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18 Oct 2005 : Column 968W—continued
Maritime Safety
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidents needing medical attention have occurred on beaches in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years. [18230]
Mr. Woodward: Information is only readily available for the most recent year, 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005, during which the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attended 37 incidents requiring medical assistance on beaches and their environs.
MRSA
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many cases of MRSA were identified within each (a) hospital and (b) health trust in the Province in each month of each the last three years. [17117]
Mr. Woodward:
The information is not available in the format requested, however the number of cases of MRSA that were identified within each health trust in the Province is available quarterly for the last three years and is presented in the following tables.
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(76)Figures are provisional.
Notes:
1.MRSA patient episodes '(MRSA PE) is defined as the total number of patients from whom blood cultureset(s) collected during the quarter grew MRS A. If repeat specimens were collected from a single patient, and the patient was considered to have had two episodes of bacteraemia, then they should be counted as two patients. As an arbitrary measure, if positive blood culture sets are collected more than 14 days apart, they should be considered as reflecting different episodes.
2.Please note that it is not possible to state how many of these patients with MRS A positive blood cultures acquired their infection in hospital. Some will have been acquired in hospital but others will have acquired infection before admission to hospital, either in the community, or in another healthcare institution.
3.Reports of patient episodes from a Trust may relate to patients who became infected in, and were reported by, another Trust. Patients whose infections were acquired in one hospital, and were subsequently transferred to another hospital, either within the same Trust or to another Trust, may have been counted more than once.
4.Many confounding factors will influence numbers within Trusts. For instance, Trusts with different clinical mixes and specialties will have different numbers of patients at high risk of MRSA infections. For example, a hospital with a specialised renal unit would treat high numbers of patients who are at increased risk of infection and re-infection.
Source:
Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre NI.
Multiple Sclerosis
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients within each health board area in the Province are waiting to commence beta interferon or glatiramer for multiple sclerosis. [18428]
Mr. Woodward:
The number of patients within each health board area in the Province waiting for beta interferon or glatiramer treatment for multiple sclerosis at 30 September 2005 are as follows.
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| Health board | Number waiting |
|---|---|
| Eastern | 56 |
| Northern | 56 |
| Southern | 16 |
| Western | 19 |
| NI total | 147 |
Note:
Patients currently suspended from the waiting list are excluded from these figures.
18 Oct 2005 : Column 971W
Operations
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will estimate how many hospital operations were postponed in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [18032]
Mr. Woodward: The information requested is not available.
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many operating theatres are in operation in each hospital in Northern Ireland. [18143]
Mr. Woodward: The number of operating theatres in each hospital in Northern Ireland at 31 March 2005 is detailed in the following table:
Orange Halls
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects legislation to provide for the de-rating of Orange halls to come into force; and if he will make a statement. [18982]
Angela E. Smith: The draft Rates (Capital values, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005, which was published on 7 October for consultation, provides for the full exemption of community halls from rates. It is intended that the Order will come into operation in April 2006.
The award of full exemption will be conditional on halls being made available for use by the wider community; not having a liquor licence; and not being occupied by a registered club. This will ensure that
18 Oct 2005 : Column 972W
assistance is directed towards organisations which are unable to generate income to assist with the payment of rates.
Planning
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning applications there have been in each of the six divisional offices in Northern Ireland in each of the last three years; and how many applications this represents per employee dealing with such matters at each office. [18607]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested is as follows:
It is not possible to assess in a reliable way how many applications this represents per employee because a number of development control staff (both professional and technological staff as well as administrative staff) can be involved to varying degrees in dealing with each planning application at different stages in the planning process.
The number of development control staff in each division during 2003–04 and 2004–05 is set out as follows. The breakdown of development control staff by division is not available for 2002–03.
| Division | 2003–04 | 2004–05 |
|---|---|---|
| Ballymena | 48 | 58 |
| Belfast | 36 | 55 |
| Craigavon | 56 | 78 |
| Downpatrick | 48 | 62 |
| Londonderry | 39 | 55 |
| Omagh | 62 | 68 |
| Total | 289 | 376 |
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