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5 Jul 2005 : Column 342W—continued
Alliance Medical Ltd.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2005, Official Report, columns 629–30W, to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones), on Alliance Medical Ltd. what the nature was of the issues raised with Alliance Medical Ltd. and the strategic health authority. [8235]
Mr. Byrne: Representation was made regarding the utilisation of the existing national health service magnetic resonance imaging facility in the Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority's area.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints have been made through the central negligence scheme by patients receiving treatment provided by Alliance Medical. [7556]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 27 June 2005]: The NHS Litigation Authority's clinical negligence scheme for trusts has not received any claims in relation to Alliance Medical Ltd.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what dates have been set for review of Alliance Medical's contract to provide scanning services in the NHS. [7557]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 27 June 2005]: Performance is monitored weekly, quarterly and annually in accordance with the contract.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is responsible for payment of utility bills incurred by Alliance Medical for the site it occupies in Middlesbrough. [8259]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 30 June 2005]: The modest revenue costs incurred for utility bills are borne by the host national health service trust.
Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many residents of Chester-le-Street have had scans provided by Alliance Medical; [8725]
(2) how many residents of Stanley have had scans carried out by Alliance Medical. [9394]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The information requested is not centrally collected.
Alzheimer's Disease
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of Alzheimer's patients who are being treated with antipsychotic drugs. [7937]
Mr. Byrne: The data requested are not collected by the Department.
Care Homes
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care home beds in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley are operated (i) privately and (ii) by local authorities. [7624]
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Mr. Byrne: At 31 March 2001, in Lancashire, 15,900 care home beds were provided by the private and voluntary sectors and 1,900 beds by the council. Data are not available for Chorley.
I understand from the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that figures for later years were collected by the National Care Standards Commission, now CSCI, but comparable details are not available.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per week is in of a care home bed in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley; and what the waiting time for a care bed is in (i) Chorley and (ii)Lancashire. [7625]
Mr. Byrne: Information is not held centrally on the average cost per week of care homes in Lancashire and Chorley.
Data on waiting times for care beds are not collected centrally. However, a list of residential vacancies at Lancashire County Council Quality Accredited Homes is distributed to the area social work teams on a weekly basis.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of care homes for older people (a) exceeded, (b) met, (c) almost met and (d) did not meet the national minimum standard for medication in 2004–05. [6655]
Mr. Byrne: In 2004–05, 10,571 older peoples' care homes were inspected against standard nine, the medication standard, of the national minimum standards for care homes for older people.
34.4 per cent., of those homes inspected almost met the national minimum standard for medication. 54.3 per cent., met the standard and 1.2 per cent., exceeded it. 10.1 per cent., did not meet this requirement.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the extent of social isolation of residents in the care home sector. [7936]
Mr. Byrne: Standards 12 and 13 of the National Minimum Standards for care homes for Older People refer specifically to social contact. These standards should be taken into account by the Commission for Social Care Inspection when inspecting a home in conjunction with regulation 16 of the care homes regulations.
Carer Assessments
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many carer assessments and reviews made under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 were undertaken in each year since 2000, in each London borough. [8428]
Mr. Byrne:
Information on the number of carer assessments carried out, separately or jointly with the client, for the years 2000–01 to 2003–04 is shown in the table.
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(21)The carers return was redefined in 2003–04 to include carers assessed or reviewed. Data for previous years refers to assessments only. It is important to note this change when interpreting the data.
(22)Totals includes estimates for missing data.
(23)Missing data
Note:
Figures may not add up due to rounding.
Source:
RAP proforma A4.
Community Equipment Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the next wave of tenders for provision of community equipment services will be advertised. [9438]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 4 July 2005]: It is the responsibility of local health and social care services to renew community equipment service contracts.
Therefore, there will neither be a wave of tenders nor a national tender exercise.
Dentistry
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Government will provide vouchers to be used for private dental care to people in areas where there is no access to an NHS dentist; and if she will make a statement. [6648]
5 Jul 2005 : Column 345W
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will offer a refund equivalent to the standard cost of the appropriate NHS treatment to patients who pay for private dental treatment due to the unavailability of a local NHS dentist. [7431]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 23 June 2005]: Our objective is to ensure that people have a well-informed choice between private and readily accessible national health service dental treatment. In addition, we wish to ensure people on low incomes, who are particularly vulnerable to dental disease and are exempt from dental charges, continue to receive free treatment. This would not be guaranteed through the provision of either vouchers or refunds, because the dentist could require the voucher to be topped, while the refund might not meet the full cost of private dental treatment. We are, therefore, concentrating resources on the reform of NHS dentistry. In this financial year, funding for NHS dentistry in England is set to rise by £250 million—an increase of 19 per cent., compared with spending in 2003–04. People requiring NHS dental treatment may contact NHS Direct, who are able to respond, to 90 per cent. of inquiries with information on a dental practice accessible within locally agreed standards.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long applicants for Personal Dental Service contracts have waited on average for approval from her Department's bids panel in each month since July 2004. [9647]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The maximum time agreed for applications from primary care trusts (PCTs) for personal dental services pilot contracts is 12 weeks. The 12-week period applies once the Department receives the application from the PCT. No applications wait longer than this for a decision, although some applications may take longer if the information provided by the PCT is incomplete.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) of 20 June 2005, Official Report, column 790W, on dentistry, if she will list the names of those higher education institutions which have expressed interest in having a new dental school; whether in each case this includes satellite school status; and what the timetable is for the stages involved in announcing the siting of a new dental school. [9648]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 4 July 2005]: It would not be appropriate to publish this information at this first stage of the work of the joint implementation group (JIG). JIG expects to reach its conclusions around the end of the year when the location of the additional training places will be published.
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what studies have been commissioned by her Department to evaluate the personal dental service (PDS) contract; and what information her Department receives from (a) primary care trusts and (b) individual dentists concerning PDS contracts in operation. [9649]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 4 July 2005]: A study of early personal dental services (PDS) pilots was conducted by the University of Birmingham for the Department, and published in 2002. Individual studies of options for change field sites are also available
5 Jul 2005 : Column 346W
on the Modernisation Agency's website at: www.modernisingdentistry.nhs.uk. PPD pilot contracts are agreements between local primary care trusts and dental practices, and it is the responsibility of local primary care trusts to monitor and collect data on their operation.
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