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10 Mar 2005 : Column 1969W—continued
Doctor Retention
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of doctors who trained in England continued to work in the national health service for five years in the last period for which figures are available. [220485]
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Mr. Hutton: The latest information available is shown in the table. It relates to doctors who graduated in 1996 and who were working in the national health service five years later, in 2001.
(15) Year of graduation 1996.
(16) Five year period ending 2001.
Source:
UK medical careers research group, Oxford University.
Healthy Eating
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the merits of including the calorific content on the labelling of alcoholic products. [220799]
Miss Melanie Johnson: No assessment has been made of the merits of including the calorific content on the labelling of alcoholic products.
Insect-borne Diseases
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on (i) insect-borne diseases and (ii) Lyme disease; and if he will make a statement. [220808]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Following the completion of eight research projects investigating aspects of Lyme disease, the latest in 1999, the Department is not currently undertaking research into Lyme disease. Details of the research projects completed can be obtained from the national research register. The Department is currently providing support funding for one on-going project relating to insect borne disease being undertaken by Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals National Health Service Trust. Further information can be found at www.nrr.nhs.uk/ViewDocument.asp?ID=NO112072861.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatment protocols are available to NHS patients suffering from (a) insect-borne diseases and (b) Lyme disease; and if he will make a statement. [220809]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Advice to doctors about the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is readilyavailable on the Health Protection Agency (HPA) website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/zoonoses/lyme_borreliosis/fag.htm.
Guidance on treatment and prevention of other insect borne infections such as malaria and West Nile virus can be found on a number of websites, including the HPA's at http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/list.htm.
Mental Health
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on links between drug abuse and mental health. [215491]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department recognises that there is a wide range of links and associations between substance abuse and mental health disorders. In order to improve the evidence within England, we commissioned a review of research literature, and the development of an information manual for practitioners from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which were published in 2001.
As part of the Department's drug misuse policy research initiative, which funded £2.4 million research between 2000 and 2003, we funded five studies to improve the evidence within England that related to substance abuse and mental health problems.
Guidance commissioned by the Department, Dangerousness of Drugs—a Guide to the Risks and Harms associated with Substance Misuse", published in September 2003, describes the various health consequences of abusing drugs, including the mental health implications.
Although we have not commissioned any further specific research into the links between substance abuse and mental health, the Department continues to monitor research in this area, and has a range of expert advisors to inform policy.
MRSA
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how frequently doctors are swab-tested for MRSA in the NHS. [219409]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Data on testing healthcare workers for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus are not collected centrally. Policy on testing is determined by local national health service trusts.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2005, Official Report, column 1623W, on MRSA, what assessment has been made by the National Health Service Litigation Authority of the risk to the NHS of civil litigation cases from patients who have contracted MRSA in hospital through a hospital's negligence. [219690]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 4 March 2005]: The NHS Litigation Authority assesses future claims provisions on an aggregate basis for the whole of the national health service. Risks associated with specific conditions are not assessed or identified separately.
Obesity
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the Health Select Committee's report on obesity. [216362]
Miss Melanie Johnson: We have not received any representations specifically related to the Health Select Committee report on obesity.
Patients' Information
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that there is good communication between healthcare professionals and their patients, with particular reference to the information patients receive on (a) tests,
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(b) medication and (c) advice on the matters they should be aware of following discharge from an out-patient or accident and emergency department. [218122]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In December 2004, the Department published Better Information, better choices, better health". This is a three year programme of action, at both national and local level, designed to improve equitable access to the quality information people need and want about their personal health and healthcare. The strategy places an emphasis on enhancing the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients through supporting the dialogues within consultations. It also sets out to build further national resources and ensure that patients receive good quality information at all stages of treatment, from diagnosis to discharge.
Copies of the document have been placed in the Library.
Pharmacy Contracts
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what financial support is available to pharmacists dispensing fewer than 2,000 items a month from (a) primary care trusts and (b) central Government; [214169]
(2) what annual savings his Department expects to make as a result of the withdrawal in 2008 of the Establishment Fee for smaller pharmacies; [214201]
(3) what estimate his Department has made of the number of pharmacies that will close as a result of the withdrawal in 2008 of the Establishment Fee for smaller pharmacies; [214202]
(4) what financial support will become available to pharmacists dispensing fewer than 2,000 items a month (a) from primary care trusts and (b) from central Government after the withdrawal of the Establishment Fee in 2008. [214203]
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress is being made in developing a standard form for local pharmaceutical services under the new pharmacy contract; [216148]
(2) what the reasons are for restricting the exit payment under the new pharmacy contract to the first year of the contract's operation; [216149]
(3) what support will be given to pharmacies dispensing less than 2,000 items per month under the new pharmacy contract. [216150]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The current essential small pharmacies scheme (ESPS) enables pharmacies dispensing fewer than 26,100 prescriptions per year and located more than 1 km from the next nearest pharmacy to receive financial support. This is currently £43,150 per year. There were 223 ESPS pharmacies in England as at 31 March 2004. National health service primary care trusts (PCTs) can in addition support, or commission services from, other pharmacies with lower dispensing volumes in their area that do not meet the ESPS criteria if they wish to do so.
The new community pharmacy contractual framework, due to go live from 1 April, will include special measures for pharmacies with lower dispensing
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volumes. The ESPS will continue and in 2006–07, we plan that these pharmacies will be able to choose whether to convert to being a local pharmaceutical services (IPS) pharmacy and retain their current ESPS entitlements or to transfer to the new contractual framework. In addition, a standard form of IPS for other pharmacies, with lower dispensing volumes, is being developed. This may help increase income for such pharmacies where they provide services which meet local health care needs.
We expect these support arrangements to continue to be in place in 2008. We also expect NHS PCTs will, in reviewing their assessment of pharmaceutical needs, continue to consider what support can be offered to pharmacies with lower dispensing volumes which contribute effectively to meeting such needs.
Pharmacies dispensing between 1,100 and 2,000 items a month will continue to receive the professional allowance until 31 March 2008. This ranges from £9,300 to £18,000 per year, depending on prescription volume. Pharmacies dispensing fewer than 2,000 prescriptions per year will also receive the new practice payment. Pharmacies dispensing under 1,100 prescriptions per month will receive a payment of £500 per annum as part of the practice payment. Additionally, pharmacies will have the option, during the first year of implementation, to decide whether they wish to relinquish their right to provide NHS services and to receive compensation.
We discussed and agreed as part of our negotiations with the pharmaceutical services negotiating committee that pharmacies would be entitled during the first year of the new contractual framework to claim an exit payment. That framework will enhance the range and quality of pharmaceutical services contractors offer—and which patients will come to expect—in future. None the less, we recognised that some contractors may not wish to continue to provide services though we hope this
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number will be very few. We believe we have allowed a reasonable time limit within which contractors should come to a decision. To prolong the period for deliberation risks depriving all patients of the benefits the new arrangements will bring.
We estimate that some 650 community pharmacies in England—or approximately 7 per cent. of the total—will be eligible for these special support arrangements in 2005–06. We have not estimated the number of such pharmacies that will close when these arrangements come to an end in 2008. That is a commercial decision for the contractor concerned. Consequently, we have not estimated any savings that may accrue. We do however fully expect all contractors to take advantage of the significant opportunities the new framework offers to expand the range and quality of services they offer and to be remunerated accordingly.
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