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1 Jul 2004 : Column 405W—continued
Breast Cancer
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what campaigns his Department has undertaken to raise the awareness of male breast cancer. [181313]
Miss Melanie Johnson: There are a number of initiatives underway, many in conjunction with the voluntary sector and support groups, to increase both men's general health awareness and men's awareness of cancer. Most recently the Department provided £30,000 funding towards the production of the Men's Health Forum's Hayne's Cancer Manual for Men, a practical guide for men explaining the causes, symptoms and treatments for cancer in a style that is more accessible and appealing to men.
The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) improving outcomes in breast cancer guidance clearly stages that men are entitled to the same breast cancer
1 Jul 2004 : Column 406W
services as women, though male breast cancer is very rare with under 300 reported cases in each year.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on annual mammogram screenings for women of 40 to 49 years of age who are assessed as having an increased risk of breast cancer. [181405]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence published a clinical guideline on 23 June 2004 entitled, "The classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer in primary, secondary and tertiary care". The guideline states that all women aged 40 to 49 years satisfying referral criteria to secondary or specialist care, at moderate or greater risk of familial breast cancer, should be offered annual mammographic surveillance.
The national health service will now be expected to implement the guideline's recommendations for good practice, which are based on the best available evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness.
Care Homes
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the occupancy rates were for care homes, broken down by region, in each of the last three years. [181066]
Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the occupancy rate of registered beds in nursing homes for 2000–01 by region. Similar information is not available for residential homes.
I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection that information is not available for later years.
| Regional(12) Office | Occupancy rate (percentage) |
|---|---|
| England | 81 |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 78 |
| North West | 79 |
| Trent | 81 |
| West Midlands | 82 |
| Eastern | 81 |
| South and West | 84 |
| London | 84 |
| South East | 84 |
(12) Regional and national rates are calculated using estimates for any missing data.
Source:
RH(N)B
Carer's Assessments
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many carer's assessments have been conducted under the Carer and Disabled Children Act 2000 in each year since the Act came into force. [181100]
Dr. Ladyman: The estimated number of carer's assessments and assessments of carers under 17 years of age are shown in the following table.
| Carer's assessments | Carers under 17 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–2001 | 195,000 | 1,500 |
| 2001–2002 | 243,000 | 2,900 |
| 2002–2003 | 287,000 | 6,400 |
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Information on the legislation under which the assessment is undertaken is not held centrally and so assessments made under the Carer and Disabled Children's Act 2000 cannot be separately identified.
Children's Hospices
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was received by each children's hospice from the public sector (a) as a proportion of its total funding and (b) in cash terms in the last year for which figures exist. [181064]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the public sector share of funding for children's hospices is not collected centrally. Services provided by hospices are funded from a number of sources, including services commissioned by national health service primary care trusts and local authorities on the basis of their assessment of children's needs and their priorities.
Diabetes
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent representation he has received from diabetes sufferers regarding choice in the provision of insulin; and if he will make a statement; [181186]
(2) what his policy is on general practitioners continuing to prescribe both animal insulin and synthetic insulin to diabetes patients; and if he will make a statement. [181187]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has received a number of representations about the continued availability of animal insulins. Both animal and synthetic insulins continue to be available for prescription. All decisions about appropriate treatment regimes for people with diabetes should be made between the individual concerned and their healthcare advisers.
East Lancashire Healthcare Trust
Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the Chief Executive of the East Lancashire Hospitals National Health Service Trust to return to normal duties. [180194]
Miss Melanie Johnson: This is an employment issue for the Chairman and the board of the East Lancashire Hospitals National Health Service Trust. As such it would not be appropriate to comment.
Employment Costs
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of NHS expenditure was spent on employment costs in each of the last three years. [181067]
Mr. Hutton: The proportion of total national health service expenditure spent on hospital and community health service (HCHS) expenditure employment costs is shown in the table.
| Percentage spent on HCHS salaries and pay | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 46 | |||||||||||
| 2001–02 | 47 | |||||||||||
| 2002–03 | 48
1 Jul 2004 : Column 408W Expenditure figures for 2003–04 have not yet been collected. It is not possible to give family health service employment costs because of the way they are funded. Fall/Osteoporosis ServicesSandra Gidley : To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what sanctions will be imposed on those primary care trusts that fail to deliver properly structured falls and osteoporosis services; [181435] (2) what assessment his Department has made of the progress of integration of falls and osteoporosis services in each primary care trust; and if he will make a statement. [181436] Dr. Ladyman: The national service framework for older people (NSF) requires integrated falls services to be in place locally by April 2005. This should include appropriate links to osteoporosis. The Department will be monitoring formally the 2005 milestone at strategic health authority (SHA) level as this is included as one of the key targets in Improvement, Expansion and Reform, the priorities and planning framework for 2003–06. All SHAs currently report that the April 2005 target will be achieved in their area. Over the coming year, the Healthcare Commission will be undertaking a detailed review of delivery of the NSF and older people's services, including integrated falls services. This will indicate if any further support or actions are necessary. Fenland Primary Care TrustMr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what annual financial resources were calculated according to his formula for and paid to the Fenland Primary Care Trust (a) in the years before amalgamation with the East Cambridgeshire Trust and (b) since the amalgamation. [181305] Dr. Ladyman: For 2003–06 allocations as determined by the weighted capitation formula have been made to East Cambridgeshire and Fenland Primary Care Trust (PCT). Prior to this allocations were made to health authorities. For 2003–06 East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT received the following:
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