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10 Mar 2004 : Column 1605W—continued

Mental Health

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute mental illness beds were available (a) for the elderly, (b) for children, (c) for other age groups and (d) in secure units in 2002–03 in the area covered by Newcastle Primary Care Trust; and what the occupancy rates were in each case. [157049]

Miss Melanie Johnson: In 2002–03, there were no mental illness beds at the Newcastle Primary Care Trust. However, figures for the Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland Mental Health National Health Service Trust for the same period are shown in the table.

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	Available bed days	Occupied bed days	Percentage occupancy rate
Mental illness: elderly short stay	125	110	80.0
Mental illness: elderly long stay	125	114	91.2
Mental illness: children	20	14	70.0
Mental illness: children long stay	0	0	0
Mental illness: other ages/secure	49	45	91.8
Mental illness: other ages/short stay	314	250	79.6
Mental illness: other ages/long stay	94	71	75.5

Source:

Department of Health KH03 Form.

Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's total spending on anti-discrimination in mental health work has been over the last two years; and what the planned expenditure is for the next two years. [158558]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department conducts its anti discrimination in mental health work through the "Mind out for mental health" campaign. Campaign spending over the last two years is shown in the table.

£

	Spending
2002–03	905,662
2003–04	(59)824,305

⁽⁵⁹⁾ Forecast of final outturn.

Decisions on expenditure for mental health anti discrimination work for the next two years have not yet been made.

Needlestick Injury

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish guidelines to NHS staff on needlestick injury. [158690]

Mr. Hutton: The Department is in the process of producing new guidance on the Management of Occupational Health and Safety Services in the national health service in response to the National Audit Office Report, "A Safer Place to Work—improving the management of health and safety risks to staff in the NHS". The new guidance will include comprehensive new guidelines on the management of needlesticks. It is due to be published later this year.

NHS Dentistry

Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the recruitment of NHS dentists in Blackpool North and Fleetwood. [157913]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Blackpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) is addressing the issue of recruitment by developing access to services through facilities and staff employed at the Fylde Coast Medical services. Wyre PCT has taken a number of steps to address current vacancies. These include:

a dental surgery within a proposed new primary care centre to be built in 2005;

a golden hello for new practitioners in the area; and

an advert in the February edition of the British Dental Journal.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average distance for people to access NHS dentists is in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley. [157087]

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Miss Melanie Johnson: The average direct distances from postcodes in Lancashire and Chorley to the nearest dentist are 0.67 miles and 0.77 miles respectively.

NHS Financial Reforms

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there will be a risk fund for all NHS trusts implementing the new financial flows reforms over the next five years. [154146]

Mr. Hutton: We do not expect such a fund will be necessary from 2005–06 onwards for either national health service trusts or NHS foundation trusts. This is because methodology to address the costs of highly complex and specialised cases within the tariff is planned to be developed for implementation from 2005–06.

NHS Funding

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the size of the risk fund needed to implement the national tariff payment by results system across all NHS trusts; and if he will make a statement. [152821]

Mr. Hutton: In 2004–05, we are considering allocating up to £50 million to specialist and teaching first wave national health service foundation trusts which are implementing the full transition to payment by results a year ahead of the rest of the NHS. The funding will be made available to address the costs of highly complex and specialised cases for first wave applicants for 2004–05, because the methodology to address these costs within the national tariff will not be ready for implementation until 2005–06. These funds will be available for 2004–05 only.

NHS Obsolete Equipment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the (a) value and (b) type of obsolete but working NHS equipment that was discarded in 2003. [158787]

Miss Melanie Johnson: No assessment has been made of the amount of obsolete but working equipment in the national health service. However the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is involved in several initiatives to look at how unwanted but working items can be disposed of most efficiently.

NHS Staff

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been commissioned by his Department into the attitudes of staff in the NHS since 1997. [154988]

Mr. Hutton: The Department of Health Policy Research Programme has funded research on a range of issues in the national health service which has included components whereby staff's attitudes have been sought across a range of issues. Research containing a significant element on staff attitudes has been commissioned on topics including:

cohort studies of nurses' careers;

cohort studies of doctors' careers;

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the attractiveness of the NHS as an employer;

the establishment of the role of nurse consultant;

the establishment of the role of modern matron;

the extension of nurse prescribing;

the retention of women in the primary care nursing workforce after the age of 50;

benchmarking and bowel care in community home settings;

vaccinating health workers against influenza;

labour costs, clinical outcomes and staff attitudes;

health infomatics education for health professionals;

staff satisfaction, patient satisfaction and patient outcomes;

overseas doctors' experiences and expectations of training in the UK;

the attractiveness of the NHS as an employer to potential nursing and allied health professionals staff;

staff involvement in the NHS.

A list of Policy Research Programme projects have been placed in the Library.

In addition, NHS trusts are required to conduct staff opinion surveys and 10 core questions about staff involvement and communications were added to local surveys in 2001 and 2002 and the results fed into performance ratings. From 2003 Commission for Health Improvement took over responsibility for conducting national NHS staff opinion surveys which will assess staff attitudes to a number of areas of their work.

NHS Trust Documents

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1695, on NHS trust documents, whether his Department collects and retains copies of (a) Mersey Regional Ambulance Service's lone worker policy and (b) the job description of its communications manager; and for what reason it has not obtained a copy of Ms Pearl Browne's report on the management of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service. [157612]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 3 March 2004]: The Department does not routinely collect copies of Mersey Regional Ambulance Service's lone worker policy and the job description of its communications manager. The Pearl Brown report on the management of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service is a confidential report commissioned solely by the trust and neither the Department nor the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority had any input to it.

NHS Trust Finance

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether public dividend capital on the balance sheets of NHS hospital trusts is classified as debt. [159302]

Mr. Hutton [holding answer on 5 March 2005]: National Health Service trusts account for public dividend capital (PDC) as equity. PDC is a form of public sector financing which does not conform to the standard accounting definitions of equity and debt used in the private sector. It is more akin to an equity stake than a loan, as it is remunerated by dividend rather than fixed or variable interest.

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