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HEALTH

Alzheimer's Disease

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of Alzheimer's patients have access to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on the NHS; [186432]

(2) what progress he is making with plans for all Alzheimer's patients to have access to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on the NHS; and when he expects access on the NHS to be available for all. [186434]

Dr. Ladyman: Information on the proportion of Alzheimer's patients having access to anti-dementia drugs is not available. In January 2001, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence recommended that the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon) and galantamine (Reminyl) should be made available on the national health service as one component of the management of those people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Care Homes

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) care homes and (b) care home places were available in Suffolk in each of the last six years run by (i) Suffolk county council and (ii) the voluntary independent and private sector in Suffolk. [187178]

Dr. Ladyman: The table shows the number of care homes and places run by the council and the voluntary and private sector in Suffolk as at 31 March for the years 1998 to 2001.
Number of care homes and places available in Suffolk at 31 March 1998–2001

	Residential
At 31 March	Council staffed	Independent sector	Nursing(8)	Total
Number of homes(9)
1998	35	220	75	330
1999	35	215	65	315
2000	35	215	60	310
2001	35	215	60	305
Number of places
1998	1,195	3,490	2,290	6,975
1999	1,065	3,320	2,195	6,580
2000	1,060	3,365	2,110	6,535
2001	1,070	3,395	2,140	6,605

⁽⁸⁾ Includes places in general nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals and clinics.
⁽⁹⁾ Dual registered homes are included under nursing homes.
Note:
Figures for residential care are for Suffolk council with social services responsibilities and for nursing care they are for Suffolk health authority.
Figures may not add up due to rounding.




 
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I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, and now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.

Continuing Care

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time taken to (a) review and (b) determine appeals by people who believed that they had been wrongly charged for continuing care (i) was before 31 March and (ii) has been since 31 March. [186371]

Dr. Ladyman: It is expected that all retrospective review cases will be completed within two months of receipt of all the relevant documentation. I will be making a statement to the House on retrospective continuing care reviews in due course.

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of continuing care cases for which a review was pending at the end of March had been completed by 31 July; [186433]

(2) how many (a) families and (b) individuals have received compensation for wrongly-assessed continuing care; how many in each case are awaiting payment; and how much compensation has been paid so far. [186435]

Dr. Ladyman: In due course, I will make a statement to the House on the number of completed retrospective continuing care reviews and how many people have been granted recompense.

Dentistry

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish an order under section 60 of the Health Act 1999 to amend the Dentists Act 1984 to introduce Clinical Dental Technicians and other Professions Complementary to Dentistry. [186591]

Ms Rosie Winterton: We issued a draft of an Order for consultation on 30 July which, with other amendments to the Dentists Act 1984 to modernise the regulation of dentistry, would give the General Dental Council powers to register additional classes of professional complementary to dentistry including dental nurses, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians. Comments on the draft are requested by 30 October and it will subsequently be laid before Parliament for debate under the affirmative procedure. Subject to approval, we expect the Order to come into force during 2005.

Drug and Alcohol Programmes

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to ensure that places on drug and alcohol programmes are not disproportionately allocated to those convicted of criminal activity. [184232]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The National Treatment Agency is committed to ensuring that treatment services provide a quick and accessible service for all substance
 
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misusers requiring treatment. Drug action teams have local responsibility for ensuring that treatment services are provided.

The Government are committed to doubling the numbers of drug misusers in treatment by 2008 and improving access into treatment from both community and criminal justice routes.

The Government are on track to meet this target. In 2002–03, there were 140,900 drug misusers in treatment.

NHS Dentists

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were in Suffolk in each of the last seven years. [187205]

Dr. Ladyman: The number of national health service dentists in Suffolk primary care trusts (PCTs) over the last seven years for which data are currently available is shown in the table.

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Central Suffolk PCT(10)	22	24	26	27	24	23	24
Suffolk Coastal PCT(11)	29	29	33	32	30	27	27
Suffolk West PCT(12)	79	78	85	86	95	106	111

⁽¹⁰⁾ Figures for Central Suffolk PCT are based on general dental service (GDS) contracts only. There are no personal dental service (PDS) dentists in this PCT area.
⁽¹¹⁾ Figures for Suffolk Coastal PCT are based on GDS contracts only. There are no PDS dentists in this PCT area.
⁽¹²⁾ Figures are based on GDS and PDS contracts.

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) adults and (b) children were waiting to be registered with an NHS dentist in each primary care trust in Suffolk in each of the last seven years. [187207]

Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Prison Health Care

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the differences between the interventions that can be made by a general practitioner when dealing with a patient and a prison doctor when dealing with a prisoner. [187376]

Dr. Ladyman: It would not be practicable to attempt to do so. The Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", has as its overall objective to provide prisoners with access to the same range and quality of services as the general public receives from the national health service. The prison health team is leading and managing a programme of work to develop health services for prisoners that are in line with NHS practice. However, the reality of the prison environment means that it may not always be possible exactly to replicate in prisons every treatment intervention that is available in the community.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rights a prisoner has to access needle exchange schemes in prison. [187377]

 
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Dr. Ladyman: There are no present plans to introduce needle exchange schemes in prisons, although the position is kept under review.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what circumstances a prison doctor may order (a) physical restraints and (b) detention of a prisoner in a special cell. [187378]

Dr. Ladyman: The Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", provides that treatment and emergency care of patients who withhold consent is to be managed in accordance with Prison Service Instruction 38/2002, "Guidance on Consent to Medical Treatment". The associated Prison Service Information and Practice Note 3/2002 sets out the requirements and procedures for dealing with prisoners when there are restraint and control implications alongside health needs.

Prison Service Order 1600, "Use of Force", states that a prisoner may be placed in a special cell only on the prior authority of the governor or controller in charge of the establishment. If he/she cannot be contacted, the decision may be taken by the officer for the time being in charge of the establishment. A prison doctor must be notified as soon as possible and must examine the prisoner as soon as practicable for any clinical contra-indications.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what rights a prisoner has to medical confidentiality. [187585]

Dr. Ladyman: The duty of confidentiality arising from the common law of confidentiality, professional obligations and contracts of employment owed by all healthcare professionals to their patients extends to people in prison. The Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", stipulates that medical information on prisoners must be managed in accordance with relevant legislation, principally the Data Protection Act 1998, and the National Health Service Code of Practice on confidentiality.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what right a homosexual prisoner has to (a) HIV tests and (b) access to condoms. [187586]

Dr. Ladyman: Prisoners have access to HIV-test counselling and where appropriate, testing in the same way as members of the public. Prison doctors have been advised that they should make condoms available to any prisoner, on application, if in their clinical judgment there is a risk of infection from HIV.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what right a prisoner has to see (a) a doctor, (b) a dentist, (c) a chiropodist, (d) a gynaecologist and (e) a specialist or surgeon. [187587]

Dr. Ladyman: The overall objective of the Prison Service's standard, "Health Services for Prisoners", is to provide prisoners with access to the same range and quality of services as the general public receives from the national health service. Establishments are required to develop needs-based health services in partnership with local primary care trusts and other NHS agencies which
 
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deliver effective, evidence-based care to individual prisoners and the prison population as a whole. Each establishment must have a clear and observed policy statement about what primary care, dental and other specialist services are available to prisoners, and who is responsible for providing them.

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