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16 Mar 2005 : Column 271W—continued
Diagnostic and Treatment Centres
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS per patient is for each contract placed by the NHS with private sector diagnostic and treatment centres; and against what NHS comparator each was assessed. [220339]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 7 March 2005]: Wave 1 independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) providers are paid according to the contracted payment mechanism based on a price per procedure. In 2003–04, it is estimated that procedures purchased under the ISTC programme cost on average 9 per cent. more than the national health service equivalent cost, using NHS tariff as the base for the equivalent cost calculation. We are engaged in independent sector procurement to provide choice, contestability and additional capacity to reduce waiting times.
Great North Air Ambulance Service
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with the Northumbria Ambulance Trust about the withdrawal of the Great North Air Ambulance Service based at Blyth. [221285]
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Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 14 March 2005]: The Department has not had any discussion with the Northumbria Ambulance Trust about the withdrawal of the Great North Air Ambulance Service.
Hepatitis
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what arrangements are being made to treat the individuals in English prisons who are infected with hepatitis C; [220482]
(2) what measures are in place to identify the number of individuals in English prisons who are infected with hepatitis C. [220484]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 10 March 2005]: The Hepatitis C Action Plan for England (June 2004) envisages that prisoners, who are one of the priority groups identified within it, should have equal access to the full range of testing, diagnostic, assessment and treatment services that it specifies.
Information about the number of prisoners with hepatitis C is not collected centrally. Prisons and their national health service partners draw up, and regularly review, prison health delivery plans within which prisoners' health care needs are assessed, prioritised resources allocated and delivery monitored.
Hospital-acquired Infections
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many London acute trusts undertake post-discharge surveillance for hospital acquired infections; [221018]
(2) which London acute trusts have separate budgets for infection control; and what those budgets are, broken down by acute trust; [221019]
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(3) what the infection control nurses to bed ratio was in acute trusts in London on the latest date for which figures are available. [221021]
Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is not available centrally.
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of hospital-acquired MRSA have been reported at (a) Berwick Infirmary, (b) Alnwick Infirmary, (c) Rothbury Community Hospital and (d) Wansbeck General Hospital in the most recent period for which figures are available. [220373]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 10 March 2005]: The information is not available in the format requested. The number of reported methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections for Northumbria Healthcare National Health Service Trust from April to September 2004 was 27.
Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were found in (a) the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust and (b) in all hospitals in each year since 1996. [220615]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 8 March 2005]: Data for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemias in national health service acute trusts has only been collected on a mandatory basis since 2001. It is published in six-monthly periods (April to September and October to March). The number reported from the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust and for all acute trusts in England is shown in the table.
The figures for England for April to September 2004 show a 6.3 per cent. reduction compared with the same period for 2003.
IT Projects
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much Atos Origin has been paid to date for the development and provision of the full choose and book system; and what monthly payment is currently being made to the company. [220863]
Mr. Hutton: Total payments to date to Atos Origin relating to the development, delivery and maintenance of the core choose and book service total £15,699,795.
A fixed monthly payment of £715,075 is made to the company for ongoing maintenance and management services.
Meat Hygiene
David Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meat plants with a Hazard Analysis Critical
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Control Point plan have been prosecuted for breaching UK Hygiene Regulations in each year between 2000 and 2004. [219009]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The relevant legislation requires all licensed fresh meat and poultry meat plants in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to have hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) plans in place. This requirement had to be implemented in large plants by 7 June 2002 in England, Scotland and Wales and by 15 July 2002 in Northern Ireland: and across all small plants by 7 June 2003.
The total number of licensed fresh and poultry meat plants prosecuted under United Kingdom meat hygiene legislation with a HACCP plan in place at the time the offence occurred since this statutory requirement came into force is shown in the table.
| Great Britain | Northern Ireland | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 |
| 2004(8) | 0 | 1 |
(8) The figure for 2004 is provisional as a number of investigations into offences reported in 2004 have yet to be concluded.
NHS Expenditure
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2005, Official Report, column 888W, on NHS expenditure, what information on NHS regional and strategic health authority budgets since 1997 has been validated. [215994]
Mr. Hutton [holding answer 10 February 2005]: Expenditure on administration, and total expenditure, by national health service region, at 2003–04 prices (in thousands of pounds), between 1997–98 and 2000–01, is shown in the following tables.
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Expenditure on administration, and total expenditure, by strategic health authority (SHA) area, at 2003–04 prices (in thousands of pounds) for 2001–02, is shown in the following table.
Notes:
1. Figures for 2002–03 are not available.
2. Figures for 2003–04 are currently being validated.
3. NHS regions no longer existed from 2001–02. Figures quoted are based on nominal strategic health authority area, even though SHAs did not come into being until the following year.
4. Total expenditure is taken from audited health authority accounts and primary care trust summarisation schedules, which are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. The expenditure is the total expenditure by the relevant health authorities, and the commissioner costs of the primary care trusts.
5. Total NHS expenditure cannot be identified by regional or health authority area because the majority of general dental services expenditure is not included in the individual health authority accounts or primary care trust summarisation schedules and is separately accounted for by the Dental Practice Board. The majority of pharmaceutical services expenditure is accounted for by the Prescription Pricing Authority and not by health authorities or primary care trusts.
6. All figures are based on returns submitted by individual NHS organisations. These returns are signed off by the directors of finance of the NHS organisations and audited by auditors appointed by the Audit Commission.
Sources:
Audited accounts of the health authorities 1997–98 to1998–99.
Audited summarisation forms of the health authorities 1999–2000 to 2000–01.
Audited summarisation schedules of the primary care trusts 2000–01, 2001–02.
Audited summarisation schedules of the NHS trusts 1997–98 to 2001–02.
Her Majesty's Treasury gross domestic product deflator.
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