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6 Jul 2004 : Column 612W—continued
Hospital Discharges
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were admitted to and then discharged from hospital whose housing arrangements were not known prior to discharge in the last year for which figures are available. [181200]
Dr. Ladyman: The national health service has a responsibility to ensure that patients are discharged safely. Where the patient's housing arrangements are relevant to this decision, they should be taken into account during the planning of the patient's discharge. The Department does not hold information on the numbers of patients to whom this applies.
Matrons
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many modern matrons there were in each of the last four years, broken down by (a) region and (b) grade. [181040]
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Mr. Hutton: Information is not available by region or grade. Latest figures indicate that, as at December 2003, there were 3,200 modern matrons employed in the national health service.
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospital functions are directly accountable to modern matrons. [181946]
Mr. Hutton: Hospital functions directly accountable to modern matrons vary within organisations according to local management arrangements. However, the principles underpinning the role hold across all trusts. Their purpose is to lead clinical care in areas such as infection control and patient nutrition, driving up standards in all departments. Modern matrons have the authority to ensure high standards are set and maintained, and act as a visible presence for patients and relatives.
Medical Trainees (Electives)
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost in England of sending medical trainees on electives was in 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [180274]
Mr. Hutton: There is no cost to the national health service where postgraduate medical trainees decide to go abroad for part of their training. A centrally held budget, the multi-professional education and training levy, pays the salary replacement costs of postgraduate medical and dental trainees working in the NHS in England, but not while they are working abroad. Such trainees will usually seek financial assistance from charitable trusts or other organisations or may be in salaried employment in a hospital or research institution abroad.
Medication Reviews
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the national service framework targets for medication reviews for the over 75s do not form part of the Quality and Outcomes Framework in the new general practitioner contract. [182637]
Dr. Ladyman: The purpose of the two indicators in the new Quality and Outcomes Framework is to incentivise medication reviews generally.
A medication review is recorded in the notes in the preceding 15 months for all patients being prescribed four or more repeat medicines.
A medication review is recorded in the notes in the preceding 15 months for all patients being prescribed repeat medicines.
The 15-month window is intended to ensure that annual reviews take place in line with expert advice on best practice, but to allow a little extra time in case the patient is unable to attend their first review appointment. This is an upper limit. General practitioners will make clinical decisions about the frequency of medication reviews according to the differing needs of each individual patient.
The national service framework (NSF) for older people required that by April 2002, everyone aged 75 or over should have their medicines reviewed once a year; every six months for those taking four or more medicines. The medicines partnership taskforce has
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undertaken a review of primary care trusts to determine the extent of medication reviews carried out as per the NSF requirement. Results will be available shortly.
Ministerial Meetings
John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will agree to a meeting with representatives of Queen Mary's Hospital NHS Trust, Oxleas NHS Trust, Bexley Care Trust and the Strategic Health Authority. [179568]
Mr. Hutton: I will be meeting my hon. Friend on Wednesday 14 July.
National Sourcing Programme
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation has taken place on the NHS national sourcing programme. [180442]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 28 June 2004]: As part of the review of the Department's arm's length bodies the Department's commercial directorate was commissioned to review the national health service supply chain, which is delivered through the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) and NHS Logistics Authority. The review has identified scope for considerable savings through strengthening the national procurement functions, accelerating the implementation of collaborative trust procurement and streamlining logistics and distribution throughout the NHS supply chain. The review was undertaken in consultation with management and staff and has led to the new supply chain excellence programme.
One element of this programme is the national contracts sourcing project, which will achieve cost savings for the NHS, by implementing a more rigorous sourcing process, increasing trust uptake and proactively managing strategic suppliers. Consultation on this is continuing with the NHS and with suppliers.
Nerve Conduction Tests (London)
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current waiting time is for nerve conduction tests to be carried out at (a) Charing Cross hospital and (b) other neurophysiology units in London; and if he will make a statement. [182313]
Mr. Hutton: Figures on waiting times for nerve conduction tests carried out at Charing Cross Hospital and other neurophysiology units in London is not collected centrally.
NHS Dentists
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Pendle are registered with an NHS dentist outside the area. [181984]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
11,000 adults and 4,000 children who were resident in the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust area were registered with a general dental service dentist outside the area on 4 April 2004.
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Notes:
1. Registrations lapse if patients do not return to their dentists within 15 months. Registration rates will exclude patients who haven't been to their general dental service (GDS) dentist within the past 15 months and patients who receive dental treatment from other national health service dental services. 2. NHS dental services are also provided by the community dental service, personal dental service, salaried service of the GDS and hospital dental services. These services do not require the patient to be registered with a dentist before treatment.
Source:
Dental Practice Board.
NHS Land
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 25 May 2004, Official Report, column 1603W, on NHS land, which properties were identified as being surplus to requirements in the last independent valuation of all national health service property assets; and how many of those have since been sold. [181404]
Mr. Hutton: The information obtained from the District Valuation Office Agency's revaluation of the national health service estate is used for statutory accounting purposes. It does not aim to identify surplus estate.
The identification and disposal of surplus properties is a matter for NHS trusts, acting in accordance with departmental guidance set out in "Estatecode".
An agreement in principle has been reached to transfer surplus land in the ownership of Secretary of State for Health to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
NHS Work Force Definitions
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what definition he uses of (a) consultant, (b) specialist and (c) surgeon in the context of the NHS workforce; [180655R]
(2) how many practitioners are employed in the NHS under the title consultant that are neither medically nor dentally qualified, broken down by profession; [180677]
(3) which of the figures he has relied on to describe workforce projections for NHS consultants include practitioners that are neither medically nor dentally qualified; [180678]
(4) where practitioners described as consultant but who are neither medically nor dentally qualified appear in (a) actual and (b) projected NHS workforce statistics. [180679]
Mr. Hutton: In actual and projected national health service workforce statistics, the Department uses the medical and dental workforce census definitions. The consultant count includes those staff who are:
doctors or dentists employed in the hospital, public health or community health service sector;
employees of a NHS organisation, including consultant clinical academics holding an honorary contract;
employed on a consultant payscale or equivalent.
To comply with the first item listed, an individual needs to hold a registration number either with the General Medical Council or General Dental Council. The figures therefore include no staff who are neither medically or dentally qualified.
Questions relating to specialists are generally answered by providing counts of consultants, on exactly the same basis as the above. Questions relating to surgeons are answered by identifying staff who meet the consultant definition as above and in addition are recorded as working in one of the surgical specialties.
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