| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 Feb 2005 : Column 485W—continued
Private Sector Services
22. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the proportion of NHS funding which was spent purchasing private sector services in 2003–04. [216988]
Mr. Hutton: The national health service spent £3.3 billion on independent sector healthcare services in 2003–04. This represents approximately 5 per cent. of the £61 billion planned NHS expenditure for 2003–04.
Wycombe Hospital
23. Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about Wycombe hospital. [216989]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Since October 2004, the Department has received several written representations from the hon. Member and members of the public about Wycombe hospital.
22 Feb 2005 : Column 486W
Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority
24. Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the number of people employed directly by the Dorset and Somerset strategic health authority. [216990]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 3 February 2005, Official Report, column 1124W by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Health to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne).
Ambulances
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) ambulances and (b) paramedic staff the Lancashire Ambulance Trust has; and what the average time taken to respond to a 999 call was in each Lancashire district in the last period for which figures are available. [215497]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Performance information is available by ambulance service and may be found in the statistical bulletin, Ambulance Services, England: 2003–04", a copy of which is available in the Library. It is also available on the Department's website at http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0411 .htm.
Information relating to the numbers of paramedic staff is shown in the table.
| Headcount | |
|---|---|
| Total qualified ambulance staff | 552 |
| Manager | 23 |
| Paramedic | 198 |
| Ambulance personnel | 331 |
Source:
Department of Health non-medical workforce census.
Burns Unit (Kent)
Mr. Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision he has planned for specialist burns unit provision for patients in Kent; and if he will make a statement. [217232]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The national burn care group, which is considering options for reconfiguration of specialist burns services across England and Wales, is being led by the national health service. Decisions have not yet been made regarding the development of burn care centres; any proposals for change will be submitted to a full public consultation process, probably in the summer of 2005. This is a process is being developed by and for the NHS and the Department has no formal role at this time, though we are kept in touch with developments.
Currently, people in Kent have access to specialised burn services at the Queen Victoria hospital, East Grinstead, Sussex, which has historically served the population of Kent, although, since the Dartford Crossing has been open, it is now easier for people from some parts of Kent to go to Chelmsford.
There are also specialised burn services in the following locations in South East England:
Catering Costs
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on (a) entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests and (b) working lunches, in each year since 1997. [215050]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Expenditure arises on hospitality and entertainment only in the context of promoting the Department's business objectives. All such expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting".
There has been no expenditure on entertainment lunches involving civil servants and guests. The amount spent by the Department on working lunches since 1997 is shown in the table.
| Amount (£) | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 379,089 |
| 1998–99 | 493,024 |
| 1999–2000 | 607,370 |
| 2000–01 | 580,449 |
| 2001–02 | 523,338 |
| 2002–03 | 633,875 |
| 2003–04 | 863,404 |
Cervical Cancer
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the roll-out of the liquid-based cytology system for cervical cancer screening in each of the strategic health authority areas since April 2004. [216099]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 21 February 2005]: Following the evaluation of a Government-funded pilot study of liquid based cytology (LBC), National Institute for Clinical Excellence concluded in October 2003 that this new technology should be rolled out across the NHS cervical screening programme. It will take five years to implement LBC across England as all staff, who read the tests or take the tests will have to be retrained. The Department is providing £1.2 million for 2003–04 and £6 million for 2004–05 to kick-start this process. The nine regional cytology training schools in England are being converted to train the rest of the programme. As of January 2005, eight out of the nine training schools in England had been trained or had a specific date to begin their retraining. The ninth is awaiting a local decision on which system they will use.
Children's Burns Unit (Newcastle)
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the capacity is of the children's burns unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle; and what the patient throughput was in the most recent year for which figures are available. [216492]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The information requested is not collected centrally.
22 Feb 2005 : Column 488W
Co-Proxamol
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what alternative drugs will be available for prescription in place of co-proxamol following its withdrawal by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. [216049]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are a number of alternatives for managing painful conditions and the committee on safety of medicines (CSM) has issued advice on pain management options to assist prescribers, together with individual patients, in choosing appropriate pain management strategies. This guidance also refers to a number of sources of additional advice, including the British National Formulary, which is sent to all doctors and pharmacists.
The CSM's overview of alternative analgesic options was communicated through the Chief Medical Officer's Public Health Link to all health care professionals accompanying the communication on the withdrawal of co-proxamol and is available on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's website www.mhra.gov.uk Copies have been placed in the Library.
Departmental Policies
Mr. Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the South Thanet constituency, the effects of changes to the Department's policy since 1997 on the South Thanet constituency; [216793]
(2) if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to the Dover constituency, the effects of changes to the Department's policies since 1997 on the Dover constituency. [216794]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the South Thanet and Dover areas.
At the end of November 2004, the number of people waiting more than nine months for inpatient treatment within East Kent Coastal Primary Care Trust (PCT) has fallen to zero from 834 in June 2002.
At the end of September 2004, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for outpatient treatment within East Kent Coastal PCT has fallen to 341 from 1,033 in June 2002.
Between September 1999 and June 2004, the number of consultants at East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust has increased from 201 to 254. The number of nurses increased from 2,151 in September 1999 to 2,461 in September 2003.
Figures for December 2004 show that 100 per cent, of patients within East Kent Coastal PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a primary care professional within two working days.
22 Feb 2005 : Column 489W
In the South Thanet local authority (LA) area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 population have fallen from 214.2 in 1997 to 210.1 in 2003. In the Dover local authority area, death rates from cancer per 100,000 have fallen from 204.1 in 1997 to 198.1 in 2003.
In the South Thanet LA area, death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population have fallen from 149.3 in 1997 to 122.5 in 2003. In the Dover LA area, death rates from coronary heart disease per100,000 population have fallen from 149.8 in 1997 to 122.5 in 2003.
East Kent Coastal PCT has received an allocation of £256.5 million in 2004–05. In the recently announced PCT allocations for 2006–07 and 2007–08, East Kent Coastal PCT will receive an increase of £27.4 million in 2006–07 and 32.1 million in 2007–08. This is a total increase of 18.7 per cent. over the two years. By 2007–08, East Kent Coastal PCT will receive an allocation of £362.5 million.
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the constituency, the effect of his Department's actions and policies on Blackpool, South constituency since (a) 1997 and (b) 2001. [215614]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Blackpool South constituency.
At the end of November 2004, the number of people waiting more than nine months for in-patient treatment within Blackpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) has fallen to zero, from 342 in June 2002.
At the end of September 2004, the number of patients waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment within Blackpool PCT has fallen to 260, from 724 in June 2002.
In June 2003, at Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust, 87.9 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Figures for September 2004 show an improvement to 93. per cent.
The latest figures, September 2004, show that all urgent general practitioner referrals with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist within two weeks.
Figures for December 2004 show that all patients within Blackpool PCT are able to be offered an appointment with a GP within two working days and a primary care professional within one working day.
In 1997–98 the Lancashire Ambulance Service was able to attend 66.1 per cent. of category A emergency calls within eight minutes. During 2003–04, 77.7 per cent. of category A emergency calls were attended within eight minutes.
Work has started on a 5.8 million twin theatre day case unit at Blackpool Victoria hospital. This is due for completion in March 2006. The new facility will enable the hospital to increase the number of operations it carries out as day cases and will help cut waiting times for patients.
A new £45 million regional cardiac centre is being developed at the Blackpool Victoria hospital, which is scheduled to open in 2006. This will increase the number of beds by 38 and provide three additional operating theatres. There will also be a new 10-bed high dependency unit.
A second computed tomography scanner became operational at the Blackpool Victoria hospital in April 2004, enabling an extra 4,600 scans to be undertaken each year.
Fleetwood hospital is to undergo a £2.6 million redevelopment, providing additional x-ray equipment, treatment rooms, a new endoscopy unit and a new main entrance to the hospital. This is due to be completed in June 2005.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |