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Drug Treatment (Lancashire)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the spending in Chorley on drug treatment was in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) gender and (b) whether the patients were under or over 18; [179526]
(2) what the budget for drug treatment for Chorley and South Ribble Primary Care Trust is in 2004–05. [179527]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested. Allocations of funding for particular treatments are matters for local primary care trusts (PCTs).
The budget for the drug action team for Lancashire, which covers the Chorley and South Ribble PCT, is £4.26 million in 2004–05.
Foundation Trusts
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to an NHS trust is of developing an application for foundation trust status. [179592]
Mr. Hutton
[holding answer 21 June 2004]: The Department does not hold information as to the cost involved in developing an application for national health service foundation trust (NHSFT) status as costs will vary from trust to trust. The NHSFT model allows trusts to tailor their proposals to meet the individual circumstances of their hospital and community, within certain parameters set out in legislation. There will be, for example, significant local variation on costs surrounding the creation and maintenance of a membership organisation. The cost of each election will also vary depending on the size of the electorate and the level of documentation provided. It would appear that typical costs for the elections for the first NHSFTs have come out at a little over £1 per member. The costs of the governance arrangements will not necessarily be entirely additional as they will replicate some current activity that NHS trusts are already doing around informing the public, patients and staff about issues affecting the trust.
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The Department has provided £250,000 direct financial support to each wave 1 applicant and, to date, £175,000 to wave 1A applicants to assist them in their preparations for their application and establishment as a NHSFT. It is for each trust to determine how this resource is best spent.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost has been of setting up a foundation trust. [179283]
Mr. Hutton: The Department does not hold information as to the cost involved in developing an application for national health service foundation trust (NHSFT) status as costs will vary from trust to trust. The NHSFT model allows trusts to tailor their proposals to meet the individual circumstances of their hospital and community, within certain parameters set out in legislation. There will be, for example, significant local variation on costs surrounding the creation and maintenance of a membership organisation. The cost of each election will also vary depending on the size of the electorate and the level of documentation provided. It would appear that typical costs for the elections for the first NHSFTs have come out at a little over £1 per member. The costs of the governance arrangements will not necessarily be entirely additional as they will replicate some current activity that NHS trusts are already doing around informing the public, patients and staff about issues affecting the trust.
The Department has provided £250,000 direct financial support to each wave 1 applicant and, to date, £175,000 to wave 1A applicants to assist them in their preparations for their application and establishment as a NHSFT. It is for each trust to determine how this resource is best spent.
Free Eye Tests
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many senior citizens from the Tamworth constituency have taken up free eye tests. [179957]
Dr. Ladyman: Data for the number of sight tests by constituency or by the number of senior citizens is not collected centrally.
The total population for those aged 60 and over in Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority is about 320,450. All people aged 60 and over are eligible for national health service sight tests.
The total number of NHS sight tests paid for by Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority in the year 2002–03 for the aged 60 and over category was 138,040. Sight tests cannot be equated to the number of patients.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pensioners in Warrington North have benefited from free eye tests since their introduction. [180084]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Data for the number of sight tests by constituency or by the number of senior citizens is not collected centrally.
In 2002–03, the total number of national health service sight tests paid for patients aged 60 and over in Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority was
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201,180. The total number eligible for a free sight test for those aged 60 and over was 507,080. Sight tests cannot be equated to the numbers of patients.
Genito-urinary Care
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) monitoring and (b) research has been conducted by and for his Department on waiting times for genito-urinary medicine services. [179156]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department is currently examining with the Health Protection Agency ways in which data on waiting times at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics can be obtained. Early this year, the Department undertook pilot surveys in a number of GUM clinics where patients were asked to complete a short anonymous questionnaire seeking information on waiting times. These pilots have proved successful and the first full national survey of clinics took place in May this year and are currently being analysed.
Glue Sniffing
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2004, Official Report, column 682W, on glue sniffing, what information is held centrally on the problem of glue sniffing among teenagers; and if he will make a statement. [180272]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department commissions an annual national survey of secondary schoolchildren aged 11 to 15 about drug use, including glue, gas, aerosols or solvents, smoking and drinking among young people in England. The survey for 2003 was carried out by the national centre for social research (NatCen) and the national foundation for educational research (NFER), and was published in March 2004 by the Department. This document is available in the Library.
In addition, the Department funds the Department of Public Health Sciences at St. George's hospital medical school to collect statistics on deaths associated with the abuse of gas fuels, aerosols, glues and other solvent based products. The 16th annual report "Trends in Death Associated with abuse of volatile substances 1971–2001" highlighting mortality statistics for 2001, was published on 21 July 2003, and can be found on St. George's website at http://www.vsareport.org.
Hip Replacements
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost of a primary hip replacement, undertaken on the NHS as an elective in-patient planned admission by an NHS trust, has been in each year since 1998. [179880]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 22 June 2004]: The national average cost of a primary hip replacement undertaken as an elective in-patient planned admission, in a national health service trust in each year since 1998 is shown in the table.
(15) Figure may include elements of critical care service expenditure (subsequently removed from composite admitted patient care Healthcare Resource Group and separately identified).
Sources:
The New NHS 1998 Reference Costs, Appendix 1A.
The New NHS 1999 Reference Costs, Appendix 1A.
Reference Costs 2000, Appendix 1A.
Reference Costs 2001, Appendix 1A.
Reference Costs 2002.
Payment by Results Core Tools 2004, Appendix SRC1 A.
Copies of all above publications are available in the Library.
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