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28 Nov 2005 : Column 267W—continued
Health Services (Uxbridge)
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for an appointment to see a general practitioner was in (a) the parliamentary constituency of Uxbridge and (b) Greater London in each year since 1997 for which figures are available. [29766]
Jane Kennedy: The requested data are not collected or held centrally. Since 2001, data has been collected each month from primary care trusts and general practitioners on the availability of access to a general practitioner. This data show whether access is or is not available in line with the NHS Plan target that patients should be able to be seen within 48 hours but do not provide information on actual waiting times.
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time to an emergency call to the Ambulance Service was in (a) Uxbridge constituency and (b) each London borough in the last year for which figures are available. [29767]
Jane Kennedy: The information is not centrally collected in the requested format. The data that the Department collects on ambulance response times are published in tables 5a, 5b, 6 and 7 of the statistical bulletin, Ambulance services, England: 2004–05", which is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk.
Health Trust Funding
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial resources were made available to (a) Wellhouse Trust for financial year 1997–98, (b) Chase Farm Trust for financial year 1997–98, (c) Barnet Chase Farm Trust for 2005–06, (d) Barnet Health Authority for the financial year 1997–98 and (e) Barnet Primary Care Trust for 2005–06; and if she will make a statement. [26805]
Jane Kennedy: In 1997–98, the revenue allocation to Barnet Health Authority was £149.1 million.
From 2003–04 revenue allocations have been made to primary care trusts (PCTs). Barnet Primary Care Trust was allocated £361.1 million in 2005–06.
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There are several reasons why comparisons between allocations rounds cannot be made, for example: changes are made to the weighted capitation formula for each allocations round, therefore, comparisons would not be on a like with like basis; and, 2006–08 is the first year that primary medical services (PMedS) were incorporated onto revenue allocations.
It is for PCTs, and was previously for health authorities, to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the healthcare needs of their local total income, including all income from activities and all other operating income in 1997–98 for Chase Farm Hospitals National Health Service Trust and Wellhouse NHS Trust is shown in the table.
| Organisation | Total income 1997–98 (£000) |
|---|---|
| Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust | 56,876 |
| Wellhouse NHS Trust | 71,876 |
Source:
Audited summarisation schedules of the Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust and the Wellhouse NHS Trust 1997–98.
Allocations are now made to PCTs. PCTs were informed of their allocation for 2005–06 as part of the announcement of the 2003–04 to 2005–06 revenue allocations in December 2002. Information is therefore not currently available on the financial resources of Barnet Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust for 2005–06.
The latest year for which the audited financial information of all NHS organisations, strategic health authorities, PCTs and NHS trusts, is available is for 2004–05. The financial position of Barnet Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust in 2004–05 showed a breakeven position.
Health Workers (Coventry)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) dental nurses, (b) dental hygienists and (c) dental therapists there are in Coventry South. [29329]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 21 November 2005.]: As of 30 September 2004 there were two qualified dental therapists in the Coventry South constituency area.
Information about the number of dental nurses and dental hygienists is not held centrally.
Healthcare Professionals Recruitment
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received from (a) healthcare recruitment agencies, (b) developing countries and (c) representatives of health workers regarding the Code of Practice for the International Recruitment of Healthcare Professionals. [24208]
Mr. Byrne:
The Secretary of State has received no recent representations from individual healthcare recruitment agencies or developing countries. Representations regarding this issue have been received within the last three months from representatives of health workers.
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Hemel Hempstead Hospital
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if she will list the posts that will be lost at Hemel Hempstead Hospital under the proposed plans to close all acute services at the hospital; and if she will make a statement. [30260]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 21 November 2005]: The reconfiguration of health services in Hertfordshire is a matter for Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire strategic health authority to agree upon, in partnership with the primary care trusts within the two counties. This major reconfiguration of services, known locally as Investing in Your Health", was consulted on in 2003, and the strategic health authority is currently compiling an outline business case which is expected to be submitted to the Department in January 2006.
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Hospital-acquired Infections
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) MRSA and (b) other antibiotic resistant bacteria infections there have been at the Norfolk and Norwich hospital in (a) private and (b) NHS patients in each of the last five years; and what the average number per acute hospital in England in each category was over the same period. [28498]
Jane Kennedy: The best data available are from the mandatory surveillance system which started in April 2001. Reports of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections in the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital National Health Service Trust are shown in the table. The table also shows the trust and national rate per 1,000 bed days as this is a more reliable benchmark than an average number of reports.
The mandatory surveillance system also includes reports of blood stream infections caused by glycopeptide resistant enteroccoci. Results of the first year of surveillance, October 2003 to September 2004, are available and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust did not have any cases during this year. As this is a relatively rare national infection rates are not available.
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research the Department has commissioned into combating MRSA. [28960]
Jane Kennedy: During the first half of 2003, the Department commissioned a £2.5 million strategic programme of research aimed at improving scientific understanding of antimicrobial resistance. Part of that total sum, together with funds committed by the former NHS Estates Agency, is being spent on projects that will provide information relating to best practice in preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
The publication of the Department's report Winning Ways—working together to reduce healthcare associated infection in England" in December 2003 was accompanied by the announcement that £3 million would be allocated to fund a new research programme on healthcare associated infections.
Several projects are being supported from this fund. These include:
a national observational study of the effectiveness of the Clean Your Hands campaign and a cluster randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of feedback in intensive care units and acute general medical wards;
a study of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of MRSA screening and monitoring on surgical wards using a new, rapid molecular test;
a randomised crossover trial of a new, rapid method of MRSA detection compared with conventional screening: efficacy and the effect upon hospital MRSA infection rates, transmission rates and the use of hospital resources.
Funding has recently been agreed to support the development of a healthcare infection research network. In addition, a call for proposals for research into the cost-effectiveness of interventions aimed at controlling the spread of infection was published earlier this year. Twelve short listed projects are being peer reviewed and we expect to commission several of these early next year.
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