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19 Apr 2004 : Column 262W—continued
Infection Control
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to improve standards of hygiene within the NHS. [165045]
Dr. Ladyman:
We are working to improve both infection control and cleanliness. Key to achieving this is implementation of "Winning Ways—Working
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together to reduce Healthcare Associated Infection in England". This will reduce infection rates and improve patient care.
In addition, to help the national health service comply with "Standards of Cleanliness for the NHS", a healthcare cleaning manual will be issued shortly to all NHS trusts. The National Patient Safety Agency is piloting a new approach to hand hygiene in acute hospitals and this will start to be implemented during 2004.
Insulin
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assurances he has sought from (a) Novo Nordisk and (b) CP Pharmaceuticals about the long-term provision of animal insulin; [166020]
(2) what steps he has taken to ensure the long-term supply of (a) human insulin and (b) animal insulin. [166021]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department is in regular contact with Novo Nordisk and CP Pharmaceuticals and both these companies have confirmed that they will continue to supply animal insulin and human insulin for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the efficacy of (a) human insulin and (b) animal insulin for people with diabetes. [166022]
Ms Rosie Winterton: All authorised insulins, whether human insulin or animal insulin, have been demonstrated to be efficacious in people with diabetes mellitus. As part of the licensing approval process for any medicinal product, including insulins, the applicant has to provide evidence that the product meets appropriate standards of quality, safety and efficacy. This will include clinical trial data in patients with diabetes. Findings from the Cochrane review, which compared the effects of synthetic human insulin and natural animal insulin in diabetic patients from 1996 to 2002 and was subsequently updated in 2003, indicate that both human and animal insulins are equally effective. The decision to use one or other of the insulin rests with the physician in consultation with the patient.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of people with diabetes who are (a) unwilling and (b) unable to use human insulin to manage their condition; and what proportion of people with diabetes using insulin to manage their condition these represent. [166023]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally. However, both human and animal insulins remain available.
Long-term Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department (a) has made available in each year since 1996–97 and (b) will make available in each year from 2004–05 to 2007–08 to tackle anomalies of the old funding system for long-term care. [164615]
Dr. Ladyman:
The NHS Plan announced additional resources, rising to £360 million a year by 2003–04, to tackle anomalies in the system of funding for long term
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care. This was disseminated via the Preserved Rights Grant, the Residential Allowance Grant, the Deferred Payments Grant and new funding for National Health Service-funded nursing care. There has also been and continues to be extra investment in new services such as intermediate care and extra care housing.
Funding was made available in 2003 to strategic health authorities to cover the estimated costs of recompense claims for patients inappropriately denied fully funded NHS continuing care since 1996. The Department does not routinely publish details of estimated costs of a specific service.
Mental Health
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the number of mentally disordered offenders who are deaf. [165834]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are two specialist mental health facilities for deaf mentally disordered offenders. These are at Rampton Hospital, a high secure hospital, which accommodates up to 10 individuals and Mayflower Hospital, an independent medium secure hospital, which has places for up to 40.
There will also be some deaf people in prison. The exact number is not known because no statistics are collected. The best available estimate is that 0.1 per cent. of the prison population will have some degree of hearing loss and that there may be between 50 and 100 who are profoundly deaf. Of these, up to a third may have mental health problems. These figures are, however, estimates and should be treated with caution.
Musculoskeletal Disease
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include the management and treatment of musculoskeletal disease within the terms of reference of the National Service Framework for Older People. [166208]
Dr. Ladyman: Although the National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People did not specifically focus on the management and treatment of musculoskeletal disease, the underlying principle, set out in the NSF, of fair access to high quality, joined-up care, based on need and not age, applies to all older people. We have no plans to add to the NSF for older people, which was published in March 2001.
NHS Usage Statistics
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of NHS acute service users in the last period for which figures are available were above retirement age. [165879]
Dr. Ladyman:
In 2002–03, 36 per cent., of all admissions to national health service hospitals in England in acute specialties were by people who were above retirement age on the day of admission. Further detail is shown in the following table.
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| Age Grouping | Finished admission episodes | Percentage acute admissions |
|---|---|---|
| 65+ (males) and 60+ (females) | 3,578,853 | 36.1 |
| All ages | 9,908,693 | 100.0 |
Notes:
A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Figures have hot been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
Nursing
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action has been taken by his Department to implement the recommendations of the Audit Commission report, "Brief Encounters", on temporary nurses. [166404]
Mr. Hutton: The recommendations contained in "Brief Encounters" will be taken into account by the newly established NHS Professionals special health authority in its management of the national health service temporary labour market, in partnership with local NHS trusts and primary care trusts.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mandatory entry requirements are for nursing training (a) diplomas and (b) degrees. [166442]
Mr. Hutton: Currently, in line with Nursing and Midwifery Council standards, entry to nurse training programmes, either for pre-registration diplomas or pre-registration degrees, requires a statutory minimum of five GCSEs at grade A, B or C (or the equivalent). Midwifery programmes require the same statutory minimum. However, one qualification must be in a science subject.
These standards are due to change soon and the new arrangements will be in place for September, when specific education entry requirements will cease to apply. Applicants will be required to meet general education entry requirements that show their competence in literacy and numeracy, as well as providing evidence of good health and character.
Higher education institutions are expected to set their own additional entry requirements for degrees and diplomas.
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