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20 Oct 2003 : Column 458W—continued
Diagnostic and Treatment Centres
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which Government agencies are involved in schemes to offer patients choice in their NHS treatment. [129611]
Mr. Hutton: Nine choice pilot schemes are in operation. Local schemes covering a wide range of specialties are operating in Berkshire, Dorset and Somerset, Greater Manchester, London, Trent, Surrey and Sussex and West Yorkshire. In addition, we have a national coronary heart disease choice pilot and an ophthalmology choice pilot operating across the south of England. Strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and national health service trusts are involved in the planning and delivery of choice pilots. NHS Direct has also provided support to three pilot schemes that are operating with call centre based patient care advisers.
NHS Direct
David Davis To ask the Secretary of State for Health what call statistics have been collated for the East Riding NHS Direct call centre in Willerby for the last 12 months. [132412]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In the last twelve months (October 2002—September 2003), NHS Direct Tees, East and North Yorkshire handled 257,347 calls. For the corresponding time period in the previous twelve months (October 2001—September 2002), NHS Direct Tees, East and North Yorkshire handled 229,961 calls. This represents an 11 per cent. increase in call volumes.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role NHS Direct is expected to have in Government schemes to offer patient choice. [129596]
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Mr. Hutton: NHS Direct is currently involved in three pilot schemes to offer choice of hospital to national health service patients. NHS Direct's existing infrastructure and expertise is being used to support call centre based patient care advisers. Strategic health authorities are currently planning for the national roll-out of choice of hospital and booking. This will include their plans for the role and provision of telephone services to support booking and choice.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what schemes to offer patients choice in their NHS treatment will be operating in conjunction with NHS Direct. [129598]
Mr. Hutton: A number of pilot schemes are currently offering patients choice over the hospital in which they receive their treatment. NHS Direct is involved in pilots in London, Greater Manchester and Surrey and Sussex, using its existing infrastructure and expertise to support call centre based patient care advisers. The experience and learning of the choice pilots will support the national roll-out of patient choice.
Efexor
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children under the age of 18 years have been prescribed the anti-depressant Efexor in each of the past five years. [132314]
Dr. Ladyman: Information is not available in the form requested. The table shows the estimated number of prescription items of venlafaxine (Efexor being a branded form) dispensed in the community in England for children between 1999 and 2002. Children are defined as 0 to 15-year-olds and those aged 16 to 18 in full-time education.
On 19 September an expert group of the Committee on Safety of Medicines advised that venlafaxine should not be used in children and adolescents under the age of 18 years for the treatment of depressive illness. Advice was also issued on stopping treatment with venlafaxine.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 5,000 |
| 2000 | 6,000 |
| 2001 | 9,000 |
| 2002 | 13,000 |
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reports the Medicines Control Agency has received of suicides attributed to Efexor in each of the last five years; and how many yellow card reports the Medicines Control Agency has received about Efexor in each of the last five years. [132315]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The number of adverse drug reactions received by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) under the yellow card scheme in respect of venlafaxine (Efexor) over the last five years is shown in the table, together with the number of reports of completed suicide.
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| Number of UK reports for venlafaxine (Efexor) | Number of reports of completed suicide for venlafaxine (Efexor) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 589 | 2 |
| 1999 | 444 | 3 |
| 2000 | 349 | 3 |
| 2001 | 303 | 1 |
| 2002 | 316 | 1 |
The number of reports received via the yellow card scheme does not directly equate to the number of people who suffer adverse reactions to drugs for a number of reasons, including an unknown level of under-reporting. It is important to note that the reporting of a reaction does not necessarily mean it was caused by the drug and may relate to other factors, such as the patients underlying illness or other medicines taken concurrently.
As with all medicines, the MHRA and the Committee on Safety of Medicines are keeping the safety of venlafaxine under continuous review. The summary of product characteristics for venlafaxine advises prescribers about the risk of suicide that is inherent in patients with depressive illness.
Energy Use Targets
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the voluntary targets for energy use in NHS capital schemes have been made mandatory; what progress his Department has made in revising the NHS carbon dioxide standard of heat insultation; if it is his intention to bring the revised NHS carbon dioxide standard into line with the current British Standard for heat insulation (BS 5422, as revised in 2001); and whether any further upward revision of BS 5422 resulting from this review will be followed without delay by an equivalent upward revision of NHS carbon dioxide. [132333]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave on Monday 6 October 2003, Official Report, column 1289W.
In that reply, MES CO2 is purely a reference number for the NHS Estates model engineering specification on thermal insulation and does not relate to carbon dioxide.
Epsom and St. Helier Hospitals
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of people admitted to Epsom and St. Helier hospitals via the accident and emergency departments in each of the past 24 months. [131636]
Mr. Hutton: The table shows the total number of admissions to Epsom and St. Helier National Health Service Trust via its accident and emergency (A&E) department, in the latest 24 months for which figures are available.
20 Oct 2003 : Column 461W
| Month of admission | In-month admissions |
|---|---|
| 2000 | |
| April | 1,390 |
| May | 1,274 |
| June | 1,300 |
| July | 1,343 |
| August | 1,266 |
| September | 1,170 |
| October | 1,326 |
| November | 1,354 |
| December | 1,352 |
| 2001 | |
| January | 1,417 |
| February | 1,228 |
| March | 1,140 |
| April | 1,419 |
| May | 1,469 |
| June | 1,441 |
| July | 1,446 |
| August | 1,355 |
| September | 1,372 |
| October | 1,446 |
| November | 1,499 |
| December | 1,502 |
| 2002 | |
| January | 1,523 |
| February | 1,311 |
| March | 1,081 |
Notes:
1. Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care 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. Grossing—figures have not (yet) been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
The table implies an increasing trend in admissions via A&E for this trust.
Eye Tests
Ann Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free sight tests were given to (a) pensioners and (b) other people in (i) Kirklees and (ii) England in each year since 1997. [132141]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of national health service sight tests paid for in Calderdale and Kirklees Health Authority (HA) for 1997–98 to 2002–03. Figures for the number of sight tests by constituency or age are not collected centrally. The table shows the number of sight tests where "patient aged 60 and over" was given as the eligibility category and all other sight tests.
Eligibility to NHS sight tests was extended to those aged 60 and over from 1 April 1999. There was an increase of 2.4 million sight tests between 1998–99 and 1999–2000 in England. It is fair to assume that the vast majority of this increase was due to newly eligible people aged 60 or over obtaining NHS sight tests.
However, some patients aged 60 and over will be eligible for sight tests for other reasons as well (for example, on income grounds). The classification for such patients will depend on the patient and the
20 Oct 2003 : Column 462W
practitioner. The increase in the number of sight tests for those over 60 may therefore reflect an increasing awareness of the eligibility of over 60s.
| Eligibility categories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Patients aged 60 and over | Other categories | Total number of sight tests | |
| Calderdale and Kirklees | |||
| 1997–98 | — | — | 88.1 |
| 1998–99 | — | — | 87.9 |
| 1999–2000 | 41.0 | 73.0 | 113.9 |
| 2000–01 | 46.0 | 68.5 | 114.4 |
| 2001–02 | 44.1 | 72.7 | 116.8 |
| 2002–03 | 49.1 | 68.5 | 117.6 |
| England | |||
| 1997–98 | — | — | 6,991.3 |
| 1998–99 | — | — | 6,992.3 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,301.4 | 6,098.0 | 9,399.4 |
| 2000–01 | 3,753.3 | 5,813.8 | 9,567.1 |
| 2001–02 | 4,013.0 | 5,794.4 | 9,807.4 |
| 2002–03 | 4,135.7 | 5,526.3 | 9,662.1 |
Note:
Data on eligibility is derived from a 2 per cent. sample.
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