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Dentistry

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which English dental schools (a) he or ministerial colleagues and (b) members of the senior civil service have visited in the last six months. [178262]

Ms Rosie Winterton: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and Ministers have not visited dental schools in the last six months. Senior civil servants are in regular discussion with representatives of dental schools. In the last six months, senior officials have visited the Eastman Dental Institute, Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' Dental Institute, the Royal London Dental School, Manchester Dental School and Birmingham Dental School.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2004, Official Report, columns 680–81W, on dentistry, when the British Dental Association and other dental organisations will receive the draft new base contract for NHS dentists with the proposed contract values. [179783]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 21 June 2004]: We will be working closely with the British Dental Association (BDA) and the national health service to develop a simple and robust base contract that all primary care trusts and practices will be able to put in place from 2005. Details of the base contract are still under discussion, a further negotiating meeting with the BDA is scheduled to take place in July. We plan to publish draft regulations and model contracts for consultation by October 2004.

Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2004, Official Report, columns 680–81W, on dentistry, what methods are under consideration to enable NHS dentists to know for which patients they have responsibility for NHS treatment. [179784R]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 21 June 2004]: Primary care trusts, as commissioners, will need to know the numbers who are accessing national health service dental treatment in their local area. Dentists will need to maintain records about the patients they are treating and the Dental Practice Board will be able to provide the information for them to do so. Patients will want to know which dentist they can see when they need treatment.
 
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Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of calls to NHS Direct in 2003–04 (a) in total and (b) to the Stafford call centre were about NHS dentistry. [180189]

Ms Rosie Winterton: NHS Direct started collecting data centrally relating to calls made to NHS Direct about national health service dentistry in January 2003. Between January 2003 and February 2004, the proportion of total calls to NHS Direct about NHS dentistry was 3.8 per cent. Over the same period, the proportion of total calls to the NHS Direct call centre in Stafford about NHS dentistry was 7.4 per cent.

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken to improve access to NHS dentists in Cornwall. [179270]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Nationally, we have provided new investment totalling £90 million over the last year. £59 million will support access and strategic health authorities (SHAs) have been advised of their shares and are working with their primary care trusts (PCTs) to address access issues. £30 million is to support information technology and the balance of £1 million will support organisational development locally.

The PCTs in Cornwall are working closely with the South West Peninsula SHA, supported by the shadow special health authority (dentistry) to improve local dental access using their share of the access funds: some £1.56 million in 2004–05.

There is currently one dental access centre operating in Cornwall, which last year treated over 23,000 patients. In addition, the whole of the South West Peninsula SHA area has been identified as an "Options for Change" field site and dentists are increasingly opting for the new ways of working that personal dental services allows. A total of thirty practices across the South West Peninsula have now adopted local contracts with their PCTs under "Options for Change".

We are specifically aware of access issues in the South West Peninsula (Devon and Cornwall) and officials from the shadow special health authority for dentistry visited the area at the beginning of June 2004 to see what additional help could be provided.

Under consideration is the area's inclusion within a recruitment initiative to supply international dentists.

Departmental Staff

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent staff there have been in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies for each year since 1997. [181729]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is available in the annual publication, "Civil Service Statistics", which is published by the Cabinet Office. Copies of "Civil Service Statistics 2002", which was published on 24 July 2003 and copies of "Civil Service Statistics" for the previous years are available in the Library and at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics.
 
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Diabetes

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has commissioned on adverse reactions to (a) synthetic insulin and (b) animal insulin; and if he will make a statement. [181188]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Clinical trials carried out by the marketing authorisation holder for synthetic and animal insulins were evaluated at the time of licensing to ensure that these products met appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to justify their use in the treatment of diabetes. Full guidance on prescribing and the use of synthetic and animal insulins, including possible side effects, is provided in the product information for prescribers via the summary of product characteristics and for patients via the patient information leaflet.

Since the marketing of these products, although no formal research has been commissioned, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and its sub-committee on pharmacovigilance (SCOP) have kept the safety of synthetic (human) and animal insulins under close review. These committees have considered the available data, including an independent review of clinical trial data by the Cochrane collaboration and any new publications, on a number of occasions. The most recent consideration in 2002 confirmed the committees' previous advice that, although some patients have experienced problems on transferring to human insulin and are better suited to animal derived insulins, there is no evidence of a safety concern specific to human insulin. Prescribers have been informed of this advice via the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency/CSM drug safety bulletin, "Current Problems in Pharmacovigilance".

Drinking Water

Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the implications for children's health of a lack of access to drinking water during the day. [182057]

Dr. Ladyman: The importance of children having access to a wholesome supply of drinking water is recognised in guidance relating to schools and within advice issued by NHS Direct and the Department on nutrition and maintaining a healthy life style.

Drug Purchasing

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the benefits of creating buying groups for drug purchase across all health authorities. [179791]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 30 June 2004]: For many years, national health service hospital contracting for pharmaceuticals in England has been organised on a group basis. Hospital pharmacists, on behalf of their NHS trusts, aggregate their hospital business which is then competitively tendered by the NHS Purchasing and Supply and Agency (NHS PASA). The groups adjudicate the framework agreements that are then awarded and managed, on their behalf, by NHS PASA. The approach is highly structured in terms of timing and management, and the groups share
 
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information and develop shared strategies through arrangements co-ordinated at the national level, by NHS PASA, to optimise performance.

The 2003 review of the group contracts, commissioned by the Department, will lead to the introduction of national contracts for near patent expiry and generic medicines. These contracts are scheduled to start on 1 November 2004.

Community contractors do not have access to these framework agreements.

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