| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Jun 2005 : Column 1509W—continued
Hospital Beds
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is her policy to reduce bed occupancy levels in NHS trusts to 82 per cent. [2278]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not set targets for bed occupancy for national health service trusts. Appropriate occupancy levels, which vary depending on the range and type of services they provide, and the way in which the admission and discharge of patients is managed, are for the NHS to determine locally.
Hospital Cleaning
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many cleaners in hospitals in England are employed by (a) the NHS and (b) private contractors providing services to the NHS; and if she will make a statement; [6736]
(2) how many cleaners are employed at each hospital in England; and if she will make a statement. [6737]
Jane Kennedy: National health service organisations make decisions locally on the number and supplier, either NHS-employed or contracted out, of cleaners for their estate, consistent with their requirements.
The latest headcount figure for the number of staff who undertake cleaning in the NHS is 55,000 for 2003–04. This figure excludes managers, administrative and supervisory staff who do not physically carry out cleaning functions as a main part of their work. In collecting this data from the NHS, no distinction is made between NHS employees and contracted out staff.
28 Jun 2005 : Column 1510W
Other staff groups may also carry out cleaning in addition to their main role; these staff are not included. For instance, in some trusts nurses may be responsible for cleaning patient equipment and for dealing with spillages out of hours.
Information on the breakdown of this figure, by individual NHS hospital trust, has been placed in the Library.
Hospitals
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on proposals (a) to reduce bed numbers and (b) to change service provision at the West Herts Hospital Trust's Hemel Hempstead and Watford hospitals. [6570]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In line with our policy of Shifting the Balance of Power", the configuration of local services is a matter for the local national health service, working in partnership with its local community.
The reconfiguration of services at West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust is part of the wider reconfiguration of services in both Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, known as Investing in Your Health". The strategic outline case for this major reconfiguration of services was approved in July 2004 by the then Secretary of State for Health.
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses employed in (a) Sunderland Royal Hospital, (b) Hartlepool University Hospital and (c) Durham University Hospital were recruited from outside the UK. [6880]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not collect this information centrally. While information is collected on the country of qualification of nurses, this does not equate to their location when recruited to work in the national health service.
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many palliative care beds there have been in (a) Sunderland Royal Hospital, (b) Hartlepool University Hospital and (c) Durham University Hospital in each year since 1997. [6883]
Mr. Byrne: The table shows the numbers of beds and those specifically identified as palliative beds for the trusts concerned. It should be noted that beds may be used for palliative care without being specifically designated as such.
28 Jun 2005 : Column 1511W
Note:
The terminally ill/palliative care figures provided include all beds in wards classified as such.
Source:
Department of Health form KH03
Intensive Care/High Dependency (Costs)
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of (a) intensive care and (b) high dependency care in Enfield was in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what percentage this represented of the overall budget for NHS hospital beds in Enfield in that year. [7615]
Mr. Byrne:
The national average cost of an occupied bed day in a discrete critical care unit is collected in the
28 Jun 2005 : Column 1512W
annual national health service reference costs exercise, directly from NHS providers. There are two hospitals in Enfield; Chase Farm hospital, part of Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals NHS trust and North Middlesex university hospitals NHS trust.
Data provided by these organisations for the reference costs 2004 collection, with regard to discrete critical care services, is shown in table 1.
28 Jun 2005 : Column 1513W
Table 2 shows the total cost of critical care services and that cost as a percentage of the overall expenditure for each of the NHS providers located in Enfield. It also shows details of the calculated total picture for Enfield.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |