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26 May 2005 : Column 232W—continued
Multiple Sclerosis
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will exempt multiple sclerosis therapy centres from the need to undergo Healthcare Commission inspections; and if she will make a statement. [659]
Mr. Byrne: There are no plans to exempt these centres from the requirement to register with, and be inspected by, the Healthcare Commission.
NHS Staff (Assaults)
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to protect NHS staff from violent assaults; and if she will make a statement. [777]
Jane Kennedy: Violence against national health service staff is wholly unacceptable and will not be tolerated. For the first time the NHS is putting in place a network of local specialists across the NHS with the professional skills to tackle this problem, supported nationally by the NHS security management service. Full figures for 2004–05 will be available shortly, but the indications are that this approach has already delivered a substantial increase in the number of prosecutions.
Overseas Nurses
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many overseas nurses were trained in the (a) NHS and (b) private sector in the last year for which figures are available. [473]
Mr. Byrne: We do not hold this information centrally.
From data provided by the University and Colleges Admissions Service, the total number of applicants accepted on nursing diploma and degree programmes for 2004 entry is 21,171, of which 432 were from overseas countries.
Paediatric Oncology
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many paediatric oncology beds were available in England on 8 May; [507]
(2) how many vacancies there are for paediatric oncology nurses; and how many have been vacant for the last three months; [508]
(3) how many children have had to wait more than 10 days for a paediatric oncology bed in England during the last two years; [510]
(4) what the average occupancy rate for paediatric oncology beds in England was in the last period for which figures are available. [511]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Information is not centrally collected on either the numbers and use of beds nor numbers of nurses at a sub-specialty level, such as paediatric oncology.
26 May 2005 : Column 233W
Waiting Time Targets
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those primary care trusts responsible for patients in breach of the nine months in-patient waiting time target for the period ending on 31 March. [242]
Mr. Byrne: The table shows the number of patients waiting over nine months for an in-patient admission as at 31 March 2005, commissioner based.
26 May 2005 : Column 234W
Of the 41 patients waiting over 12 months at the end of March 2005, most were waiting for admission either to Welsh hospitals or a single English trust (the United Bristol hospitals national health service trust).