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25 May 2004 : Column 1602W—continued
Mobile/Wireless Communications
Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether current research being carried out by the mobile telephone health research team at King's College London is examining mobile and wireless communications systems. [174394]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Link Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme is jointly funded by Government and industry. It currently supports about 20 projects under the management of an independent programme committee. One of these projects is being undertaken at the mobile phone research unit at King's College London. It is a study designed to examine whether mobile phone signals cause unpleasant symptoms such as headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. Details of the programme and each project currently funded can be found on the website www.mthr.org.uk
NHS Facilities
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether new facilities monitored by NHS Estates conform to design guidance with respect to the numbers
25 May 2004 : Column 1603W
of wash-hand basins; and what action his Department has taken to ensure compliance by new facilities that do not meet the requirements of the guidance. [174636]
Mr. Hutton: NHS Estates guidance sets out recommendations concerning the provision of wash hand-basins in a number of differing circumstances.
The exact number of wash-hand basins required in any particular situation will vary according to a variety of factors including the design and configuration of the room.
Trust chief executives are responsible for ensuring that there are effective arrangements in place for infection control.
NHS Land
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the last full inventory of land owned by (a) the NHS and (b) NHS trusts was carried out; and what steps he is taking to sell off unused excess land. [175838]
Mr. Hutton: An independent valuation of all national health service property assets is undertaken every five years with the 2005 exercise nearing completion. Registers of such assets, including land, are held and continually updated by individual NHS bodies.
Land and property identified as surplus to requirements is sold in accordance with departmental guidance given in "Estatecode".
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An agreement in principle has been reached to transfer surplus land in the ownership of the Secretary of State for Health to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
NHS Staff
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 28 April 2004, Official Report, column 1092W, on NHS staff, whether locums and those on temporary contracts are included in figures for NHS returnees. [175396]
Mr. Hutton: Locums and those on temporary contracts are not included in the figures for national health service returners.
NHS Staff (Wirral, South)
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS (a) therapists and (b) scientists were located in Wirral South in each of the last seven years. [172686]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected on a constituency basis. The information available is shown in the table and relates to national health service organisations serving the South Wirral constituency.
NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified scientific, therapeutic and technical staff in the specified organisations as at 30 September each specified year.
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5F8 | Bebington and West Wirral PCT | (37)— | (37)— | (37)— | (37)— | 4 | 60 | 65 |
| QDC | Wirral HA | (37)— | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | (37)— | (37)— |
| RBL | Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 497 | 512 | 530 | 541 | 540 | 554 | 570 |
(37) Not applicable.
Source:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of patients with suspected cancer in Wirral, South saw an NHS consultant within two weeks in each of the last seven years. [172688]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is not collected on a constituency basis. The earliest information available is shown in the table and relates to national health service organisations serving the South Wirral constituency.
| Quarter ended | Name | Total referrals seen during the quarter | Number of patients seen during the quarter by a specialist within 14 days of the decision to refer by their GP | Number of patients seen during the quarter by a specialist after 14 days of the decision to refer by their GP | Percentage compliance with the two week standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 1999 | Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 110 | 74 | 36 | 67.3 |
| December 2000 | Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 138 | 117 | 21 | 84.8 |
| December 2001 | Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 611 | 608 | 3 | 99.5 |
| December 2002 | Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 696 | 558 | 138 | 80.2 |
| December 2003 | Wirral Hospital NHS Trust | 810 | 807 | 3 | 99.6 |
| June 2000 | Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust | 190 | 176 | 14 | 92.6 |
| June 2001 | Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 |
| December 2003 | Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 |
Source:
Department of Health form QMCW
25 May 2004 : Column 1605W
Nurses Training
Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to ensure that nurse (a) training and (b) career pathways adequately reflect the need for specialist skills in care of the elderly. [175522]
Mr. Hutton: The curriculum for nurse training is decided by higher education institutions in line with guidance from the regulatory body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Within the adult/general branch of nursing, undergraduate and diploma courses cover the nursing skills needed in the care of the elderly. Once qualified, nurses can undertake further specialist skills training in this area.
We are continuing to implement current policies that support specialist and advanced role in the care of older people. These include the development of nurse consultant posts, nurses with special interests, nurse prescribing and leadership programmes.
Nutritional Supplements
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has made to EU officials on behalf of UK businesses in relation to plans for a draft Directive on nutritional supplements for sports competitors; and if he will make a statement. [175282]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 24 May 2004]: A working document for a Directive on foods intended to meet the expenditure of intense muscular effort, especially for sports people, was issued by the European Commission in April 2004 and an expert working group was held on the 10 May 2004. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) represents the United Kingdom for this work and its officials attended the expert working group.
The FSA has already had discussions with the industry about the draft Directive and will continue to do so as the negotiations progress.
Obese Children
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on promoting stomach stapling as a method for dealing with obesity problems in children. [172588]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 11 May 2004]: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on surgery for morbid obesity advises that surgery should only be considered when there is evidence that all appropriate and available non-surgical measures have been adequately tried but have failed to maintain weight loss. In July 2002, the NICE published guidance on surgery to aid weight reduction for people with morbid obesity. The guidance recommends that surgery is only performed on people aged 18 and over.
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