| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Jan 2006 : Column 127W—continued
Herceptin
Sandra Gidley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has for the funding of (a) the
9 Jan 2006 : Column 128W
provision of HER2 testing and (b) the prescribing of Herceptin to women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in the 2006–07 financial year. [29294]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The cost of HER2 testing and of prescribing Herceptin will need to be met from the existing settlement agreed with the national health service.
Roche, the manufacturer of Herceptin, has undertaken to assist the NHS in ensuring that high quality HER2 testing arrangements are put in place, for example through the provision of training for laboratory staff.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the profits for the manufacturer derived from the prescribing of Herceptin for the treatment of early stage breast cancer will be subject to the pharmaceutical price regulation scheme. [39361]
Jane Kennedy: Herceptin is a branded prescription medicine and is, therefore, subject to the 2005 pharmaceutical price regulation scheme.
HIV/AIDS
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures her Department is taking to provide anti-retroviral drugs to young children suffering from HIV/AIDS in England; and if she will make a statement. [38284]
Caroline Flint: Anti-retroviral drugs for the treatment of children with HIV/AIDS in England are provided through the national health service trust delivering the treatment, under the clinical supervision of the specialist paediatrician. Such treatment and care is provided within an inter-disciplinary clinical network.
Hospital Bed Occupancy
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for hospital bed occupancy; how many beds have been available in general and acute wards in hospitals in Torbay primary care trust in each year since 1997; and what percentage of these were occupied on average in each year. [38479]
Caroline Flint: Evidence suggests that the optimal bed occupancy rate is around 82 to 85 per cent. These figures however, are merely a guideline and it is up to the national health service locally to decide how best to manage their services.
The number of beds that have been made available in general and acute wards in Torbay primary care trust (PCT), and the percentage of these that were occupied on average since 2000 is shown in the table. This is the earliest data available as the PCT only came into existence in 2000. The data are collected on a provider rather than a commissioner basis.
Source:
Department of Health form KH03
9 Jan 2006 : Column 129W
Hospital Closures
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in the event of closure of (a) Bridgnorth community hospital and (b) Ludlow community ospital, which entity would receive what proportion of the proceeds of divestment of the site on which the hospital operates. [38636]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 20 December 2005]: If Bridgnorth hospital or Ludlow hospital were closed and sold, the proceeds would go to the Shropshire county primary care trust (PCT), providing that the open market value of each site at the time was below the PCT's delegated limit of £8 million.
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs would be lost if (i) Ludlow community hospital and (ii)Bridgnorth community hospital were closed; [38638]
(2) what assessment she has made of the impact of the closure of (a) Ludlow community hospital and (b) Bridgnorth community hospital on community care services in Shropshire; and what assessment she has made of the financial impact on the relevant local authorities. [38639]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 20 December 2005]: This is a matter for the health community in Shropshire. Any proposals for significant changes to the provision of health services in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin will be subject to formal public consultation.
Hospital Discharge (Terminally Ill Patients)
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the financial penalty paid by social services departments for late discharge of hospital patients applies to patients who are diagnosed as terminally ill. [37971]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 15 December 2005]: Patients receiving specialist palliative care are excluded from the system of charging for delays in discharge. In addition, many patients who have rapidly deteriorating conditions or who do not have long to live will continue to be the national health service's responsibility and as such will not trigger any payment from social services. The NHS is responsible for ensuring the patient is safe to discharge, however, some patients will have a strong preference to return home to die. If they, or their carer, need a care package, including services from social services which is not in place by their discharge date, social services will be potentially liable for a charge.
Hospital Mergers
Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital mergers have taken place over the last five years; what the projected effects on costs of each
9 Jan 2006 : Column 130W
merger were; and what actual savings have been achieved in each case in the last relevant financial year. [30577]
Mr. Byrne: 164 national health service trust and primary care trust mergers have taken place in the last five years. A list has been placed in the Library.
Information is not held centrally on the projected effects or actual savings from each merger.
Identity Cards
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the (a) total and (b) net cost of (i) integrating the proposed identity card scheme into her Department's IT systems and (ii) the on-going operation of the scheme within her Department. [31110]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has, in consultation with the identity (ID) cards programme, developed its current best estimate of the cost of using the ID cards scheme to support the services which it oversees and these costs have been incorporated into the business case. The Department is represented on the Ministerial Committee on Identity Cards which oversees the work on benefits planning and realisation.
In deriving these estimates account has to be taken of the types of use required to support the particular services which the Department oversees. Not all services will require a high degree of integration between the ID cards scheme and other information technology (IT) systems. There are no plans to use ID cards to access the NHS Care Record Service.
We cannot release the detailed estimated costs for integrating IT systems and the on-going operation of the ID cards scheme within the Department and the services which it oversees at this stage as these elements may be acquired from the market. The estimates are therefore commercially sensitive and to release them may prejudice the procurement process and the Department's ability to obtain value for money from potential suppliers.
Independent Treatment Centres
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated price per procedure paid was to wave 1 independent sector treatment centres in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05; and what the NHS tariff was for each procedure offered by such centres in each year. [29780]
Mr. Byrne: The price per procedure paid to wave 1 independent sector treatment centres is commercially confidential.
National health service tariff data for 2003–04 and 2004–05 is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/OrganisationPolicy/FinanceAndPlanning/NHSFinancialReforms/NHSFinancialReformsArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID= 4065325&chk=qI6yXO
However, the data are not comparable with independent sector contracts as they have to cover a range of costs, which are not applicable to the NHS. NHS equivalent cost, which does take into account the
9 Jan 2006 : Column 131W
range of additional costs incurred by independent sector providers, is used to provide a direct comparison between the services procured from the independent sector and the NHS. Details of equivalent cost by procedure cannot be disclosed as it would undermine future commercial negotiations. However, the overall cost for wave 1 schemes in 2003–04 and 2004–05 was less than the NHS equivalent.
9 Jan 2006 : Column 132W
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations have been contracted for at each independent treatment centre; of what type; and how many operations each centre has carried out. [21494]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
(30)FFCEs—A first finished consultant episode is a first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
9 Jan 2006 : Column 133W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |