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5 May 2004 : Column 1612W—continued
Elective Admissions (Manchester)
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the levels of elective admissions to the NHS in Manchester, Gorton in the past five years. [167389]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The information is not collected on a constituency basis, but at National Health Service trust level. Data for NHS trusts are shown in the table.
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| NHS Trusts | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust | 49,071 | 47,969 | 46,217 | n/a | n/a |
| Central Manchester and Manchester Children's Hospital NHS Trust | n/a | n/a | n/a | 55,824 | 58,663 |
Notes:
1. N/A—not available.
2. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
3. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) Department of Health
Elective Surgery
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he has made available on the maximum amount of time that a patient seeking elective surgery should have to wait (a) for an appointment with a consultant and (b) for an operation following that consultation before being offered the choice of faster treatment in an alternative hospital. [170657]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 4 May 2004]: The NHS Plan sets out the maximum waiting time targets for consultant led services. As at 1 April 2004, the current maximum waiting time standard for first outpatient appointment following a referral from a general practitioner or general dental practitioner is 17 weeks. The maximum waiting time for inpatient admission following the decision to admit by the consultant is nine months.
Choice of hospital for patients who are expected to wait longer than six months for elective surgery is being rolled out between April and August this year. "Guidance (Choice of Hospital, Guidance for PCTs, NHS Trusts and SHAs on offering patients choice of where they are treated)" issued in July 2003 sets out the responsibilities of national health service organisations in delivering choice of hospital to patients waiting longer than six months.
The guidance advises that patients who are expected to wait more than six months for elective surgery should be contacted at the earliest opportunity and certainly before they have waited five and a half months. Patients may need to be contacted earlier to allow an offer of faster treatment.
Strategic health authority plans for the implementation of choice of hospital for patients waiting longer than six months set out the local arrangements for offering patients faster treatment in an alternative hospital.
Erectile Dysfunction
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the recorded incidence of erectile dysfunction was, broken down by age group, in the last year for which figures are available. [168445]
Miss Melanie Johnson: We do not hold information centrally about diagnosis of erectile dysfunction.
Food Labelling
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Secretary of State has to replace sugar and carbohydrate labelling of food products with the glycaemic index. [167650]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: Nutrition labelling rules are agreed at European Union level and there are currently no proposals to introduce requirements to replace sugar and carbohydrate labelling of food products with a declaration of the glycaemic index.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends that the amount of carbohydrate and sugar present be given as part of the nutrition label of a food product, even when such information is not required by law. Research shows that consumers value this information and would prefer it to be accompanied by an indication as to whether the level is high, medium, or low. The FSA is developing advice on how this might be done.
Health Infrastructure Funding
Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the health infrastructure developments in England funded through the European Investment Bank in the last five years. [169806]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 30 April 2004]: In England, the European Investment Bank has part funded the private finance initiative (PFI) schemes at Dudley Group of Hospitals National Health Service Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (Blackburn) and Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust.
Health Ombudsman
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the guidance which his Department has given strategic health authorities for reviewing long-term care assessments in the light of the Ombudsman's report. [169230]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 4 May 2004]: No official guidance was issued. A suggested process to assist strategic health authorities was provided, copies of which have been placed in the Library. All strategic health authorities now have systems in place to review past continuing care cases.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2004, Official Report, column 703W, on Health Ombudsman's Report (Long-term Care), in which areas of the country the reviews of this issue have (a) been fully completed and (b) not been fully completed; [169231]
(2) when he expects all the cases of people suspected of wrongly paying for their long-term care following the Health Ombudsman's report on the subject will be (a) reviewed and (b) resolved; [169232]
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(3) how many of the reviews of long-term care have been completed; whether the deadline of the end of March 2004 was met; and when he expects all the reviews to be completed. [169233]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 4 May 2004]: All strategic health authority areas have some investigations outstanding. The Department has set no new time-scales for the completion of currently outstanding cases, or any further cases which may arise, but the national health service is expected to complete them all in a thorough and timely manner.
Health Services (Birkenhead)
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the effect on residents of Birkenhead of the Health Development Agency. [166568]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The work of the Health Development Agency (HDA) is focussed on service delivery that supports the whole of the region's public health development.
The HDA manages the national healthy school standard, which is part of the Government's national strategy to reduce health inequalities for children. The regional management of the programme is delivered in partnership with Sefton local education
The North West HDA organised the largest ever regional public health conference in March 2004 to address the problem of obesity. Over 300 regional public health professionals, including representatives from health services responsible for Birkenhead, learned of the latest obesity data for the region and collaboratively planned a regional obesity action plan. The workshop drew together best practice from across the region and in addition to the HDA guidance on obesity, this will provide the basis for local and regional work to tackle obesity in the coming years.
The North West HDA is currently working with the North West public health observatory and the regional cancer registries to review the main causes of cancer related deaths across the region.
The HDA, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University and the North West public health observatory, is currently completing a regional report, "Alcohol: A Situational Analysis for the North West".
Healthy Eating
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the fast food industry regarding super size fast food portions and their effect on health. [160793]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The potential impact of super sized food on diet and health is recognised and we are committed to improving the dietary intakes of the whole population. I, and my officials, have met regularly with industry and their trade associations, as well as individual stakeholders, as part of the development of the food and health action plan. The consultation
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process on the public health White Paper will provide further opportunities for discussions with all stakeholders.
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