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19 Apr 2004 : Column 188W—continued
Health Services (Lancashire)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) doctors and (b) nurses were agency staff in (i) Preston and (ii) Chorley hospitals in each of the last three years. [147858]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not held centrally.
Hip Replacement (Qualifying Criteria)
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the qualifying criteria for the patient choice scheme are for orthopaedic patients on the Royal London Hospital waiting for hip replacement. [163988]
Mr. Hutton: The Royal London Hospital is part of the London patient choice project. This pan-London scheme is at present for London patients who are registered with a London general practitioner.
The London patient choice project offers choice of treatment in an alternative hospital to clinically appropriate patients waiting longer than six months for surgery, including orthopaedic surgery.
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From 1 April 2004 the London patient choice scheme will be open to all clinically appropriate patients, including those resident outside of London, who are on a London Hospital waiting list. However the scheme is not enacted until the patient has been on the waiting list for six months.
HIV/AIDS
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training is provided to nationals of sub-Saharan African countries working within the NHS in treating HIV/AIDS. [164760]
Mr. Hutton: The training and education that a member of the national health service workforce receives will depend upon the demands of the specific role within the NHS. An individual's training needs are identified through the development of individual career plans and appraisal mechanisms. There are no specific training programmes for nationals of sub-Saharan Africa working in the NHS, but if specific needs are identified, these are addressed on an individual basis.
Hospital Infections
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the efficacy of Ebiox handrub and handwash products as part of a programme of infection control in hospitals; and what advice he has issued concerning their use. [163149]
Ms Rosie Winterton: As part of Winning Ways we are developing a rapid review process to assess new procedures and products for which claims of effectiveness are made for their ability to prevent or control healthcare associated infection. This will help the national health service assess new products such as the Ebiox's products which are still under development.
Existing guidance already provides advice on hand hygiene products 1 .
1 The epic project: Developing National Evidence-based Guidelines for Preventing Healthcare Associated Infections. Phase 1 guidelines for preventing hospital acquired infections (available at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/73/68/04077368.PDF).
Hospital Shower Curtains
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies he has made of hospital shower curtains as a source of micro-organisms. [163760]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has not commissioned any research into hospital shower curtains as a source of pathogenic micro-organisms. There is no evidence of disease linked to micro-organisms found on shower curtains within the United Kingdom.
Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) current and (b) proposed private finance initiative projects for the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust. [165040]
Mr. Hutton:
There are two Private Finance Initiative hospital schemes for the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Hospitals Trust: new maternity facilities at Hull Royal Infirmary (which became operational in March 2003)
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and the development of a new integrated oncology and clinical haematology unit at Castle Hill Hospital, which is currently in procurement and scheduled to reach financial close in winter 2004–05.
Illegal Meat Imports
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the risks to human health from illegal imports of meat. [165202]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I am advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that it has developed a risk profile of the microbiological risks to public health from illegally imported meat.
On the basis of the risk profile, the FSA does not believe there is currently the evidence to suggest the need for a formal risk assessment. However, the FSA will continue to monitor the available data and review the risk profile.
The United Kingdom public health bodies involved in the investigation of outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease have not traced any outbreaks of human disease in the UK to illegally imported meat.
The FSA's advice to UK consumers is that illegally imported meat should not be eaten because it will not have been subject to proper controls at the point of production and will have evaded export controls in the country of origin and import controls at the port of entry to the EU. These controls are designed to verify compliance with food safety standards, and such illegal imports cannot legally be sold in the UK.
The FSA has advised local authorities, which are responsible for enforcement of imported food and food safety legislation, that all illegally imported food products, including meat, should be removed from the human food chain. The FSA is also working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and HM Customs and Excise to assist in the targeting of enforcement work to detect and seize illegal meat imports.
In-patient Treatment (Greater London)
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were waiting for in-patient hospital treatment in Greater London, broken down by hospital trust, in each month since June 2002. [163732]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in a table which has been placed in the Library.
Infection Control (Care Homes)
Mr. Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths in care homes were attributed to notifiable infectious diseases in each year since 1997, broken down by disease. [165240]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
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Letter from Len Cook to Paul Burstow, dated 7 April 2004:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths in care homes were attributed to notifiable infectious diseases in each year since 1997, broken down by disease. (165240)
The latest year for which data are available is 2002. The figures in the table below relate to deaths occurring in care homes from diseases which are notifiable under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988. Only those diseases for which there were any deaths occurring in care homes have been included in the table.
| Tuberculosis and late effects of tuberculosis | Other | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 31 | 16 | 47 |
| 1998 | 30 | 10 | 40 |
| 1999 | 33 | 9 | 42 |
| 2000 | 21 | 12 | 33 |
| 2001(70) | 20 | 21 | 41 |
| 2002(70) | 19 | 21 | 40 |
(70) The introduction of the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for coding case of death in 2001 means that data for 2001 onwards may not be completely comparable with data for years before this date. Analysis of data for tuberculosis suggests that figures for ICD-9 and ICD-10 are broadly comparable, but detailed analyses of other notifiable diseases has not been undertaken. The data should therefore be interpreted with caution.
Notes:
1. Care homes were defined as NHS and non-NHS nursing homes, local authority residential homes and private residential homes
2. Figures are based on deaths occurring in each calendar year.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of hospitals had implemented a ward housekeeping service in England at the latest date for which figures are available. [165244]
Mr. Hutton: The most recent data collected at the end of September 2004 by NHS Estates from national health service trusts show 40 per cent. of all hospitals have introduced housekeepers. 53 per cent. of larger hospitals (those having 100 beds or more, and accounting for 86 per cent. of all beds), have already implemented the service.
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