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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1410W—continued
Staff Exclusions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of possible savings to the NHS if all staff exclusions were dealt with in six months. [140007]
Mr. Hutton: The National Audit Office in its report "The Management of Suspensions of Clinical Staff in NHS Hospital and Ambulance Trusts in England" has made an assessment of the possible savings.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1411W
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to respond to findings by the National Audit Office on staff exclusions, with particular reference to (a) practice by trusts in following procedural guidelines, (b) the provision of cost information and (c) the use of confidentiality clauses in settlements. [140009]
Mr. Hutton: We are currently considering how the findings of the National Audit Office (NAO) report relate to the new framework for exclusion, which we are discussing with the British Medical Association. The NAO report will be discussed at a Public Accounts Committee hearing in the New Year, and the Government will respond formally to any recommendations that the committee decides to make.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that trusts (a) support excluded clinical staff and (b) enable them to continue their professional development. [140017]
Mr. Hutton: We are discussing with the British Medical Association a new framework for exclusions, including the provision of support: mechanisms for those staff subject to exclusion.
Staff:Patient Ratios
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the staff to patient ratio in the NHS hospitals in Havering is. [137331]
Mr. Hutton: Figures on staff to patient ratios are not collected centrally. Information on the number of staff and activity at Barking, Havering and Redbridge National Health Service Trust is shown in the tables.
| Barking, Havering andRedbridge Hospitals NHSTrust RF4 | Numbers (headcount) |
|---|---|
| All NHS staff(81) | 6,113 |
| Medical and dental staff(81) | 538 |
| Non-medical staff(82) | 5,575 |
| GPs(83) | (84)— |
(81) Data excludes medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part time in hospitals.
(82) Figures for London based on the Strategic Health Authority Areas Q04 North West London SHA, Q05 North Central London SHA, Q06 North East London SHA, Q07.
South East London SHA, Q08 South West London SHA, and RRU the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
(83) All Practitioners include GMS Unrestricted Principals, PMS Contracted GPs, PMS Salaried GPs, Restricted Principals, Assistants, GP Registrars, Salaried Doctors (Para. 52 SFA), PMS Other and GP Retainers.
(84) Not available
Sources:
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census.
Department of Health Non-medical Workforce Census.
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1412W
| Hospital providers | Admissions |
|---|---|
| RF4 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust | 101,292 |
(85) Ungrossed data
Notes:
1. Admissions—Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
2. Grossing—Figures have not (yet) been adjusted for shortfalls in data (ie the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
| Type of attendance | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|
| Accident and Emergency | ||
| First | 175,262 | 171,121 |
| Total | 184,028 | 185,578 |
| Out-patient | ||
| First | 126,535 | 126,833 |
| Total | 430,026 | 415,326 |
| To ward for treatment by nurses: total | 16,961 | 16,072 |
| Imaging and radiodiagnosticexaminations/tests: total | 389,597 | 394,630 |
| NHS day care facilities: total | 3,430 | 3,044 |
Notes:
1. Both first attendances and total attendances have been included where available. Total figures include subsequent attendances where the same patient has returned for further treatment.
2. A patient can also have more than one first attendance if they are receiving treatment for different conditions.
Source:
Department of Health dataset KH09, KH05, KH12, KH14.
Television Sets (NHS)
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many television sets there were in hospitals in each of the last five years in England; and what proportion operated with stand-by units. [139195]
Mr. Hutton: This information is not collected centrally.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the use of televisions with stand-by units within NHS premises. [139196]
Mr. Hutton: Televisions are in use throughout National Health Service premises. The vast majority of modern stand-alone televisions in use will have stand-by units incorporated within the sets.
Waiting Times
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the average waiting times for cleft lip and palate surgery for children in Greater London in each year since 2000. [136067]
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1413W
Mr. Hutton [holding answer issued 6 November2003]: The information requested is shown in the table.
| London Regional Office of Residence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age on Admission 0–17 years |
| Count of Finished In year Admission Episodes (Waiting List and Booked Cases) and Average Time Waited
| NHS Hospitals, 2000–01 and 2001–02 |
| 2000–01 | 2001–02
| Main Operation | Admissions | Mean Time waited (days) | Admissions | Mean Time waited (days)
|
| FO3 Correction of Deformity of Lip | 60 | 70.6 | 81 | 79.1
| F29 Correction of Deformity of Palate | 66 | 77.1 | 56 | 88.6
| Overall Figures | 126 | 74.0 | 137 | 83.0
| | ||||||||||||
Notes:
Admissions
Admissions are defined as the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Grossing
Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–02 which is not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Main Operation
The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set, and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. Time Waited, but the figures for "all operations count of episodes" give a more complete count of episodes with operations.
Time Waited
Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
Ward Housekeepers
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) of 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 43W, on ward housekeepers, if he will list the hospitals (a) which have already begun to introduce ward housekeeping services and (b) which have yet to begin to introduce this service. [138195]
20 Nov 2003 : Column 1414W
Mr. Hutton: The latest available information has been placed in the Library.
Website
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the content and design of his Department's website. [139338]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A programme of research among users of the Department's website was undertaken in Autumn 2001. The objective was to inform changes to the site design, notably to the home page and top-level section pages, which were implemented during 2002. These re-designs were supported by usability testing (observing users carrying out specified tasks). Tracking research was conducted late in 2002 to assess progress and further inform future development.
In November 2002 the Department began working with the Office of the e-Envoy to migrate the Department's website to the new Central Government Infrastructure. As part of this process and based on the findings of the user research exercises and feedback from website users, all content was reviewed. The Department is now in the process of implementing major improvements which will address the key needs of site users, namely the site structure, more targeted quality content, improved searching, consistency of design and branding, improved navigation and meeting accessibility standards for users with disabilities. The new website will go live at the end of 2003.
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