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17 Nov 2003 : Column 572W—continued
Appliance Contractors
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he will take to protect patient access to a full range of products after the deregulation of the appliance contractor market; [137358]
- (2) what arrangements he is putting in place for the production of bespoke products after the deregulation of the appliance contractor market; [137359]
(3) what estimate he has made of the savings that the national health service will make under the deregulation of the appliance contractor market; [137360]
(4) if he will make a statement about his proposals to deregulate the appliance agency market. [137362]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We are currently consulting on a range of measures to modernise the regulatory system which governs whether or not a community pharmacy or appliance contractor can dispense national health service prescriptions, known as the "control of entry" test. As well as maintaining and improving access to pharmaceutical services, including the supply of appliances, in all our communities and continuing to raise standards for patients, the aim is to make the system more business friendly, to provide more certainty and reliability for the companies who depend on it and to make the process less time-consuming.
The measures include a proposal to exempt from that test applications from contractors who intend to provide a wholly mail order or internet based service by implementing the provisions of Section 43 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 relating to the remote provision of NHS pharmaceutical services. This exemption would be subject to the range of services such contractors are to provide being agreed within the proposed new national contractual framework.
Full details are given in Chapter 4 of the consultation document, "Proposals to reform and modernise the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1992", published on 29 August 2003 and available on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk./pharmacy regulationconsultation. It also includes at Annex C a draft regulatory impact assessment and competition assessment setting out further details of the possible costs and benefits of the proposals.
Comments can be sent, by 21 November 2003, to Peter Dunlevy, Pharmacy and Prescriptions Branch, Department of Health, Room 155 Richmond House, 79 Whitehall, London SW1A 2NS or e-mail to peter.dunlevy@doh.gsi.gov.uk
We have also set up a multi-disciplinary advisory group to advise on the details of implementation of the reform proposals. We have asked the group to report by December this year.
Asbestos-related Diseases
Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department is able to trace the sources of (a) mesothelioma and (b) other asbestos-related diseases through its records. [137383]
Mr. Browne: I have been asked to reply.
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The information held by the Department and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases is not sufficiently detailed to trace accurately the specific sources of such diseases.
HSE maintains mesothelioma and asbestosis registers based on information from death certificates but then give only the last known occupation. They also hold information on the medical examinations of asbestos removal workers to assess if in the longer term they are more likely to contract an asbestos-related disease than other occupational groups.
Claimants for mesothelioma under the Department's Industrial Injuries Benefit scheme provide details of employers where they claim they were exposed to asbestos. But this is a no-fault scheme that does not attribute the cause to a specific employer.
Asperger's Syndrome
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of health provision for people with Asperger's syndrome. [136954]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 6 November 2003]: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of health provision for people with Asperger's syndrome. It is the responsibility of local statutory authorities to determine the pattern of services in their area in the light of their knowledge of local needs and priorities. People with Asperger's syndrome have the same right of access to health services as everyone else. Adults with Asperger's syndrome are covered by the mental health national service framework in respect of any mental health problems that they may have. We have also issued guidance to the national health service, which states that:
- "adults with Asperger's syndrome are not precluded from using learning disability services, where appropriate, and may require an assessment of their social functioning and communications skills in order to determine their level of need".
Ms Rosie Winterton: Asperger's syndrome is a developmental disorder on the autistic spectrum and as such comes under the definition of mental disorder in the Mental Health Act 1983. Although the Mental Health (Patients in the Community) Act 1995 amended the 1983 Act, it did not change the definition of mental disorder. Guidance on the operation of the Mental Health Act 1983 (the Code of Practice ISBN 0–11–322111–8) was produced by my Department and the then Welsh Office and published by the Stationery Office in 1999. It does not make specific mention of Asperger's syndrome.
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Audiology
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve the (a) pay structure and (b) employment package for qualified audiologists; and if he will make a statement. [137854]
Mr. Hutton: "Agenda for Change", the new pay system for national health service employees, including healthcare scientists working in the discipline of audiology, has been negotiated over the past four years by NHS staff and NHS employer representatives working in partnership. From 2003–04 to 2005–06 the package will give a 10 per cent. pay increase to all staff, plus an estimated 5.9 per cent. on average from the reform package in the longer run.
"Agenda for Change" is being tested in 12 'early implementer' sites with a view to implementing the new system nationally from October 2004.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many audiologists qualified in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [137857]
- (2) how many people are being trained as audiologists. [137859]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not available centrally.
The Health Professions Council (HPC) holds information on the numbers of clinical scientists in audiology on its register, a prerequisite for employment in the United Kingdom. This information can be found on the HPC website at http://www.hpc-uk.org/about us/facts figures cpsm registrants.htm.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long it takes for an audiologist to become qualified. [137858]
Mr. Hutton: The length of time it takes to become a qualified audiologist depends upon an individual's entry qualifications and experience. The major education and training route into audiology, and associated with a defined scope of practice, will be the new four year BSc (Hons) vocational degree in audiology. Within this programme, there will be an opportunity for some non-audiology graduates to undertake a fast track two year education and training route leading to a graduate diploma.
Good honours graduates in relevant science subjects can still enter into the national health service as clinical scientist audiology trainees. They spend a period of up to four years in postgraduate education and training (incorporating an MSc degree and clinical training) before becoming registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) as a clinical scientist in the modality of audiology.
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects digital hearing aids to be available to patients on the NHS in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland. [136464]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The James Cook University hospital, Middlesbrough, will be fitting digital hearing aids routinely as a part of a modernised hearing aid service by March 2004.
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Breast Feeding
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to encourage more hospitals in England to seek baby-friendly accreditation from UNICEF by promoting increased uptake of breast feeding. [135034]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 29 October 2003]: The Department works closely with the UK Baby Friendly Initiative to help further the mutual aim of promoting increased uptake of breast feeding. It is for local national health service trusts to decide whether to seek baby-friendly accreditation from UNICEF.
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure that student (a) midwives and (b) health visitors receive adequate education on breast feeding as part of their pre-registration training. [135043]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 29 October 2003]: The regulatory Council for Nursing and Midwifery sets the standards and outline requirements for pre-registration nurse and midwifery education. Additional content may be included to reflect the employment needs of the local service providers. National health service trusts, as local service providers, will wish to ensure that their staff receive adequate education on breast feeding to enable them to deliver the targets in the Priorities and Planning Framework to increase breast feeding initiation rates. In the NHS Plan, the Government have made a commitment to provide increased support for breast feeding.
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