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19 Jan 2006 : Column 1524W—continued
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff there were in the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust in each year since its creation. [41604]
Jane Kennedy: The latest figures available for national health service staff in the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust by main staff group for the years 1994 to 2004 are shown in the table.
n/a=Not available.
(25)A new system for coding the non-medical workforce was introduced in 1995. 1994 figures are not directly comparable with later years.
Sources:
Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census
Health and Social Care Information Centre Medical and Dental Workforce Census
Herceptin
Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Department holds data from the process of licensing Herceptin for late stage breast cancer that could be made available to expedite the licensing of the drug for early stage breast cancer. [25362]
Jane Kennedy: When the marketing authorisation holder, Roche, submits a licence variation application for the use of Herceptin in early stage breast cancer, new clinical data will be required to support this indication. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency already holds the quality, pre-clinical and clinical data which it assessed for Herceptin for the indication of late stage breast cancer and these will be available if required. However, it is very unlikely there will be a need to reassess previously submitted data.
Influenza Vaccine
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her estimate is of the take-up of winter influenza vaccine in (a) at-risk groups and (b) all other groups since September. [31912]
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Caroline Flint: Information on influenza uptake since 2005 in at risk groups and those aged 65 and over is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/AboutUs/MinistersAndDepartmetLeaders/ChiefMedicalOfficer/Features/FeaturesArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4103271&chk=2ijGJ5.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure provision of free influenza vaccinations for people who qualify in areas where supplies of the vaccine have been exhausted. [26151]
Caroline Flint: Having been alerted that some general practitioners may be facing a shortage of vaccine, the Department wrote to all primary care trust flu immunisation co-ordinators with details of how to order additional vaccine from our contingency stock, should extra be required by practices in their area. This vaccine has now been distributed to those affected practices. In addition to this, we have also secured an extra 800,000 doses of vaccine which will be delivered this month.
Mental Illness
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information the Department collects on the ethnicorigin of patients treated for mental ill-health in Hackney North and Stoke Newington. [41229]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the table.
Notes:
1.Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data, that is, the data is ungrossed.
2.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
3.Figures may not add up due to rounding.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.
Minibuses
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the pilot use in Croydon of minibuses instead of ambulances to ferry inebriated patients to hospital has been considered for introduction in other parts of the country. [41121]
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Jane Kennedy: The Government is always interested in new initiatives to tackle alcohol harms. We are aware that London Ambulance Service is currently piloting the use of minibuses instead of ambulances to ferry patients involved in minor alcohol-related incidents to hospital. This trial will be reviewed in January and we will be interested to see the outcome of the evaluation.
This would ultimately be a local matter for health, social care, police and other agencies to determine how best to meet the needs in their area.
Pharmaceuticals (Adverse Reactions)
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people have died as a result of adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals in each of the last five years; [41102]
(2) what estimate she has made of the cost to the NHS of treating people who have suffered adverse reactions to pharmaceuticals in each of the last five years. [41104]
Jane Kennedy: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission for Human Medicines (CHM) through the spontaneous reporting scheme, the yellow card scheme. Approximately 19,000 reports of suspected ADRs are sent to the MHRA/CHM through this scheme each year. It is not possible to estimate from the yellow card scheme the number of people who suffer adverse reactions to medicines since the scheme is associated with an unknown level of under-reporting.
It is important to note that the submission of a suspected ADR report does not necessarily mean that it was caused by the drug. Many factors have to be taken into account in assessing causal relationships, including temporal association, the possible contribution of concomitant medication and the underlying disease.
The table shows the total number of suspected ADR reports and ADR reports with a fatal outcome received via the yellow card scheme from 2001 to 2005 inclusive.
Total number of suspected ADR reports and reports with a fatal outcome received by the MHRA.
| Total number of reports | Number of reports with a fatal outcome | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 21,460 | 648 |
| 2002 | 17,511 | 667 |
| 2003 | 18,621 | 738 |
| 2004 | 18,977 | 857 |
| 2005 | 19,927 | 1,013 |
A study funded by the MHRA and published in the British Medical Journal on 2 July 2004, was conducted in two large hospitals in Merseyside in order to ascertain the current burden of ADRs in the national health service. The study found that of 18,820 patients aged over 16 years admitted to hospital over a six-month
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period, there were 1,225 admissions judged to be related to an ADR, giving a prevalence of 6.5 per cent. Of these 1,225, the ADR was judged to lead directly to the admission in 80 per cent. of cases. The median bed stay was eight days, accounting for 4 per cent. of the hospital bed capacity. The projected annual cost of such admissions to the NHS was £466 million.
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