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19 Dec 2005 : Column 2609W—continued
Alzheimer's Disease
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the cost of (a) treating sufferers of Alzheimer's disease with drugs according to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines and (b) providing such sufferers with residential care in lieu of drug treatment. [37796]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has not made such an estimate in the difference in costs between treating sufferers of Alzheimer's disease with drugs according to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines and providing such sufferers with residential care in lieu of drug treatment.
Ambulance Service
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times East Midlands ambulance response times in North Nottinghamshire have been in excess of 30 minutes in each of the last 10 years. [36233]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 12 December 2005]: The information requested is not centrally collected. The data which the Department does collect
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on ambulance response times is published in the statistical bulletin, Ambulance services, England: 2004–05". This is available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/11/36/79/04113679.pdf.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults were recorded on Ambulance Service staff in each trust while on duty in each of the last 10 years; how many prosecutions resulted; and if she will make a statement. [32630]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally in the format requested.
Estimated violent or abusive incidents in NHS ambulance trusts for 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 are shown in the table. Information relating to the number of physical assaults for NHS ambulance trusts in England for 2004–05 will be published shortly.
Information about the number of prosecutions resulting from reports of assaults on ambulance staff was not collected centrally for the period 1995 to 2003. For 2004–05, the number of prosecutions identified involving assaults on ambulance staff in England totalled 100.
Source:
Department of Health (DH)
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Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1)what estimate she has made of the cost of (a) IT, (b) redundancies, (c) property and (d) other costs of merging the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services; [35708]
(2) what estimate she has made of the (a) short, (b) medium and (c) long-term savings of merging the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services. [35709]
Caroline Flint: It is for the local national health service to make estimates into costs of reconfiguring local NHS services.
However, Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has informed the Department that the independent consultants who reviewed the options for the ambulance service reconfiguration, set out broad estimates of costs and savings in a report published on the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA public website at: www.agwsha.nhs.uk/pdf/pricewaterhouserep05.pdf
The report sets out costs for some redundancies at senior level. However, as planned structure and siting has not yet been finalised, savings and other costs such as property costs and transitional costs cannot yet be estimated.
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many incident prioritisation systems are in operation in the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services; how they would be unified in the event of a merger of the ambulance services; and what estimate she has made of what the unification would cost. [35710]
Caroline Flint: I am informed by Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire strategic health authority that there are two incident prioritisation systems in operation in the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire ambulance services. Two of the three trusts operate the same system.
It has not yet been agreed how these systems would be unified or what the cost of unification would be as the planned structure of the new ambulance trust has not yet been finalised.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will assess the level of demand on Hampshire Ambulance Trust for ambulance services between midnight and four am on 4 December 2005 compared with the corresponding time and date in 2004. [37563]
Caroline Flint: This information is not collected centrally. The data which the Department does collect on ambulance response times is published in the statistical bulletin, Ambulance services, England: 2004–05". This is available in the Library and on the Department's website at:
Bone Fractures
Dr. Gibson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the incidence of fractures in (a) the UK population and (b) in the under fives was in each of the last five years; [37136]
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(2) what the incidence of fractures was in the under fives in each year from 1970 to 1975. [37137]
Caroline Flint: Information on the incidence of all fractures is not collected centrally. Information is collected centrally on people with fractures admitted to hospital as an in-patient, but this excludes a large proportion of fractures that are treated without requiring in-patient admission.
Carers
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Healthwhat steps she is taking to promote a better understanding of the Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 in England with respect to (a) individual assessments for carers and (b) the role of local authorities in working in partnership. [37627]
Mr. Byrne: The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 has been warmly welcomed by carers and the organisations that represent them.
The Act requires local authorities to inform carers that they may be entitled to an assessment of their needs. The Act also requires that when a local authority requests another pubic authority, such as an education, housing or health body, for assistance in planning services for a carer, that authority must give due consideration to that request.
Monitoring is being undertaken through the Commission for Social Care Inspection's performance assessment framework and data on carers' services is being collected. However, it is too early to have hard data on the effect of the new Act on carers at this stage.
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps her Department is taking to enhance the rights of carers; [37907]
(2) if she will meet care organisations to discuss the merits of a carers' commissioner. [38013]
Mr. Byrne: We have supported legislation which gives new rights to carers. The Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 strengthens the rights of carers to an assessment of their own needs as carers and involves a new right to a carers assessment. It gives local councils mandatory duties to support carers by providing services to carers directly and in the provision of breaks, and as well, directly supporting carers by providing direct payment for carers services.
The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 builds on previous legislation and makes changes to the existing law around carers services.
There is now a duty on councils to inform carers of their right to an assessment of their needs. When assessing carers councils must also take into account whether the carer works or wishes to work, undertakes or wishes to undertake education, training or leisure activities. The Act also facilitates co-operation between authorities in relation to the provision of services that are relevant to carers.
Further proposals will be brought forward in the forthcoming White Paper on social care and health.
I would be happy to meet with care organisations to discuss the merits of a carers' commissioner.
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Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) strategies and (b) policies her Department is developing to enhance the rights of carers; and what discussions she has had with local government representatives on this topic. [38019]
Mr. Byrne: This Government are the first ever to recognise the contribution and concerns of all carers formally and are supporting carers on a number of fronts through the work of several departments.
We have supported two pieces of legislation which give new rights to carers. The Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 strengthens the rights of carers to an assessment of their own needs as carers and involves a new right to a carer's assessment. It gives local councils mandatory duties to support carers by providing services to carers directly and in the provision of breaks, and as well, directly supporting carers by providing direct payment for carers' services.
The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 builds on previous legislation and makes changes to the existing law around carers services.
There is now a duty on councils to inform carers of their right to an assessment of their needs. When assessing carers councils must also take into account whether the carer works or wishes to work, undertakes or wishes to undertake education, training or leisure activities. The Act also facilitates co-operation between authorities in relation to the provision of services that are relevant to carers.
Further proposals will be brought forward in the forthcoming White Paper on social care and health.
I will continue to meet with local government representatives in the future as appropriate.
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