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6 Nov 2003 : Column 788W—continued
Palliative Care
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list those hospices that have received funds from the money which was earmarked for palliative care in the NHS Cancer Plan in 2003–04; and how much of the money has been retained by NHS trusts; [135385]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the grounds on which funds from the NHS Cancer Plan for palliative care are allocated to hospices. [135386]
Miss Melanie Johnson: We do not hold a centralised list of those hospices that have received funding from the additional £50 million for specialist palliative care, the allocation of which was recently announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health. This additional money is for specialist palliative care services in their entirety, and not for voluntary hospices alone. The overall level of funding for hospices, both from allocation to cancer networks from the £50 million and from local resources, is a matter for local discussion and agreement.
The National Partnership Group for palliative care (NPG) which is made up of representatives from the voluntary sector (including hospices), the national health service and the Department, set out clear criteria for the use of the funding, which included evidence of local consultation and partnership working between all stakeholders in deciding how the additional funding should be invested.
Polymer Fume Fever
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has collated on a possible relationship between the creation of toxins from the heating of Teflon-coated pans and the onset of polymer fever in humans; and if he will make a statement. [133102]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: 'Polymer fume fever' is a term applied to an influenza-like illness associated with the inhalation of products resulting from heating polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, marketed under the trade name Teflon) and other fluorocarbon polymers, to temperatures of about 300–450 degrees centigrade. These temperatures are well above those involved in cooking food in non-stick pans. Polymer fume fever is usually a mild and self limiting condition. Almost all reports of this condition relate to occupational exposure. Although the temperatures needed could arise from the misuse of non-stick pans, this does not appear to be a significant problem in practice. There is only one case report in the published literature which attributed these symptoms to exposure to fumes from an unattended cooking pan which overheated (Blandford et al. A case of PTFE poisoning in cockatiels accompanied by polymer fume fever in the owner. Vet Record v.96 175–6 (1975)).
Prescription Charges
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is in respect of prescription charges for those who suffer long-term mental illness. [135601]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Improving services for people with mental health problems is a priority for the Government. Our policy is to help those who may have difficulty in paying prescription charges, rather than extending the exemption arrangements. By using a prescription prepayment certificate, no one need pay more than £32.90 for four months or £90.40 for 12 months for all the national health service medication that they are prescribed.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on (i) the way that different groups are treated when considered for exemptions from prescription charges and (ii) whether charges deter people from having their prescription dispensed; and if he will make a statement. [136073]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No research has been commissioned or evaluated on these matters.
Our policy is to give priority to helping people who may have difficulty in paying charges, rather than extending the exemption arrangements. The number of prescription items dispensed continues to rise, and the balance between chargeable and free prescriptions has not changed significantly in recent years. We have no plans to change the current charging arrangements.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to abolish prescription charges by 2007; and if he will make a statement. [136115]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Prescription charges provide a valuable contribution to national health service resources. We have no plans to abolish prescription charges.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) four month and (b) 12 month prescription prepayment certificates were issued in each of the last four years. [136421]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The available information is shown in the table.
| PPC 4 month | PPC 12 month | Total number of PPCs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 550,000 | 330,000 | 880,000 |
| 2000–01 | 580,000 | 370,000 | 950,000 |
| 2001–02 | 610,000 | 420,000 | 1,020,000 |
| 2002–03 | 640,000 | 480,000 | 1,110,000 |
Note:
The figures above are estimates compiled from Health Authority returns until September 2002. From October 2002 the Prescription Pricing Authority has been responsible for issuing pre-payment certificates and has provided the data. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
Private Patients
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much private patient bad debt was written off by NHS trusts in each of the last five years. [135910]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 3 November 2003]: National health service trusts in England (excluding strategic health authorities and primary care trusts) wrote off the following amounts annually for bad debts and abandoned claims over the past four years:
- 1998–99—£1,554,000
- 1999–2000—£1,999,000
- 2000–01—£2,133,000
- 2001–02—£1,445,000
A provisional estimate for the current financial year (2002–03) is £1,941,000.
Residential Care
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government that persons residing in residential nursing homes whose conditions deteriorate so that they require constant medical attention should have their costs borne by the national health service; and what procedures exist to make such assessments. [136698]
Dr. Ladyman: Any individual with a need for health care, which meets criteria for national health service continuing care, will have the costs borne by the NHS, regardless of where they reside. The Government's intention that the NHS should identify these individuals is reflected in proposed directions to the NHS re-emphasising the need to carry out appropriate continuing care assessments wherever it appears that there is a need for such services. All such assessments are informed by the single assessment process.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health authorities in England providing funding for anti-TNF therapy for people with rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement. [136877]
Dr. Ladyman: Information is not held centrally on which primary care trusts are prescribing these drugs. The use of anti-TNF drugs in the community is
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negligible, but they are used extensively in hospitals. When the National Institute for Clinical Excellence issued guidance on these drugs in March 2002, they recommended that consultant rheumatologists, or consultant paediatric rheumatologists in the case of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, should prescribe them. Information is not held centrally about drugs prescribed and dispensed in hospitals.
Information is available on the number of prescription items of drugs that are dispensed in the community in England. Details of these anti-TNF drugs (contained in the British National Formulary paragraph 10.1.3) are included in the Prescription Cost Analysis publication, which can be accessed at www.doh.gov.uk/prescriptionstatistics/index.htm.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department is doing (a) to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases among young people and (b) to discourage young people from embarking on early sexual relationships. [136572]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 5 November 2003]: The Government's National Strategy for Sexual Health and HIV (2001), which recognises that young people are one of the groups disproportionately affected by poor sexual health, aims to reduce the transmission of all sexually transmitted infections.
The implementation of the strategy includes specific actions targeting young people, for example, the launch last year of a national safer sex campaign, 'The Sex Lottery', for young adults to raise awareness of sexual health and promote safer sex, and initiatives within the national chlamydia screening programme to increase rates of diagnoses and treatment of chlamydia amongst young people—the group most affected by this disease.
The Government's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (1999) encompasses a multi-faceted approach to help young people resist peer pressure to have early sex, improve sex and relationship education, increase access to effective contraception and sexual health services and support parents in talking to their children about sex and relationship issues.
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