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27 Jan 2004 : Column 331W—continued

Raloxifene

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from (a) patients suffering from osteoporosis and (b) groups representing them about the recent National Institute for Clinical Excellence assessment of Raloxifene; and how many patients have been prescribed the drug in each of the past three years. [150038]

Dr. Ladyman: The Department has had no formal representations from patient groups on the subject, but has received a number of letters.

Information on the number of people who receive medicines, or reasons why a drug was prescribed is not available. Information on how many prescription items of Raloxifene Hydrochloride were dispensed is shown in the table.

Number of prescription items of Raloxifene Hydrochloride that were dispensed in the community in England from 2000.

	Number of prescription items
2000	79,944
2001	118,950
2002	160,716
2003(15)	138,841

⁽¹⁵⁾ January to September

Source:

Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) data from the Prescription Pricing Authority.

Refusal of GP Referrals (Avon)

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the categories of treatment for which health trusts in the Avon area are refusing to accept referrals from general practitioners; what estimate he has made of the number of patients who have been refused in each case; and if he will make a statement. [149171]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 19 January 2004]: The information requested is not held centrally. It is for primary care trusts to ensure that suitable commissioning arrangements are in place. HSC 2002/007 (Securing

27 Jan 2004 : Column 332W

Service Delivery: Commissioning Freedoms of Primary Care Trusts) and HSC 1998/198 (Commissioning in the new NHS) provide further information.

Residential Care

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people in poor health in England have been located in residential care in each of the last six years; [148924]

(2) what the (a) total and (b) average amount contributed by people in poor health in England located in residential care was in the last period for which figures are available. [148926]

Dr. Ladyman: Information is not held centrally in the form requested. The 2001 census included questions on where people lived and whether they considered themselves to be living with a limiting long-term illness. According to the census, there were 324,192 non-staff residents in care homes, of which 303,908 said they had a limiting long-term illness.

Information is not available on the total and average amount contributed by people with poor health. Figures are only available showing the absolute levels of sales, fees and charges recorded by local authorities as income against nursing and residential care. The latest available figures are shown in the table.

Adults under 65 and older people 2001–02£000

Residential care	Sales fees and charges
Nursing home placements	532,642
Residential care home placements	1,286,515

Salt Intake

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to limit the public's regular intake of salt. [148833]

Miss Melanie Johnson: As 75 per cent. to 80 per cent. of salt comes from processed foods, the Department has called on industry to take concerted action in reducing the salt content of processed foods. The Department, in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA), held a salt stakeholders meeting to highlight the role of all sectors, including industry, health and consumer bodies, on 10 November 2003. I have asked the industry to provide plans of action for reducing the salt content of foods by 27 February.

The Department and the FSA have jointly written to all public procurement bodies to help in achieving the reductions in salt intake as recommended by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition by focussing on the salt content of processed foods as part of their procurement processes.

The FSA has set salt targets—to reduce average salt intake by 10 per cent., by 2005–06 and in the long term, to reduce the average population intake by a third over the next five years—bringing intakes down to the recommended six grams per day.

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The Department and the FSA communicate the importance of reducing salt in the diet to the public and health professionals through various channels, including leaflets, websites and through NHS-Direct.

Sensory Impairment

Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) for what reason sensory impairment does not feature on the list of priorities for research published on his Department's website; [149704]

(2) for what reason none of the research and development work on assistive technology listed in his Department's statutory report that was laid before Parliament in November 2003 related to sensory impairment. [149726]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 21 January 2004]: The report, published in November 2003, outlines a selection of the research and development activity relating to assistive technology funded by the Government in 2002. Full details of all the work funded are available on the Foundation for Assistive Technology website at www.fastuk.org. The website contains details of some twenty Government-funded projects related to sensory impairment that are current or were completed in 2003.

The report for 2001 contains sections on navigational aids for people with visual impairments and technologies to assist deaf and hearing-impaired people.

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Projects relating to sensory impairment will also be highlighted in the report for 2003. This will be laid before Parliament by July 2004.

The Department's website lists major strategic research developments in key Departmental priority areas, including cancer, mental health and coronary heart disease. In the national health service, research priorities are identified through widespread consultation with those using, delivering and managing services. They take account of the burden of disease, potential benefits and departmental objectives as well as the responsibilities and work of other funders—including the charities. Current projects relating to sensory impairment include a £0.3 million study of the acceptability, benefit and costs of early screening for hearing disability, and a £0.8 million study of interventions for mild to moderate permanent childhood hearing impairments identified by neonatal hearing screening.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes there have been to the rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the Southport and north Sefton area in the last five years. [148488]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The rate of diagnoses of the five principal sexually transmitted infections—infectious syphilis, uncomplicated gonorrhoea, uncomplicated chlamydia, genital herpes-first attack, and genital warts-first attack—by sex and age group from genito-urinary medicine clinics in the North West of England over the last five years (from 1998–2002) are shown in the following tables.

Table 1: Rates of diagnoses of infectious syphilis (primary and secondary) by sex and age group, GUM clinics, North West England, 1998–2002

			Rates (per 100,000 population)
	Sex	Region	13–15	16–19	20–24	25–34	35–44	45+	Total
1998	M	North West	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.1	0.4	0.1	0.2
1999	M	North West	0.0	0.6	3.8	2.7	1.3	0.1	0.9
2000	M	North West	0.0	0.0	3.7	6.5	4.6	0.5	2.0
2001	M	North West	0.0	2.9	18.8	12.0	10.0	1.8	5.3
2002	M	North West	0.0	5.2	16.7	17.9	11.7	2.2	6.3
1998	F	North West	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.6	0.4	0.1	0.2
1999	F	North West	0.0	1.2	2.1	1.2	0.0	0.1	0.4
2000	F	North West	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.1	0.2
2001	F	North West	0.0	0.6	2.5	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.3
2002	F	North West	0.7	1.2	1.0	1.5	0.2	0.1	0.4

Table 2: Rates of diagnoses of uncomplicated gonococcal infection by sex and age group, GUM clinics, North West England, 1998–2002

				Rates (per 100,000 population)
	Sex	Region	13–15	16–19	20–24	25–34	35–44	45+	Total
1998	M	North West	7	73	153	222	28	4	31
1999	M	North West	6	107	201	99	45	8	43
2000	M	North West	5	167	285	140	57	10	58
2001	M	North West	4	145	292	148	74	11	61
2002	M	North West	9	171	309	147	64	11	62
1998	F	North West	9	95	73	50	4	0	12
1999	F	North West	19	143	93	26	8	1	18
2000	F	North West	14	166	111	29	10	1	21
2001	F	North West	18	156	122	32	13	0	22
2002	F	North West	27	175	112	32	10	1	22

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Table 3: Rates of diagnoses of uncomplicated genital chlamydial infection by sex and age group, GUM clinics, North West England, 1998–2002

			Rates (per 100,000 population)
	Sex	Region	13–15	16–19	20–24	25–34	35–44	45+	Total
1998	M	North West	7	179	425	534	56	5	73
1999	M	North West	14	248	597	239	73	7	98
2000	M	North West	6	319	731	293	80	8	115
2001	M	North West	10	339	809	299	84	9	123
2002	M	North West	9	460	994	348	99	11	152
1998	F	North West	49	693	621	370	25	2	93
1999	F	North West	76	907	813	184	31	2	126
2000	F	North West	76	1,060	982	219	37	3	146
2001	F	North West	93	1,214	1,064	266	46	4	168
2002	F	North West	125	1,442	1,226	257	57	3	191

Table 4: Rates of diagnoses of genital herpes (first attack) by sex and age group, GUM clinics, North West England, 1998–2002

				Rates (per 100,000 population)
	Sex	Region	13–15	16–19	20–24	25–34	35–44	45+	Total
1998	M	North West	1	24	72	135	29	5	19
1999	M	North West	0	21	73	52	30	5	19
2000	M	North West	0	22	75	53	29	6	19
2001	M	North West	0	24	82	65	28	7	22
2002	M	North West	1	28	84	54	32	6	21
1998	F	North West	7	117	146	181	22	4	28
1999	F	North West	7	141	151	64	29	4	30
2000	F	North West	11	140	153	68	27	5	31
2001	F	North West	18	161	172	80	31	6	36
2002	F	North West	15	150	181	74	30	5	35

Table 5. Rates of diagnoses of genital warts (first attack) by sex and age group, GUM clinics, North West England, 1998–2002

				Rates (per 100,000 population)
	Sex	Region	13–15	16–19	20–24	25–34	35–44	45+	Total
1998	M	North West	12	267	815	973	112	20	138
1999	M	North West	14	310	858	362	117	24	146
2000	M	North West	8	288	871	371	118	21	143
2001	M	North West	5	322	867	392	128	21	149
2002	M	North West	8	300	904	377	132	22	151
1998	F	North West	50	766	708	553	56	9	119
1999	F	North West	72	748	762	201	66	10	124
2000	F	North West	40	761	720	201	61	11	120
2001	F	North West	54	751	718	212	65	10	123
2002	F	North West	47	757	649	193	67	12	119

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