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13 Jun 2005 : Column 99W—continued

Barnet Hospital

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the performance against reference cost is for treatments at Barnet hospital. [3268]


 
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Jane Kennedy: The overall reference cost index score for Barnet and Chase Farm National Health Service Trust, as reported in the reference costs 2004 collection for the financial year 2003–04, is 102.
 
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This is after adjusting for the market forces factor and is the headline index. This effectively means that, overall, Barnet and Chase Farm NHS Trust was operating at levels approximately two per cent. higher than the national average costs for this financial period.

Cancer

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the implications of changes in the structure and funding of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for the availability of new treatments for cancer patients; [2155]

(2) what the budget is for (a) (i) the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and (ii) the Health Protection Agency in 2004–05 and (b) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in 2005–06. [2156]

Jane Kennedy [holding answer 8 June 2005]: The internal structure of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is a matter for NICE.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence received an initial resource limit from the Department and the Welsh Assembly Government in 2004–05 of £19.3 million. The budget for the Health Protection Agency in 2004–05 was £136.7 million and the initial budget for the Health Development Agency (HDA) in 2004–05 was £12.9 million. The HDA merged with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to form the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence from 1 April 2005. NICE'S initial funding for 2005–06 is £30.2 million. Figures include capital charges.

Central Middlesex Hospital

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting to see a consultant at Central Middlesex hospital on (a) 1 May 1997, (b) 7 June 2001 and (c) the latest date for which figures are available. [2537]

Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the format requested.

Table 1 shows the total number of patients waiting for inpatient admission to Central Middlesex and Northwick Park hospitals as at 31 March 1997. On 1 April 1999 these two hospitals merged to become North West London Hospitals NHS Trust. Therefore, since 1 April 1999, data has been collected at trust level.
Table 1: Number waiting for in-patient admission

Central Middlesex hospitalNorthwick Park hospitalNorth West London Hospitals NHS TrustTotal
31 March 1997
3,089
6,216not applicable9,305
31 May 2001not applicablenot applicable7,2807,280
30 April 2005not applicablenot applicable7,63717,637

Table 2 shows the number of patients waiting over 13weeks for out-patient treatment.
 
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Table 2. Number waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment

Central Middlesex hospitalNorthwick Park hospitalNorth West London Hospitals NHS TrustTotal
31 March 1997
863
1,026not applicable1,889
31 May 2001not applicablenot applicable17791,779
30 April 2005not applicablenot applicable775775

Clostridium Difficile

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of Clostridium difficile reported by each hospital trust has been in each month since the start of the mandatory reporting scheme. [3765]

Jane Kennedy: Data from the mandatory surveillance system for Clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea are not available yet and will be published this summer.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to hospital trusts on the (a) prevention and (b) eradication of Clostridium difficile. [3766]

Jane Kennedy: Clostridium difficile: infection prevention and management" was issued to national health service hospital trusts in 1994 and includes advice on antibiotic policies arid isolating patients. Copies of the report are available in the Library.

Information on outbreak control is also included in the National Clostridium difficile standards group report to the Department, produced in 2003, available on the Health Protections Agency website at

www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/clostridium_ difficile/FINALCdiffreport.pdf.

Copies have been placed in the Library.

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of Clostridium difficile were reported to her Department under the voluntary reporting scheme in each year between 2000 and 2003; and if she will make a statement. [3798]

Jane Kennedy: Reports made under the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) voluntary reporting scheme are shown in the table. Further details are given in the report, Voluntary reporting of Clostridium difficile, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: 2004, in Communicable Disease Report Weekly, volume 15, number 20, published in May 2005 on the HPA website at www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/pages/hcai.htm#clost.
Voluntary reports to HPA of Clostridium difficile infections diagnosed from faecal specimens for England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Number of reports
2000(26)(27)20,556
2001(27)22,008
2002(27)28,986
2003(27)35,537


(26)Number of reports for England and Wales only.
(27)Provisional data.
Source:
HPA.




 
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This article shows that it is hard to establish the true trend in infection rates, as reporting has increased over recent years. In order to find out the scale of the problem of Clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea, it was added to the mandatory surveillance system for healthcare associated infection in 2004. The first results will be published later this year.

GP Services (Hornsey and Wood Green)

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her latest estimate is of the general practitioner to patient ratio in Hornsey and Wood Green; and if she will make a statement. [2888]

Jane Kennedy: There is no statutory general practitioner to patient ratio. Any individual is free to approach a GP practice near to where he/she is living and apply to join the practice's list of national health service patients.

The Department does not collect information on GP to patient ratios. However, the table shows the number of GPs per 100,000 patients in the Haringey Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) area.
General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars)(28) per 100,000 patients for Haringey teaching PCTAs at 30 September 2004
Numbers (headcount)

Haringey teaching
PCT 5C9
General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and
registrars)
148
Patients284,093
General medical practitioners per 100,000 patients52.1


(28)General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes contracted GPs, general medical service (GMS) others and personal medical service (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004, this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners.
Source:
NHS health and social care information centre GMS and PMS statistics.



Dentistry

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inspections are made on the quality of NHS dental care; and if she will make a statement. [681]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Dental Practice Board (DPB) for England and Wales is responsible for establishing the probity of payment claims for dentists working in the national health service general dental services and making payments to them for the work they have done. The DPB continually monitors dentists' prescribing patterns and activity and the quality of treatment provided through the dental reference service (DRS). The DRS of the DPB monitors the quality of dentists' work from a randomly selected sample of payment claims using questionnaires to patients, clinical record checks and treatment examinations. The form that patients sign at the dentist includes an agreement to attend an examination if requested. Adverse reports
 
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arising from the 55,000 random references are investigated and can be referred to the primary care trust for disciplinary action.


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