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Medical Careers

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of the medical careers reforms on the ability of senior house officers to secure employment in the NHS. [22673]

Mr. Byrne: There is no intention to reduce the number of training posts for junior doctors as a result of the proposed modernising medical careers changes (MMC) to the structure of training programmes. MMC aims to improve patient care by delivering a modernised and focused career structure for doctors and a successful start was made with the introduction of foundation programmes in August 2005.
 
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Medical Graduates

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the mechanisms for matching medical graduates to training slots in the NHS. [34854]

Mr. Byrne: The process for appointment to foundation programmes, the first posts undertaken by medical graduates, is available on the modernising medical careers website at www.mmc.nhs.uk.

Mental Health

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision her Department has made for a 24-hour telephone support service for the mentally ill and their families. [31063]

Ms Rosie Winterton: In the statutory sector, NHS Direct provides a 24-hour, seven day a week telephone helpline service and its fully-trained staff respond to about 325,000 calls per year from people with mental health issues. NHS Direct works in close partnership with the member organisations of the Mental Health Helplines Partnership (MHHP).

The Department has committed funding of £5 million during the period 2004–05 to 2006–07 on developing an infrastructure to facilitate voluntary and community sector mental health helpline providers in England working in partnership in order to achieve increased quality, efficiency, capacity, governance, choice and access in relation to the provision of mental health helpline services. The MHHP includes the majority of the major national and local voluntary and community sector mental health telephone helpline providers (around 50 plus) excluding membership organisations. MHHP member organisations jointly handle over 5 million telephone calls or contacts per year. MHHP member organisations jointly respond to 99 per cent. of all calls made to mental health helplines.

The MHHP is currently in the procurement stage of purchasing a telecommunications solutions package that will enable MHHP members to work more efficiently in terms of call-switching between MHHP members and to work towards overall 24-hour provision of MHHP helpline services and, therefore, improve the overall level of service provision to people with mental health issues.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people, other than the organisers, attended each of the consultation events that formed part of the race equality impact assessment of the Mental Health Bill; and how many of these were black and minority ethnic service users; [36969]

(2) what assessment she has made of the extent to which the race equality impact assessment consultation on the Mental Health Bill satisfied Commission for Racial Equality guidance on the conduct of such assessments; [36970]

(3) whether she has extended the duration of the race equality impact assessment consultation on the draft Mental Health Bill. [36971]

 
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Ms Rosie Winterton: We have consulted widely as part of the race equality impact assessment (REIA) on the Mental Health Bill in the past few months. Consultation events were held in Leeds, Birmingham and London in early November. Approximately 180 people attended these events, excluding organisers and speakers, and around a third of these were service users, mostly of a black and minority ethnic background (BME) background. Other attendees included BME carers, mental health professionals and voluntary organisations representing BME service users and carers.

Other consultations included:

establishing an advisory group of stakeholders and experts in the field, which has provided its own recommendations, based on existing consultation material on the Bill, and on the basis of a workshop with stakeholders that was held in July;

interviews and focus groups with detained patients, of which around 80 per cent, were BME patients, conducted on behalf of the Department by the Mental Health Act Commission;

written submissions from the Mental Health Act Commission's service user panel, which included BME and non-BME patients;

a written consultation with professional groups who will be operating the Bill; and

a web-based opportunity for people to submit their own comments and views on the issues that have arisen out of earlier consultation.

We have also taken account of the views expressed in previous consultation on the Bill, including evidence submitted to the pre-legislative scrutiny committee.

We have, however, listened to stakeholders' views and agreed that there should be further consultation as part of the REIA on the Bill. We will be discussing with stakeholders what further consultation should be undertaken.

The process we have followed in undertaking the REIA has had close regard to the Commission for Racial Equality's (CRE's) guidance. Officials and CRE staff met early in the process to discuss the guidance. We have also seconded, part-time, a former CRE employee who is familiar with the REIA guidance to work on the REIA, and we have also involved the Home Office race equality unit, which has the lead across Whitehall for REIA work. We will continue to take the CRE guidance into account in any further work on the REIA and we are confident that the REIA which we publish alongside the Bill, when this is introduced, will satisfy the guidance.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children and young adults suffered from depression in each of the last five years. [37105]

Mr. Byrne: The information is not available in the form requested.

In 2004, it was estimated that 2.4 per cent. of five to 10-year-olds and five per cent. of 11 to 16-year-olds had an emotional disorder. Emotional disorders in this context include depression, generalised anxiety, social and other phobias, and separation anxiety.

Source:

Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain 2004, Office of National Statistics, 2005, www.statistics.gov.uk.
 
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Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Department has taken to identify depression in children and young adults. [37106]

Mr. Byrne: The Department submitted a proposal to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop guidelines on the identification and treatment of depression in children and young people. These guidelines were published by NICE in September 2005 and include advice on detection and recognition of depression. The document, Depression in children and young people is available on NICE'S website at www.nice.org.uk.

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are available to families with children who suffer from depression. [37107]

Mr. Byrne: Child and adolescent mental health services are available in all areas nationally and will routinely treat children with depression and provide support to their families.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to be in a position to present the Mental Health Bill to Parliament. [28048]

Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) on 21 October 2005, Official Report, columns 1286–87W.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for publication of the findings of the Mental Health Bill Race Equality Consultation; and if she will make a statement. [30911]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The race equality impact assessment (REIA) on the Mental Health Bill will incorporate the issues that arise out of consultation, and set out the plans to mitigate any concerns about the potential for adverse impact. We will publish the REIA alongside the Bill when it is introduced.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding was allocated in (a) Chorley and (b) Lancashire for mental health services in each of the last three years. [37797]

Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally. Allocations are made direct to primary care trusts who are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local populations.

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