| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Nov 2004 : Column 1952W—continued
Mobile Telephones
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Mobile Telephone Health Research Programme will report; whether there are interim findings; and if he will make a statement. [199301]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
29 projects have received support either directly under the mobile telecommunication and health research (MTHR) programme or its adjunct funding arrangements. Six of these have been completed and were announced at the MTHR research seminar in London on 10 November. The programme encourages publication in open peer-reviewed scientific journals.
18 Nov 2004 : Column 1953W
Published papers and brief summaries of the individual projects are routinely posted on the MTHR we site at www.mthr.org.uk.
Residential Drug Treatment
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is between someone requesting residential drug treatment and (a) funding becoming available and (b) a bed becoming available if the treatment is privately funded was in the latest period for which figures are available. [198942]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on waiting times for residential drug treatment funded privately is not collected centrally.
As far as residential drug treatment funded publicly, the average waiting time between assessment as being in need of residential rehabilitation and entering residential rehabilitation is three weeks 1 .
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people accessing residential drug treatment do so (a) as part of a community order, (b) through the criminal justice system and (c) voluntarily. [198933]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The total percentage of people accessing all drug treatment through criminal justice referral routes—arrest referral, drug treatment and testing orders, youth offending teams, probation and counselling, assessment, referral and throughcare—was 17 per cent, in 2003–04 1 .
The remaining 83 per cent. accessed treatment by non-criminal justice system roots, including: other drug services (national health service and non-statutory agencies); general practitioners; self-referral; accident and emergency; needle/syringe exchange; psychiatry; community care assessment and employment services.
However, the figure of 83 per cent. may contain some people referred through criminal justice sources who have presented at a treatment service without indicating that they have come into treatment through a criminal justice referral.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential drug treatment centres are specifically for young people; and if he will make a statement on what steps his Department is taking to tackle young people misusing drugs, with particular reference to those in contact with the criminal justice system. [198934]
Miss Melanie Johnson: It has not been possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people in residential drug treatment are funded (a) privately, (b) by primary care trusts and (c) with a combination of private funds and primary care trust funds. [198935]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
This information is not collected centrally.
18 Nov 2004 : Column 1954W
Abortions
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the 2003 abortion statistics do not specify the nature of the disabilities giving rise to abortion under ground E, risk that the child would be born handicapped. [189040]
Miss Melanie Johnson: As stated in the Statistical Bulletin Summary Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2003, the format of tables changed to reflect concerns over issues of privacy and confidentiality. These issues are now being considered in more detail.
Administration
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) total budget and (b) administration budget was for each (i) NHS region in each year from 1997 to 2002 and (ii) strategic health authority in each year since they were established. [197273]
Mr. Hutton: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Air Ambulances
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total operating budget is of each air ambulance service in England; and what proportion of these budgets is grant-aided by the national health service. [199252]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally as air ambulances are provided through charitable organisations.
The Department informed ambulance services and their commissioners in January 2002 that the cost of clinical staff on air ambulances should from 1 April 2002 be met by the national health service on a continuing basis.
Alzheimer's
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total amount of Government funding for research on Alzheimer's disease was in (a) 1997, (b) 2000 and (c) 2003. [197097]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. MRC expenditure on research into Alzheimer's disease and general dementia in the years in question was as follows.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 5.5 |
| 2000–01 | 8.2 |
| 2002–03 | 6.6 |
| 2003–04 | (35)— |
(35) Not yet available.
The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national
18 Nov 2004 : Column 1955W
health service. National research programme expenditure on projects related to Alzheimer's disease and dementia was as follows.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 0.4 |
| 2000–2001 | 4.7 |
| 2002–03 | 1.6 |
| 2003–04 | 1.1 |
Anaemia
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition will report on iron deficiency anaemia. [199138]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The report on iron and health by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition's Working Group on Iron is expected to be available for comment in summer 2005, with finalisation in spring 2006.
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage the iron intake of children to prevent childhood anaemia; and what assessment it has made of the incidence of childhood anaemia in the UK over the last 20 years. [199139]
Miss Melanie Johnson: It has not been possible to respond the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Cancer
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of health inequalities between socio-economic groups in terms of cancer (a) treatments and (b) outcomes; and if he will make a statement. [197257]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 9 November 2004]: We know there are differences in health outcomes for different socio-economic groups. However, we are aware that people diagnosed with cancer in deprived areas suffer from higher mortality rates than those in wealthier areas. We have recently announced a new public service agreement which includes a target from April 2005 to achieve a reduction in the inequalities gap of at least 6 per cent. in cancer mortality between the fifth of areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators and the population as a whole by 2010. We will work with organisations in deprived areas to see what interventions can help reduce inequalities in treatments and outcomes. We envisage this will probably be achieved through a range of measures including reducing smoking prevalence, tackling obesity, improving screening coverage, including bowel cancer screening, and ensuring that patients with symptoms that could be cancer present earlier to their general practitioner.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |