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19 May 2004 : Column 1005W—continued

Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide key statistical performance indicators for Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust, disaggregated between Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals, for each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement. [169799]

Mr. Hutton: Disaggregated statistical information on performance indicators used to calculate star ratings for national health service trusts are not held centrally.

Statistical information on the trusts' results are available on the star ratings website which is http://www.chi.nhs.uk/Ratings/Reports/SummaryReport Core.asp?TrustCode=RVL

Cancelled Operations

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations have been cancelled for non-clinical reasons in each strategic health authority in England in each year since 1997. [172823]

Mr. Hutton: Quarterly data for England are collected on the number of operations cancelled by the hospital for non-clinical reasons at the last minute (for example, on the day patients are due to arrive, or after arrival in hospital, or on the day of their operation), and the number of patients not admitted within 28 days of a "last minute" cancellation as part of the NHS Plan cancelled operations guarantee.

Cancelled operations data by national health service trust and by strategic health authority are available in the Library and on the Department's website at http://www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity.

Dentistry

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of the population in each primary care trust in London is registered with an NHS dentist. [172798]

Mr. Hutton: At 31 March, 2.9 million people were registered with a general dental service (GDS) dentist in London, representing, 40.7 per cent. of the population.
 
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The information in the table shows the percentage of population registered with a dentist in each primary care trust area in London at 31 March.

Registrations are recorded in the dentist's primary care trust (PCT) area. Patients attending a dentist in their home PCT area are recorded in the PCT area of their dentist. Registration rates for individual PCTs can be significantly affected by some patients receiving dental treatment in a different PCT area from the one in which they live.

Registrations lapse if patients do not return to their dentist within 15 months and so the registration figures exclude patients who have not been to their GDS dentist within the past 15 months. Also excluded from the figures are patients who receive dental treatment from other national health service dental services including dental access centres.
Number of General Dental Service registration as a percentage of the population at 31 March 2004—London

Primary care trustRegistration rates
London Region40.7
North Central London41.3
Barnet33.3
Enfield40.0
Haringey53.4
Camden43.1
Islington40.8
North East London38.6
Havering45.3
Barking and Dagenham36.9
City and Hackney28.0
Tower Hamlets31.4
Newham37.6
Redbridge and Waltham Forest(8)44.4
North West London43.1
Hillingdon44.2
Hammersmith and Fulham38.8
Ealing44.5
Hounslow46.5
Brent49.5
Harrow42.8
Kensington and Chelsea20.6
Westminster49.7
South East London40.7
Bromley34.9
Greenwich44.8
Bexley Care Trust42.3
Lambeth37.1
Southwark38.1
Lewisham49.0
South West London39.6
Kingston37.5
Croydon43.5
Wandsworth38.2
Richmond and Twickenham29.8
Sutton and Merton42.6


(8) Combined rates for Redbridge and Waltham Forest.



 
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Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been allocated to dentistry (a) in each year since 1997 and (b) for each of the next three years; and how that money has been spent. [169706]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Funding for hospital and community dental services is included in primary care trusts' (PCTs) unified budget allocations and is not identified separately; PCTs decide what level of spend is appropriate for local circumstances from their unified budget allocations.

Funding for general dental services (GDS) is currently managed on a national basis as a non-discretionary budget, and expenditure is determined by the number of patients and the treatments provided. Actual net spend since 1997–98 to 2002–03 are shown in the table.
Expenditure (£ million)
1997–98959
1998–991,022
1999–20001,058
2000–011,130
2001–021,202
2002–031,263

Expenditure figures represent the net spend on the GDS after taking account of the contribution from dental charges paid by patients. Figures from 1997–98 to 1999–2000 are cash based. Figures for 2001–02 onwards are resource based. Figures from 1998–99 include expenditure on new personal dental service (PDS) pilot schemes.

In addition to the non-discretionary expenditure shown in the table, £4 million in 2000–01 and £41 million in 2001–02 was allocated to special schemes to help dentists modernise their practices and extend access to more national health service patients.

Expenditure figures for 2003–04 are not yet available. As in previous years, the GDS budget for 2004–05 is a central non-discretionary budget and expenditure will be determined by dental activity. We have not yet made allocations for 2005–06 and 2006–07. These will be notified to Parliament in due course. However, we have already announced further supplementary investment totalling £90 million to support dentistry through to 2005–06. £59 million will support access, and strategic health authorities have been advised of their shares and are working with their primary care trusts to address access issues. £30 million is to support information technology and the balance of £1 million will support organisational development locally.

The funding has been spent in paying fees to dentists for the provision of dental services through the GDS and the PDS and includes increases in fees in line with the Doctors and Dentists Review Body recommendations, as well as the introduction of schemes such as rewarding NHS
 
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commitment. Over this period, the number of adult courses of treatment in the general dental service increased from 25.3 million in 1997–98 to 26.7 million in 2002–03, which includes 0.4 million courses in the personal dental service.

Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to recruit more NHS dentists. [170415]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We are developing a comprehensive plan to increase dental workforce capacity. The plan will address the short, medium and long term. It will include international recruitment and increases in the amount of national health service dentistry provided by United Kingdom dentists.

Diagnostic Testing

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 5 May 2004, Official Report, column 1612W, on diagnostic testing, of what types of diagnostic testing his Department is committed to extending the provision within (a) general practitioner surgeries and (b) community pharmacies; and what costs this will incur. [172915]

Mr. Hutton: The Department is committed to improving access to diagnostic services in primary and community settings to prevent inappropriate hospital visits.

However it is the responsibility of local strategic health authorities and primary care trusts, determined by local needs, to decide which diagnostic services GP surgeries and community pharmacies might provide, and the costs incurred by such services.

Drugs Expenditure

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure on drugs in the NHS was in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [169707]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.


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