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20 Dec 2005 : Column 2713W—continued
NHS Treatment (Eligibility)
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rules are on eligibility for NHS treatment for (a) students from EU countries and (b) other foreign students, broken down by (i) pre-16 years, (ii) 16 to 19 years and (iii) adult; and whether in each case charges are applicable. [35791]
Jane Kennedy: The rules on eligibility for free national health service hospital treatment were published in 'Implementing the Overseas Visitors Hospital Charging Regulations: Guidance for NHS Trust Hospitals in England' in April 2004. This document provides guidance on how to interpret the NHS (charges to overseas visitors) regulations 1989, as amended. It is available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/10/60/24/04106024.pdf.
It is these regulations which govern who is entitled to free NHS hospital treatment in England.
Nurses
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that nurses are issued with more than three uniforms. [38242]
Jane Kennedy: The Department does not stipulate the number of uniforms that should be issued to nursing staff. It is for national health service trust chief executives to ensure that nurses have enough suitable clothing and equipment to carry out their work effectively.
The Department is currently undertaking a review of current uniform policy is under way which will clarify the expectations of NHS organisations and staff in terms of wearing, changing and laundering uniforms.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that nursing staff uniforms can be laundered at a temperature high enough to destroy (a) MRSA and (b) other viruses. [38243]
Jane Kennedy:
Health Service Guidance 95(18) sets out the arrangements for the handling and laundering of linen and states the importance of securing the disinfection of used and infected linen, including uniforms. The guidance recommends that a wash at 65 degrees Celsius ( 0 C) for not less than 10 minutes, or at 71 0 C for not less than three minutes, is more than adequate for uniforms. Most uniforms can be safely processed at this temperature; indeed white garments
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manufactured to a correct specification can safely be processed at 85 0 C provided a cool down facility is incorporated within the washing process.
In relation to washing uniforms at home, the advice from microbiologists is that a wash at a domestic clothes washer's temperature of 60 0 C, followed by a rinse cycle, is more than adequate. The main point is the enormous dilution factor of the wash rather than the actual killing of the bacteria. The use of detergent will dislodge soil containing bacteria.
Health Service Guidance 95(18) is currently under review which will clarify the expectations of NHS organisations in terms of laundering uniforms. This work is being supported by scientific research, and will include recommendations on temperatures for washing uniforms and other linen.
Obesity
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1)if she will list the organisations which she has invited to comment upon the draft Obesity Care Pathway; by when comments have been invited from those selected organisations; whether it is her intention that this document should reflect a consensus on the most effective treatment options; and when she intends openly to consult with the (a) wider scientific community, (b) commercial weight loss sector and (c) patient and practitioner organisations about the details of the draft pathway; [21080]
(2) what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the consultation process being followed in relation to the development of the Obesity Care Pathway with the principles set out in (a) the Cabinet Office Code of Practice on Consultation and (b) the Code of Good Practice in Consultations and Policy Appraisal, supporting the Compact on Government's Relations with the Voluntary and Community Sector; and if she will make a statement. [21891]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 26 October 2005]: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has been commissioned to prepare definitive guidance on the prevention, identification, management and treatment of obesity. This is expected to be published in February 2007, after full consultation. The Department's interim Obesity Care Pathway is intended for use by frontline health professionals in primary care to help manage patients who are overweight and/or obese. As part of the process of developing the draft Obesity Care Pathway, early drafts were shared with some interested stakeholders between September and November, to ascertain their views on how the care pathway might be implemented.
A consultation on the content is currently under way on a more advanced draft of the Obesity Care Pathway and related documents, and a draft weight loss guide. Consultees have been asked to respond by 3 January 2006.
List of selected organisations/potential users invited to comment
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the rates of (a) overweight and (b) obesity have been among (i) children under 11 years, (ii) children aged between 11 and 18 years and (iii) adults in each year since 1997. [31902]
Caroline Flint: The available information is shown in the tables.
Note:
Figures based on UK National BMI percentile classification.
Source:
Obesity among children under 11
Department of Health, Health and Social Care Information Centre
Produced by: National Centre for Social Research, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Royal Free and University College Medical School.
Prepared for the Department of Health and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Note:
Figures based on UK National BMI percentile classification.
Source:
Health Survey for England 2002 & 2003
20 Dec 2005 : Column 2717W
Notes:
1.The Health Survey for England classifies adults as those aged 16 and over.
2.Weighted data provide the best estimate for 2003. Unweighted data for 2003 are provided for consistency with previous years which were also unweighted.
Source:
Health Survey for England 2003
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 September 2005, Official Report, columns 2742–2743W, on obesity, when the obesity programme board was set up; who the members of the board are; on what dates the board has met; what was discussed during those meetings; and if she will make a statement. [32306]
Caroline Flint: The obesity programme board was set up on 22 July 2005. The members of the board are:
Obesity Public Service Agreement Programme Manager, Department of Health/Department for Culture, Media and Sport /Department for Education and Skills
The first board meeting took place on 27 September. Meetings are scheduled quarterly.
At its first meeting, the obesity programme board discussed:
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect of obesity on the number of patients who receive treatment for each of the conditions which feature as a clinical domain in the Quality and Outcomes Framework. [33138]
Caroline Flint: To date no specific research has been commissioned and evaluated by the Department on the effect of obesity on the number of patients who receive treatment for each of the conditions which feature as a clinical domain in the current quality and outcomes framework. However, the Department has evaluated a range of research on the effect of obesity on disease conditions in adults, including summary research evidence reported by the National Audit Office, the World Health Organisation, and the Health Committee, as well as 2003 Health Survey for England.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis the original consultees on the draft obesity care pathway were chosen; who those consultees were; and which additional organisations have subsequently been consulted. [36992]
Caroline Flint: A consultation is currently under way on the obesity care pathway and related documents, including the draft weight loss guide. Consultees have been asked to respond by 3 January 2006 and a list of consultees is shown in the following list.
As part of the process of developing the draft obesity care pathway, it was shared with some stakeholders earlier in development on 28 September, and additional stakeholders on 15 November. Those invited to comment at this early stage are as follows.
Organisations invited to comment through formal consultation on 2 December
Selected organisations/potential users invited to comment on the early draft of the Obesity Care Pathway on 28 September and 15 November
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