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11 Nov 2003 : Column 270W—continued
Information Technology
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to sign the first local strategic partnership contracts under the national programme for NHS information technology. [133917]
Mr. Hutton: The first contract for a national electronic booking system was completed and announced on 8 October 2003.
The first contracts for local service providers for the national programme for information technology in the national health service will be for the North East and London Strategic Health Authority clusters and are expected to be awarded and completed in November 2003.
ME
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will break down by region the £8.5 million announced on 12 May to provide services for patients with symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. [137820]
Dr. Ladyman: We are fully committed to improving services for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. We are currently considering the bids received from local health communities under this scheme. Funding will be made available to cover the two years from 1 April 2004. Funding decisions for year one will be announced towards the end of January 2004. The funding decisions for year two will be announced in June 2004.
NHS Disciplinary Cases
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines have been put in place to ensure that, in contentious disciplinary cases within NHS trusts, evidence submitted to an investigation is seen in full; [137148]
- (2) what steps his Department takes to ensure that disciplinary procedures within the NHS trusts outstanding for 18 months are dealt with promptly. [137151]
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Mr. Hutton: National health service trusts are responsible for the establishment of their own local disciplinary procedures.
We have been working very closely with the British Medical Association and British Dental Association to finalise a new national framework for doctors and dentists. The main elements of the framework were included in the joint statement of agreed principles which was published in September 2003 as part of the consultant contract consultation.
The Department has taken action to ensure that disciplinary cases are dealt with promptly. In the short term a senior human resources expert, working with the support of an expert steering group from across the Department, NHS and General Medical Council is available to help local management to resolve outstanding cases quickly. In addition, the National Clinical Assessment Authority is available to assist with case management.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate his Department has made of the costs of (a) suspensions and (b) disciplinary procedures in the NHS for (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England; [137150]
- (2) how many suspensions lasting over 18 months there are in the NHS for (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England. [137152]
Mr. Hutton: The Department routinely collects information on hospital and community medical and hospital dental staff suspended for more than six months. The information does not include cases where the practitioner is not suspended.
For the third quarter 2003, the latest date for which figures are available, there was one suspension reported to the Department lasting over 18 months in Coventry and a total of 13 in England. The total reported cumulative cost of suspensions lasting more than six months for the period 1 July-30 September 2003 in Coventry is £398,750, West Midlands (including Coventry) £489,755 and an estimated £3.5 million in England (including the above figures).
NHS Salaries
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list salaries and wages costs for (a) general and senior managers, (b) nurses and midwives and (c) administrative and clerical staff by NHS trust for the financial years (i) 2000–01 and 2001–02. [127342]
Mr. Hutton: This information has been placed in the Library.
Occupational Therapy
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many initial contacts there have been between NHS patients and occupational therapy staff in London in each of the past 10 years. [134854]
Mr. Hutton: Figures for occupational therapy initial contacts in London for the past 10 years are shown in the table.
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| Initial contacts | |
|---|---|
| 1992–93 | 111 |
| 1993–94 | 146 |
| 1994–95 | 130 |
| 1995–96 | 151 |
| 1996–97 | 160 |
| 1997–98 | 150 |
| 1998–99 | 152 |
| 1999–2000 | 152 |
| 2000–01 | 152 |
| 2001–02 | 148 |
| 2002–03 | 152 |
Source:
Department of Health Statistics Division 3G KT26.
Older People
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what use he will make of the skills profiles which general hospitals which care for older people have been asked to provide; and if he will make a statement; [137933]
- (2) how many general hospitals have completed a skills profile of their staff in relation to the care of older people; and how many have in place a training programme to address the gaps identified. [137934]
Dr. Ladyman: It is for strategic health authorities to monitor achievement of the milestone in the older people's national service framework about general hospitals completing skills profiles of their staff in relation to the care of older people and developing appropriate training programmes. Information about progress is not collected centrally.
Patient Lists
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average NHS patient list size is for (a) general practitioners and (b) dental practitioners. [137511]
Mr. Hutton: Data on the number of family doctors and patients are published annually. The latest edition, "Statistics for General Medical Practitioners in England: 1992–2002, is available at: http://www. doh.gov.uk/public/sb0303.pdf and shows that the average list is 1,838, four per cent. lower in 2002 than it was in 1992.
Dentists working in the general dental services (GDS) are free to register as many or as few patients as they choose. Patients who cannot, or who choose not to, register can still access national health service dental services through the personal dental service, community dental service, emergency dental service and the hospital dental service, and on an occasional basis, in the GDS.
At 30 June 2003, there were 16,326 principal dentists in the GDS in England and 23.5 million patients registered. On average, there were 1,436 registrations per principal dentist. Registrations cover patients seen in the last 15 months.
Patient Transport
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the provision of transport to enable
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patients in areas where there is no general practitioner within walking distance to get treatment when it is needed. [136465]
Mr. Hutton: This is a matter for local decision by primary care trusts. However, if a patient's condition is such that he or she cannot get to the surgery, the general practitioner concerned is required to make a home visit.
Primary Care
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he will take to protect current levels of primary care treatment of communities whose surgeries are removed to LIFT centres outside walking distance. [136463]
Mr. Hutton: We are committed to increasing the range and amount of treatment offered to patients outside of a hospital setting. New local investment finance trust developments bringing together a range of services into convenient locations will help improve patients' access to a range of services.
Primary Care Centres
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many one-stop primary care centres there are in England; where they are located; how many are proposed; where they will be located; and if he will make a statement. [135388]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Plan announced the development of 500 one-stop primary care centres by the end of 2004. At the end of June 2003, 247 one stop primary care centres had been opened and local delivery plans suggest more than 500 will be open by the end of 2004. "Delivering the NHS Plan" (2002) announced an additional 250 centres by 2008, 125 of which are to be delivered by 2006
A detailed list of centres and their locations is not yet available but is being completed.
Quality Indicators
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the ease of collection of quality indicators for general medical services practices through the introduction of new computer systems to the NHS. [136633]
Mr. Hutton: The Department is currently in discussion with the General Practitioners Committee and the NHS Confederation regarding the development of computer systems to support the quality and outcomes framework. The proposed solution will seek to minimise the practice work load by supplying practices and primary care trusts with systems which will support their business processes.
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