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Digital Hearing Aids

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the Government's policy is on supplying digital hearing aids to those who have been diagnosed to be in need of them; [220636]

(2) what the Government's timetable is for providing digital hearing aids to those diagnosed to be in need of them. [220708]

Dr. Ladyman: The Department has invested £125 million into the modernising hearing aid services (MHAS) project since it started in September 2000. MHAS has been retaining audiologists and modernising national health service services in a phased way to enable them to offer digital hearing aids to people who would benefit from them.
 
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95 per cent., of all NHS audiology departments in England are fitting digital hearing aids routinely to those people they have diagnosed as suitable and the few remaining departments will be offering the service by the end of March 2005.

We have recently announced new waiting time targets for NHS diagnostic services so that, by 2008, nobody will have to wait longer than 18 weeks from referral to receiving their digital hearing aid if that is what they require.

GP (Registration)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in England who are not registered with a GP; and what his most recent estimate is of the average length of time a person waits to be registered with a GP. [218165]

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in England who are not registered with a general practitioner; and what his most recent estimate is of the average length of time a person has to wait before being registered with a general practitioner. [219401]

Mr. Hutton: [holding answer 4 March 2005]: The Department does not collect data on the number of people who are not registered with a general practice. It is also not possible to estimate their number with any accuracy because of inherent differences between practice registration data and the demographic data collected by the Office for National Statistics.

There is no waiting time to register with a general practice beyond the actual time it takes to complete the administrative process of registration. Where a patient cannot register because his or her preferred practice is not accepting new patients there may be a delay while the primary care trust helps the patient find an alternative practice but no data are collected centrally on this.

Health Care Workers (Immunisation)

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish new guidance on testing and immunisation of healthcare workers for HIV and hepatitis. [217428]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 23 February 2005]: Guidance on the health clearance of new health care workers for serious communicable diseases, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C is due to be published by the summer.

Health Services (Burnley)

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was being spent in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures are available in (i) East Lancashire Acute Trust and (ii) Burnley General Hospital; and if he will make a statement. [219497]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Trust operating expenses for East Lancashire hospitals national health service trust and its predecessor trusts is shown in the table.
 
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	Trust	Amount (£ thousand)
1997–98	Burnley Health Care NHS Trust	88,898
1997–98	Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust	79,313
2003–04	East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust	231,430

Sources:
1. Audited summarisation schedules of the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 2003–04.
2. Audited summarisation schedules of the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust and the Burnley Health Care NHS Trust 1997–98.

Hospital Acquired Infections

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he plans to publish on (a) Clostridium difficile, (b) vancomycin-resistant enterococci and (c) post-surgical infection in orthopaedics; and when he expects to begin publishing this information. [218118]

Miss Melanie Johnson: Information on Clostridium difficile disease, vancomycin resistant enterococci and surgical site infections is already available from the Health Protection Agency's voluntary reporting scheme and published routinely on its website at www.hpa.org.uk.

Insulin

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to ensure the continued availability of a reliable supply of animal insulin. [217123]

Ms Rosie Winterton: There are two companies who supply animal insulin to the United Kingdom market, Wockhardt UK and Novo Nordisk. Neither has informed the Department of any intention to cease supply.

Lancashire Teaching Hospital Trust

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the procedure is for informing hon. Members of the appointment of a new chairman for Lancashire Teaching Hospital Trust. [212306]

Miss Melanie Johnson: The Secretary of State has delegated functions relating to the appointments to national health service trusts to the NHS Appointments Commission. I have asked the chair of the Appointments Commission, Sir William Wells, to write directly to my hon. Friend with the information he has requested.

Mental Health

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what evaluation he has made of the Appleby Report on the National Service Framework for Mental Health—five years on, with particular reference to variations in access to atypical anti-psychotic drugs; [220469]

(2) what action is being taken by his Department to encourage implementation of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidelines on the use of atypical anti-psychotics in schizophrenia; when full implementation will be achieved; and how implementation will be measured. [220470]

 
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Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 7 March 2005]: The National Director for Mental Health's review of the national service framework for mental health states that the use of atypical antipsychotics had been increasing prior to the publication of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal and that the appraisal may have its greatest benefit in parts of the country that have been slow to use such drugs. No evaluation has been made of the report's reference to variations in access to atypical antipsychotic drugs. However, the Department will continue to monitor antipsychotics accounted for 60 per cent. of all prescription items of antipsychotics dispensed in the community in England, compared to 48 per cent. of all antipsychotics for the year ending June 2002, when the relevant NICE appraisal guidance was published.

Since January 2002, the national health service has had three months from the date of publication of each technology appraisal guidance to provide funding so that clinical decisions made by doctors involving NICE recommended treatments or drugs can be funded.

Mesothelioma

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a national strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma; and if he will make a statement. [219770]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 7 March 2005]: A lung cancer advisory group has been established to support the development and delivery of high quality services for lung cancer patients. One of key areas that this group will address is the management of the increasing incidence of mesothelioma.

Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are available to NHS staff on the treatment of mesothelioma. [219771]

Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 7 March 2005]: We continue to keep a close eye on clinical trials to determine when the development of clinical guidelines on mesothelioma might be appropriate.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising pemetrexed disodium (Alimta), for the treatment of mesothelioma. NICE is currently consulting on the draft scope for this appraisal and final guidance is expected to be issued in the summer of 2006.

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