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22 Mar 2005 : Column 742W—continued
Contaminated Blood Products
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons financial support is not provided to women widowed through the infection of their husbands with hepatitis C from contaminated blood products prescribed for them by the NHS. [223180]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Unlike the Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts, which administer schemes for those infected with HIV, the ex gratia payment scheme for those infected with hepatitis C as a result of national health service treatment with blood or blood products, known as the Skipton Fund, is not a charitable trust.
The Skipton Fund has been designed to make lump sum, ex gratia payments to those living with the hepatitis C virus and has not been designed to compensate for bereavement. For these reasons it is distinct from the HIV payment schemes.
Deep Vein Thrombosis
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the level of deaths from deep vein thrombosis among NHS patients. [222205]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Virtually all deaths from deep vein thrombosis occur as a result of a pulmonary embolism and most pulmonary embolisms arise from deep vein thrombosis in the leg. However, the precise description of this sequence of events leading to death, as provided on the death certificate, affects whether the death is coded as pulmonary embolism or thrombosis. Therefore, a figure combining the two causes is shown in the table.
(27)The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 415.1, 451.1, 451.2, 451.9 and 453.9 for the years 1998 to 2000 and, for the years 2001 to 2003, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes 126, 180.1, 180.2, 180.3, 180.9 and 182.9.
(28)Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
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The Government have noted the recent report published by the Health Committee into the prevention of venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients and will provide a full response in due course.
Digital Hearing Aids
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the reduction of waiting times for digital hearing aids. [223354]
Dr. Ladyman: The figures on waiting times for digital hearing aids are not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts to ensure their local population benefits from modernised hearing aid services.
Disability Equipment
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with internet providers on rules governing the re-sale of disability equipment. [222961]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 18 March 2005]: We have not had any discussions with internet providers on rules governing the re-sale of disability equipment.
We would expect anyone who is re-selling disability equipment whether on the internet or not, to take their liabilities into account and their duty to the public to ensure that the re-sold equipment is fit for purpose, decontaminated and ideally has a full service history.
Drug Addicts
Mr. Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered drug addicts per head of population there are in (a) Birmingham, (b) Bristol, (c) Leeds, (d) Liverpool, (e) Manchester, (f) Newcastle, (g) Nottingham and (h) Sheffield. [214038]
Miss Melanie Johnson: There is no requirement on drug misusers to register their addiction. The number per thousand population in contact with structured treatment during 2003–04, the most recent year for which figures are available, was:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | 4.2 |
| Bristol | 7.6 |
| Leeds | 3.4 |
| Liverpool | 6.4 |
| Manchester | 6.9 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 3.1 |
| Nottingham | 5.7 |
| Sheffield | 3.5 |
Drug Rehabilitation
Mr. Flook:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 March, Official Report, column 1467W, on drug rehabilitation, what measures
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he is taking to encourage community drug services' treatment protocols to reflect the advice on alternatives to methadone substitution therapy. [222519]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 17 March 2005]: A range of guidance has been produced by the Department and the National Treatment Agency (NTA) including:
These all promote a range of appropriate treatment options including alternatives to methadone substitution therapy.
These documents promote the use of medication in the context of a package of care and advise on detoxification and availability of a range of psychological interventions and pathways to rehabilitation and recovery.
The Department continues to fund the Royal College of General Practitioners, which provides training to doctors, nurses and pharmacists on the range of drug treatment options including substitution medication and psychological interventions.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 2004–05 budget is for drug rehabilitation; what the budgets are for each year until 2007–08; and if he will make a statement. [222672]
Miss Melanie Johnson [holding answer 17 March 2005]: The pooled drug treatment budget for 2004–05, and the allocated funding up until 2007–08 is shown in the table.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 253.4 |
| 2005–06 | 299.4 |
| 2006–07 | 423.8 |
| 2007–08 | 478.4 |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on provision of drug treatment in Lancashire. [213906]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Within the Lancashire Drug Action Team (DAT) area, there are a number of substance misuse services providing treatment in line with National Treatment Agency models of care and the drug interventions programme, the levels of intervention continue to evolve to meet the needs of the individual.
The Lancashire DAT plans to provide treatment for 4,113 problem drug users in the area in the current financial year, rising to 5,307 in 2007–08.
Average national waiting times for drug treatment in England have fallen, from an average of 9.1 weeks in December 2001, to 2.5 weeks in June 2004. Lancashire DAT reported an average waiting time of 3.75 weeks in December 2004.
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Lancashire's allocation from the pooled drug treatment budget in 2004–05 is £4.3 million in the current year. This will increase by 21.2 per cent. in 2005–06 to £5.2 million.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was made available for drug action and rehabilitation teams in each year since 2001. [221165]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department and the Home Office have combined the funding provided for drug treatment. Known as the 'pooled treatment budget', this money is allocated to the 149 drug action teams across the country. This budget will increase from £142 million in 2001–02 to £478 million in 2007–08.
The pooled treatment budget allocation since 2001 is shown in the table.
| Amount (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 142 |
| 2002–03 | 191 |
| 2003–04 | 236 |
| 2004–05 | 253 |
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding was provided for each drug action and rehabilitation team in the latest year for which funding is available (a) per team member and (b) per user. [221166]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Department and the Home Office have combined the funding provided for drug treatment. Known as the 'pooled treatment budget' this money is allocated to the 149 drug action teams (DATs) across the country. This budget is increasing from £142 million in 2001–02, to £478 million in 2007–08. The pooled treatment budget allocation for 2004–05 is £253 million.
DATs make their own decisions on staffing and commissioning of services. We do not hold information centrally on these costs.
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have received (a) treatment and (b) assistance from West Leeds community drug service since it was set up; and if he will estimate how many lives the service has saved. [222245]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information is not available in the format requested.
The number of people seen by the West Leeds community drug services from April 2004 to December 2004 was 410. There are no figures for 2003–04.
Treatment data from national drug treatment monitoring system are presented for each drug action team (DAT) area. The total number of individuals in contact with structured drug treatment services in the whole Leeds DAT partnership area for 2003–04 was 24,530.
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