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17 Nov 2003 : Column 579W—continued

Continence Services

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts include the development of an integrated continence service in their health improvement programme. [137936]

Dr. Ladyman: We do not collect this information centrally. Health improvement programmes have now been replaced by local delivery plans (LDPs). Each national health service trust is now responsible for creating its own business plan, which shows how it will deploy its resources to deliver on both national and local priorities and fit within the plans of its primary care trust (PCT) commissioners. These local plans will not be analysed centrally.

Strategic health authorities (SHAs) will bring together those PCT plans into a comprehensive LDP for their area. In general, the SHA-level local delivery plan will be the only plan the Department will formally sign-off. The LDP that is submitted to the Department addresses the Priorities in the Planning and Performance Framework (Improvement, expansion and reform: The next three years' priorities and planning framework, 2003–06). Formal monitoring only covers those priorities and will not provide detail of individual service provision like continence services.

The national service framework for older people includes a milestone that, by April 2004, all local health and social care systems should have established an integrated continence service.

CT Scans

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time was between diagnosis of a suspected haemorrhagic stroke and the administration of a CT scan in 2002–03. [137347]

Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected centrally. The target in this area is to achieve a computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scan in less than 48 hours. The summary report of the 2001–02 National Sentinel Stroke Audit reported that more patients than ever had brain imaging, with at least 83 per cent., meeting that target.

Dentistry

Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the availability to new patients of NHS dentistry in the Gosport constituency; and what the prescribed minimum level of availability is in England. [135595]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 4 November 2003]: The Government are committed to ensure that national health service dentistry is available to all those who need and seek it. Those wishing to see a NHS dentist can do so by contacting NHS Direct for information on dentists offering NHS dental services in their areas. It is recognised that not all dentists on general dental service lists of primary care trusts (PCTs) are accepting new NHS registrations. We have set up a

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NHS Support Team to work with PCTs on dental access. We have also announced new funds totalling £44 million for 2003–04 and 2004–05 to support dental access, choice and quality.

Subject to Parliament, the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Bill will give new duties for PCTs to secure primary dental services. With these new responsibilities will go the £1.2 billion financial resources currently held centrally.

On 1 August 2003, as part of the new arrangements for NHS dentistry, we set up the new special health authority in shadow form to support PCTs. A team from the special health authority and the NHS dentistry support team met with NHS officials for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight at the end of October to discuss the development of a dentistry action plan and the support team will be working closely with the NHS locally to take this forward.

In the meantime, the Fareham and Gosport primary care trust is putting in place a range of measures to improve access to dental services in the area. This includes a dental access centre in Fareham designed to provide unregistered patients with access to NHS dentistry. This is supported by an incentive scheme which offers additional access to NHS dental care based in existing dental surgeries.

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many dentists in north east Lincolnshire provide NHS dentistry for adults; and how many will take new NHS clients onto their rolls; [137695]

Miss Melanie Johnson: 44 general dental service (GDS) dentists were working in the North East Lincolnshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) area on 30 June 2003, all of whom provided national health service dentistry for adults.

The www.nhs.uk website shows that no dentists are taking on new NHS patients in the North East Lincolnshire PCT area.

Patients seeking to register with a dentist can access information on the dental practices taking on new NHS patients by contacting NHS Direct, their local PCT or by accessing the www.nhs.uk website. Registrations are being accepted in Stamford, Grantham and Lincoln.

The Department has approved an application for funding one full time salaried dentist plus support staff, which has been submitted by North East Lincolnshire PCT.

Following local discussion between the PCT and local dental practitioners, a proposal has been developed to establish an urgent "dental access service" based in Grimsby to serve north east Lincolnshire patients.

Disciplinary Investigations

Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines are in place to ensure that disciplinary investigations within NHS trusts are independent; [137371]

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Mr. Hutton [holding answer 12 November 2003]: National health service trusts are free to employ staff under such terms as they see fit (section 16, NHS and Community Care Act 1990). Trusts are also responsible for the establishment of their own local disciplinary procedures for medical and dental staff. In the 1990s, many trusts developed new procedures often based on the procedures set out in circulars HC(90)9 and HSG(94)49.

The Department has been working closely with the British Medical Association to develop a new national framework. Trusts will be required to ensure that their local procedures adhere to the principles and procedures set out in the framework.

Mr. Geoffrey Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that, in contentious disciplinary cases, evidence submitted to an investigation is not (a) altered and (b) summarised. [137373]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer 12 November 2003]: All disciplinary issues are a matter for the employing national health service trust, which must ensure that their procedures comply with employment law. The Department is currently working with the British Medical Association to introduce a new national framework for hospital doctors and dentists. Serious cases should be referred to the General Medical Council or the General Dental Council.

Distalgesic Tablets

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the decision was taken to place Distalgesic tablets on Schedule 10 to the NHS (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992; and on what advice the decision was taken. [137097]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Distalgesic tablets were placed on Schedule 10 of the NHS (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992, in April 1985. The listing was made on the recommendation of the then advisory committee on national health service drugs, an independent committee of pharmaceuticals and medical experts.

East Kent Hospitals

Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the payment to overcome exceptional circumstances referred to in his July announcement on the future of East Kent Hospitals and in his Minister of State's letter to the hon. Member for Canterbury is a grant or a loan. [130350]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 16 September 2003]: Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority has been told by the NHS Bank to assume the one-off payment of £17 million in respect of East Kent Hospitals is recoverable from future primary care trust allocations after the current planning round.

17 Nov 2003 : Column 582W

Elderly Medicine

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the likely demand for specialists in elderly medicine. [138155]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS Plan provides for increases in national health service staffing, including 7,500 more consultants between 1999 and 2004. So far, an additional 155 1 specialists in geriatric medicine and 84 1 in old age psychiatry have been appointed, in addition to a range of other specialties who provide services to older people. The NHS has developed local delivery plans for 2003 to 2006, which are based on local assessment of need for staff. These suggest annual increases of between 3 per cent. and 4 per cent. between now and 2006 in geriatric medicine (+20 to 30 whole-time equivalent) and between 3 per cent. and 4 per cent. between now and 2006 in old age psychiatry (+10 to 20 whole-time equivalent).






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