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19 Nov 2003 : Column 1139W—continued
Sight Loss
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to (a) the NHS, (b) individuals, (c) families and carers, (d) local authorities and (e) taxpayers of 3,000 people losing their sight; and if he will make a statement. [138055]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: We have not made any assessment of these costs. The costs of blindness will differ according to who becomes blind and when. It is not possible to separate the costs of blindness and partial sight given current information.
The latest estimates of the costs of blindness and visual impairment are from a study commissioned for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in July this year. 1
The report's estimates of the annual non-treatment costs for people registered blind or partially sighted in England in various groupings are shown in table 1.
| Estimate per person | |
|---|---|
| Children | 1,123 |
| Working age | 19,841 |
| Elderly | 4,980 |
| Total | 7,561 |
Notes:
(44) These costs make assumptions, based on expert opinion and judgments from the literature, about typical income received from: disability living allowance, carer's allowance, vision rehabilitation services, income support, job seeker's allowance, tax allowances; the provision of community based healthcare and the numbers of blind and partially sighted people unemployed.
(45) The major costs are for those of working age which may be overstated since the report makes assumptions about the lost productivity to the economy related to unemployment among the blind and visually impaired and assumes that this can be represented by average earnings. If there are flexible labour markets and non-negligible unemployment then some portion of this "lost" productivity will be recovered through other workers.
(46) Costs could be overestimates since it is not clear from the research whether these are the costs incurred by an average blind or partially sighted person, or the costs that are directly attributable to their blindness or partial sight, for example, some of those who are unemployed and blind or partially sighted would have been unemployed if they were not blind or partially sighted.
It is not possible to identify treatment costs specifically for those who are blind (or as a result of blindness) from NHS data sources. It is possible to identify the costs of treatment for glaucoma and cataracts, which are both conditions that are associated with low vision and can lead to blindness. The costs shown in table 2 are from the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association report.
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| Estimate per person | |
|---|---|
| Glaucoma | 1,016 |
| Cataracts | 688 |
Finally, the literature on the "out-of-pocket costs" for blind patients has been reviewed by the Royal National Institute for the Blind. At 2000 prices, these are estimated to be around £52 per person per week.
- 1 "The costs of blindness: An analysis of the costs of visual impairment and blindness in the United Kingdom". July 2003, Ethical Strategies Limited. The report can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.healthyeyes.org.uk/index.php?id=25.
Social Care
Tim Loughton : To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with west Sussex Social Services Department regarding the provision of central funding for the social care of residents of the Chagos Islands arriving in west Sussex. [134770]
Dr. Ladyman: Officials in the Department of Work and Pensions and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are considering, with the Department of Health, the situation of destitute Chagosians in the United Kingdom and specifically in west Sussex. Ministers at the Department of Health have had no direct contact with west Sussex County Council on this matter. Departmental officials, however, have maintained close contact with officers of west Sussex County Council.
South Woodham Ferrers Health Clinic
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to expand services at the South Woodham Ferrers Health Clinic; and if he will make a statement. [139677]
Dr. Ladyman: I have no plans to expand South Woodham Ferrers Health Clinic.
However, I am informed that Maldon and South Chelmsford Primary Care Trust's bid to Chelmsford borough council's Jubilee fund was successful and they received £75,000 from that fund which it intends to use to redesign South Woodham Ferrers Health Clinic. The PCT has secured planning permission but has revised its original plan which will result in the addition of three further outpatient suites. The PCT is currently awaiting the decision of the borough council's planning committee on the revised plans.
Strategic Health Authorities
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which strategic health authority has the highest deficit; what guidance he will give Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Strategic Health Authority about its deficit; how much the Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Strategic Health Authority received from the Government in financial year 2002–03; how much the (a) Bristol, (b) Bath, (c) Wiltshire and (d) Gloucestershire regions received of that sum; and if he will make it his policy when making allocations within strategic health authority areas to award greater
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sums to regions which (i) have a higher population and (ii) have demonstrated higher standards of performance. [134548]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In 2002–03, the last year for which we have audited accounts, the Avon, Wiltshire and Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Strategic Health Authority area reported the highest overall deficit. The Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire SHA economy received a total resource allocation of £1.989 billion. The table shows distribution of the allocation across its primary care trusts.
The Department has asked the Avon, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire SHA to ensure that each National Health Service body within the health economy plans for and achieves financial balance and delivers its key targets.
From 2003–04 revenue resources have been allocated to primary care trusts on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each primary care trust's target share of available resources.
| Organisation code | Organisation name | Revenue Resource Limit allocated |
|---|---|---|
| 5FL | Bath and North east Somerset PCT | 156,601 |
| 5JF | Bristol North PCT | 211,930 |
| 5JG | Bristol South and West PCT | 183,161 |
| 5KW | Cheltenham and Tewkesbury PCT | 120,921 |
| 5KY | Cotswold and Vale PCT | 155,152 |
| 5K4 | Kennet ande North Wiltshire PCT | 158,080 |
| 5M8 | North Somerset PCT | 161,638 |
| 5A3 | South Gloucestershire PCT | 190,965 |
| 5DJ | South Wiltshire PCT | 100,038 |
| 5K3 | Swindon PCT | 164,870 |
| 5KX | West Gloucestershire PCT | 186,743 |
| 5DH | West Wiltshire PCT | 93,620 |
| Total PCT Allocation | 1,883,719 | |
| Q20 | Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA | 105,366 |
| Total AGW Patch Position | 1,989,085 |
Source:
Strategic Health Authority summarisation forms 2002–03 Primary Care Trust Summarisation Schedules 2002–03
Stroke Treatment
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of stroke patients are being treated in specialist stroke units; [139784]
- (2) what percentage of stroke patients he plans will be treated in specialist stroke units by April 2004. [139785]
Dr. Ladyman: We do not collect the information requested centrally. However, stroke is one of the condition specific standards (Standard 5) incorporated into the national service framework for older people. The target is that by April 2004, 100 per cent. of all general hospitals which care for people with stroke will have a specialised stroke service as described in the stroke service model, and that all people who are thought to have had a stroke will have access to diagnostic services and access to specialist stroke services as appropriate.
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The most comprehensive source of information on stroke is the National Sentinel Stroke Audit, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians. The audit was commissioned by the National Health Service in 1998 and was last updated in 2002. The results can be found at http://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/pubs/strokeaudit01–02.pdf. There will be a further update of these figures in 2004.
Transgenes Research
Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what published research he has assessed on the effects of transgenes on cellular processes other than the intended function of the gene; and what research he has commissioned on this subject. [136062]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 4 November 2003]: Department of Health research funding is largely focused on research to bring the benefits of new medicines into the national health service. The Department of Health has not commissioned research on this subject. Basic scientific research of this nature is mainly funded by the research councils.
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