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12 May 2004 : Column 452W—continued
Drug Addicts
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Heywood and Middleton are receiving drug treatment. [168538]
Miss Melanie Johnson: In 2000–01, there were 712 people receiving drug treatment in Rochdale. This is the latest available data. Data broken down by drug action team for 2001–02 and 2002–03 have not been finalised.
Exubera Inhaler
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Exubera inhaler will gain a certificate of a medicinal product and become available on the NHS to diabetics. [170535]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
As with all marketing authorisation applications, before Exubera is granted a licence and becomes available in the United Kingdom it must be fully evaluated in relation to the appropriate standards required in the relevant European rules and
12 May 2004 : Column 453W
regulations on medicinal products. Data submitted in support of the application will need to demonstrate that the safety, quality and efficacy of the product are satisfactory for its intended use.
Food Procurement
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is towards local food chain procurement; and what attempts he has made to amend his Department's competitive tendering rules. [170140]
Mr. Hutton: The National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) and NHS Estates have produced an action plan, entitled "Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative", on behalf of the Department. The action plan was produced in response to the action on farming and food programme and it focuses on promoting sustainability in terms of NHS food procurement. This plan can be viewed at the PASA's website at www.pasa.nhs.uk or copies can be requested from the Corporate Affairs Manager, NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, 80 Lightfoot Street, Chester CH2 3AD.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is towards special dietary provision by health trusts with reference to (a) halal, (b) kosher and (c) vegan diets. [170141]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Ensuring patients have access to adequate nutrition is a key component of effective health care. National health service trusts should have arrangements in place to ensure that the individual dietary needs of all patients can be met whether these arise from clinical need, cultural or religious requirements, or individual choice.
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is currently re-negotiating two new central agreements for the provision of special diets and authentic ethnic food. The process is currently under way for developing the specifications for these with religious and cultural leaders and with dieticians and the British Dietetic Association to ensure authenticity and acceptability of the products.
General Practitioners
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average cost of each patient consultation to a general practitioner and (b) average (i) hourly and (ii) daily cost to the NHS of a general practitioner's time was in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [168716]
Mr. Hutton: Data on general and personal medical services expenditure and activity are included in the Department's annual reports.
The report for 2004—Cm 6204—was published on 29 April 2004, and figure 7.5 of the report shows that expenditure per consultation was £17.42 in 2002–03.
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The Report is available in the Library and on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/AnnualReports/DHAnnualReportsArticle/fs/en?CONTENT ID= 4080936&chk=OsqvVR
General practitioners are self-employed contractors to the national health service and so determine their own hours of work and the hours of work of the staff that they employ to assist them. It is not possible, therefore, to estimate hourly or daily rates for a GP's time.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) under what circumstances a general practitioner may make a charge to patients for signing official documents; and if he will make a statement; [169746]
(2) if he will issue guidance to primary care trusts on suitable levels for charges by general practitioners for signing documents; [169756]
(3) if he will list the official documents and certificates which require a general practitioner's signature; and what action he is taking to satisfy himself that the level of charges by general practitioners for such signatures are reasonable. [169757]
Mr. Hutton: General practitioners are required to sign the following prescribed list of medical certificates:
To support a claim or to obtain payment either personally or by proxy; to prove incapacity to work or for self-support for the purposes of an award by the Secretary of State; or to enable proxy to draw pensions etc.
To establish pregnancy for the purpose of obtaining welfare foods.
To secure registration of stillbirth.
To enable payment to be made to an institution or other person in case of mental disorder of persons entitled to payment from public funds.
To establish unfitness for jury service.
To support late application for reinstatement in civil employment or notification of non-availability to take up employment owing to sickness.
To enable a person to be registered as an absent voter on grounds of physical incapacity.
To support applications for certificates conferring exemption from charges in respect of drugs, medicines and appliances.
To support a claim by or on behalf of a severely mentally impaired person for exemption from liability to pay the Council Tax or eligibility for a discount in the amount payable.
They must also sign prescription forms. If the doctor is asked to sign another document, such as a passport application form, he or she is not obliged to do so. However, if the GP does do this work, he or she is entitled to charge a fee. There are no plans to issue guidance on the level of this fee since successive Governments have regarded it as a private matter to be agreed upon between doctor and patient.
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Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much income general practitioners lost in 2003–04 owing to not meeting specific targets imposed on them by his Department in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [170206]
Mr. Hutton: No targets have been imposed on general practitioners in any of the last three years.
Guide Dogs
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support is given to train guide dogs for the blind. [171536]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 10 May 2004]: The Government do not fund the training of guide dogs. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is a registered charity and has not requested core funding from the Department or from the National Lottery.
Health Checks (Over-75s)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what tests are contained in the general practitioner health check for all patients aged 75 or over who request it and have not had a consultation within the last 12 months. [169717]
Mr. Hutton: Tests to be undertaken in the health check for patients aged 75 and over are not specified. It is a matter of practitioners' clinical judgment, based on the patient's needs arising from the consultation.
Health Directorates
Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each local health directorate in England the number of (a) men and (b) women elected. [164632]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Health Services
Mr. Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents in Bootle awaiting heart surgery have had the option of choosing an alternative hospital for quicker treatment in the last 12 months. [169263]
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Mr. Hutton: The information requested is not held centrally.
Mr. Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of suspected cancer patients in Bootle saw an NHS consultant within two weeks in each of the last seven years. [169265]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information from 2000–01, the earliest available, is shown in the table. BOOTLE—Waiting times for first consultant outpatient appointment for suspected cancer following urgent GP referral.
| Seen within two weeks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter | NHS Trust | Percentage | Number | |
| 2000–01 | 4 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 665 |
| 2001–02 | 1 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 683 |
| 2001–02 | 2 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 712 |
| 2001–02 | 3 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 878 |
| 2001–02 | 4 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 795 |
| 2002–03 | 1 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 916 |
| 2002–03 | 2 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 992 |
| 2002–03 | 3 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 1066 |
| 2002–03 | 4 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 1019 |
| 2003–04 | 1 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 1094 |
| 2003–04 | 2 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 1150 |
| 2003–04 | 3 | Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust | 100 | 1151 |
Source:
Department of Health form QMCW.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many inpatients in Crosby had to wait more than (a) three, (b) six, (c) nine and (d) 12 months for treatment in each year since 1997; and what the percentage change in each year was in each case. [164307]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not collected on a constituency basis but at national health service trust level. This information is shown in the tables.
| Time waited grouping | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 months | 38,836 | 35,102 | 36,452 | 37,931 | 35,230 | 34,472 |
| more than 3 to 6 months | 4,618 | 5,478 | 5,672 | 5,740 | 5,723 | 5,652 |
| more than 6 to 9 months | 2,384 | 2,896 | 2,414 | 2,778 | 3,174 | 2,597 |
| more than 9 to 12 months | 1,685 | 1,918 | 1,947 | 2,353 | 2,033 | 2,607 |
| more than 12 months | 2,753 | 3,377 | 2,990 | 2,636 | 2,235 | 1,749 |
| Total admissions | 50,276 | 48,771 | 49,475 | 51,438 | 48,395 | 47,077 |
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| Time waited grouping | 1997–98 to 1998–99 | 1998–99 to 1999–2000 | 1999–2000 to 2000–01 | 2000–01 to 2001–02 | 2001–02 to 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 months | -9.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | -7.1 | -2.2 |
| more than 3 months | 19.5 | -4.7 | 3.7 | -2.5 | -4.3 |
| more than 6 months | 20.1 | -10.3 | 5.7 | -4.2 | -6.6 |
| more than 9 months | 19.3 | -6.8 | 1.1 | -14.5 | 2.1 |
| more than 12 months | 22.7 | -11.5 | -11.8 | -15.2 | -21.7 |
Notes:
1. 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.
2. Figures are grossed for coverage, except for 2001–02 and 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
3. Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.
4. Trusts in Crosby Area:
REM Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust
REQ Southport and Formby Hospitals NHS Trust
RJV West Lancashire NHS Trust
RVY Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust.
5. Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust was created on 1 April 1999 from Southport and Formby Hospitals NHS Trust and part of West Lancashire NHS Trust. The figures for West Lancashire NHS Trust for 1997–98 and 1998–99 are for the whole trust. It is not possible to identify the proportion of this figure attributable to Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of suspected cancer patients in Wigan saw an NHS consultant within two weeks in each of the last seven years. [169348]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information from 2000–01, the earliest available, is shown in the following table.
Waiting times for first consultant outpatient appointment for suspected cancer following urgent GP referral.
Source:
Department of Health form QMCW.
12 May 2004 : Column 458W
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on NHS waiting times for heart surgery in Wigan. [169349]
Miss Melanie Johnson: In February 2004, no patient waited more than nine months for heart surgery at The Central Manchester and Manchester Children's Hospital National Health Service Trust or the South Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of women in Wigan with suspected breast cancer saw a specialist within two weeks in each of the last five years. [169352]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
Source:
DH form QMCW.
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