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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2684W—continued
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long on average patients requiring cardiac rehabilitation waited to be referred to each NHS hospital trust in England in the latest year for which figures are available. [14757]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect this data centrally.
Care Homes
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes in (a) England, (b) each region and (c) each local authority with social care responsibilities have (i) met and (ii) not met the national minimum standard requirement for NVQ level 2. [9080]
Mr. Byrne: The national minimum standards for care homes for older people and care homes for adults (18–65) state that the qualification for national vocational qualification level two should be completed by 2005. I understand from the chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection that care homes have been given until 31 December 2005 to meet the standard.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to implement the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading report on care homes. [13885]
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Mr. Byrne: The Office of Fair Trading published a report on care homes for older people on 18 May 2005. The report made a number of recommendations to the Government, which the Government is currently considering.
Child Health Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has published You're Welcome", a resource to make NHS services easier to use for children, as stated in the document, Every child matters: change for children in health services, published on 15 December 2004; and when dissemination seminars on the resource will begin. [12631]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has made significant progress with the You're Welcome" standards. We are now in discussions with the Royal colleges about the standards and will be consulting more widely over summer and early autumn. We anticipate that the standards will be ready for publication by the end of the year. The training seminars will commence following publication.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants in paediatric medicine there have been in each year since 1997, broken down by medical discipline. [12632]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
(186)All data as at 30 September, except where stated for 31 December 2004.
Source:
NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre medical and dental workforce census.
Childhood Cancer
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the Draper report on childhood cancer in relation to high voltage power lines; what steps she proposes to take in response to the report; what plans she has to commission further research into the subject; what discussions on the implications of the report she (a) has had and (b) plans to have with (i) ministerial colleagues, with particular reference to the Secretaries of State for Education and Skills and for Trade and Industry and the Deputy Prime Minister, (ii) relevant charities, (iii) patient groups,
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(iv)clinicians, (v) Ofgem, (vi) the National Grid and (vii) the electricity supply industry; and if she will make a statement. [13000]
Caroline Flint: The Health Protection Agency's (HPA) radiation protection division has a statutory responsibility to advise on health risks from exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF). The HPA comprehensively reviewed the relevant science in 2004 and recommended not only the adoption of new guidelines on EMF exposure but also that the Government consider the need for further precautionary measures" in relation to power frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields. The HPA provided a considered response to the recent publication by Dr Draper, placing it in the context of the current knowledge of such issues. It noted that the majority of raised magnetic fields are due to variations in the electricity supply and distribution system, the presence of substations and equipment in the home rather than proximity to power lines. The HPA's response is available on its web site at
The Draper study, which was funded directly by the Department, is also being considered by the stakeholder advisor/group ELF electromagnetic fields (SAGE), which was set up in response to the HPA advice published in 2004. SAGE has been constituted in order to make practical recommendations for precautionary measures in respect of EMF exposure—available at www.rkpartnership.co.uk/sage. Information about SAGE's membership can be found on the web site. It includes charities, clinicians, the electricity industry, market regulators, specialists and public concern groups as well as officials from Government Departments.
In addition to funding its own research programme, the Department and the Health and Safety Executive support the World Health Organization's (WHO) electromagnetic fields project. The HPA undertakes EMF research and is a WHO collaborating institution. The WHO is due to review the health risks from power frequency fields later this year.
Children's Hospices
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer of 14 June 2005, Official Report, column 146, on children's hospices, on what date she plans to publish guidance informing primary care trusts of their responsibilities with regard to children's hospices and children's palliative care. [12528]
Mr. Byrne: This autumn, we will publish a good practice guide on the effective commissioning of palliative care services for children and young people that will promote choice. The guide is for primary care trusts and their commissioning partners. We will follow up publication with a series of events to bring trusts and their local authority and hospice partners together.
Chiropody
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of chiropody services in Essex. [14137]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The Department has not made an assessment of chiropody services in Essex. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to plan, manage
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and deliver local health services, including chiropody, and to ensure that these meet the needs of their local population.
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to undertake a review of NHS chiropody services; and if she will make a statement. [13591]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 19 July 2005]: There are no plans to undertake a review of national health service chiropody services.
Access to chiropody is a matter for primary care trusts, which have responsibility for implementing the national standards, as identified in the national service frameworks.
Chiropody is one of the multidisciplinary services that should be considered in the implementation of national standards.
Christie Hospital, Manchester
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the future of Christie Hospital, Manchester. [14821]
Mr. Byrne: There is a strong future for the Christie Hospital, as part of the network delivering cancer services across Greater Manchester and beyond.
Clostridium Difficile
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on her policy for the typing of clostridium difficile 027; [8755]
(2) what the date was of the first typing of clostridium difficile 027 made by the Anaerobic Reference Laboratory from a sample taken in an English hospital; [8760]
(3) pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report, columns 1344–45W, on clostridium difficile, on what date the Anaerobe Reference Laboratory in Cardiff started to test samples for clostridium difficile 027 in respect of each hospital; [8878]
(4) what the average time taken by the Anaerobic Reference Laboratory in Cardiff to analyse and type samples of clostridium difficile was in the most recent period for which figures are available; [8958]
(5) how many samples of clostridium difficile the Anaerobic Reference Laboratory in Cardiff is able to type in an average week. [8959]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 4 July 2005]: The Anaerobe Reference Laboratory can routinely type approximately 30 isolates per week, but this could be increased if required.
The Anaerobe Reference Laboratory has provided a typing service to hospitals in England for over 10 years. It first typed clostridium difficile 027 in January 1999 from a routine referral. However, it was not until June 2004 that this type was identified as a high toxin producer. The mandatory surveillance programme for clostridium difficile, in place since 2004, has been typing clostridium difficile to provide information on the prevalence of clostridium difficile types.
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Recent audits of referred batches for analysis to the Anaerobe Reference Library reveal a turnaround time of seven working days.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of clostridium difficile 027 have been confirmed at each of the hospitals where this strain has been reported. [11436]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 12 July 2005]: A total of 106 isolates of clostridium difficile 027 have been detected by the Anaerobe Reference Library between January 1999 and Friday 15 July 2005. Most of them have come from cases of diarrhoea associated with clostridium difficile, some have come from the environment, and for some, no information was supplied.
The isolates have come from 15 locations in England and 72 of the 106 isolates (68 per cent.) are associated with three outbreaks—at Stoke Mandeville, Exeter and Romford. Seven isolates (6 per cent.) are associated with the survey of North East region (four locations). The remaining 27 (25 per cent.) have come from eight locations. These include isolates obtained from patients and typed for clinical reasons, or as research projects, and environmental samples.
It should not be assumed that a hospital where a case of clostridium difficile 027 has been identified has a major problem or outbreak of clostridium difficile 027.
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 June 2005, Official Report, columns 1344–45W, on clostridium difficile, how many (a) cases of clostridium difficile and (b) deaths due to clostridium difficile there were in each of the hospitals listed in each year from 2000. [11625]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 12 July 2005]: Data on cases of clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea by hospital from 2000 is not available. However, data by trust is being collected under the mandatory surveillance scheme and the first year's data will be published in August.
In the Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), deaths involving enterocolitis due to C. difficile can all be identified from the code A04.7. Enterocolitis is the commonest illness caused by C. difficile infection. For causes other than enterocolitis that are also known to be associated with C. difficile, it is not possible to identify from ICD codes alone the number of deaths where C. difficile actually contributed to the death. For this reason, the only routinely available mortality statistics on C. difficile are those where it was associated with enterocolitis. The Office for National Statistics is working with the Health Protection Agency on a special study to identify the total number of deaths where C. difficile was mentioned on the death certificate. Until this study has been completed, the number of deaths in particular hospitals will not be available centrally.
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