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4 May 2004 : Column 1464W—continued
Health Services (West Yorkshire)
22. Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding improvements to children's and maternity health services in (a) Leeds and (b) West Yorkshire. [169845]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has received a number of representations in support of a dedicated children's and maternity hospital for West Yorkshire to be based in Leeds. I have agreed to meet my hon. Friend the Member for Batley and Spen (Mr. Wood) to discuss this issue.
Mental Health Bill
23. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he proposes to start the pre-legislative scrutiny stages of the draft Mental Health Bill. [169846]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A revised and completed Mental Health Bill will be brought forward for pre-legislative scrutiny in this session.
Hepatitis C
24. Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in making payments available through the ex-gratia payments scheme for patients infected with hepatitis C. [169847]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Work is proceeding to finalise the arrangements necessary to begin making payments. The Skipton Fund was incorporated on 25 March. Officials are continuing to consult with patient groups and medical experts on the implementation of the scheme. The four UK health departments expect the Skipton Fund to be operational shortly.
Anti-depressants
Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that SSRI anti-depressants carry a warning that they may make patients suicidal. [168841]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The safety of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been closely monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Government's independent expert advisory committee, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) since first authorisation.
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The CSM has considered the question of suicidal behaviour in association with adult use of SSRIs on a number of occasions and has advised that it is general clinical experience that patients taking any anti-depressant may develop an increase in suicidal behaviour in the first few weeks of treatment. Prescribers were informed of this advice in an article in the drug safety bulletin, "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance", in 2000 and advised that patients thought to be at risk should be monitored carefully, especially in the early stages of treatment.
Product information for patients for all SSRIs contains warnings that suicidal behaviour may increase in the early stages of treatment with any anti-depressant and that any patient who has suicidal thoughts should seek urgent medical attention.
In December 2003, CSM advised that four SSRIs (paroxetine, sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram) and the related anti-depressant, venlafaxine, should not be used in treating children and adolescents under 18 years with depressive illness because clinical trials had not demonstrated efficacy in this population and there was evidence of an increased risk of adverse effects, including suicidal behaviour and self-harm compared to placebo. The product information (summary of product characteristics and patient information leaflets) for these SSRIs contains appropriate warnings.
A Europe-wide review of the safety of paroxetine led by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands was completed on 22 April 2004. The European scientific advisory committee, the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal products (CPMP) recommended that paroxetine should not be used in children and adolescents and that there should be careful monitoring during paroxetine treatment of patients at risk of suicidal behaviour, including those with a history of suicidal behaviour and young adults. The CPMP recommendations are now subject to consideration by the European Commission.
The CSM's expert working group on the safety of SSRIs is continuing to review the available evidence relating to the safety of all SSRIs, with particular reference to behavioural disorders, including, suicidality to ensure that the advice in the product information is optimal for safe use of these medicines.
Care Standards
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the future arrangements for the monitoring of care standards will include the use of lay visitors. [168691]
Dr. Ladyman: I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that the CSCI is considering a range of options to include service users and others in the range of its work. The use of lay assessors is one of these options.
Cataract Surgery
Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for cataract surgery in each Greater London NHS Trust for more
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than (a) three, (b) six and (c) nine months in each year since 1997; and what the percentage change was in each year. [168937]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally.
CFS/ME
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what funding has been allocated to Professor Simon Wesley's team at the Institute of Psychiatry for research into CFS/ME; [166707]
(2) what funding has been allocated to (a) the Merge Group in Perth, Scotland and (b) other biomedical researchers for work regarding CFS/ME. [166708]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body that receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology.
The MRC does not normally allocate in advance for particular areas of research. Funds are awarded on the basis of specific research proposals judged in competition.
The MRC has not provided funding for Professor Wessely's team or the Merge Group for research into chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). We do not hold records centrally for other funding bodies' allocations.
The MRC announced funding in May 2003 for two trials: PACE—Pacing, Activity and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: a Randomised Evaluation, and FINE—Fatigue Intervention by Nurses Evaluation to look at the effectiveness of various treatments for CFS/ME. The MRC is also funding a £400,000 clinical trial: training general practitioners to manage patients with persistent medically unexplained symptoms.
Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he intends to reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 19 February with regard to Mrs. S. Wild. [164934]
Dr. John Reid: A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 5 April 2004.
Drugs (Self-Administration)
Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are attending NHS hospitals and clinics whose condition is a direct result of the self-administering of drugs, broken down by region. [168853]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Data on the number of admissions to hospital which are drug related are shown in the table. The information is broken down by strategic health authority areas.
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The Department does not collect information on the number of patients who attend (but are not admitted to) national health service hospitals and clinics as a result of the self-administering of drugs.
Mr. Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what current or past research conducted or funded on behalf of the NHS has examined the relationships between self administered drug use and patients' attendance at NHS hospitals and clinics. [168854]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has not commissioned research specifically on the relationships between self administered drug use and patients' attendance at national health service hospitals and clinics.
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