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10 Jun 2004 : Column 535W—continued
Acupuncture
Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of medical acupuncturists who practise the traditional acupuncture service. [177054]
Mr. Hutton: On 2 March, the Department published proposals for the statutory regulation of herbal medicine and acupuncture practitioners. The consultation period closes on 7 June. We are aware of the interests of both medical and traditional acupuncturists and will consider their representations very carefully.
Adult Education
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the therapeutic benefits of adult education. [177276]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: The "Acheson Inquiry into Inequalities in Health" found that education has an important role in influencing inequalities in socio-economic position. Educational qualifications are a determinant of an individual's labour market position, which in turn influences income, housing and other material resources. These are related to health inequalities.
A report by the social exclusion unit on mental health and social exclusion is due for publication shortly. The report covers a wide range of issues, including the positive effect that participation in learning can have on mental health.
Air Pollution
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adult deaths as a result of air pollution there were in the last year for which figures are available. [174851]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
Air pollution is associated with an increased risk of death from respiratory and cardiovascular disease but only estimates of numbers of deaths can be made, based on the findings of epidemiological studies. The committee on the medical effects of air pollutants published a report: quantification of the effects of air pollution on health in the United Kingdom (QUARK) in 1998. The report estimated that 8,100 deaths were brought forward as a result of exposure to particles: the equivalent figures for
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sulphur dioxide and ozone being 3,500 and 700 or 12,500, depending on the assumption of threshold for the effects of ozone respectively. Particle concentrations have fallen since 1998 though urban concentrations of ozone are rising albeit slowly. A revision of the QUARK report will be published in 2006.
Care Records Service
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether additional resources will be made available to general practitioners using the EMIS system to migrate to the new Care Records Service. [176748]
Mr. Hutton: The national programme for information technology (NPfIT) has awarded a number of contracts to local service providers (LSPs) to act as prime contractors to deliver the elements of the NPfIT in a geographical area. It is the primary responsibility of the LSPs to work with national health service healthcare providers, including general practitioners, to deliver the solutions that the NHS needs. This will include working with EMIS and other primary care system providers to ensure that the systems currently in use across the NHS conform to the national standards required and can be upgraded to integrate with new national applications as they come on line. If this is not the case, GPs will be offered a choice of a new compliant system. The costs of this have been included in funding allocations for the NPfIT and to the NHS.
Children's Hospital (Manchester)
Mr. Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the date on which work will start on the site for the construction of the new children's hospital in Manchester. [178081]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The estimated date on which work will start on the site for the construction of the new children's hospital in Manchester is late July 2004.
Clinical Advisers (IT Forum)
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to involve (a) clinicians and (b) end users in the development of the NHS IT system; and if he will make a statement. [173092]
Mr. Hutton: I have appointed Professor Aidan Halligan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, as joint senior responsible owner and director general for the national programme for information technology (NPfIT). Professor Halligan now leads on work to engage doctors and other clinicians to ensure that the national health service IT system meets the needs of users and supports the Government's priority of improving patient treatment.
On 30 April 2004, we announced plans to further improve engagement with NHS stakeholders to support the implementation of the NPflT. We have set up a new frontline support academy for clinicians. We are currently reviewing the formal arrangements for engaging with the NHS, patients and other stakeholders and we expect to make an announcement on this later in the summer.
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Extensive consultation has already taken place with clinical representative groups, including the professional Royal Colleges, the General Medical Council and the British Medical Council, all of whom have provided valuable input. As well as the national professional bodies and groups, the NPfIT team has also engaged closely with expert primary care practitioners, including practising general practitioners. This consultation helped to inform the requirement which was published in the system's output-based specification. Clinicians and users were also involved in evaluating the proof of solution demonstrators developed by suppliers and in evaluating the supplier bids.
In all, the NPfIT has to date hosted around 400 local events involving managers, clinicians, allied health professionals and IT staff. Over 21,000 individuals have been involved as part of a concerted effort to ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to influence local plans to prepare for phased implementation from summer 2004.
Correspondence
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects a reply to be made to the letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, dated 7 April, from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan, regarding his constituent Mr. T Curran of Banff. [176134]
Miss Melanie Johnson: A reply was sent to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on Tuesday 8 June.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a letter will be sent to the hon. Member for West Chelmsford concerning Olympus and his constituent, Mr. Dyckhoff, following the meeting which the hon. Member for West Chelmsford had with the Minister of State for Health, the right hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton), on 10 March 2004. [177615]
Miss Melanie Johnson: A letter was sent to the hon. Member on 9 June 2004.
Dentistry
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there have been in Pendle in each year since 1994. [176284]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The number of national health service dentists in the health authority areas covering Pendle since 1994 is given in the table for September each year.
Note:
NHS dentists cover dentists working in the general dental service (GDS), hospital dental service (HDS), community dental service (CDS), personal dental service (PDS) and salaried service of the GDS. Dentists working in more than one dental service are included in each service, apart from dentists working in both PDS and GDS who are counted only once.
Source:
Department of Health Statistics
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Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on NHS dentistry in the Vale of York. [177454]
Miss Melanie Johnson: There are 111 dentists in the Selby and York Primary Care Trust area. The PCT is working with local dentists to develop a dental action plan to improve access to national health service dentistry in the area.
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