remain fully operational. [130712]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: Each community health council (CHC) has an exit strategy. In the case of those CHCs who have to move premises prior to 1 December the CHC lead will consult and discuss fully with the chair, members and staff the arrangements that will be in place for the operation of that CHC.
17 Sept 2003 : Column 841W
Dental Work
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to ensure that unnecessary dental work is not carried out on patients by dentists for profit. [127984]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Dentists providing general dental services under the national health service are remunerated through fees set out in the Statement of Dental Remuneration. The fees are uprated annually in the light of recommendations from the Doctors and Dentists Remuneration Body. For treatments not listed on the Statement of Dental Remuneration and for courses of treatment where total gross lees are above a specified limit set out in regulations dentists are required to obtain prior approval from the Dental Practice Board.
The board continuously monitors treatments provided under the General Dental Service (GDS) to identify outlying prescribing patterns. The dental reference service of the Dental Practice Board undertakes random patient examinations of proposed treatment plans and completed treatments provided under the GDS to ensure that these meet patients clinical needs and are provided to appropriate standards. When providing general dental services a dentist's terms of service require that he or she "shall not provide care and treatment in excess of that which is necessary to secure and maintain oral health". A breach of these terms of service can result in a financial withholding.
Under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill currently before Parliament, Primary Care Trusts will commission dental services from April 2005 and will be given the resources to do so. Dentists who contract with a PCT will have a secure income in return for making a longer-term commitment to the NHS.
In response to the Office of Fair Trading report on private dentistry the Government has published an action plan. This is available at www.dti.gov.uk/topics2/dentists.htm. The plan commits the Government to support the development of evidence based clinical care pathways in the NHS to aid dental professionals in improving clinical and cost effective treatment planning of appropriate patient care. The Department of Health will explore with the General Dental Council how clinical pathways can inform its 'Maintaining Standards' guidance and thus be extended to private dentistry.
Diabetes
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Department has taken to reduce the number of people with diabetes. [128893]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Some risk factors for developing diabetes, such as family history, increasing age or ethnic origin cannot be modified. However it is possible to reduce other risk factors, such as being overweight, having an adverse distribution of body weight or being physically inactive. The Government have a range of actions under way to tackle these risk factors.
17 Sept 2003 : Column 842W
Two new initiatives will be key in fostering healthier lifestyles. The Department of Health is leading on the development of a cross-government food and health action plan. The Plan will pull together all the issues that influence what we eat and will address food production, manufacture and preparation, access to healthier food choices and providing information for consumers about healthy eating and nutrition. This is complemented by wide ranging action to increase mass participation in physical activity and sport, which will be progressed by a cross-government activity co-ordination team, jointly led by the Department of Health and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people had diabetes in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) the UK (a) in 1980, (b) in 1990, (c) in 2000 and (d) on the latest date for which figures are available. [128892]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the form requested. However, based on information from the Health Survey for England, the following figures may be estimated.
| Number of people with diabetes in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 1,378,707 |
| 1998 | 1,684,111 |
Dialysis Treatment
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are receiving dialysis treatment in (a) Crosby, (b) the North West of England and (c) England. [129482]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The latest figures are from the 1998 Renal Survey commissioned by the Department of Health. This shows there were 13,405 patients in England receiving dialysis in 1998 of these 1,586 were being treated in the North West. Equivalent figures for the Crosby area are not available from this source.
Drug Addiction
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to increase the training available to GPs in the treatment of drug dependency. [129142]
Mr. Hutton: The Government do not specify the content of the General Practitioner training curriculum. This is the job of the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP), which is the competent authority for general practice training in the United Kingdom. The JCPTGP is an independent professional body, and it is required by section 9(3) of the Vocational Training Regulations 1997 to determine and publish the curriculum to be followed by a GP registrar (for example a trainee GP).
17 Sept 2003 : Column 843W
The Regulations do specify seven competencies which must be tested, and which the curriculum must therefore teach:
- factual medical knowledge sufficient to enable the doctor to perform the duties of a GP;
the ability to apply factual medical knowledge to the management of problems presented by patients in general practice;
effective communication, both orally and in writing:
the ability to consult satisfactorily with general practice patients;
the ability to review and critically analyse the practitioner's own working practices and to manage any necessary changes appropriately;
clinical skills; and
the ability to synthesise all the above competencies and apply them appropriately in a general practice setting.
Failing Hospitals
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations are included on the Department's list of possible franchisees for the management of failing hospitals; and which organisations have been awarded franchises for running failing hospitals. [129746]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 15 September 2003]: The National Health Service Franchising Register of Expertise was published in December 2002. All current three star NHS organisations are on the register along with Trent strategic health authority and eight private sector organisations who are:
- BMI Healthcare, BUPA Hospitals Ltd., Capio Healthcare UK Ltd., Hospitalia activHealth gmbh, Interhealth Canada Ltd., Quo Health, Secta Group Ltd. and Serco Health.
Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust was given a zero star rating for their performance in 2001–02. Following a rigorous competitive tender, Secta won the franchise to run the trust. The new chief executive started on 1 September 2003.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |