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16 Dec 2003 : Column 887W—continued
Health Care (Stoke-on-Trent)
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated at the North Staffordshire Hospital in each year since 1997. [143873]
Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the number of finished in-year admissions at University Hospital of North Staffordshire National Health Service Trust (formerly North Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust) each year from 1997–98 to 2002–03.
| Admissions | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 101,642 |
| 1998–99 | 106,355 |
| 1999–2000 | 122,241 |
| 2000–01 | 121,978 |
| 2001–02 | 113,621 |
| 2002–03 | 135,665 |
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 have not (yet) been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a first consultant appointment was in Stoke-on-Trent for each year since 1997. [143874]
Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the average (median) waiting times for first consultant out-patient appointment following general practitioner/general dental practitioner referral for University Hospital of North Staffordshire National Health Service Trust (formerly North Staffordshire Hospital NHS Trust) and North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust.
| Median waiting time (weeks) | |
|---|---|
| 1995–96 | 9.22 |
| 1996–97 | 8.60 |
| 1997–98 | 9.05 |
| 1998–99 | 9.16 |
| 1999–2000 | 9.20 |
| 2000–01 | 8.94 |
| 2001–02 | 10.14 |
| 2002–03 | 8.81 |
Source:
Department of Health form QM08
Mr. Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the clinical areas where the NHS in Stoke-on-Trent has longer (a) waiting lists and (b) waiting times than the English average. [143875]
Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the number of patients, per 10,000 head of population, waiting for elective in-patient admission.
16 Dec 2003 : Column 888W
| Specialty | England | North Stoke PCT and South Stoke PCT |
|---|---|---|
| Trauma and orthopaedics | 51.25 | 63.58 |
| Anaesthetics | 0.96 | 1.37 |
| Medical oncology | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Mental illness | 0.02 | 0.93 |
Note:
Position at 30 September 2003.
Source:
Department of Health form QF01.
The table shows the average (median) waiting times (in months) for elective in-patient admission.
| Specialty | England | North Stoke PCT and South Stoke PCT |
|---|---|---|
| General surgery | 2.56 | 4.02 |
| Trauma and orthopaedics | 3.52 | 4.16 |
| Ophthalmology | 2.87 | 3.06 |
| Anaesthetics | 2.25 | 3.19 |
| Cardiology | 2.47 | 2.83 |
| Mental illness | 1.64 | 1.71 |
| All specialties | 2.71 | 3.15 |
Note:
Position at 30 September 2003.
Source:
Department of Health form QF01.
Health Start Programme
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the projected budget for the Healthy Start Programme is for each of the next three years; [144560]
- (2) how much he has spent on the Welfare Foods scheme in each of the past three years. [144566]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Total expenditure on the Welfare Food Scheme in England in the last three financial years is shown in the table.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 120 |
| 2001–02 | 118 |
| 2002–03 | 114 |
The budget is demand-led, but expenditure should continue at a similar level when the current scheme is replaced by Healthy Start at around the end of 2004.
Herbal Medicines
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of products currently on the market that will require a full marketing authorisation under the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive. [143660]
Miss Melanie Johnson: One of the main reasons why we have supported the development of the proposed Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products is the difficulty companies sometimes experience at present in providing evidence that their products fully satisfy all the criteria for a marketing authorisation, and in particular the requirements relating to efficacy.
16 Dec 2003 : Column 889W
The current text of the proposed Directive provides that, where the competent authorities judge that a traditional herbal medicinal product fulfils the criteria for a marketing authorisation, the product will not be eligible for a traditional use registration. Our view is that it is likely that only a very small proportion of unlicensed herbal remedies currently on the United Kingdom market would be affected by this provision in a situation where an applicant was seeking a traditional use registration. However, it is not practicable for the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to give a more specific estimate in advance of the launch of the proposed traditional use registration scheme or to conduct a detailed survey that would be burdensome to the industry.
Human Genetics Commission
Mrs. Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the Human Genetics Commission has been charged with (a) involving stakeholders, (b) conducting a public consultation and (c) developing a national policy on the use of genetic information by insurance companies; [142217]
- (2) what plans his Department has for a public consultation to address the issue of genetics and insurance in preparation for the end of the current moratorium. [142206]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) has been asked to work closely with the Genetics and Insurance Committee (GAIC), and with stakeholders, to provide Government with further advice in developing a longer-term policy on the use of genetic information by insurance companies.
HGC is committed to involving the public in all of its activities. It holds its main meetings in public and has held a public fact-finding meeting on genetics and insurance following its survey of public attitudes to the uses of genetic information.
HGC and GAIC held a well-received joint public meeting in September 2003. A number of interested groups, and members of the public, attended this meeting, including representatives from organisations concerned with genetic disorders, as well as from insurance and re-insurance companies, and non-Governmental organisations with an interest in this area. HGC and GAIC are planning a further such meeting in 2004.
There are no plans for the Department of Health to carry out a public consultation on this issue.
Influenza
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken to ensure that at-risk groups of people aged under 65 are receiving influenza vaccinations this winter, with particular reference to children over six months in at-risk groups. [142957]
16 Dec 2003 : Column 890W
Miss Melanie Johnson: We launched a campaign on 1 October incorporating a number of strategies aimed at encouraging younger people in at-risk groups to receive their flu immunisation. The campaign incorporated:
- National television advertising.
Advertising in national and regional newspapers and magazines, including ethnic media.
Advertising in buses, on pharmacy bags and on-line.
Work with commercial partners such as Gala Bingo and voluntary organisations, such as Heart UK and the National Asthma Campaign.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children are in the at-risk group for influenza; and how many of these have received an influenza vaccination this year. [142958]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The number of children registered as at-risk is not held centrally. This year, for the first time, general practitioners have been asked to set up disease registers for all at-risk patients in order to maximise uptake in these most vulnerable patients.
Vaccine uptake for at-risk patients is not available.
Mental Health Care
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) organisations and (b) expert professionals who have been consulted during his Department's review of specialised mental health care. [143852]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The national director is leading a group of senior clinicians and managers who are considering the advice needed to support future commissioning and provision of specialised mental health services. In each instance they will consult acknowledged expert professionals and leading voluntary organisations. The review has considered three topics so far—eating disorders, perinatal psychiatry and Aspergers syndrome. The Eating Disorders Association gave evidence to the first topic and AsCUSE gave evidence to the session on Aspergers. There was no voluntary sector organisation available for the session on perinatal psychiatry.
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