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HEALTH

Chest Pain Clinics

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many rapid access chest pain clinics there are in Manchester Central. [182666]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not collected on a constituency basis. However, a rapid access chest clinic is located at Manchester Royal Infirmary, part of the Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals National Health Service Trust.

Control and Restraint Measures

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to introduce a five minute limit on control and restraint measures to the NHS; [183185]

(2) what research he has collated on the effects of a five minute limit on control and restraint measures in the NHS. [183186]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Physical restraint should be a last resort to protect the service user and/or others from harm and kept to as short a time as possible. The Mental Health Act code of practice states that any restraint should be used for only as long as is necessary and be sensitive to race and gender issues. Any decisions must be based on the best available evidence.

The National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) has recently issued positive practice standards on the management of violence in in-patient settings and the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently consulting on its guidance, "Disturbed (violent) behaviour: the short-term management of disturbed (violent) behaviour in in-patient psychiatric settings". The NICE guidance also has a systematic review of evidence and is scheduled for publication later in the year.

Dental Health (Children)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set by his Department on children's dental health; and what progress has been made in meeting them. [182404]


 
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Ms Rosie Winterton: Seven targets were set in the Department's 1994 oral health strategy.

By 1998:

By 2003:

All these targets have been met except the last one. Preliminary findings from the 2003 child dental health survey show that 59 per cent. of five-year-olds in England had no decay experience.

East Cambridgeshire and Fenland Primary Care Trust

Mr. Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by how much the actual revenue funds received by the East Cambridgeshire and Fenland Primary Care Trust in the financial year 2003–04 differed from the allocation determined by the weighted capitation formula. [183614]

Dr. Ladyman: Revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2003–04 to 2005–06 were announced on 12 December 2002.

The revenue allocation to East Cambridgeshire and Fenland PCT for 2003–04 differed from the target allocation, as defined by the weighted capitation formula, by £7.9 million.

Elective Admissions (Manchester)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the levels of elective admissions to the NHS in Manchester, Central in the past five years. [182665]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not collected on a constituency basis, but at national health service trust level. Data for NHS trusts is shown in the table.
In-year elective admission episodes for Manchester NHS trusts, 1998–99 to 2002–03

NHS trusts1998–991999–20002000–012001–022002–03
Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust49,07147,96946,217n/an/a
Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trustn/an/an/a55,82458,663




Notes:
n/a—not available.
1. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (that is, the data are ungrossed).
2. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
Source:
Hospital episode statistics, Department of Health





 
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Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases against his Department, the agencies for which it is responsible and its predecessor organisations have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims. [181471]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of cases that have been brought to employment tribunals against the Department is shown in the table, together with details of the main costs involved. Complexity of cases, rather than volume, determines costs.
2000–01(15)2001–02(15)2002–03(15)2003–04(15)
Disability Discrimination3
Race Discrimination14
Sex Discrimination4
Unfair Dismissal3
Other3
Total9114420727
Counsel's fees, which represent the major cost in conducting the litigation (£)667,756180,141165,003572,437


(15) Financial year 1 April to 31 March


Information prior to 2001 and the information on each category from the financial years 2001–02 to 2000–03 can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Falls and Osteoporosis

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance he has issued to primary care trusts on the integration of falls and osteoporosis services; [183331]

(2) what opportunities there are for primary care trusts to share best practice in the integration of falls and osteoporosis services. [183333]

Dr. Ladyman: The national service framework for older people, published in 2001, contained a service model for an integrated falls service. This covered the make-up of a specialist falls service and appropriate referral points to linked services. Since then, a range of information on service development and good practice has been published and made available through the Department's website. This includes: "How can we help older people not fall again?—implementing the Older People's NSF Falls Standard: Support for commissioning good services" published in September 2003 and "Making the case for investing in falls and fractures prevention: a workbook of ideas", published February 2004. These documents were backed-up with
 
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a number of cascade training events for falls co-ordinators and commissioners on the use of the document.

The Department has also worked closely with Help the Aged and provided support and funding for it to publish "Reducing falls risk among older people: examples of falls services across England" in June 2003 and "Managing the risk and effect of falls among older people in care homes" in May 2004.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence was asked to develop clinical guidelines on the prevention of falls, due for publication in September 2004 and linked guidelines on the prevention of osteoporosis due next year.

Support has been provided for local initiatives through the national primary care development team's healthy communities collaborative on falls and the falls collaborative, which have shared their learning and experience more widely through individual contacts, printed material and a national conference held on 3 March 2004.


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