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17 May 2004 : Column 790W—continued
Anti-psychotic Drugs
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adverse reaction reports were received through the Yellow Card reporting system regarding (a) anti-psychotic drugs excluding atypicals and (b) atypical anti-psychotic drugs in (i) 2000–01, (ii) 2001–02, (iii) 2002–03 and (iv) 2003–04; and how many prescriptions there were for each of these types of drugs in these years. [172419]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The table shows the number of suspected adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports received via the United Kingdom yellow card scheme regarding antipsychotic drugs (atypical and other antipsychotics) each year since 2000 together with the number of prescriptions dispensed in the community in England.
| Antipsychotics (excluding atypicals) | Atypical antipsychotics | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADRs | Prescriptions | ADRs | Prescriptions | |
| 2000 | 110 | 3,790,273 | 917 | 1,149,450 |
| 2001 | 118 | 2,875,980 | 1100 | 1,842,005 |
| 2002 | 100 | 2,507,203 | 1322 | 2,471,345 |
| 2003 | 131 | 2,251,279 | 1689 | 3,083,712 |
It is important to note that a report of an adverse reaction does not necessarily mean that it was caused by
17 May 2004 : Column 791W
the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease. Other factors such as the time since a drug was first marketed, media interest or regulatory action can also influence the frequency of reporting. This means that reporting rates based on numbers of spontaneous reports and numbers of prescriptions are not true measures of the frequency of reactions or a firm basis for comparisons between drug substances or classes.
Ashford Hospital
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what costs were incurred by his Department in changing the preferred bidder for the proposed diagnostic treatment centre at Ashford hospital; [171112]
(2) what date it was decided to remove preferred bidder status from Mercury Healthcare for the provision of a diagnostic treatment centre at Ashford (Middlesex) hospital; and on what date this decision was communicated to the company. [171113]
Mr. Hutton: The Department made a payment of approximately £1.1 million to Mercury Healthcare as a contribution towards their bid costs when they were deselected as the preferred bidder for the provision of the independent sector treatment centre 'spine' chain. Capio UK was subsequently appointed as preferred bidder for the chain. This switch has enabled the Department to secure a multi-million pound saving in the price of the contact. This significant saving is shared across the entire chain, including the proposed treatment centre at the Ashford hospital.
The decision to remove the preferred bidder status from Mercury Healthcare was formally endorsed by the chain's board of national health service sponsors at its meeting on 27 January 2004. Following a period of negotiation with Mercury Healthcare, the national implementation team formally communicated this decision on 17 February 2004.
Body Piercing/Tattooing
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the regulation of body piercing and tattooing establishments. [172030]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Local authorities have powers to regulate body piercing and tattooing businesses by requiring registration and observance of bylaws relating to the hygiene and cleanliness of premises, practitioners and equipment. In London, local authorities have powers under private legislation to require such businesses to be licensed and observe licensing conditions relating to a range of matters including the hygiene and cleanliness of the premises and equipment.
It is an offence for a body piercing or tattooing business to operate without being registered or licensed or to breach bylaws or licensing conditions.
The following statutory provisions are relevant to the regulation of body piercing and tattooing businesses:
Local Government Act 2003
London Local Authorities Act 2000
London Local Authorities Act 1995
London Local Authorities Act 1991
Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982
Greater London Council (General Powers Act) Act 1981
Local authorities also have general enforcement powers under health and safety at work legislation.
Caesarean Sections
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health risks for (a) mother and (b) baby in delivery by Caesarean section. [172387]
Dr. Ladyman: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence issued clinical guidelines on the use of caesarean section on 29 April. The guideline will be a useful tool to advise clinicians of best evidence on when to perform a caesarean section and when not to perform one. It also emphasises the appropriate care women and their babies need before, during and after the procedure. The guideline will also ensure that when considering a caesarean section, there should be a discussion on the benefits and risk of caesarean section compared with vaginal birth. We support the need for women to be offered evidence-based information and support to enable them to make informed choices about their care during birth.
The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has been established to focus our efforts to improve patient safety in the national health service to promote an open and fair culture and to run a new national reporting and learning system for patient safety incidents including those involving mothers and their babies. The NPSA has begun a programme to roll out this system, launched at NPSA's conference on 25 February 2004, across NHS organisations during 2004.
Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births were by Caesarean section in each maternity unit within Northumbria NHS Trust in 2003; and how many of these were (a) emergency and (b) planned procedures. [170421]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Estimated 1 numbers of emergency and planned caesarean deliveries at North Tyneside General Hospital for 2002–03 are shown in the table.
1 Available data on delivery method from 1,552 records are grossed to known number of deliveries.
| Type of delivery | Number |
|---|---|
| Planned caesareans | 130 |
| Emergency caesareans | 193 |
| Total deliveries by caesarean | 323 |
| Total deliveries | 1,604 |
Source:
Hospital Episodes Statistics.
Further information can be found at www. publications.doh.gov.uk/public.sb0410.htm.
Chernobyl
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Cumbria are still affected by the radioactive fall out from the 1986 Chernobyl accident. [170662]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) on 11 May 2004, Official Report, column 208W.
Chest Pain Clinics
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many rapid access chest pain clinics there are in the constituency of Huntingdon. [172633]
Dr. Ladyman: There is one rapid access chest pain clinic in the constituency of Huntingdon, at Hinchingbrooke Healthcare National Health Service Trust.
Continence
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the number of children with continence problems assessed and managed by (a) school nurses, (b) general practitioners and (c) specialist nurses; [171130]
(2) what assessment he has made of the adequacy of treatment and care received by children with continence conditions. [171132]
Dr. Ladyman: National health service primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for assessing and providing continence services. An assessment of service levels and of the numbers of children accessing services provided by school nurses, general practitioners and specialist nurses is not undertaken centrally. Guidance issued in 2000, "Good Practice in Continence Services", advises that each PCT should have specialist continence services in place, which provide an individual assessment of needs. PCTs are also encouraged to use the Modernisation Agency's publication, "Good practice in paediatric continence services—benchmarking in action", when ensuring quality provision.
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