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20 Jun 2005 : Column 799W—continued
Mixed Sex Wards
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS hospitals are operating mixed sex wards. [4635]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The Department do not collect information on the number of single-sex or mixed-sex wards in use in national health service hospitals.
Guidance issued to the NHS requires the provision of single-sex accommodation, which can take a number of forms. NHS trusts may provide single rooms, single-sex bays, single-sex wards or combinations of these accommodation types.
The provision of single-sex accommodation is measured by compliance with three specific objectives set by the Department. These are designed to deliver separate sleeping areas for men and women, separate bathrooms and toilet facilities for men and women, and for those trusts delivering mental health services, safe facilities for patients in hospital who are mentally ill.
Compliance with the objectives is measured at trust level. The position of each NHS trust was published on 26 May 2005 and is available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk and in the Library.
Mobile Telephones
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2005, Official Report, columns 531–32W, on mobile telephones, if she will commission research into the effect of interference from a mobile phone in a breast pocket on the variables in the dynamic equilibrium that forms part of the cardio-vascular system. [4663]
Caroline Flint: The Department has no immediate plans to commission further research into the effect of interference from a mobile phone on the cardiovascular system. The mobile telecommunications and health research (MTHR) programme in this country supports a range of studies including one on the effects of mobile phones on blood pressure and cardiac function in healthy people. The decisions on the scientific research priorities for this programme are in the hands of an independent programme management committee. Details of the MTHR programme and descriptions of all the studies are available on the MTHR website at www.mthr.org.uk.
Mumps
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of mumps among children have been reported in the last 12 months. [4641]
Mr. Byrne: The provisional annual total for laboratory confirmed cases of mumps aged under 15 years in 2004 is 736 and the provisional total for the first 22 weeks of 2005 is 1,149.
Information about confirmed cases of mumps by age and region is available on the Health Protection Agency's website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/mumps/data_reg age_htm.
20 Jun 2005 : Column 800W
Neonatal Care
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mortality rate for (a) babies and (b) infants was in each of the last 10 years. [4471]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Tim Loughton, dated 20 June 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the mortality rate for (a)babies and (b) infants was in each of the last 10 years. I am replying in his absence. (4471)
Figures on infant mortality are available by age at death for England and Wales. The most recent year for which figures are available is 2003. Numbers and rates in each of the last 10 years are shown in the attached table.
(37)Rates per 1,000 live births
Sources:
Series DH3 'Mortality statistics: Childhood, infant and perinatal' No. 36, Table 1
NHS Direct
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff were employed by NHS Direct at 31 December (a) 2004, (b) 2003, (c) 2002 and (d) 2001; and if she will make a statement. [2883]
Mr. Byrne: The information is not collected centrally by the Department. However, the NHS Direct special health authority collects information on the number of nurses and call handlers in post for years 2002, 2003 and 2004, as shown in the following table. Data prior to 2002 is not available.
| December | Nurse(38) | Call handler(38) |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1,037 | 516 |
| 2003 | 1,054 | 569 |
| 2004 | 1,034 | 611 |
(38)Data are shown as full time equivalent.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation has taken place of the performance of NHS Direct; and if she will make a statement. [2885]
Mr. Byrne:
Two evaluations have been made regarding NHS Direct, which can be found at: www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/mcru/reports.htm and www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/Homepage/fs/en
20 Jun 2005 : Column 801W
NHS Finance
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the (a) Thames Valley strategic health authority, (b) Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, (c) Wycombe Primary Care Trust, (d) Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust and (e) Two Shires Ambulance Trust is in (i) surplus and (ii)deficit; and if she will make a statement. [3235]
Caroline Flint: The latest year for which audited data on the financial position of national health service organisations is available is 2003–04. The financial position for Thames Valley strategic health authority (SHA), Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Wycombe primary care trust (PCT), Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust and Two Shires Ambulance Trust is shown in the table.
Prescription Charges
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat recent representations she has received on establishing more exemptions from prescription charges for patients with long-term conditions. [2753]
Jane Kennedy: Representations received since 1 January 2005 have been identified in respect of the following long-term conditions:
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