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17 Sept 2003 : Column 847W—continued
Medical Students
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total intake of United Kingdom medical schools was in each year since 1990. [128930]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 1990–91 | 4,311 |
| 1991–92 | 4,320 |
| 1992–93 | 4,449 |
| 1993–94 | 4,531 |
| 1994–95 | 4,778 |
| 1995–96 | 4,699 |
| 1996–97 | 4,833 |
| 1997–98 | 5,062 |
| 1998–99 | 5,069 |
| 1999–2000 | 5,302 |
| 2000–01 | 5,610 |
| 2001–02 | 6,115 |
| 2002–03(28) | 6,740 |
(28) Figures are provisional until November 2003 when a final figure will be reported.
Source:
HEFCE
Note:
By 2005, UK medical school intakes are planned to be around 7,300
Mental Health Services for Deaf People
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many graduate primary care mental health workers there are in each NHS region. [129488]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS Plan set out that one thousand new graduate primary care workers trained in brief therapy techniques of proven effectiveness will be recruited to help general practitioners manage and treat mental common mental health problems. The target date set for local services through priorities and planning guidance is December 2004; training courses have just been established and arrangements to monitor recruitment are currently in hand. This means that the information requested about the employment by specialised trusts of new graduate workers is not yet available.
17 Sept 2003 : Column 848W
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps the Government are taking to improve mental health services for deaf people; and when he expects to see the results from these improvements; [130031]
- (2) what action the Government are taking with regard to the consultation document, "A Sign of the Times"; [130032]
(3) what steps he plans to take to implement the proposals in the consultation document, "A Sign of the Times"; and how he plans to measure the effectiveness of the changes; [130033]
(4) what steps the Government are taking to monitor the impact of the National Services Framework for mental health services on deaf and hard of hearing patients; and what the results are. [130035]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: The Government's strategy for mental health services in England is set out in the "National Service Framework for Mental Health" which specifies seven standards that people should be able to expect from services. The National Service Framework standards apply to all people of working age who have mental health problems including those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
"A Sign of the Times", a consultation document on modernising mental health services for people who are deaf, sought the views of all stakeholders on a number of proposals to improve services for deaf and deafblind users of mental health services through a consultation exercise which ended in April. The Department will publish implementation guidance later in the year that will take all responses to "A Sign of the Times" into account.
It is envisaged that the implementation guidance will set out comprehensive arrangements for performance management of the implementation process.
Methylphenidate
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been prescribed methylphenidate in the last year. [127098]
Dr. Ladyman: Information is not available in the form requested. However the figures in the following table show the total number of prescription items of Methylphenidate Hydrochloride dispensed in the community in England in each of the last five years. The majority of prescription items of Methylphenidate Hydrochloride are for the brand Ritalin.
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 126.6 |
| 1999 | 158.0 |
| 2000 | 186.2 |
| 2001 | 208.5 |
| 2001 | 254.0 |
Source:
Prescription Cost Analysis data from the Prescription Pricing Authority
17 Sept 2003 : Column 849W
In 2002, around 91 per cent. of the 254,000 prescription items were dispensed in the community to children (children under 16 and young people aged 16 to 18 in full time education). An estimated 1 per cent. of the items were dispensed to people aged 60 and over with the remainder being dispensed to other adults. These proportions have been similar in recent years.
Negligence Claims
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was paid to cover professional negligence claims on London hospitals in each year since 1992–93; what proportion each sum represented of those hospital budgets; and if he will make a statement. [128764]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the amounts paid to cover professional negligence claims is not collected centrally.
17 Sept 2003 : Column 850W
NHS (Public Health)
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) public health tutors and (b) regulatory affairs managers are employed by the NHS. [127678]
Mr. Hutton : Information on the number of public health tutors and regulatory affairs managers employed by the National Health Service is not collected centrally.
NHS Dentistry
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting to be registered by NHS dentists in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the North East and (e) England in each year since 1997. [128888]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally. Registrations remain broadly stable in these areas and are shown in the following table.
| Health Authority/Primary Care Trust | 1997(29),(30) | 1998(30) | 1999(30) | 2000(30) | 2001(30) | 2002(31) | 2002(32) | 2003(32) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England (million) | 26.8 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 23.7 | 23.6 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 23.4 |
| Northern and Yorkshire Region (thousand) | 3,850.6 | 3,451.9 | 3,447.8 | 3,486.1 | 3,484.3 | 3,439.1 | — | — |
| Gateshead and South Tyneside HA (thousand) | 213.2 | 188.6 | 191.4 | 190.5 | 193.6 | 190.2 | — | — |
| Newcastle and North Tyneside HA (thousand) | 278.8 | 241.5 | 245.5 | 245.0 | 239.5 | 239.3 | — | — |
| Sunderland HA (thousand) | 169.8 | 147.0 | 147.0 | 148.8 | 150.8 | 152.3 | — | — |
| Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA (thousand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 743.1 | 751.6 |
| Newcastle PCT (thousand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 139.2 | 140.6 |
| Gateshead PCT (thousand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 101.1 | 99.1 |
| South Tyneside PCT (thousand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 84.3 | 86.1 |
| North Tyneside PCT (thousand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 101.8 | 103.3 |
| Sunderland Teaching PCT (thousand) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 150.3 | 153.1 |
(29) Registration numbers are not consistent with numbers for later dates because the 1997 numbers partly reflect the previous 24 months registration period (now 15 months).
(30) September
(31) August
(32) Responsibilities were transferred from HAs to PCTs from 1 October 2003.
Source:
Dental Practice Board
NHS Staff (E-mail Access)
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for NHS staff to have access to email; what the baseline was for the target; in which document the target was published; and what progress has been made towards the target. [128910]
Mr. Hutton: The Government's strategy document "Building the Information Core—Implementing the NHS Plan" published in 2000 set the target of March 2003 for all National Health Service staff to have access to email. This target is now reflected in the National Programme for Information Technology in the NHS that provides a new approach to delivering IT in the NHS.
At 31 March 2003 NHS trusts reported via the information for health tracking database that 79 per cent. of all NHS staff (822,000 of a total of 1,037,000) had access to email and web browsing. Priority had been given to staff directly involved in the patient care process, so that 98 per cent. of consultants (28,600 of 28,700) and 82 per cent. of clinical staff (602,000 of 732,000, including consultants) had connectivity by that date.
The new centrally provided NHS national email service is now available to all staff, although take-up is a matter for local priorities. The NHS Directory (electronic address book) is one of the largest in the world and today holds 930,000 entries. The simple mail transfer protocol relay service through which internal NHS messaging, including e-mail, is handled, carried over 30 million messages in August 2003.
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