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27 Feb 2006 : Column 411W—continued
Ambulance Service
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of emergency ambulance cover in (a) Beverley and Holderness and (b) Humberside. [50161]
Mr. Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1064W, containing emergency calls and response times for the Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust from 2000–01 to 2004–05.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 1173W, on the ambulance service, on what information the Government's decision to merge the Gloucestershire ambulance service with those of Avon and Wiltshire was based. [52074]
Caroline Flint:
The local health economy undertook a review of ambulance services. An outcome of which was a detailed consultation on proposals for the future of Gloucestershire, Avon and Wiltshire Ambulance Service National Health Service Trusts. After analysis
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of the responses received to the local consultation, the strategic health authority approached the Department for endorsement of the recommended proposal to merge the three trusts, which after due consideration of the responses to the consultation, was approved.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances have been available to the Two Shires Ambulance Trust in each year since 1997. [53180]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally by the Department.
Ashford Hospital
Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list services that were provided at Ashford hospital (Middlesex) in July 1997 that are no longer provided on the hospital site; and on what date each of these services ceased to be available at Ashford hospital. [48622]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 6 February 2006]: The Department does not hold the information requested. However, Surrey and Sussex strategic health authority (SHA) has provided a list in the table.
The SHA has advised that the October 2000 and February 2006 changes have been implemented to enable the trust to continue to provide excellent services for their patients in a changing environment.
Information provided by Surrey and Sussex SHA, February 2006.
| Services added since 1997 | Date |
|---|---|
| Rapid access centre | (112)2005 |
| Laminar flow theatre | 2004 |
(112) November
ATMs (Hospitals)
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many ATMs there are in hospitals; and how many of them are free of charge; [50448]
(2) what her policy is on the siting of automatic teller machines which charge a fee to the user (a) in hospitals and (b) on other NHS sites. [51204]
Jane Kennedy:
Data on the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) sited in hospitals or other national health service sites are not collected centrally. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested. However, NHS bodies are free to enter into contracts for the installation of ATMs on their premises as an income generation activity. Whether users of ATMs are charged for doing so will depend on the
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policy of the financial institution providing the ATM, but could be covered as part of the installation contract with the NHS body.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in how many hospitals ATMs which charge a fee are the only method of obtaining cash. [50454]
Jane Kennedy: Data on the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) sited in hospitals are not collected centrally. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested. However, national health service bodies are free to enter into contracts for the installation of ATMs on their premises. Whether users of ATMs are charged for doing so will depend on the policy of the financial institution providing the ATM, but could be covered as part of the installation contract with the NHS body.
Audiology Services
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many qualified audiologists are employed in each hospital trust; and how many vacancies there were in each trust in the last period for which figures are available. [49243]
Mr. Byrne: The number of qualified audiologists employed in each trust at September 2004, the three-month vacancy rate at March 2005 and the three-month vacancy number also at March 2005 for audiologists in each trust has been placed in the Library.
Avian Influenza
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why a worker at the Essex quarantine centre was not treated for three days after being exposed to a potential case of avian influenza. [32845]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 29 November 2005]: All staff from the Essex quarantine unit were given anti-viral treatment within 24 hours of the first notification of a suspected case of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the recent deaths in Turkey resulting from the H5N1 influenza strain; and whether her Department will be revising its recommendations with regard to the H5N1 influenza strain following these deaths. [41680]
Ms Rosie Winterton: As of 7 February, the Turkish authorities have confirmed 21 cases of H5N1 infection in people from nine provinces. Of these cases, four people have died, three of them from the same family. There is no indication of human to human transmission and cases are so far confined to those who have had close contact with infected poultry. Before cases are confirmed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), diagnostic test results must be verified by a WHO designated laboratory and to date, WHO has confirmed 12 cases of H5N1 infection in Turkey, including the four deaths.
All those persons returning from Turkey and seeking medical attention for symptoms of respiratory illness with suspicion of H5N1 infection, have all to date proved to have infections other than H5N1.
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A team of experts from WHO, the European Commission and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is assisting the Turkish authorities with further investigations in those areas where cases have occurred in people. There are 22 confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 infection in poultry in 13 provinces and further suspected outbreaks in additional provinces are under investigation.
It is not proposed to revisit the current advice with regard to H5N1 influenza as a result of the current outbreaks in Turkey. Advice to travellers is available on both the Department's website and Foreign and Commonwealth Office's websites at:
This is kept under constant review.
The WHO does not at present recommend any restrictions on travel to any country currently experiencing outbreaks of bird flu in poultry flocks, including countries which have also reported cases in humans.
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated to each primary care trust to prepare for a possible H5N1 pandemic. [46957]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) have not been given specific allocations in respect of planning for a influenza pandemic. National health service organisations have a responsibility to plan for emergencies including a influenza pandemic. Allocations to PCTs have increased by 30.8 per cent. between 2003 and 2006.
The Department is stockpiling a number of essential items for use in a pandemic including H5N1 vaccine and antiviral drugs.
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