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23 Feb 2005 : Column 679W—continued
Diamorphine
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of whether Wockhardt's production of diamorphine will be sufficient to meet NHS requirements; and if he will make a statement; [213270]
(2) if he will list the alternative medicines his Department has recommended for use in the NHS for pain management while supplies of diamorphine are being addressed; whether these alternative medicines require additional equipment in order to administer them; and what additional resources are being made available to the NHS for pain management; [213271]
(3) what arrangements he has made with alternative (a) UK and (b) foreign suppliers of diamorphine to the NHS. [213272]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The national health service Purchasing and Supply Agency is continuing to monitor the supply situation closely. Wockhardt has increased its production and these extra supplies are being distributed to the NHS.
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The decision about transferring patients to alternative medicines is a clinical one and needs to be determined by the prescribing doctor, taking into account all the circumstances of a particular case. Interim clinical guidance was issued to healthcare professionals on 23 December 2004 and this is being updated by the Association for Palliative Medicine.
Equipment for administration of medicines is available through the normal channels.
The Department allocates revenue funding to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. In the allocations for 2003–04 to 2005–06, none of the substantial growth money has been identified for specific purposes.
It is for PCTs, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use these funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services.
Departmental officials are in close contact with manufacturers of diamorphine regarding United Kingdom supply. However, the details are commercially confidential.
Fertility Treatment
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on the extension of the availability of in vitro fertilisation treatment to all who require it in all areas of England. [216462]
Miss Melanie Johnson: We have made it clear to primary care trusts (PCTs) that we are looking to those which provide no in vitro fertilisation treatment (IVF) to meet a minimum national level of provision of one cycle of IVF by April 2005. We know that PCTs are working together to commission services to take account of this and the clinical guideline produced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence. In the longer term, we expect the national health service to make progress to full implementation of the guideline.
Fluoride
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the maximum safe daily intake of fluoride. [214234]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
There are no known adverse effects on health at fluoride intakes below those causing clinical skeletal fluorosis. This condition appears to require fluoride intakes of at least 10 milligrams daily for at least 10 years. Skeletal fluorosis in the United Kingdom appears to be non-existent—with the exception of a reported case in 1966—see Webb-Peploe MM, Bradley WG (1966): Endemic fluorosis with neurological complications in a Hampshire man"—Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, Vol. 29, pp. 577–584.
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General Practitioners
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there were for each 100,000 of population in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each primary care trust in each year since 1997. [217059]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the number of general practitioners (excluding retainers, registrars and locums) per 100,000 weighted population in England broken down by strategic health authority and by primary care trust in each year since March 2002 has been placed in the Library.
Information prior to 2002 is not available in a comparable format.
Health Expenditure (Chorley)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average health expenditure per head of population in Chorley constituency was in (a) 1997, (b) 2001 and (c) 2005. [216204]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The expenditure per weighted head of population in the South Lancashire health authority (HA) area is shown in the table. It is not possible to provide information on the Chorley constituency area, nor figures for 2005.
| Period | £ per head |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 609.98 |
| 2000–01 | 779.41 |
Notes:
1.Expenditure is taken from audited health authority accounts and summarisation forms which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total expenditure accounted for by the health authority. Figures are given in cash terms.
2.Allocations per weighted head of population provide a much more reliable measure to identify differences between funding of health.
3.In many HAs, there are factors which distort the expenditure. These include:
the HA acting in a lead capacity to commission healthcare or fund training on behalf of other health bodies; and
asset revaluations in national health service trusts being funded through HAs.
4.The majority of general dental services expenditure is not included in the individual health authority accounts or summarisation forms and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board (DPB). An element of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) and not by HAs. Total expenditure on these items by the DPB and the PPA cannot be allocated to individual health bodies and are therefore omitted from the answer.
5.For these reasons expenditure per head cannot be compared reliably between HAs or between different years.
Sources:
South Lancashire HA audited accounts 1996–97.
South Lancashire HA audited summarisation forms 2000–01.
Weighted population figures 1996–97 and 2000–01.
Health Funding (Huddersfield)
Mr. Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Health how much was allocated to healthcare in the Huddersfield constituency in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004. [216880]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: In 1997–98, revenue allocations were made to health authorities (HAs). In December 2002, primary care trusts (PCTs) were notified of their revenue allocations for 2003–04 to 2005–06, and the latest round of revenue allocations, covering the period 2006–07 and 2007–08, was announced on 9 February 2005.
The tables show the revenue allocations made to Calderdale and Kirklees HA for 1997–98, and to those PCTs covered by Calderdale and Kirklees for 2003–04 to 2005–06 and for 2006–07 to 2007–08.
| £000 | |
|---|---|
| Calderdale and Kirklees HA | 259,169 |
Health Funding (North Yorkshire)
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on health service budgets in North Yorkshire. [217331]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs), to cover the period 2006–07 and 2007–08, were announced on 9 February 2005.
The table shows the allocations made to PCTs in North Yorkshire for the 2006–07 and 2007–08 revenue allocations:
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