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13 Sept 2004 : Column 1466W—continued
Chiropody and Podiatry
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 6 July 2004, Official Report, column 617W, on podiatry, what the whole time equivalent is of the number of chiropodists and podiatrists employed by the NHS in each year since 1997. [188610]
Mr. Hutton: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Whole-time equivalents | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 2,730 |
| 1998 | 2,750 |
| 1999 | 2,770 |
| 2000 | 2,847 |
| 2001 | 2,894 |
| 2002 | 2,916 |
| 2003 | 3,027 |
Source:
Department of Health non-medical workforce census.
Between 1997 and 2003, the number of whole-time equivalents chiropodists and podiatrists employed in the NHS increased by 297, or 11 per cent.
Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will break down the costs of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters by main budget heading; [184000]
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(2) whether the Final Report of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters was unanimous; and if he will make a statement; [184001]
(3) on what dates the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters has met; [184002]
(4) what steps he is taking to appoint a successor chairman of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment; [184008]
(5) what changes he plans to the terms of reference of the chairman of the (a) Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment and (b) Small Area Health Statistics Unit. [184009]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department has not yet received the final version of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters (CERRIE) report. We understand it is expected to be published in October this year. It would not be appropriate to comment at this time.
The CERRIE secretariat has informed me that the Committee held 16 meetings on the following dates—4 December 2001; 7 February 2002; 20 March 2002; 6 June 2002; 8 August 2002; 1 October 2002; 11 December 2002; 27 February 2003; 30 April 2003; 26 June 2003; 22 October 2003; 16 December 2003; 24 February 2004; 31 March 2004; 19 May 2004; and 24 June 2004. The Committee also convened a workshop on 21, 22 and 23 July 2003, which all members attended.
The position of chairman to the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE) was advertised. Any appointment will be made in strict adherence to the published guidance of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
I have no plans to change the terms of reference of either COMARE or the small area health statistic unit.
The committee is expected to conclude its work in October 2004. The total cost of this work will be approximately £445,000. This includes the costs of the secretariat, meeting expenses, including a three day workshop and Committee members' travel and subsistence.
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters has commissioned written transcriptions of the audio-recorded proceedings of its meetings; [184003]
(2) what access members of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters have had to written transcriptions of the audio-recorded proceedings of the Committee's meetings; [184012]
(3) for what reasons the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters cancelled its planned study of cancer incidence in north Essex. [184013]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
These are matters that should be addressed in writing to the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters.
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Correspondence
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter dated 20 July, from the hon. Member for North Shropshire, regarding the ESBL outbreak at the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury hospital. [188262]
Dr. Ladyman: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 9 September 2004.
Deaf Patients (Missed Appointments)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated cost to the NHS of missed appointments of deaf or hard of hearing patients was in the latest year for which figures are available. [178427]
Dr. Ladyman: Information on the costs of missed appointments in audiology is not collected centrally.
Modernising hearing aid services has improved the quality of life of those people who have received digital hearing aids. It has modernised services to make sure that deaf people receive the most advanced hearing aids available, rather than rely on outdated technology from the 1970s.
Designated Accommodation
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many rooms are set aside for (a) the use of smokers, (b) worship, broken down by religion and (c) nursing mothers and pregnant women in each building and set of offices for which his Department is responsible. [187171]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department operates a no-smoking policy within its buildings. There are therefore no smoking rooms in the Department's headquarters buildings.
On the Departmental estate, there are six rooms specifically set aside for worship and are available for use by members of any religion. In other buildings, meeting rooms can be reserved for this purpose.
The Department has no rooms specifically set aside for nursing mothers or pregnant women.
Drug Prescriptions
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances there have been in the last three years of drugs being prescribed on the NHS for non-medical purposes. [187521]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No information is available on the reasons why a medical practitioner prescribes a particular drug.
Health Public Bodies
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the savings from the Departmental Review of Arm's Length bodies will be spent. [187876]
13 Sept 2004 : Column 1469W
Ms Rosie Winterton: Decisions on the allocation of health and social care resources in future years will be taken as part of the normal budget allocation process in the light of the 2004 spending review settlement.
Home Deliveries
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS will provide (a) a midwife and (b) medical attendance at a home birth. [186114]
Dr. Ladyman: We expect the national health service to provide a range of maternity services that includes the provision of home births. It is however for local decision makers to decide if a home birth service can be delivered safely and, if they do so decide, then the service might be withdrawn by a NHS trust on a temporary basis if a short term staff shortage means that such a service cannot be delivered safely or would jeopardise patient safety elsewhere in the trust.
If a NHS trust provides a home birth service, it should ensure that suitably skilled midwives are available to attend the woman and to provide care and support throughout the labour and birth. Appropriate transfer arrangements should also be in place in case the woman or baby needs specialist medical care.
MRSA
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incidences of (a) hospital-acquired infection and (b) methicillin resistent staphylococcus aureus at Derriford hospital, Plymouth have been notified to his Department in each of the last five years. [188446]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of hospital acquired infections for individual trusts is not collected centrally. The Department introduced mandatory reporting of methicillin resistent staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemias (blood stream infections) for national health service acute trusts from 1 April 2001. The number of MRSA reports for the three years for which figures are available is shown in the table.
| Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 99 |
| 2002–03 | 81 |
| 2003–04 | 98 |
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which hospitals stock antibiotics against strains of MRSA; and if he will make a statement; [184422]
(2) which antibiotics are effective against strains of MRSA; and if he will make a statement. [184423]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The use of the description methicillin resistant in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) implies resistance to all penicillin and cephalosporin type antibiotics (beta lactam group of antibiotics). Resistance to other classes of antibiotics is extremely variable.
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Most MRSA that occur in the United Kingdom are still sensitive to and may be treated with vancomycin, teicoplanin, linezolid, or quinupristin/dalfopristin. They may also be sensitive to rifampicin, fluoroquinolone antibiotics (such as ciprofloxacin), chloramphenicol and variably to other antibiotics including tetracyclines macrolides (such as erythromycin) and aminoglycosides (such as gentamicin). Trusts have stocks of these antibiotics. Decisions on the antibiotic(s) appropriate for the treatment of any one patient must, therefore, depend on microbiological laboratory testing of the individual strain of bacterium isolated.
MRSA resistant to all available antibiotics have not as yet been isolated in the United Kingdom.
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