---

19 May 2004 : Column 1015W—continued

Waiting Times

Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of women in South Ribble with suspected breast cancer saw a specialist within two weeks in each of the last five years. [171668]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected on a constituency basis. The information shown in the table relates to the national health service organisations serving the South Ribble area.
 
19 May 2004 : Column 1016W
 

Waiting times for 1st consultant out-patient appointment for suspected breast cancer following urgent GP referral

		Seen within 2 weeks
	NHS Trust	Percentage	Number
1999–2000	Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust	94.5	52
2000–01	Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust	100.0	169
2001–02	Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust	100.0	240
2002–03	Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust	100.0	238
2003–04	Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust	100.0	279

Note:
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals was established on 1 August 2002 following a merger of the Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Source:
DH form QMCW.

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of women in Workington constituency with suspected breast cancer saw a specialist within two weeks in each of the last five years. [170717]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected on a constituency basis. The information shown in the table relates to the national health service organisations serving the Preston area.
Waiting times for first consultant out-patient appointment for suspected breast cancer following urgent GP referral

		Seen within 2 weeks
		Percentage	Number
1999–2000	Carlisle Hospitals NHS Trust	92.9	236
2000–01	West Cumbria Health Care NHS Trust	—	—
2000–01	Carlisle Hospitals NHS Trust	83.3	244
2001–02	North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust	94.7	570
2002–03	North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust	89.0	699
2003–04	North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust	95.0	755

Note:
West Cumbria Health Care NHS Trust and Carlisle Hospitals NHS Trust merged to form North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust in April 2001.
Source:
Department of Health form QMCW.

Health Therapists

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health    how many (a) occupational therapists, (b) physiotherapists and (c) speech and language therapists were employed in the NHS in each (i) NHS region and (ii) strategic health authority in each of the last two years. [172705]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
NHS Hospital and Community Health Services: Qualified occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists employed in the NHS in each Government office region and strategic health authority area in England as at 30 September in each year Headcount

	Occupational             therapists		Physiotherapists		Speech and language therapists
	2002	2003	2002	2003	2002	2003
England total	14,749	15,391	16,885	17,922	5,960	6,243
A. North East
Total	726	756	953	1,004	320	344
Q10 County Durham and Tees Valley SHA	289	283	392	412	123	135
Q09 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear SHA	437	473	561	592	197	209
B. North West
Total	1,978	2,012	2,588	2,748	861	911
Q15 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA	617	602	915	942	264	274
Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA	559	611	643	700	242	274
Q14 Greater Manchester SHA	802	799	1,030	1,106	355	363
D. Yorkshire and the Humber
Total	1,577	1,587	1,917	2,050	568	596
Q11 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA	410	448	472	528	170	184
Q23 South Yorkshire SHA	475	478	600	638	158	178
Q12 West Yorkshire SHA	692	661	845	884	240	234
E. East Midlands
Total	1,327	1,440	1,222	1,329	453	462
Q25 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA	435	471	400	439	145	145
Q24 Trent SHA	892	969	822	890	308	317
F. West Midlands
Total	1,444	1,515	1,783	1,926	591	649
Q27 Birmingham and The Black Country SHA	597	619	734	792	283	304
Q26 Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA	418	452	540	589	137	157
Q28 West Midlands South SHA	429	444	509	545	171	188
G. East of England
Total	1,519	1,607	1,457	1,572	554	573
Q02 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA	322	364	367	431	171	174
Q03 Essex SHA	454	460	354	373	131	136
Q01 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA	743	783	736	768	252	263
H. London
Total	2,018	2,113	2,328	2,486	979	1,133
Q05 North Central London SHA	390	450	471	510	178	254
Q06 North East London SHA	410	399	390	421	184	179
Q04 North West London SHA	455	458	565	597	229	258
Q07 South East London SHA	416	456	491	516	219	251
Q08 South West London SHA	347	350	411	442	169	191
J. South East
Total	2,311	2,394	2,608	2,666	998	931
Q17 Hampshire and Isle Of Wight SHA	436	478	584	625	185	190
Q18 Kent and Medway SHA	411	415	443	449	199	190
Q19 Surrey and Sussex SHA	885	898	877	885	303	265
Q16 Thames Valley SHA	579	603	704	707	311	286
K. South West
Total	1,849	1,967	2,029	2,141	636	644
Q20 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA	814	878	934	991	321	308
Q22 Dorset and Somerset SHA	450	463	468	506	125	137
Q21 South West Peninsula SHA	585	626	627	644	190	199

Source:
Department of Health Non-medical Workforce Census.





 
19 May 2004 : Column 1017W
 

Healthy Eating

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Department is taking to encourage the production and sale of healthier foods. [160697]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 11 March 2004]: We are working closely with the food industry
 
19 May 2004 : Column 1018W
 
and other stakeholders to encourage the production and sale of healthier foods. Our 5 A DAY programme is promoting the sale of fruit and vegetables.

We are currently consulting stakeholders and the public as part of the Choosing Health? consultation through the consultation document, "Choosing Health? Choosing a Better Diet". This will enable a wide range
 
19 May 2004 : Column 1019W
 
of stakeholders to contribute to the debate on healthier food. The Government will draw up a White Paper in the light of consultation.

Healthy Living Centres

Mr. Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of healthy living centres. [170417]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Healthy living centres (HLCs) have a key role to play in reducing inequalities and supporting the work of other statutory and voluntary organisations locally.

The New Opportunities Fund has commissioned the Bridge Consortium to carry out a four-year evaluation of the programme which will focus on health impact monitoring and issues of sustainability, partnership and social exclusion.

The Department has commissioned its own evaluation of the HLC programme through the Tavistock Institute against key health priorities, such as cancer and coronary heart disease prevention. The institute will be encouraged to publish its findings and the Health Development Agency will incorporate the findings into evidence and practice reviews.

Interim findings from the New Opportunities Fund's evaluation are already available on the New Opportunities Fund website at www.nof.org.uk.

Hearing-impaired Patients

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are to introduce deaf and disability awareness training for front-line NHS staff. [170967]

Mr. Hutton: NHSU, the organisation set up by the Department to establish a university for the national health service, is leading the development and delivery of disability equality and awareness training tools and resources as part of a wider disability learning and development strategy. An initial prototype learning programme, aimed at providing staff with a broad overview of disability awareness, will be ready for consultation in the autumn.

There are no plans for centrally funded training programmes that deal specifically with deaf awareness.

---