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20 Apr 2004 : Column 412W—continued
NHS Foundation Trusts
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to lay before Parliament the code for determining the limit on the total amount of borrowing of any NHS Foundation Trust required by section 12 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003. [166073]
Mr. Hutton: The Independent Regulator of National Health Service foundation trusts is responsible for making the Prudential Borrowing Code.
The draft prudential borrowing code has not yet been issued for consultation. I am informed by the Independent Regulator that a draft code is expected to be issued for consultation shortly and will be subject to a 12-week consultation period. Following the consultation, the Regulator will consider the responses, amend the code as required, make the final code and lay a copy before Parliament.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list each primary care trust indicating its variation from (a) average per-capita resources in England and (b) their Resource Allocation Working Party as fair share funding formula. [166660]
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Mr. Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Hospital Discharges
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many elderly people have been subject to eviction as a result of rent arrears after a stay in hospital in each year since 1997. [166517]
Dr. Ladyman: The Department does not collect this information.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to improve communication between health and social services to support vulnerable people who risk losing their homes as a result of rent arrears built up during a stay in hospital; and if he will make a statement. [166518]
Dr. Ladyman: The Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003 introduced a system of notifications between National Health Service bodies and social services departments which has improved communication and co-ordination between health and social care partners at the point of discharge.
In addition, since March 2003 working age patients have continued to receive their full entitlement to any incapacity benefits, Income Support, bereavement benefits, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for 52 weeks. Also pensioners continue to receive their full State Retirement Pension, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit entitlement for 52 weeks.
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place to prevent elderly people returning home from hospital being subject to eviction orders as a result of rent arrears. [166520]
Dr. Ladyman: From May 2003 pensioners have continued to receive their full State Retirement Pension, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit entitlement for 52 weeks in order to ensure that they can continue to maintain their living expenditure. The Department has taken action to ensure that hospital discharges are planned effectively and completed in a timely manner.
Hospital-acquired Infections
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Nosocomial Infection National Surveillance Scheme, including its current remit and responsibilities. [165246]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The nosocomial infection national surveillance scheme was a voluntary reporting system for two types of data: hospital-acquired blood stream infection and surgical site infection. The first stopped in 2002, while the second continues as the surgical site infection surveillance service. Its remit is to help trusts use surveillance data to monitor and improve the quality of patient care.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will publish the systematic review of how infection control guidelines are implemented in the NHS carried out by Thames Valley University. [165249]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: Thames Valley University will update existing guidelines 1 on preventing hospital-acquired infections later this year, but has not undertaken a systematic review of their implementation.
1 The epic project: developing national evidence-based guidelines for preventing healthcare association infections phase 1: guidelines for preventing hospital-acquired infections 2001 http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/73/68/04077368.PDF
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to neonatal intensive care units on the use of (a) broad spectrum antibiotics to prevent infections and (b) more targeted antibiotic approaches. [165242]
Miss Melanie Johnson: We have not issued specific guidance but the medicines management framework provides standards for the best use of all medicines in hospitals. This includes a recommendation that a lead pharmacist for anti-microbial prescribing is responsible for ensuring that appropriate policies are in place.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Care Standards Commission records incidences of MRSA in care homes. [165243]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Care Standards Commission did not have records of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
Health Services (Hull and East Yorkshire)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cases of MRSA have been identified in hospitals within Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the past five years; [165038]
(2) what percentage of patients in hospitals within Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust are infected with MRSA; [165039]
(3) what percentage of NHS staff within Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust are infected with MRSA. [165043]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The data are not collected centrally. Available data from the national mandatory surveillance system for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections are shown in the table.
| Year | Number of reports | MRSA rate (per 1,000 bed-days) |
|---|---|---|
| April 2001–March 2002 | 106 | 0.26 |
| April 2002–March 2003 | 75 | 0.18 |
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David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds there are in the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust. [165042]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The average daily number of available beds in wards open overnight at Hull and East Yorkshire National Health Service Trust in 2002–03 was 1,391. In addition, the average daily number of day case beds in 2002–03 was 107. Information for each NHS trust is published annually on the Department's website at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/. Information for 2003–04 will be available in the summer.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses work in hospitals in the East Riding of Yorkshire. [165044]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
| All qualified nurses | Community | Hospital | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust | 2,399 | 0 | 2,399 |
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis there were in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each of the past five years. [165047]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Year | Health Authority | TB cases |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | East Riding | 17 |
| 1999 | East Riding | 30 |
| 2000 | East Riding | 37 |
| 2001 | East Riding | 37 |
| 2002 | East Riding | 18 |
Source:
Department of Health.
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