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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2776W—continued

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will answer question reference 6661 tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam. [14596]

Mr. Byrne: I refer to the hon. Member to the reply I gave on Wednesday 13 July 2005, Official Report, column1143W.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to question reference 6656 tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam. [14635]

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on Wednesday 20 July 2005, Official Report, column 1886W.

Patient and Public Involvement in Health

Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the functions will be of the proposed centre for excellence in patient and public involvement in health. [11884]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 12 July 2005]: It is intended that the resource centre for patient and public involvement (PPI) will be a repository of PPI related knowledge. The centre will seek out existing and ongoing PPI best practice and innovation and communicate it widely through exemplars, advice, guidance and information; identify gaps in learning and skills and support initiatives to address them and offer signposting, linkages and networks to promote good PPI practice.

Patient Care (Private Companies)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 June 2005, Official Report, column 1765W, on patient care (private companies), if she will place a copy of the quality requirements in the Library. [13675]

Mr. Byrne: The quality requirements for delivery of out-of-hours care are available on the Department's website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/12/15/04091215.pdf.

PCT Funding

Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer to question reference 4622, how much extra funding is allocated to each primary care trust for (a) age related needs, (b) additional needs and (c) unavoidable difference in the cost of providing services; [11147]
 
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(2) pursuant to the answer to question reference 4622, what data sources are used to determine the extra weighting given for unavoidable difference in the cost of providing services. [11148]

Mr. Byrne: The weighted capitation formula does not separately allocate extra funding to each primary care trust (PCT) for the age-related needs, additional needs and unavoidable costs adjustments.

An explanation of the data sources used to determine the extra weighting given for unavoidable difference in the cost of providing services is given in the technical document titled, Resource Allocation: Weighted Capitation Formula—Fifth Edition", which is available on the Department's website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Publications/Publications PolicyAndGuidance/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance Article/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4112065&chk= MqnOJW.

A list of the PCT indices for the age-related needs, additional needs and unavoidable costs adjustments is contained in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 PCT initial revenue resource limits exposition book, which is available on the Department's website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/OrqanisationPolicy/FinanceAndPlanning/Allocations/AllocationsArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4104471&chk=kDkAyL.

Pharmacy Closures

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what criteria are used to assess the case for closure of a pharmacy on the grounds that the pharmacist is deemed no longer fit to practise; [11574]

(2) what grounds for appeal are available to a pharmacist suspended under the new legislation regarding fitness to practise. [11575]

Jane Kennedy: A pharmacy contractor can be removed from a national health service pharmaceutical list under section 49F of the National Health Service Act 1977 (the 1977 Act") if he/she is unfit to practise on grounds of efficiency, fraud or suitability. Removal from the list prevents a contractor providing NHS pharmaceutical services. This does not automatically result in closure of the pharmacy, since the contractor is able to continue to trade privately. However, many pharmacies rely on their NHS business to be commercially viable.

The criteria used to assess such cases are set out in the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/641 as amended) (the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations"), at regulation 46. Decisions on removal from the list are the responsibility of the relevant primary care trust (PCT). Such decisions can be appealed under section 49M of the 1977 Act to the Family Health Services Appeal Authority (FHSAA), an independent tribunal established under Section 49S and Schedule 9A of the NHS Act 1977 as amended. Guidance for PCTs on these procedures is available on the Department's website.
 
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Where a PCT suspends a pharmacy contractor under section 49I of the 1977 Act, he/she is entitled to have the matter reviewed in accordance with section 49L of that Act.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain may also remove a pharmacist from the professional register on grounds of misconduct or poor performance, for example, where the pharmacist has been convicted of criminal offences or for breaches of the Pharmacy Act, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or the Medicines Act 1968. If removed, a pharmacist must cease to practise.

Physiotherapists

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many physiotherapists were employed by the NHS in 2004–05 in a (a) junior capacity and (b) senior capacity; [14473]

(2) what steps she plans to take to increase the number of junior physiotherapy posts in hospitals in England; and if she will make a statement. [14474]

Mr. Byrne: Information collected by the Department does not break down physiotherapists by grade. The latest available figures show that, as at September 2004, there were 19,139 physiotherapists employed in the national health service.

The Department is working closely with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, the NHS workforce review team and NHS organisations to help junior physiotherapists to find first posts of employment. As a result of this collaborative work, there is an action plan in place to ensure local managers have access to a range of strategies across recruitment, commissioning and skill mix. It is the responsibility of local NHS employers and strategic health authorities to ensure there are sufficient numbers of physiotherapists to meet service needs.

Policy Costings

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what costings of (a) Liberal Democrat and (b) Conservative party policies her Department has (i)undertaken, (ii) co-ordinated in the previous 12 months and (iii) advised upon in the previous 12 months. [7003]

Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to Her Majesty's Treasury's website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/information/foi_disclosures/foi_disclosures index.cfm.

Post-operative Care

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the average cost of providing rehabilitation and care for a post-operative patient in (a) an acute hospital and (b) a community hospital. [11283]

Mr. Byrne: Currently, no data is available that separately identifies the average cost of providing post-operative care. These costs are included in a composite cost for a procedure or treatment. The case-mix of patients treated in acute and community hospitals is likely to differ.
 
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Prescribed Medicines (Costs)

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of (a) the proportion of prescribed medicines that were not taken by patients and (b) the resultant cost to the NHS in the most recent year for which figures are available. [14972]

Jane Kennedy: The Department does not hold the information requested.

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money was spent on prescriptions by each primary care trust in each of the last five years. [14742]

Jane Kennedy: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

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