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16 Dec 2004 : Column 1314W—continued
Departmental Advertising
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in which Muslim newspapers the Department advertises; and what kinds of advertising the Department places in Muslim newspapers. [201700]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department used the following Muslim newspapers during 2003–04 to advertise the flu immunisation campaign:
The Department also advertises in ethnic minority press, not specifically Muslim media, as part of integrated campaigns using media mix, including television, national and women's professional press and online where it is appropriate to target this audience.
Departmental Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-departmental premises in each of the last two years; giving the (i) title, (ii) purpose, (iii) date and (iv) cost of each. [200786]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Diabetes
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will take steps to encourage diabetic patients to report adverse reactions to (a) human and (b) animal insulin treatments to the Committee on the Safety of Medicine; [202662]
(2) if he will list the known side effects of (a) human and (b) animal insulin in the treatment of diabetes; and if he will ensure a drug reporting system is in place to monitor abnormalities arising from such treatments; [202663]
(3) if he will ensure that the guidelines for general practitioners on administering human insulin to diabetic patients include the latest information regarding its side-effects; and if he will make a statement. [203155]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 13 December 2004]: As with all medicines, the safety of human and animal insulin is continuously monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the committee on safety of medicines (CSM).
The known side-effects for human and animal insulin are listed in the summary of product characteristics and patient information leaflet for each individual product. Information for prescribers is also available in the British National Formulary (BNF). The product information for prescribers and patients is amended as new information on side effects emerges. The most frequent side effect of both human and animal insulin is hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar). Other side effects include reactions around the injection site, allergic reactions and oedema (swelling).
MHRA/CSM receives reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) submitted by doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and coroners via the yellow card scheme. There is also a legal requirement for companies to report suspected ADRs to their drugs.
Enabling patients directly to report suspected ADRs to the MHRA was one of the recommendations made in the Report of an "Independent Review of the Yellow Card Scheme", published in May 2004. On the publication of the independent review report aforementioned, my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for State for Health, the Lord Warner, immediately accepted the recommendation to introduce direct patient reporting of suspected ADRs.
A working group of the CSM, under the chairmanship of a lay member of the CSM, has been established to advise on the development of pilots to gauge effectiveness of mechanisms for patient reporting of suspected ADRs. The working group has wide representation from patient and consumer groups, wider academia, pharmacy and medicine.
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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people with diabetes were offered screening for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy in the last period for which figures are available. [203619]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Figures show that, in 2003–04, 53 per cent., of people identified with diabetes in England received screening for the early detection of diabetic retinopathy.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the funds available to support the target for diabetic retinopathy screening contained within the 2003 to 2006 planning and performance framework has been allocated. [203620]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Diabetes national service framework delivery strategy announced that capital funds would be available to support the purchase of digital cameras and related equipment for diabetic retinopathy screening to support implementation of the planning and performance framework target. Capital funding of £27 million is available. £14.6 million capital has been made available to strategic health authorities to distribute locally—£5 million in 2003–04 and £9.6 million in 2004–05. A further £12.4 million will be available in 2005–06.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made towards ensuring that (a) all those people diagnosed with diabetes and (b) all people at an increased risk of developing diabetes, are included on practice-based registers. [203621]
Ms Rosie Winterton: By March 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) need to ensure that practice based registers are updated and used as a basis of systematic treatment regimens with advice and treatment in line with the diabetes national service framework standards.
The number of people with diabetes on practice-based registers is increasing. In March 2004, PCTs were reporting that there were 1,545 million patients identified by practices as having diabetes. This rose to 1.604 million in September 2004.
The PBS Diabetes Population Prevalence model has been developed by the Yorkshire and Humber Public Health Observatory. This model estimates the total diabetes population prevalence—that is, diagnosed plus undiagnosed cases. This allows strategic health authorities and PCTs to identify the number of people with diabetes not identified on practice based registers and to develop robust systems for identifying people with diabetes in their area. The model can be found at http://www.yhpho.org.uk/.
The recently published "Choosing Health" White Paper set out a strategy to help people make healthier choices and to reduce levels of obesity, which increases an individual's risk of developing diabetes.
Pilot projects have been established for screening of those at high risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. A study is being carried out in eight PCTs in deprived areas with high ethnic populations to demonstrate whether systematic screening in primary care is feasible, cost effective and leads to better health care.
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Doctors Surgeries
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average list size is of general practitioners in (a) North Southwark and Bermondsey, (b) the London Borough of Southwark and (c) Greater London. [205545]
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Dr. Ladyman: The information requested is collected for primary care trust (PCT) areas. The average list size of unrestricted principals and equivalents (UPEs) in the PCTs in the South East London Strategic Health Authority area is shown in the table.
(35) UPEs include GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs and PMS salaried GPs.
Note:
Patient data have been revised from previously published figures.
Source:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
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