| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
1 Mar 2005 : Column 1073W—continued
Cossham Hospital
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects on communities served by Cossham hospital arising from the transfer of services from Cossham hospital to community health facilities in Kingswood town centre. [217681]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 24 February 2005]: I have made no assessment. It is for strategic health authorities, as the local headquarters of the national health service, to oversee service improvements in their local areas because with their knowledge of the local community they are best placed to do so.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional services will be available to the community hitherto served by Cossham hospital as a result of the transfer of services from Cossham hospital to community health facilities in Kingswood. [217682]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 24 February 2005]: The public consultation undertaken by the local national health service in Bristol relating to Cossham hospital has been extended to 1 March 2005. No final decisions, therefore, have been taken on this matter.
I understand it is proposed that the community health facilities in Kingswood, Orchard Medical Centre and the Kingswood Health Centre be extended so that services such as outpatient clinics, X-ray and physiotherapy would be placed alongside general practitioner practices.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the objectives were of the transfer of services from Cossham Hospital to community health facilities in Kingswood town centre. [217683]
1 Mar 2005 : Column 1074W
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 24 February 2005]: It is for primary care trusts in partnership with the local health community to work to improve services for their local population.
I understand the local national health service in Bristol's proposals are to provide modern, appropriate services and facilities for the local population.
Dentists
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists' surgeries in (a) Greater London and (b) each London borough were accepting new NHS patients in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [217543]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This data is not available by Greater London or by London boroughs. Information on the number of dental practices accepting new national health service patients in London as at 15 February 2005 broken down by strategic health authority and primary care trust has been placed in the Library. Data is not available for the last five years.
Departmental Policies (Rochdale)
Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information relating as closely as possible to the Rochdale constituency, the effect on Rochdale of his Department's policies and actions since 1997. [217371]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The Government has 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 Rochdale constituency.
1 Mar 2005 : Column 1075W
For example in March 1997 1 , there were 431 patients waiting more than 12months for in-patient treatment and 2,283 waiting nine to 11months. Latest figures show 1,202 waiting six to eight months and nobody waiting more than nine months.
In March 1997 1 , there were 3,587 patients waiting more than 13weeks for out-patient treatment. Latest figures show 1,183 waiting more than 13 weeks.
The latest published figures show that 94.9 per cent. of patients spend less than four hours in the accident and emergency department. In September 2002, the figure was 78.3 per cent. and in September 2003, the figure was 92.3 per cent.
99.8 per cent. of urgent referrals for suspected cancer were seen by a specialist within two weeks.
A total of 811,000 has been provided from the cancer plan central capital allocation for a scanner, as part of the 50 extra scanners across England. This magnetic resonance imaging scanner will become operational for patients in summer 2005 at the Rochdale Infirmary and is expected to increase the annual number of scans from 7,800 to 11,000.
A new mobile catheter laboratory funded by the New Opportunity Fund will be based at Rochdale Infirmary from March 2005. The laboratory will expand the facilities available at the cardiology unit enabling an additional 1,800 angiograms to be carried out in a full year.
Work is commencing to convert a ward at Rochdale Infirmary to a 500,000 16-station renal dialysis unit which is due to open in May 2005.
1 Figures from 1997 are the sum of the figures for the preceding NHS trusts (Oldham NHS trust, Rochdale healthcare NHS trust, North Manchester healthcare NHS trust and Bury healthcare NHS trust) to their merger in 2002 to form the Pennine acute hospitals NHS trust.
General Practitioners
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average remuneration for a general practitioner was in each of the past 15 years. [218828]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 28 February 2005]: Figures based on information for Great Britain are shown in the table.
1 Mar 2005 : Column 1076W
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the arrangements for sick pay provision for general practitioners are. [218829]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 28 February 2005]: The rights of general practitioners (GPs) partners in partnership agreements to paid sickness leave is a matter for their partnership agreement. For GPs who are salaried, employed either by general medical service contractors or primary care trusts, their entitlement to sick pay should reflect that available to hospital doctors. Under other forms of primary medical contracts, e.g. personal medical services or alternative provider medical services this will be a matter for locally agreed contracts.
Health Tourism (Cost)
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the amount health tourism cost the NHS in England in each year between 1997 and 2004. [217439]
Mr. Hutton: [holding answer 24 February 2005]: Successive Governments have not required the national health service to provide statistics on the number of overseas visitors treated under the provisions of the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 1989, as amended. It is therefore not possible to give a definitive assessment of the scale of health tourism.
Influenza
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many doses of (a) amantadine and (b) other flu vaccines or antivirals his Department has stockpiled in preparation for an influenza pandemic; [214756]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the number of doses of (a) flu vaccine and (b) antivirals which need to be stockpiled in preparation for an influenza pandemic. [214757]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The UK Health Departments UK Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan is being published today, together with our procurement of antivirals. This puts the United Kingdom in the forefront of international preparedness for a possible flu pandemic. The document is on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu.
We are working closely with other governments and the World Health Organisation to ensure the international community is as well prepared as it can be to spot and address the early signs of a pandemic as quickly as possible.
However, it makes sense to ensure we in the UK are as prepared as we can be and have drugs for use against an influenza pandemic here. That is why 14.6 million courses of oseltamivir have been ordered for delivery over the next two financial years. This will enable us to treat one in four of the UK population—the proportion which the WHO recommends we plan for.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |