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21 Apr 2004 : Column 545W—continued
Mobile Phones
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has evaluated on the impact of electro-magnetic fields on the dielectric properties of cells, in relation to mobile phones. [166837]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government established the independent expert group on mobile phones (IEGMP) under the chairmanship of Sir William Stewart and the IEGMP report on mobile phones and health was published in May 2000. That report considered both thermal and non-thermal mechanisms of interaction of electromagnetic fields from mobile phones and evaluated a wide range of biological effects including cellular effects.
A further review of health effects was carried out by an independent advisory group on non-ionising radiation (AGNIR), entitled "Health Effects from Radiofrequency (RF) Electromagnetic Fields", this is available at www.nrpb.org. This report was issued in
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January 2004 and provided an updated review of the biological effects including cellular effects and interaction mechanisms, noting that
"Although there has been a wide range of diverse exposures and models investigated, no consistent pattern has emerged from the cellular studies of RF exposure. The balance of the findings on carcinogenesis is that there is little evidence and no known mechanism to support a direct or indirect effect of RF radiation on this process. Positive findings are not confirmed by other independent studies; apparently similar experiments fail to confirm each other and may even show contradictory results."
The AGNIR will continue to review the scientific literature both national and international that is relevant to the issue of mobile telephony and health.
Further research is being undertaken by the mobile telecommunications and health research (MTHR) programme with funding of £7.4 million. This was set up to investigate areas of scientific uncertainty highlighted by the IEGMP report and areas identified as important by the MTHR programme management committee. A range of research projects have been funded by MTHR including studies on cells, brain physiology and the fundamental dielectric properties of biological tissues. A number of these projects are scheduled for completion over the next year.
Accidents (Children)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-fatal accidents were recorded to have happened to children in England in each of the last five years. [165581]
Dr. Ladyman: The information is not available in the form requested. Estimates of the number of accidents are available from the health survey for England and are shown in the table. For children, aged two to 15, the annual accident rate per 100 persons for major and minor accidents from data for the three survey years 1995–97, aggregated together, and the two survey years 2001–02, aggregated together are shown. In the health survey, 'major accidents' include all those where a doctor was consulted or a hospital was visited, and 'minor accidents' include all accidents that caused pain or discomfort for over 24 hours.
| Annual accident rate per 100 children | ||
|---|---|---|
| Males 2 to 15-years-old | Females 2 to 15-years-old | |
| 1995–97 | ||
| Major accidents | 31 | 22 |
| Standard error | 1.1 | 0.9 |
| Minor accidents | 216 | 144 |
| Standard error | 11.6 | 8.9 |
| 2001–02 | ||
| Major accidents | 26 | 19 |
| Standard error | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Minor accidents | 226 | 174 |
| Standard error | 13.0 | 10.7 |
| Bases | ||
| 1995–97 | 7,365 | 7,365 |
| 2001–02 | 5,372 | 5,283 |
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Alcohol Treatment Services
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the alcohol treatment services in the North West offered by each NHS trust; and what the budget was for each of these services in each of the last three financial years. [165504]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 19 April 2004]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Alzheimer's Disease
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the number of patients with moderately-severe and severe Alzheimer's disease living (a) at home and (b) in institutional care; and if he will make a statement; [166203]
(2) how many patients are suffering from moderately-severe and severe Alzheimer's disease; and if he will make a statement. [166204]
Dr. Ladyman: Although the Department does not routinely collect this information, we estimate that of the 700,000 or so people with dementia in England and Wales, around 400,000 have Alzheimer's disease. Of these, we estimate around 200,000 have moderately severe or severe Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list for each (a) primary care trust and (b) strategic health authority area the total amount spent on drugs for severe Alzheimer's disease in the last year for which figures are available; [166562]
(2) what assessment he has made of the availability of drugs for advanced Alzheimer's disease throughout the UK; and if he will make a statement; [166563]
(3) what guidelines he has sent to primary care trusts regarding the availability of drug treatments for severe Alzheimer's disease patients; and if he will make a statement; [166564]
(4) what discussions he has held with (a) patient groups, (b) charities, (c) old age psychiatrists and (d) the drug industry concerning the availability of drug treatment for severe Alzheimer's disease patients; [166565]
(5) if he will make a statement on the funding for drug treatments for severe Alzheimer's disease in advance of a National Institute for Clinical Excellence appraisal; [166566]
(6) if he will list the licensed treatments currently available for moderately-severe to severe Alzheimer's disease patients. [166567]
Dr. Ladyman:
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), on behalf of the Licensing Authority, grants marketing authorisations for medicinal products provided that satisfactory quality, safety and efficacy data have been submitted for the medicinal product for use in the proposed indication and that the risk benefit is deemed favourable. According to the MHRA records, there is one licensed product, Ebixa (memantine hydrochloride), which is indicated for the treatment of moderately-severe to severe Alzheimer's disease.
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Information on Ebixa dispensed at primary care trust and strategic health authority (SHA) level is not publicly available due to the small numbers involved. However, it is known that Ebixa was dispensed in the community in all 28 SHAs in England in 2002–03.
No formal discussions have taken place between Ministers and stakeholders concerning the availability of drug treatment for severe Alzheimer's disease patients.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is, however, appraising Ebixa as part of the eighth wave of its work programme. The anticipated publication date of its guidance is May 2005.
The Department has asked National Health Service bodies (in HSC 1999/176) to continue with local arrangements for the managed introduction of new technologies, including drugs such as Ebixa, where guidance from NICE is not published at the time the technology first became available. These arrangements should involve an assessment of all the available evidence.
When considering the funding of any treatment currently being appraised by NICE, or where no appraisal has been commissioned, funding authorities are expected to use their existing prescribing arrangements and consider the evidence available to them on the clinical effectiveness of the treatment.
Bank Nurses
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has issued to NHS trusts with regard to checking the credentials of bank nurses; and how the system is monitored. [164821]
Mr. Hutton: The Department issued a code of practice for the supply of temporary staff in July 2002. A copy is available on the Department's website. All temporary staff employed in the national health service, whether employed through NHS Professionals, private recruitment agencies or from local banks, are subject to the same checks as anyone applying for a substantive post. This includes criminal records checks, qualification checks, taking up references and checks on Nursing and Midwifery Council registrations.
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