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25 Mar 2004 : Column 1058W—continued
Human Embryos
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are laid down for the inspection of laboratories experimenting on human embryos. [162588]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 permits research using human embryos for purposes only specified in the Act. Any establishment wishing to carry out such research must be awarded a licence to do so from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), The HFEA's code of practice sets out the standards of conduct and practice expected of research establishments.
The HFEA inspects research establishments to ensure their compliance with the Act, the code of practice and the conditions of the research licence. Inspections are underpinned by the use of protocols specifically designed to guarantee consistency and thoroughness of a research inspection. These protocols are regularly reviewed by the HFEA to ensure they remain effective.
Lymphoedema
Mrs. Roe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are in place to ensure that non-cancer related lymphoedema patients, who do not have access to a lymphoedema clinic, receive appropriate compression garments as one of the recognised four cornerstones of lymphoedema treatment. [163173]
Dr. Ladyman: We have issued no specific guidance to hospital trusts and primary care trusts for the provision of compression garments to non-cancer related lymphoedema patients. Decisions on what treatments to offer to patients with lymphoedema are a matter for the clinicians in charge of their care.
Malnutrition
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people were diagnosed as suffering from malnutrition in (a) Greater London, (b) each London borough and (c) England in each of the last five years; and what his Department's policy is for tackling malnutrition. [162387]
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Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 25 March 2004]: Malnutrition is caused by an imbalance of nutrients, particularly energy intake which impacts on body weight. Eating a balanced diet and keeping physically active help people to maintain a healthy body weight.
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The table shows the count of finished admission episodes for national health service hospitals in London over the last five years where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition and the age of admission was 65 plus. Data is available only by health authority of residence.
| Health authority of residence | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillingdon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Enfield and Haringey | 1 | 2 | 2 | o | 0 |
| Redbridge and Waltham Forest | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Bexley and Greenwich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Croydon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kingston and Richmond | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Barking and Havering | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Barnet | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brent and Harrow | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Camden and Islington | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| East London and The City | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Note:
The table shows the count of finished admission episodes for NHS hospitals in England from 1998–99 to 2002–03 where the primary diagnosis is malnutrition and the age of admission was 65 plus.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
| Finished admission episodes | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 114 |
| 1999–2000 | 98 |
| 2000–01 | 109 |
| 2001–02 | 128 |
| 2002–03 | 112 |
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
In the "NHS Plan" (2000), the Government made a commitment to reduce under nutrition by developing a hospital nutrition policy to improve the outcome of care of patients by 2004. A number of measures and strategies are in place to manage, monitor and screen patients for under nutrition in hospitals, residential care and the wider community. Nutritional screening is recommended for the care of specific groups, such as those outlined in the "National Service Framework for Older People" (2001).
Medicines and Health Care ProductsRegulatory Agency
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the information from the Yellow Card system is used by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. [162489]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are responsible for monitoring the safety of medicines in the United Kingdom. Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) submitted by health professionals through the Yellow Card scheme are an important source of information regarding the safety of medicines in normal clinical practice.
The Yellow Card scheme primarily acts as an early warning system for the identification of previously unrecognised adverse reactions and also provides valuable information on recognised adverse drug reactions, allowing the MHRA/CSM to identify and refine the understanding of risk factors that may affect the clinical management of patients. The value of the scheme has been demonstrated many times and it has helped to identify numerous important safety issues. To date the MHRA/CSM has received more than 450,000 ADRs reports from the Yellow Card scheme.
In evaluating a possible drug safety issue, the Yellow Card data is typically considered in conjunction with relevant information from other sources such as clinical trial data, published studies, adverse drug reaction reports received from the pharmaceutical industry and data from other Regulatory Authorities.
Where necessary, to protect public health, the MHRA on the advice of CSM may take regulatory action to ensure the medicine is used in a way which minimises risk and maximises benefits to the patient. Possible actions include addition of a new side effect to the product information provided to prescribers and patients, and issuing warnings about groups of patients who should not be given the medicine. In rare circumstances, the MHRA may withdraw a medicine from the market, if the risks of a medicine in clinical use are greater than its potential benefits.
Information on adverse drug reactions is communicated to health professionals and patients by the MHRA/CSM through various routes including patient information leaflets and regular safety bulletins.
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Meningitis
Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what financial support his Department gives to the voluntary sector in providing continuing support for people affected by meningitis; [160779]
- (2) what plans he has to grant section 65 moneys to the voluntary sector concerned with people affected by meningitis. [160780]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Meningitis Trust received a Section 64 grant from the Department to fund the Home Visiting Service project. This project supports individuals and their families who have been affected by meningitis.
The total value of the grant awarded over three years is £83,100.
The Department is continuing to fund the Home Visiting Service project at the Meningitis Trust in 2004–05.
Mercury Healthcare
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 861W, on Mercury Healthcare, if he will make a statement on the reasons why the Government decided to switch preferred bidder status from Mercury Healthcare to Capio UK in relation to the provision of a diagnostic treatment centre at Ashford Hospital, Middlesex. [162011]
Mr. Hutton: It was decided to switch preferred bidder status after careful consideration of the detailed contract requirements for the spine chain. This is a complex contract that incorporates different clinical specialties, casemix and locations and it is important that the provider matches the needs of the national health service in each area.
Microsoft
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS will spend in 2003–04 on the licensing of Microsoft products. [156894]
Mr. Hutton: The estimated spend for 2003–04 by the national health service on the licensing of Microsoft products is £53 million.
Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to ensure that future ordering of proprietary software by the NHS ensures that the NHS will be able to purchase software from a wide range of suppliers at economic cost. [156895]
Mr. Hutton: The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency and the Office of Government Commerce have put in place a framework contract for information technology products known as GCat. The contract offers a comprehensive range of software to the national health service, at competitive prices, from a number of proprietary software and specialist software resellers.
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