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14 Dec 2004 : Column 1076W—continued
Long-Term Care (Greater London)
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many older people are in receipt of long-term care within the Greater London area. [204094]
Dr. Ladyman: Information about the number of places in residential care is collected, but information about the number of people in those places is not centrally available.
In March 2001, there were 30,800 care home places in London for adults aged 65 and over. This includes places in residential care homes, general and mental nursing homes, private hospitals and clinics.
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.
Lowe Syndrome
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children are diagnosed each year with Lowe syndrome in England; [203271]
(2) what treatment options are available to children born with Lowe syndrome; [203273]
(3) what the life expectancy is of a child born with Lowe syndrome; [203274]
(4) what the causes are of Lowe syndrome; [203275]
(5) what research he has commissioned into Lowe syndrome. [203276]
Dr. Ladyman: Data on children diagnosed with Lowe syndrome are not collected centrally.
There is no specific treatment available for the syndrome. Treatment is available for its consequences, including neurological and behavioural abnormalities and renal tubular dysfunction.
Life expectancy varies with the severity of the condition in individuals and the success of symptomatic treatment. Patients have lived into adulthood.
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Lowe syndrome is a rare, inheritable, progressive, metabolic disease caused by a single defective gene on the X chromosome of the child's mother.
The Department has not commissioned research into Lowe syndrome. The main agency through which the government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC), which always welcomes high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health. These are judged in open competition with other demands for funding. Awards are made according to their scientific quality and importance to human health. Further details are available on the MRC website at www.mrc.ac.uk.
Mental Health
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what working arrangements Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust has in place with other mental health trusts; [204040]
(2) whether plans have been made by Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust to merge with Oxfordshire Mental Health Trust; and if he will make a statement; [204041]
(3) what discussions have taken place about joint working between representatives of Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust and Oxfordshire Mental Health Trust. [204042]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 December 2004]: Within our policy of "Shifting the Balance of Power", supported by other national policy documents, primary care trusts, in conjunction with their strategic health authorities and other stakeholders, are responsible for assessing local health needs, and planning services accordingly.
I am informed by the local national health service that there are currently no plans to merge Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire mental health trusts. The two organisations continue to operate as separate bodies with their own boards and chairs. Federal management arrangements are now in place with a joint chief executive and a number of shared directorial roles, including the director of finance. These roles will enable a good degree of cross-organisational working and ensure that the experience of the Oxfordshire trust team is employed to improve the performance and services of Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust.
Thames Valley SHA is about to commence work with the chief executives of the mental health trusts across Thames Valley to examine in more detail the ways in which they can work together to ensure critical mass for some specialist and forensic services, and to discuss future direction for services, but for the moment no organisational change is planned.
Mr. Goodman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (1) what assessment (a) the Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust and (b) Wycombe Primary Care Trust have made of (i) the demand and (ii) the need for services by people with mental health problems in Wycombe constituency; [204043]
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(2) what assessment the (a) Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust and (b) Wycombe Primary Care Trust have made of (i) the demand and (ii) the need for respite care by (A) service users and (B) carers in Wycombe constituency. [204044]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 December 2004]: Within our policy of Shifting the Balance of Power, supported by other national policy documents, primary care trusts, in conjunction with their strategic health authorities and other stakeholders, are responsible for assessing local health needs, and planning services accordingly.
I am informed by the local national health service that Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust has, like all other mental health provider organisation in the NHS, been working extremely hard on the modernisation agenda in the NHS as laid out in the NHS plan and the national service framework for mental health services for adults of working age.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of specific provision for children and young people from black and ethnic minorities with mental health problems. [203607]
Dr. Ladyman: "Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care", which will be published very shortly, includes an assessment of the needs of children and young people from black and minority ethnic communities with mental health problems, and actions to address them. This work will be carried out by the National Institute for Mental Health in England and the national child adolescent mental health service support service.
National Director for Mental Health
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what priorities he has set for the National Director for Mental Health, with particular reference to the implementation of patient choice. [203217]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No specific priorities in relation to patient choice have been set for the national director for mental health. However, he has been involved in overseeing the work of the choice steering group, which has been established under the auspices of the National Institute for Mental Health in England, to inform the development of choice policy in mental health.
NHS Expenditure
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what NHS expenditure (a) in total and (b) per person on (i) children aged under five, (ii) children aged five to 18, (iii) men aged 18 to 60, (iv) women aged 18 to 60, (v) women aged over 60 and (vi) men aged over 60 years, or on whatever other basis of gender and age is available, was in the last year for which figures are available. [203165]
Mr. Hutton:
Information on the split of total national health service expenditure by age and gender is not available. The table shows total hospital and community health services (HCHS) expenditure, split by age band, for 2002–03.
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NHS Professionals
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many placements have been secured through NHS Professionals to date, broken down by (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) allied professionals. [203125]
Mr. Hutton: This information is not held centrally. Since NHS Professionals was established as a Special Health Authority in April 2004, it has secured a total of 935,826 placements, made up of 4,347 doctors, 890,374 nurses and 1,754 allied health professionals. The remainder were administrative and clerical staff.
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