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20 Oct 2003 : Column 454W—continued
Call Centres
Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to outsource call centre work to premises outside the United Kingdom. [132112]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has no plans to outsource call centre work for which it is responsible to premises outside the United Kingdom.
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Cancelled Operations
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations in Hull and the East Riding in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 were cancelled for non-clinical reasons; and what proportion of admissions these figures represent in each case. [132398]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
| RWA Hull and EastYorkshire HospitalsNHS Trust | Number oflast minute cancellations for non clinical reasons in the quarter | Number of elective admissions | Cancellations as a percentage of elective admissions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2001–02 | Q4 | 301 | 13,893 | 2.2 |
| 2002–03 | Q1 | 189 | 14,329 | 1.3 | |
| Q2 | 202 | 15,771 | 1.3 | ||
| Q3 | 237 | 14,966 | 1.6 | ||
| 2003 | Q4 | 249 | 15,515 | 1.6 | |
| 2003–04 | Q1 | 199 | 15,146 | 1.3 | |
Source:
Hospital Activity Team, QMCO
Criminal Records
Mr. Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on voluntary organisations concerned with the delivery of personal care to elderly and vulnerable people of the cost of Criminal Records Bureau checks. [130701]
Paul Goggins: I have been asked to reply.
A Regulatory Impact Assessment which assesses the impact on different sectors of the recent fee increase was placed in the Library on 5 June.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he had with the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) on the Care Home Regulations in place since 1 April 2002, with particular reference to Criminal Records Bureau checks on staff to be employed in the care home sector; what directions have been given to the NCSC; and what representations have been received by his Department. [131621]
Dr. Ladyman: Ministers and officials meet regularly with the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) to discuss a wide range of matters, including the regulation of care homes and Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. I last met with representatives of care homes organisations on 24 September 2003. In the last few months I have received 125 letters from right hon. and hon. Members and five letters from members of the public on CRB checks for the care home sector. I have given no directions to the NCSC on this matter.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors underlay the decision to bring into effect the Care Home Regulation, from 1 October, that stipulates that all new staff should have a Criminal Records Bureau check completed before starting work; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the interim guidance on this matter from the National Care Standards Commission; what assessment he has made of the effect of enforcing the regulation on the long-term care sector; and if he will make a statement. [132444]
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Dr. Ladyman: Since 1 April 2002, all new staff in care homes have been required to obtain a satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check as part of their pre-employment checks. The impact of this requirement was assessed as part of a Regulatory Impact Assessment.
However, in the light of the initial difficulties experienced by the CRB in dealing with the level of demand for checks, in June 2003 the National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) issued interim guidance on how to deal with recruitment of care home staff, while steps were taken to improve the CRB's performance. The intention of the guidance was to enable care homes to recruit staff while ensuring residents were protected.
Following significant improvements made at the CRB, the NCSC rightly decided to look again at its guidance. Where CRB clearances are not in place, the NCSC will continue to apply its discretion on the use of its enforcement powers on a case by case basis, where this is appropriate.
The Department has not made an assessment of the effectiveness of the NCSCs interim guidance. However, we are aware that provider organisations welcomed the guidance and their recent concerns were not with its operation, but its withdrawal.
Care Homes
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) residential care home and (b) nursing home places have been lost in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available in Gloucestershire; [133294]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the provision of (a) nursing home and (b) residential home care in Gloucestershire. [133295]
Dr. Ladyman: In the period 1993–2001, there was an overall increase in the number of places in residential and nursing care homes in Gloucestershire. In 1993 there were 2,854 residential care and 3,228 nursing care home places totalling 6,082. This is compared to 4,241 residential care and 2,966 nursing care places totalling 7,207 in 2001.
- Source:
- Department of Health stats.
Figures for later years have been collected by the National Care Standards Commission.
Child Health Statistics
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in each year since 1997 have been diagnosed with (a) eczema, (b) asthma, (c) AIDS and (d) glaucoma. [132210]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on eczema, asthma and glaucoma is not collected centrally in the form requested.
Hospital episode statistics collect data on admissions. Table 1 shows hospital admissions—this does not represent numbers of children diagnosed with these conditions, as a child may have more than one admission within the year, or may not be admitted at all.
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| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eczema | 3,655 | 3,840 | 3,853 | 4,184 | 3,792 |
| Asthma | 32,430 | 29,384 | 26,317 | 23,910 | 25,324 |
| Glaucoma | 942 | 1,092 | 1,116 | 1,208 | 1,227 |
Notes:
1. Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
3. Grossing—figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (ie the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
Information is collected centrally by the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre on the numbers of children diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in England. Data from 1997 is shown in table 2.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 77 |
| 1998 | 95 |
| 1999 | 80 |
| 2000 | 101 |
| 2001 | 78 |
| 2002 | 102 |
Note:
Numbers will rise as late reports are received.
Source:
Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, data to the end of June 2003.
Dental Access Centres
Mr. Paul Marsden To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated in the last year in each dental access centre. [132295]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of patients treated in each dental access centre during 2002–03.
(12) Dental Access Centre opened within the 2002–03 financial year.
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