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9 Nov 2005 : Column 635W—continued
HIV/AIDS
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on advertising and promoting awareness of HIV/AIDS in England in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [17835]
Caroline Flint: In addition to investment locally by the national health service, the totals the Department has spent on targeted HIV health promotion work, including advertising, are shown in the table.
| Amount (£ million) | |
|---|---|
| 2004–05 | 1.710 |
| 2003–04 | 1.750 |
| 2002–03 | 1.950 |
| 2001–02 | 1.600 |
| 2000–01 | 1.640 |
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many condoms have been distributed free of charge by her Department in each of the last five years for which records are available. [17851]
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Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department does not distribute condoms. Primary care trusts are responsible for local sexual health and HIV health promotion including the provision of free condoms.
Infection Control
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she plans to publish her response to the consultation on action on healthcare associated infection in England. [23106]
Jane Kennedy: A summary of the consultation responses will be available on the Department's website shortly.
Influenza
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which groups of health professionals are allowed to prescribe (a) Tamiflu and (b) other anti-viral drugs; and whether she plans to expand the prescribing rights of groups of health professionals to cover anti-virals (i) in the event of an influenza pandemic and (ii) at other times. [23115]
Jane Kennedy: Anti-virals, including Tamiflu, can be prescribed by doctors, dentists and supplementary prescribers. They can also be supplied and/or administered under a patient group direction by a wide range of health professionals including nurses, pharmacists and paramedics.
Patients in defined at-risk groups are eligible to receive Tamiflu on national health service prescription. Private prescriptions may be issued to other patients outside the defined risk groups.
We are exploring additional ways of making antiviral medicines available for timely patient treatment in a pandemic scenario should that be required.
The Department is already embarked upon a general programme to expand non-medical prescribing to suitably qualified members of registered healthcare professions.
IT Projects
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many IT projects have been developed for her Department since 2001; and whether she has agreed to make public Gateway reviews for these projects (a) in full and (b) in part. [23518]
Jane Kennedy: The Department has undertaken 58 information technology (IT) projects since 2001. The Office of Government Commerce has released part of one Gateway review report on the National Programme for IT. The Department has released part of one of the Gateway review reports related to the national health service e-recruitment project.
MRSA
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients have contracted MRSA at hospitals in (a) Romford, (b) Essex and (c) London in 2005. [22947]
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Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available in the format requested, but the number of cases of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus blood stream infections reported from April 2004 to March 2005 in Essex, London and the Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals National Health Service Trust, which covers Romford, is shown in the table.
| Strategic health authority (SHA) | 2004–05 |
|---|---|
| Essex | 183 |
| London SHAs(33) | 1373 |
| Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust | 98 |
(33) There are five SHAs in London. The figure covers all of them.
Source:
Health Protection Agency.
NIHCE
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to make a decision on the proposals for changes to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence topic selection process. [24140]
Jane Kennedy: The process of selecting topics for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is reviewed from time to time and we are currently considering the scope for further improvements.
Sterile Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the findings of the Pathfinder initiative on sterile services. [20205]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 20 October 2005]: The Pathfinder project will deliver improved decontamination services to the Bradford Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust. An evaluation report will be published after the project is complete.
Road Accidents
Mr. Hepburn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died in road accidents in
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(a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the north east and (d) England in each year since 1997. [26571]
Dr. Ladyman I have been asked to reply.
The number of people who have died in road accidents in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) the district of South Tyneside, (c) the north east Government office region and (d) England in each year since 1997 are given in the table.
(34) Based on 2004 boundaries
Waiting Times
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will instruct the Health Protection Agency to carry out an audit of waiting times for genito-urinary medicines services. [23962]
Caroline Flint: The Department commissioned the Health Protection Agency in 2004 to undertake a bi-annual, and now quarterly, audit of waiting times in genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics. The latest data, from a survey undertaken in May 2005, show that 45 per cent. of patients are seen within 48 hours at GUM clinics. Primary care trusts and strategic health authorities have already developed plans on how they will meet the target of 48-hour access through the local delivery planning process. To support this, the Department is investing an additional £130 million for GUM services and infrastructure in 2006–07 and 2007–08 to enable clinics to expand their services and reduce waiting times. An additional £15 million capital funding has also been recently allocated.