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Bacteriophages
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been provided in the last five years by her Department's Research and Development Directorate for research into the effectiveness of bacteriophages in controlling health care associated infection. [3348]
Cancer Treatment
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of alternatives to traditional chemotherapy treatment; whether such treatments are available on the NHS; and what estimate has been made of the number of people for whom such treatment would be appropriate. [7715]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 28 June 2005]: A national chemotherapy advisory group has been set up to consider all aspects of planning and delivery of chemotherapy services and to advise the national cancer director and the Department on the development and delivery of high quality chemotherapy services. This group will consider developments in the field of chemotherapy and their implications for chemotherapy services in the national health service.
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A cancer drugs forward planning group has also been set up to identify and consider new cancer drugs and, using a set of agreed criteria, to prioritise them for consideration by the advisory committee for topic selection for potential referral to National Institute for Healthcare and Clinical Excellence.
Clinical Trials
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the use of public private partnership initiatives to develop clinical drug trials. [6955]
Jane Kennedy: The Government aims to work in partnership with the public and private sectors to sustain clinical research for the benefit of patients and the public. In 2002, the pharmaceutical industry competitiveness task force concluded a partnership agreement setting out the ground rules for both contract clinical trials and the non-commercial research collaborations to which industry contributes.
In 2004, the research for patient benefit working party drew attention to the immense contribution of United Kingdom research in the field of biomedical sciences and to the benefit to the national health service, patients and the wider public of encouraging internationally
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competitive clinical research, sponsored by the industry, and carried out in the NHS. It also recommended action to reverse some damaging trends.
To improve the environment for clinical research, the UK clinical research collaboration was created in 2004. It is a partnership between Government, the voluntary sector, patients, research funders and industry. Its work streams include developing networks within the NHS that will provide a platform for industry-contracted and collaborative research alongside NHS research, in areas identified as being critical to establishing the UK as a world leader in clinical research.
Community Pharmacies
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many community pharmacies in each London borough (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 2000–01; and if she will make a statement. [7801]
Jane Kennedy: Information on the number of community pharmacies opened and closed by London borough is not centrally collected. However, information is available by health authority (HA) prior to 2002 and from 2002, by primary care trust (PCT).
Table 1 shows the number of community pharmacies by London HA prior to 2002 and table 2 shows the number of community pharmacies by London PCTs from 2002 onwards.
Note:
Some HAs served more than one London borough.
(19)Redbridge PCT previously sat in Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA and the total number of pharmacies for the HA as at 2001–02 was 108. In 2002, Redbridge PCT was established and initially had had 39 pharmacies, increasing by 11 with the establishing of Waltham Forest PCT in 2003, which had 58 pharmacies. It is useful to note that the combined figure of community pharmacies for both Redbridge and Waltham Forest PCTs in 2003–04 is equal to that of the previous HA total of 108.
(20)Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone PCT no longer exists.
(21)Newly established PCT on 1 April 2003.
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Dentistry
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many NHS dentists have retired in each year since 1997; [4359]
(2) how many NHS dentists have left the NHS in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [4360]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of dentists, who have come off the dental lists held by the Dental Practice Board (DPB) in England in the 12-month period ending 31 March 2005 was 1,008. However, many of these dentists would not have been providing exclusively national health service treatment and therefore the number does not reflect a loss of 1,008 whole time equivalent dentists to the service.
Dentists stop practising in general dental service (CDS) or personal dental service (PDS) for a number of reasons, including retirement and short-term breaks. Some dentists have not left indefinitely and intend to return. There is no requirement for a dentist to indicate why to indicate why they have stopped practising. Neither the Department nor the DPB records the reason why a dentist has stopped practising.
The number of individual dentists in England with open CDS or PDS contracts at 31 March 2005 was 20,088 compared to 19,294 at 31 March 2004.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in Sussex are currently taking on new NHS patients; and how many were open to new NHS patients in 1997. [4472]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: Information about dental practices, which were open to new patients in 1997 are not held centrally. Information about practices currently taking on new national health service patients is not centrally collected, but can be assessed either through NHS Direct or through local primary care trusts.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Lancashire are registered with an NHS dentist. [6309]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested for the primary care trusts (PCTs) within the Lancashire area is shown in the table.
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with an NHS dentist in the City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in each of the last five years; and what percentage of the population that represented in each year. [6322]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
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1 2004 population data not available at this level—2003 data used. Sources: Dental Practice Board and Office for National Statistics.
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