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19 Apr 2004 : Column 265W—continued
Older People
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what (a) initiatives, (b) campaigns and (c) advisory bodies relating to older people his Department (i) is responsible and (ii) has provided funding since 2001; and what the cost in each year was for each one. [166238]
Dr. Ladyman:
The national service framework (NSF) for older people, published in March 2001, forms the basis for the Department's programme to improve
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health and social care services for older people. Since its launch, the Department has supported a number of initiatives, campaigns and advisory bodies, as part of the implementation of the NSF. However, it is not possible to identify these separately.
Organ Transplants
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what authority controls the matching of donated organs with potential transplant recipients in the (a) NHS and (b) private sector. [164863]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It is the responsibility of UK Transplant, a special health authority based in Bristol, to match and allocate organs from deceased donors to suitable patients on the national transplant list, whether national health service or private, according to allocation rules agreed by national organ advisory committees.
It is the responsibility of local transplant centres or clinicians working in private practice to assess the suitability of a potential live organ donor and obtain approval from the Unrelated Live Transplant Regulatory Authority if required.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what protocols govern the selection of recipients of donated organs for transplant in the (a) NHS and (b) private sector. [164870]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The rules for allocating organs are publicly available on the UK Transplant website at www.uktransplant.co.uk. They are regularly reviewed by the medical profession in consultation with other health professionals, the Department and advisory groups. The system of allocation differs according to the type of organ; whether it is a heart, lung, kidney, liver or cornea, but there are some overall guiding principles which ensure as far as possible proper matching of organs to patients and equality of access to the organ available. All eligible patients, whether national health service or private, have to be registered on the relevant national transplant list and will be allocated a suitable organ when one becomes available.
Oxygen Cylinders
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the tender document to contractors for the supply of oxygen cylinders to cluster headache patients informs potential contractors of the number of cylinders that they will be required to supply each week to cluster headache patients. [166451]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Healthcare professionals are responsible for assessing and prescribing oxygen therapy for patients, including those suffering from cluster headaches. The new contract, being developed to support introduction of a modernised, integrated, oxygen service during 2005, will require service contractors to supply oxygen in a way that best meets the needs of the patient, as set out in the patient's prescription.
Pain Management
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how his Department guarantees that the quality
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of local pain management services provided by NHS trusts and primary care trust commissioners is effectively monitored by strategic health authorities; and what steps it takes to ensure that best practice in pain management is shared between NHS trusts and primary care trusts from different strategic health authority regions. [165349]
Mr. Hutton: The process for commissioning health services involves the establishment of service level agreements between primary care trust commissioners and providers for various specialties. These set the framework for the monitoring of all services, including pain. Strategic health authorities would not normally become involved in this process except in cases of serious difficulty.
The commissioning process ensures that quality services are provided and it is for providers to ensure that they take account of developments in pain services, such as the recommendations in the Clinical Standards Advisory Group report on pain or the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Pain Society booklet, "Pain Management Services—Good Practice".
Residential Care
Mr. Dorrell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered beds there were in (a) residential care homes and (b) nursing homes in Leicestershire for each year since 1995–96. [166121]
Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the number of care home places in Leicestershire at 31 March for the years 1996 to 2001.
Figures for later years have been collected by the National Care Standards Commission, but comparable details broken down by local authority are not available.
| At 31 March | Residential 2 | Nursing(100) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 5,220 | 2,325 | 7,545 |
| 1997 | 5,960 | 2,320 | 8,280 |
| 1998 | 5,840 | 2,150 | 7,990 |
| 1999 | 6,065 | 2,190 | 8,255 |
| 2000 | 6,330 | 1,710 | 8,040 |
| 2001 | 6,640 | 1,625 | 8,265 |
(98) For 1996 and 1997, residential figures are for Leicestershire Council with Social Services Responsibilities (CSSR). For 1998 onwards, residential figures are for Leicestershire CSSR, Leicester CSSR and Rutland CSSR. Nursing figures are for Leicestershire Health Authority for all years.
(99) Includes places in local authority staffed, voluntary, private, small and dual registered homes.
(100) Includes places in general nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals and clinics.
Source:
Department of Health forms RAC5, RA, RH(N) and KO36.
Shared Service Centres
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 23 March 2004, Official Report, column 718W, on administration, what savings
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he estimates can be gained from the expansion of shared service centres for (a) financial services and (b) human resources. [164899]
Mr. Hutton: It is not possible to estimate precisely the level of savings from expanding either financial services or human resources (HR) as these depend on a number of factors. The level of savings at each trust will depend on the age of their existing information technology systems, their cost base and number and type of staff they employ, how their services are delivered at the moment and the volume of transactions that are undertaken. The speed of any roll-out will also dictate the level of savings and is equally dependent on similar local circumstances.
However, it is estimated that by 2009–10, total savings from the use of shared service centres in the national health service will be about £35 million per annum on HR and £60-£75 million on financial services.
Skin Disease
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the proportion of general practitioner time spent dealing with skin disease. [164903]
Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not held centrally.
Social Services (Destitute British Nationals)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what responsibilities social services departments have to support destitute British nationals. [165494]
Dr. Ladyman: If an adult British citizen approaches a council with social services responsibilities for help, the council should determine whether the person is ordinarily resident in its area or in urgent need. If so, the council should carry out a community care assessment if it believes that the individual adult's needs are such that s/he may be provided with community care services. If, on the basis of a community care assessment, the individual is deemed eligible for community care services, the council should provide those services and, thereafter, review both needs and services at frequent intervals. This process applies to all adult British citizens whether they are destitute or not. In some situations, a council may have to provide substantial help, including residential accommodation, if a destitute British citizen is returning to, or arriving in, the United Kingdom and cannot access benefits and housing immediately.
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