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24 May 2004 : Column 1382W—continued

Health Services (Wigan)

Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS beds were available in Wigan in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [169350]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the table.
Wigan and Leigh Health Services NHS Trust 1996–97 to 2000–01 Average daily number of available beds, by sector

Year	All specialties (excluding day only)	General and Acute	Acute	Geriatric	Mental illness	Learning disability	Maternity	Day only
1996–97	1,021	729	611	118	233		59	31
1997–98	990	710	580	131	220		60	33
1998–99	927	703	620	83	170		54	31
1 999–2000	886	695	612	83	137		54	33
2000–01	919	719	636	83	146		54	35

Source:
Department of Health form KHO3





Wrightington Health Services NHS Trust 1996–97 to 2000–01

Year	All specialities (excluding day only)	General and acute	Acute	Geriatric	Mental illness	Learning disability	Maternity	Day only
1996–97	148	148	132	16	-	-	-	-
1997–98	154	154	140	14	-	-	-	-
1998–99	158	158	158	-	-	-	-	-
1999–2000	158	158	158	-	-	-	-	-
2000–01	158	158	158	-	-	-	-	-

Source:
Department of Health form KHO3





Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 2001–02 to 2002–03.

Year	All specialities (excluding day only)	General and Acute	Acute	Geriatric	Mental illness	Learning disability	Maternity	Day only
1996–97	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1997–98	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998–99	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1999–2000	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2000–01	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2001–02	1,083	900	817	83	130	-	53	36
2002–03	899	850	801	49	-	-	49	70

Source:
Department of Health form KHO3

Heroin

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest figures are for heroin addiction within the Greater London area. [174485]

Mr. Hutton: This information is not collected centrally.

ICT Training

Mr. Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his targets are for improving the information and communication technology (ICT) skills base of staff within (a) his Department and (b) its agencies; and what method he uses to certify the competence levels achieved by staff receiving training in ICT. [173719]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Neither the Department nor its executive agencies have targets for improving the information and communication technology (ICT) skills base of staff.

Staff are encouraged to improve their ICT skills and every major corporate application implementation or upgrade of desktop software packages is accompanied by training opportunities. The Department offers a range of training options: classroom training, at-desk training, computer based training, short seminars and
 
24 May 2004 : Column 1383W
 
workshops. Staff are also able to undertake the European computer driving licence, leading to formally recognised qualifications in ICT.

The Department and its agencies are very heavily reliant on ICT for the conduct of their business and, while there is no formal, corporate process for validating staff competence in ICT, staff are assessed, as part of the performance appraisal process, on their ability to undertake their roles effectively. This may include ICT related tasks.

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds will be made available to (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts to cover the costs of (i) training clinical staff to use new IT systems as part of the National Programme for IT rollout and (ii) covering for clinical staff while they are training. [174104]

Mr. Hutton: Training plans to support the national programme for information technology in the national health service in England (NPfIT) are still evolving, as is to be expected when approaching a phased programme of implementation and roll out of new applications, systems and services.

General IT skills are now an everyday element for any public service and service based organisation, including the NHS, and provision for this will form part of the   normal continuing professional and personal development for all NHS staff within existing budgets and training plans. The European computer driving licence is helping to improve general skills across the NHS. The move to e-learning and development and the NHS university will both create more demand for computer and online skills and provide more channels and solutions to bring training to people.

As we complete the more detailed plans for each geographical cluster and local service provider contract we will map out the extent of IT support for clinical practice and patient care to support the implementation of the NPfIT. This will generate clearer training requirements and will enable us to consider the most appropriate ways of providing training and development and produce firmer costs. The bids submitted by the service suppliers for the NPfIT include an element for supporting the delivery of training within the NHS.

Infleximab/Remicade

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is proposing to take to ensure that Infleximab/Remicade is made available on the NHS for all patients requiring this treatment; [174141]

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) Cherwell Vale Primary Care Trust and (b) other primary care trusts are operating in line with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on the prescription by consultant rheumatologists of Infleximab/Remicade. [174142]

Ms Rosie Winterton: National health service bodies are under a statutory obligation to fund treatments recommended in National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisals. We expect primary care trusts to meet their statutory obligations and strategic health authorities to follow up any allegations of non-compliance.
 
24 May 2004 : Column 1384W
 

However, clinicians may depart from the NICE guidance if, in their view, the circumstances of the individual patient justify doing so. But they will be held accountable, through clinical governance arrangements, for their clinical decisions.

Maternity Services

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time midwives are employed in the NHS; and how many were employed (a) five years ago and (b) 10 years ago. [173581]

Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
NHS hospital and community health services: registered midwives by nature of contract in England as at 30 September each year Headcount

	Total	Full-time	Part-time	Blank/Unknown
2003	23,941	10,462	11,796	1,683
1998	22,841	11,638	9,511	1,692
1993	23,353	12,205	7,185	3,963

Notes:
1. A new classification of the non-medical workforce was introduced in 1995.
2. Information based on this classification is not directly comparable with earlier years.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census.

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the merits of permitting people to commence midwifery training without having to undergo prior training as a nurse. [173738]

Mr. Hutton: Entry requirements, content or structure of pre-registration nursing and midwifery training programmes are matters which are the responsibility of the Nursing and Midwifery Council as the regulatory body for these professions. The arrangements for direct entry midwifery training leading to professional qualifications and the right to practice have proved successful over the last decade and have the support of   the professional bodies and higher education institutions.

NHS Direct

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls were made to NHS Direct in 2003–04. [173844]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004, NHS Direct answered 6,427,321 calls.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of NHS Direct was in 2003–04. [173845]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The total budgeted cost for the NHS Direct telephone service, NHS Direct Online and other related services for 2003–04 is £124 million.

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