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24 Mar 2004 : Column 920W—continued
Hand Hygiene Trial
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of the NHS hand hygiene trial launched in July 2003 was; and what the outcome was. [160605]
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Mr. Hutton: The National Patient Safety Agency launched a 'clean your hands' pilot campaign in July 2003. It aims to develop solutions to improve hand hygiene compliance by national health service staff, by testing ideas at six pilot sites. It is estimated that about £600,000 would be required to launch a campaign and supply a toolkit to every acute sector ward in the NHS, which works out at a cost of less than £2,000 per trust. The annual cost to the NHS of healthcare acquired infections has been estimated to be about £1 billion.
The evaluation report will be available in April 2004, but preliminary findings show that it achieved its objectives in raising staff and patient awareness of the importance of hand hygiene and increasing hand hygiene compliance.
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Health Services (Chorley)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes have been made to NHS waiting list times in each of the last seven years for Chorley residents. [161593]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information most closely associated with place of residency is not collected on a constituency level, but at a health services commissioner level. Data are shown in the tables for the South Lancashire Health Authority for the period 1997 to 2002 and the Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust for 2003.
| Name of commissioners | Total | 0–2 | 3–5 | 6–8 | 9–11 | 12–14 | 15–17 | 18 plus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | South Lancashire HA | 10,092 | 4,565 | 2,587 | 1,696 | 1,069 | 160 | 12 | 3 |
| 1997–98 | South Lancashire HA | 10,414 | 4,566 | 2,391 | 1,580 | 1,128 | 563 | 186 | 0 |
| 1998–99 | South Lancashire HA | 9,179 | 4,259 | 2,285 | 1,354 | 839 | 356 | 86 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | South Lancashire HA | 8,604 | 4,251 | 2,042 | 1,260 | 715 | 270 | 66 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | South Lancashire HA | 8,283 | 4,401 | 1,979 | 1,041 | 559 | 208 | 95 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | South Lancashire HA | 8,047 | 4,317 | 1,997 | 1,090 | 544 | 99 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002–03 | Chorley and South Ribble PCT | 4,761 | 3,108 | 1,108 | 510 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source:
Department of Health QF01.
| Name | 13–25 | 26 plus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | South Lancashire HA | 2,200 | 629 |
| 1998–99 | South Lancashire HA | 2,790 | 1373 |
| 1999–2000 | South Lancashire HA | 2,135 | 507 |
| 2000–01 | South Lancashire HA | 1,823 | 374 |
| 2001–02 | South Lancashire HA | 1,676 | 1 |
| 2002–03 | Number |
|---|---|
| 13–17 | 363 |
| 17–21 | 108 |
| 21–26 | 0 |
| 26 plus | 0 |
Source:
Department of Health QM08R.
Hepatitis C
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dependants will not receive compensation from the Hepatitis C Ex Gratia scheme as a result of the 29 August 2003 cut-off. [155537]
Miss Melanie Johnson: It is not possible to estimate accurately the number of dependants of people in England who were infected with hepatitis C as a result of National Health Service treatment with blood or blood products and who died of all causes before 29 August 2003.
However, the latest figures from the UK Haemophilia Centre Doctors Organisation indicate that a total of 212 people with haemophilia have died as a direct result of the effects of hepatitis C. The number of non-haemophiliacs who have died as a direct result of the effects of hepatitis C is not known.
Heroin Substitutes
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the efficacy of prescribing heroin substitutes. [162519]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 22 March 2004]: The DH clinical guidelines, published in 1999, lay out the principles of safe and responsible prescribing to drug misusers. The guidelines discuss a number of alternative opiate and non-opiate substitute drugs. The recommendations in the guidelines are based on an expert review of the evidence.
Building on that, the National Treatment Agency (NTA) has produced guidance on the drugs used for substitute prescribing. This guidance was produced with the help of an expert working group, who based their advice on the evidence base. The NTA have also published guidance on the prescribing of injectable opiates for the small group of drug misusers who do not respond to oral substitute prescribing.
Hospital Food
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to ensure that hospitals provide (a) nutritious and (b) high quality food for patients. [161649]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Plan required hospitals, by 2004, to have a hospital nutrition policy to improve the outcome of care for patients and reduce dependency on intravenous feeding regimes. Hospitals should also ensure that their menus are subject to nutritional analysis to ensure they meet the needs of patients.
To assist hospitals in providing high quality food and food services, NHS Estates developed the Better Hospital Food programme. The national health service
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is making good progress in delivering these new services which reflect patients' preferences and provide a wider range of food options, including recipes and product purchasing specifications. In addition, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency has in place stringent controls to ensure the quality of all food for which contracts are negotiated on behalf of the NHS.
Patient environment action teams inspect the quality of food served in hospitals as part of their annual assessments.
Immigrant Medical Inspections
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used for referrals to medical inspectors of immigrants at (a) Heathrow Terminal 3, (b) other terminals at Heathrow, (c) Gatwick north terminal, (d) Gatwick south terminal and (e) Manchester airport; and what the reasons are for any differences. [156847]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Under paragraph 36 of the Immigration Rules (HC395 as amended), Immigration Officers have the power to refer any individual who is subject to immigration control to a doctor for a medical examination at the port of entry.
Long-standing policy is that any person subject to immigration control who:
- mentions health or medical treatment as a reason for coming to the United Kingdom, or appears unwell; or
- is seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom for six months or more and is at high risk of having been exposed to tuberculosis
should be referred by the Immigration Officer to a medical inspector.
We are advised by the Home Office that these criteria apply at all ports of entry.
Medical Students
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of medical graduates failed to embark on medical careers in each year since 1990. [161025]
Mr. Hutton: The information is not available in the form requested. The Medical Careers Research Group periodically surveys selected cohorts of medical school graduates. Their latest available data on whether doctors are still practising medicine is shown in the table.
| Year of | Cohort | Not practisingmedicine | Not practisingmedicine in the UK | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification | size | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage |
| 1974 | 2344 | 131 | 5.6 | 339 | 14.5 |
| 1977 | 3130 | 184 | 5.9 | 395 | 12.6 |
| 1983 | 3841 | 204 | 5.3 | 357 | 9.3 |
| 1988 | 3731 | 307 | 8.2 | 514 | 13.8 |
| 1993 | 3639 | 188 | 5.2 | 322 | 8.8 |
| 1996 | 3836 | 182 | 4.7 | 302 | 7.9 |
MMR Vaccine
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the take-up rate of MMR vaccine was in the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by strategic health authority. [162060]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: Information about the childhood immunisation programme, which includes children immunised by their first and second birthday, and from 1999 to 2000 by their fifth birthday, is derived from the COVER (Cover of Vaccination Evaluated Rapidly) system and collected by the Health Protection Agency.
Information about the uptake of MMR immunisations and other childhood immunisations is published annually in Department of Health Statistical Bulletins. The latest bulletin, "NHS Immunisation Statistics, England: 2002–03" is available in the Library and on the Department's website http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0316.pdf. This is the first year that uptake by strategic health authority has been available.
Quarterly figures on MMR Uptake from April 2003 to September 2003 are available on the Health Protection Agency's website at, http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics az/vaccination/cover sha.htm
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