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18 May 2004 : Column 947W—continued
Waiting Times
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals are awaiting an initial appointment with a hospital consultant. [173617]
Angela Smith: The latest available waiting list figures show the position at 31 December 2003, when there were 146,180 people awaiting a first outpatient appointment (including cancellations and deferrals) in Northern Ireland.
This information is published in the "Northern Ireland Waiting List Quarterly Information Release" on the first Thursday in March, June, September and December. A copy of this publication is placed in the House of Commons Library or can be obtained from the DHSSPS website, internet address: www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/publications/index.html
HEALTH
Drug Action Teams
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the real terms percentage change in the budget for each drug action team in England was in each year from 1996–97 to 2003–04; what the percentage change will be from 2003–04 to 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [163883]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department does not have information centrally on individual drug action team (DAT) budgets for the time period 1996–2004.
This is the first Government to make substantial funding available for drug treatment. The pooled drug treatment budget totalled £129 million in 2001–02. In 2002–03, the total budget was £195.7 million and this increased to £243.6 million in 2003–04. This additional funding means that all DATs received a minimum increase of 30 per cent. in 2002–03, with a further average increase of 24 per cent. in 2003–04.
Drug Treatment
Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Preston are receiving drug treatment. [169695]
18 May 2004 : Column 948W
Miss Melanie Johnson: In 2000–01, there were a total of 2,874 people receiving drug treatment in the area covered by the drug action team for Lancashire. This is the latest available data. Data broken down by drug action team for 2001–02 and 2002–03 has not yet been finalised and published.
Source:
DH Statistics
Pregnancy/Sexual Health Statistics
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many teenage pregnancies were recorded over the past five years; and how many cases of sexually transmitted diseases were recorded in the same period. [169256]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Conceptions in women aged under 18, in England, for the years 1998 to 2002 are shown in the table:
| Conceptions | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 41,089 |
| 1999 | 39,247 |
| 2000 | 38,699 |
| 2001 | 38,439 |
| 2002 | 39,286 |
Source:
Office of National Statistics
The total number of teenagers (patients who were under 20 years of age) treated for the principle sexually transmitted infections 1 in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics in England from 1998 to 2002 are shown in the table.
1 Infectious syphilis, uncomplicated gonorrhoea, uncomplicated chlamydial infection, genital herpes (first attack) and genital warts (first attack).
| Sex description | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 20,979 | 23,018 | 25,225 | 27,346 | 29,795 |
| Male | 6,530 | 7,768 | 9,116 | 9,694 | 11,026 |
| Total | 27,509 | 30,786 | 34,341 | 37,040 | 40,821 |
Source:
Health Protection Agency, KC60 statutory returns from GUM clinics.
Blackout Clinics/Nurses
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to make available provision for blackout (a) clinics and (b) nurses. [169269]
Miss Melanie Johnson: On 12 March 2004, the Government announced that a new national service framework chapter on arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death would be published within one year.
An expert group will be formed to take this work forward and they will consider any issues relevant to blackouts as part of their work.
Body Piercing/Tattooing
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with what frequency inspections are carried out on body piercing and tattooing establishments; what the nature of such inspections is; and by whom they are carried out. [173810]
18 May 2004 : Column 949W
Miss Melanie Johnson: Local authorities inspect body piercing and tattooing businesses in relation to the hygiene and cleanliness of premises, practitioners and equipment, and health and safety at work issues. The frequency of such inspections is a matter for local determination and we do not collect information on this centrally.
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what regulations are in place to prevent children aged under 16 years obtaining body piercings and tattoos without their parents' consent; and if he will make a statement. [172043]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 12 May 2004]: There is no statutory age of consent for body piercing. Minors are able to give valid consent themselves if they are capable of understanding the nature of the act to be done. A statutory minimum age of consent for tattooing (18 years of age) is specified in the Tattooing of Minors Act 1969.
The Government have no current plans to introduce legislation to provide for a statutory age of consent for body piercing as this might lead to minors piercing themselves or each other in an unhygienic manner, or to go into disreputable businesses. We keep the position under review.
The Health and Safety Executive has produced guidelines for local authorities on the enforcement of skin piercing activities. These contain useful advice for local authorities in working with businesses to promote a reasonable approach to age of consent issues.
Care Homes
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received regarding a reduction in the number of inspections required each year by care homes. [162376]
Dr. Ladyman [pursuant to his reply, 22 March 2004, Official Report, c. 590W]: I regret my previous reply was incorrect, it should read as follows:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has received one representation regarding a reduction in the number of inspections required each year by care homes.
Childhood Immunisation
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the inclusion of Prevenar in the UK childhood immunisation programme. [173180]
Miss Melanie Johnson: New studies have been taken forward by the Health Protection Agency for the inclusion of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevenar) into the United Kingdom childhood immunisation programme and a decision will be taken at the end of these studies. The timing is dependent on the rate of recruitment of children to these studies.
Children (Chronic Illness)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children with chronic illness suffer from (a) asthma, (b) eczema and (c) respiratory conditions. [169483]
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Dr. Ladyman: This information is not collected in the form requested. The latest hospital episode statistics for children aged 0–16 years with these conditions are shown in the table. Admissions may relate to more than one episode for the same child.
| Diagnosis grouping | Finished admission episodes |
|---|---|
| Respiratory conditions | 179,357 |
| Of which: | |
| Asthma | 25,166 |
| Eczema | 3,876 |
Notes:
Finished admission episodes
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.
Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)
The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
Ungrossed Data
Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
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