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26 May 2004 : Column 1705W—continued
Missed Appointments
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients failed to attend (a) hospital appointments and (b) general practitioner appointments in Chorley in each year since 2000; and what the estimated cost of missed appointments was in each case in each year. [173854]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Data on the number of missed general practitioner appointments and the estimated cost of missed appointments are not collected by the Department.
The number of consultant out-patient missed appointments for national health service organisations serving the Chorley constituency are shown in the table.
| Total attendances: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS trust | seen | did not attend | |
| 2000–01 | Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust | 102,526 | 13,656 |
| 2000–01 | Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust | 222,707 | 25,698 |
| 2001–02 | Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust(9) | 318,370 | 38,709 |
(9) The Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust was merged with the Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust on 1 August 2002 to form the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Source:
Department of Health dataset KH09.
National Programme for IT
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timescale his Department has set for the implementation of the national programme for IT in general practice. [160664]
Mr. Hutton: The concept of national health service national care records service and the national programme is to provide integrated clinical information systems across the whole care continuum. Support for delivery of care by general practitioners and other primary care practitioners is an integral part of the programme.
There are some specific systems relevant to GP practices and the general medical services payments project. They cover payments for practices and primary care information management systems and are currently being tested for conformance to standards and operation with existing GP systems. Once the technical testing has been successfully completed, a programme to
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roll out the new systems will begin from September 2004, with guidance, training and support being delivered alongside.
As stated in our policy document, "Delivering 21st Century IT Support for the NHS", published in June 2002, the programme will be implemented in phases, with phase one—the national bookings service, the national prescriptions service, and the NHS care record service—to be implemented by the end of 2005. Phase two covers implementation by 2008, to include a richer NHS care record service, with core data and reference links to local electronic patient record systems for full record access.
An additional third phase is planned for implementation between 2008 and 2010 to provide ambulance telemonitoring implemented in all emergency response vehicles, home telemonitoring in all homes requiring it, and a unified health record that includes all appropriate social care information.
There will be full implementation of person-based electronic health records, as set out in "Information for Health", published in 1998. The national programme will be building on this to create substantial additional functionality in the period up to 2010.
NHS Costs
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the latest estimated annual costs incurred by the NHS as the result of (a) alcohol, (b) tobacco and (c) other drug use are. [172740]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The estimated annual cost of alcohol misuse to the national health service is around £1.6 billion in England.
The latest figures available indicate that smoking costs the NHS up to £1.7 billion a year in England.
Information on the total cost of drug misuse to the NHS is not available. However, in 2003–04, the Government's pooled budget totalled £243.6 million for the treatment of drug misusers. It is estimated that a further £200 million of mainstream funds was spent on the treatment of drug misuse.
Patient Involvement Activity
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each year since 1997 the amount of money spent on (a) community health councils, (b) the
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Commission for Public Patient Involvement, (c) patients forums, (d) the Independent Complaint and Advocacy services and (e) other patient involvement activity. [172701]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table. The data relating to the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH) and patients' forums is shown as a single amount because there is no separate budget for patients' forums and the CPPIH is responsible for allocating funds to them. It is not possible to quantify how much is being spent on other patient involvement activities as these are primarily undertaken by and funded by the national health service locally.
| Community Health Councils | CPPIH and patients' forums | Independent Complaints Advocacy Services | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 22.561 | n/a | n/a |
| 1998–99 | 22.561 | n/a | n/a |
| 1999–2000 | 23 | n/a | n/a |
| 2000–01 | 23 | n/a | n/a |
| 2001–02 | 23 | n/a | n/a |
| 2002–03 | 23 | 3.27 | n/a |
| 2003–04 | 15 | 30.192 | 4.4 |
Public Bodies
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation intends to republish its Green Book; and whether it will be made available online. [175333]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Work on the new edition of the "Green Book" is being actively undertaken at present and as each chapter is completed and agreed by the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation it will be put on the web. These chapters are water-marked 'Draft', as they will be subject to sub-editorial changes when they are published as a complete volume.
The current work involves a complete re-drafting of all of the contents. When all of the chapters and the final editing is completed, the book will be issued in hard copy form. We are aiming to publish the new edition by the end of the year.
The draft chapters now available can be found on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/greenbook.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on the Patient Information Advisory Group in the last financial year for which figures are available; how many times a year this group is scheduled to meet; and when it last met. [175264]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The patient information advisory group spent £150,000 in 2003–04. The group is scheduled to meet four times a year, but has flexibility to meet more frequently if required. The group last met on 28 April 2004.
Sativex
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Sativex will be licensed; and what restrictions will be placed on its prescription. [172788]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will grant a licence for Sativex only when satisfactory data have been provided to demonstrate that the product is efficacious, safe and of adequate quality for its intended use.
In accordance with the Government's undertaking given in 1998 to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 would be amended to permit Sativex to be prescribed by doctors, if it is successful in gaining a marketing authorisation from the MHRA.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has recommended that if Sativex is authorised, it should be placed in Schedule 4 Part I of these regulations. It would also attract prescription-only-medicine status, but the scheduling would impose no additional restriction upon prescribing. If authorised, manufacturers and wholesalers would be required to be licensed to produce and supply the product, and would have to comply with the regulatory requirements on record keeping and destruction.
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