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19 Apr 2004 : Column 268W—continued

Temporary Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the employment agencies which his Department has used to supply temporary staff in each financial year since 1996–97 to the most recent date for which figures are available. [163820]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department of Health allows managers to access temporary staff, when necessary, through appropriate employment agencies at their own discretion, where the appropriate funding is authorised.
 
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According to departmental records, a number of agencies were used by managers in the Department to supply temporary staff. The agencies used by the Department during 2002–03 and 2003 to date are shown in the list. The supplied information may not be complete due to limitations in the current departmental finance system.

Year 2002–03

Year 2003-to date


 
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Data for the years from 1996–2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Treatment Centres

Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations have been consulted on the Trent Region Access and Choice programme; how long the consultation period was; and whether copies of the responses were made publicly available. [164603]

Dr. Ladyman: Responsibility for effective involvement activity rests with the Trent Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and the relevant primary care trusts (PCTs).

The SHA is responsible for communicating high level strategic issues relating to the programme and it is the responsibility of PCTs to communicate operational impact and seek views on how best to meet the needs of local people through the delivery of the new service.

Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what submissions he has received regarding the location of the independent sector treatment centre in Trent as part of the Trent Region Access and Choice programme; what assessment the Department has made of (a) the length of journey and (b) the time taken to reach (i) Derby, (ii) Nottingham and (iii) Sheffield hospitals; and what assessment has been made of the potential impact on patient safety if complications occur after surgery. [164600]

Dr. Ladyman: The Barlborough independent sector treatment centre (IS-TC) is being set up to provide much needed additional clinical capacity in the Trent region, to help reduce waiting times and introduce choice for national health service patients. The location of the IS-TC in the Trent Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area was determined by the service provider, Care UK Afrox Healthcare (CUAH), working closely with Trent SHA, so that health requirements of the regional and local populations could be best served.
 
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Information on travel times to the hospitals mentioned is not available, but the service provider will be providing NHS patients with transport to and from the IS-TC. All IS-TCs will be staffed by fully trained and experienced clinical teams. Surgeons operating in IS-TCs must be registered with the General Medical Council on its specialist register. IS-TCs will have facilities and trained staff to resuscitate and stabilise any patient who suffers such complications.

Patients needing transport to a NHS trust in the event of a clinical emergency will be transported using normal ambulance services to either Chesterfield Royal Infirmary or, should they require an intensive care bed, to one of the hospital trusts in the North Trent critical care network. This is the same arrangement that would be followed for patients in any district general hospital in south Yorkshire.

Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether independent sector treatment centres will be subject to the same national audit framework as NHS hospitals. [164601]

Dr. Ladyman: The services provided by independent sector treatment centres for NHS bodies are subject to scrutiny by the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection (CHAI) on the same basis as other National Health Service services.

In addition, under the Care Standards Act 2000, CHAI is responsible for registering and inspecting independent treatment centres against the National Minimum Standards and Regulations issued by the Secretary of State.

Vulnerable Adults

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the protection of vulnerable adults list will be implemented in healthcare settings. [164819]

Dr. Ladyman: The Department remains fully committed to implementing the protection of vulnerable adults (POVA) scheme for healthcare. The POVA scheme is being commenced in social care first as there is strong evidence that most abuse of vulnerable adults occurs either in people's own homes or in care homes. There remain problems with implementing POVA in healthcare settings. It is hoped to resolve these problems as soon as possible, with a view to fully implementing POVA during 2005.

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