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9 Feb 2006 : Column 1483W—continued
Mental Health
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of mental health care provision in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [48350]
Ms Rosie Winterton: An annual assessment if undertaken by mental health strategies on behalf of the Department. The latest published report is autumn 2005, Assessment of Mental Health 2005" which is available on the Department's website at:
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she intends to bring forward the Mental Health Bill in this session of Parliament. [47841]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: We intend to bring forward a Mental Health Bill into Parliament when the legislative timetable permits.
MRSA
Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA infections were recorded in NHS hospitals for (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005 and which of these (i) were in and (ii) were related to renal units by disease area. [45588]
Jane Kennedy:
National surveillance covers methicillin resistant Staphylococcus auerus" (MRSA) blood stream infections (bacteraemias), not all MRSA infections. National data is shown in the table and data
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for individual trusts is available on the Departments website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot?04/11/40/15/04114015.pdf.
| Number of MRSA bacteraemias | |
|---|---|
| April 2002-March 2003 | 7,373 |
| April 2003-March 2004 | 7,684 |
| April 2004-March 2005 | 7,212 |
Source:
Health Protection Agency
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA cases have occurred in (a) Uxbridge constituency and (b) each London borough in each year since 1997. [48516]
Jane Kennedy: The Department does not hold the information in the format requested.
However, a table showing the number of reported methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cases by national health service trusts for the years 2001 to 2005 is available on the Department's website at:
Tackling MRSA and other healthcare associated infections remains a priority for Government and the NHS. Staff across the NHS are working hard to reduce infections, though not all can be avoided. Considerable good work is under way in pursuit of our key target to reduce by half the annual bacteraemia cases by April 2008.
Multiple Sclerosis Centres
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations she has received on the impact of inspection fees on the viability of multiple sclerosis treatment centres run on a charity basis; [48263]
(2) what assessment she has made of the merits of waiving inspection fees for multiple sclerosis centres. [49204]
Jane Kennedy: Revised regulatory fees payable to the Healthcare Commission by private and voluntary health care providers in 2005–06 were announced in February 2005. Since then I have received representations from more than 30 hon. and right hon. Members about the fees payable by multiple sclerosis therapy centres. I have also received several representations from members of the public and therapy centre staff. I met therapy centre representatives in July. I have concluded that these centres should continue to be subject to regulation by the Healthcare Commission.
The Healthcare Commission is currently consulting on the regulatory fee structure for 2006–07; the consultation document seeks views on whether establishments that are substantially reliant on voluntary donations for their income should be subject to a subsidised fee and, if so, the size of that subsidy and how it might be funded. The consultation period ends on 24 February.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Sandra Gidley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings Ministers in her Department have
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had with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the last 12 months; and what the reasons for the meetings were in each case. [45365]
Jane Kennedy: In the past 12 months there have been five meetings between departmental Ministers and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). Those meeting and their purposes are as follows:
Meeting between the chair and chief executive of NICE with myself and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) on 9 June 2005 as an introduction to NICE'S work;
Annual accountability review of NICE attended by myself, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) and Brian Gibbons AM, the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Health and Social Services, on 13 October 2005;
Meeting between Professor Sir Michael Rawlins and Lord Warner on 9 January 2006 to discuss the potential contribution of NICE to the quality and outcomes framework;
Meeting between Professor Sir Michael Rawlins and the Secretary of State on 12 January 2006 to discuss NICE'S citizens council, and
Meeting between the chair and chief executive of NICE and myself on 30 January 2006 to have an informal general discussion on issues concerning NICE.
NHS Cancer Plan
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to review the NHS Cancer Plan. [43527]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We are constantly reviewing how best to take account of changes in the national health service and developments in cancer. The NHS Cancer Plan is a 10-year strategy to improve cancer services in England and raise the level of our cancer services to the best in Europe. We are now five years into the NHS Cancer Plan and are focused on delivering its commitments. Once these have been delivered we will give further consideration to whether an updated cancer plan is needed.
NHS Database
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding her Department will make available to general practitioners for entry of patients' records onto the central NHS database by 2010; and what contingency plans she will put in place for errors in code conversions from general practitioners' records to the database. [44109]
Mr. Byrne:
Under the terms of their contract, contractors receive a global sum which is a contribution towards the contractor's costs in delivering essential and additional services, including maintaining adequate patient records. In addition, contractors can obtain points within the quality and outcomes framework on a number of areas relating to the maintenance of patient records. The relevant indicators are outlined in annex D of the statement of financial entitlements, which is available in the Library. There are no current plans to
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provide additional financial support to general practitioners specifically for entry of patients' records on the national health service care records service (NHS CRS).
The transfer of local records to the NHS CRS requires compliance with NHS Connecting for Health's stringent data migration quality standards. However, good practice guidelines for general practice electronic patient records developed by the General Practitioners Committee and the Royal College of General Practitioners, and issued by the Department, make it clear that responsibility for the quality of the necessary transfer processes, and for ensuring information is accurate and up-to-date, lies with the individual practice. This includes the putting in place of procedures to identify and resolve where an error occurs in code conversion. That could be as simple as reviewing and verifying the relevant record with the patient at the next consultation.
NHS Sites (Crimes)
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many crimes have been committed at (a) NHS hospitals and (b) other NHS sites in each year since 1997, broken down by type of crime. [48837]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The information is not available in the format requested.
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