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23 Mar 2005 : Column 899W—continued
Employee Checks
Ms Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are taken to ensure that individuals deemed unsuitable to work with children, are not able to gain access to other vulnerable client groups. [223474]
23 Mar 2005 : Column 900W
Dr. Ladyman: The protection of vulnerable adults (PoVA) list started operating on 26 July 2004. Since that date any referral for inclusion on the Protection of Children's Act list, including ones already made, have also been considered for inclusion on the PoVA list, a process known as cross-referral. The staff who maintain both lists are co-located and work closely together.
Doctor/Nurse Numbers
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses on average were employed in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2003 at (A) Diana, Princess of Wales hospital, Grimsby and (B) Scunthorpe general hospital. [223460]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is shown in the following table.
n/a = Not applicable.
(32) In 2001, North East Lincolnshire NHS trust merged with Scunthorpe and Goole hospitals NHS trust to form Northern Lincolnshire and Goole hospitals NHS trust.
Sources:
Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census.
Drug Prices
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes have taken place in the price to the NHS of drugs produced by (a) GlaxoSmithKline and (b) other pharmaceutical companies in each of the last seven years. [221750]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The prices of branded prescription medicines and the profits that companies are allowed to make on their sales to the national health service are controlled by the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme. A new five-year scheme commenced on 1 January 2005 and included a price reduction of 7 per cent. on all products covered by the scheme, which will deliver annual savings of £370 million for the NHS in England. The 1999 scheme also included a price reduction of 4.5 per cent. and has delivered annual savings to the NHS of some £250 million. In addition, the reimbursement prices of four generic medicines were reduced in 2003 and 2004 to save £300 million a year.
The mechanisms and criteria for price changes are complex and apply to over 200 companies and thousands of products. The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
EU Prescribing Regulations
Mr. Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what obligation the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has for consulting patients on the implementation of new EU prescribing regulations in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [220528]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are currently no obligations for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to consult patients on the implementation of changes to product information resulting from European scientific advice or harmonised regulatory action. The MHRA's independent scientific advisory committee, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) has lay members. The advice of CSM informs the United Kingdom position in discussions within Europe. The MHRA values patients' views and opinions, which is reflected in the current proposals to reform the advisory committee structure. The proposals, which are subject to consultation, aim to increase lay members on these advisory committees.
Freedom of Information Act
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS personnel have been employed on processing requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since 1 January. [222524]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 17 March 2005]: The information requested is not held centrally.
Dr. Julian Lewis:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) costs to the NHS and (b) services to customers of
23 Mar 2005 : Column 901W
the NHS of the coming into effect of the full provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 since 1 January. [222525]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 17 March 2005]: Each national health service organisation is responsible for managing the impacts of changing governance arrangements, including Freedom of Information, within its own boundaries. Information about the detailed management of those governance arrangements is not held centrally.
General Practitioners
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is responsible for commissioning general practitioner services for people living in residential care homes. [222464]
Mr. Hutton: All patients in residential care homes are entitled to the full range of personal medical services and the same rights of access to primary care as any other patient group. It is for primary care trusts to ensure general practitioner services are commissioned to meet the needs of their local population.
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average salary of a GP was in real terms (a) in 1997 and (b) in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [222511]
Mr. Hutton: Figures for the relevant years are shown in the table. The final column uprates the 1997 figure using gross domestic product (GDP) deflator figures into 2003–04 terms.
Original IANI (33) | 'Real' IANI (33) (2003–04 terms) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 46,031 | 53,250 |
| 2003–04 | (34)67,040 | (34)67,040 |
(33) Intended average net income.
(34) denotes forecasted figure
Genito-Urinary Medicine
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the average waiting times for urgent genito-urinary medicine appointments. [223291]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Data on genito-urinary medicine clinic waiting times are collected and published on behalf of the Department by the Health Protection Agency. The latest data are contained in the report GUM Waiting Times Audit November 2004", freely available on the Health Protection Agency's website at www.hpa.org.uk
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations took place at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in each of the last 10 years. [222012]
Dr. Ladyman:
The information requested is shown in the table. This shows that the number of finished consultant episodes at Great Ormond Street Hospital has risen every year since 1997.
23 Mar 2005 : Column 902W
Health Statistics (Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacies in Shrewsbury and Atcham there were in each year since 1997. [223153]
Dr. Ladyman: The information is not held centrally in the format requested.
Information prior to 2002 is available by health authority (HA). Shrewsbury and Atcham was within Shropshire HA. Table 1 shows the number of community pharmacies in Shropshire HA for the years 1997–98 to 2001–02.
Since 2002, the former Shropshire HA has been covered by Shropshire county primary care trust (PCT) and Telford and Wrekin PCT. Table 2 shows the number of community pharmacies for the years 2002–03 and 2003–04.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 66 |
| 1998–99 | 66 |
| 1999–2000 | 66 |
| 2000–01 | 66 |
| 2001–02 | 66 |
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shropshire county PCT | 41 | 41 |
| Telford and Wrekin PCT | 26 | 29 |
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