| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
12 Jul 2004 : Column 935W—continued
NHS Managerial Salaries
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average salary of NHS (a) managers and (b) senior managers has been in each year since 1997. [182033]
Mr. Hutton: It is not possible to separate earnings of managers and senior managers. Robust data on the pay of managers and senior managers was first collected in 2002. For 2002, the average earnings of managers and senior managers was estimated to be £35,700. Of this, £34,900 was made up of basic salary, No data is available for 2003 as the national health service staff earnings survey only proceeds every two years, but estimates put the figures at £36,900 and £36,000 respectively.
NHS Staff Suspensions
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the national health service of suspensions of medical and dental staff for the latest quarter for which figures are available. [182405]
Mr. Hutton: Information is collected about hospital and community medical and dental staff suspended for more than six months, including information about approximate costs. The reported cumulative approximate cost of the 21 doctors and dentists currently suspended for more than six months is £2.1 million. This figure includes some legal and locum fees, as well as salary costs.
NHS Temporary Staff
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the risk of fraud in nurse banks and medical locum agencies; and if he will make a statement. [182657]
12 Jul 2004 : Column 936W
Mr. Hutton: No such assessment has been made but the National Health Service counter fraud and security management service is currently reviewing staff bank systems with local counter fraud specialists.
NHS Work Force Definitions
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to expand the NHS workforce described as consultant from non-medically or dentally qualified practitioners; [180656R]
(2) what measures he will take to ensure that patients are not misled by the term consultant into believing that they are seeing a doctor or dentist, in the context of non-medically or non-dentally qualified practitioners in the NHS; [180657R]
(3) what assessment has been made of the public's understanding of the term consultant in the context of practitioners they have seen in the NHS. [180671R]
Mr. Hutton: Appointments to nurse, midwife, health visitor, allied health professions, or healthcare scientist consultant posts are the responsibility of the potential national health service employers, who should take account of any relevant guidance. The Department does not intend to inhibit such appointments. Nor is it aware of any evidence that patients are misled by the use of the term consultant in relation to NHS staff who are not doctors or dentists, although no research has been commissioned by the Department into the public's understanding of this term.
Obesity-related Sleep Apnoea
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2004, Official Report, columns 1281–2W, on obesity-related sleep apnoea, if he will estimate the number of paediatric finished consultant episodes for obesity-related sleep apnoea in each year since 1997. [182426]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The table shows information on the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) for sleep related apnoea, for children under 16 from the (financial) year 1996–97 onwards.
| Financial year | FCEs |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 5 |
| 1997–98 | 3 |
| 1998–99 | 17 |
| 1999–2000 | 15 |
| 2000–01 | 29 |
| 2001–02 | 24 |
| 2002–03 | 48 |
Notes:
1. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
2. A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year.
3. Figures are grossed for coverage, except for 2001–02 and 2002–03 which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health.
12 Jul 2004 : Column 937W
Paramedics
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department plans to increase the recruitment of paramedics. [177890]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 14 June 2004]: The number of paramedics employed in the national health service is increasing. As at September 2003, there were 7,094 paramedics employed in the NHS, an increase of 730 or 11 per cent., since 1997. The March 2003 national vacancy rate for ambulance staff was 0.7 per cent., indicating that local and national recruitment and retention initiatives are working. These include improving pay and conditions, encouraging the NHS to become a better, more flexible and diverse employer, increasing training, investing in child care and continuing professional development and running national and local recruitment campaigns. NHS Careers, in association with the Ambulance Service Association, has published a new brochure specifically to showcase careers in the ambulance services. Copies are available in the Library.
In addition to the traditional paramedic training routes for ambulance technicians, the development of degree courses in paramedic science and foundation degrees with flexible entry and exit points, combined with career development in supervisory skills, team leadership and management, will help to encourage further new entrants into the profession. Other developments within ambulance services, such as expanding the role of paramedics to provide more out of hospital care, thus enabling faster treatment, and the development of new ways of working such as the first responder schemes, will continue to ensure there are attractive and rewarding careers for all ambulance staff, including paramedics.
12 Jul 2004 : Column 938W
Patient Episodes
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient episodes have been carried out by the English NHS on patients from Wales in each year since 1999, broken down by (a) medical specialism and (b) county borough of residence of patient. [182446]
Mr. Hutton: The numbers of finished in year admissions to national health service hospitals in England, for patients resident in Welsh local authority areas are given in table 1 for 1999–2002. The numbers of finished in-year admissions for the patients in table 1 are given by the main specialty of the consultant in table 2.
| Local authority district | Finished in year admissions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| of residence | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
| All Welsh districts | 41,509 | 41,313 | 40,519 | 39,070 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 1,147 | 1,203 | 1,251 | 1,218 |
| Gwynedd | 1,839 | 1,931 | 1,893 | 1,823 |
| Conwy | 1,692 | 1,778 | 1,712 | 1,669 |
| Denbighshire | 1,657 | 1,605 | 1,716 | 1,549 |
| Flintshire | 12,844 | 12,691 | 11,943 | 11,057 |
| Wrexham | 4,177 | 3,072 | 2,874 | 2,785 |
| Powys | 11,162 | 12,238 | 12,410 | 12,189 |
| Ceredigion | 423 | 419 | 431 | 412 |
| Pembrokeshire | 350 | 445 | 432 | 425 |
| Carmarthenshire | 446 | 495 | 474 | 516 |
| Swansea | 574 | 553 | 560 | 529 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 316 | 299 | 274 | 318 |
| Bridgend | 452 | 412 | 370 | 380 |
| The Vale of Glamorgan | 284 | 331 | 339 | 317 |
| Rhondda, Cynon, Taff | 500 | 471 | 518 | 478 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 166 | 113 | 134 | 138 |
| Caerphilly | 381 | 363 | 405 | 438 |
| Blaenau Gwent | 190 | 204 | 220 | 191 |
| Torfaen | 292 | 283 | 274 | 281 |
| Monmouthshire | 1,341 | 1,290 | 1,193 | 1,160 |
| Newport | 548 | 481 | 468 | 499 |
| Cardiff | 729 | 636 | 628 | 698 |
'—' = zero
Notes:
1. Finished in-year admissions
A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
2. Local authority of residence
This is the local authority district using the latest available boundaries for the data year, where postcodes were known.
3. Specialty
Care is needed when analysing HES data by specialty, or by groups of specialties (such as acute). Trusts have different ways of managing specialties and attributing codes so it is better to analyse by specific diagnoses, operations or other recorded information.
4. Grossing
Figures are grossed for both coverage and missing/invalid clinical data, except for 2001–02 and 2002–03, which are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.
12 Jul 2004 : Column 939W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |