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27 Feb 2006 : Column 458W—continued
Identity Cards
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department concerning the use of identity cards as NHS entitlement cards. [46399]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Secretary of State meets the Home Secretary regularly to discuss matters of common interest, including the potential use of identification cards within the national health service.
Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to award the contract for the Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service in the (a) West Midlands, (b) south west, (c) north west and (d) north east of England. [49251]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has recently awarded contracts to three organisations which will deliver a new and improved independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) from 1 April 2006 across England.
The contracts that have been awarded for each Government region is shown in the table:
All of these providers have been delivering ICAS under contract to the Department since 1 September 2003, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in general and specialist advocacy service delivery.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements her Department has made to ensure that (a) patients in the (i) West Midlands, (ii) South West, (iii) the North West and (iv) the North East of England will have access to an independent complaints and advocacy service when the contract with the citizens advice bureau finishes and (b) that there will be a smooth transfer from the current provider to the new provision. [49252]
Mr. Byrne:
The Department has recently awarded contracts to three organisations which will deliver a new and improved independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) from 1 April 2006 across England.
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Contracts have been awarded for each Government region, which is shown in the table.
All of these providers have been delivering ICAS under contract to the Department since 1 September 2003, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in general and specialist advocacy service delivery.
All providers, including Citizens Advice, are working together in order to ensure a smooth transition for clients; their aim is to provide as seamless a transition process as possible. Detailed transition plans have been drawn up, the implementation of which will be monitored by the Department. In addition, a departmental ICAS transition co-ordinator will work with all providers over the next six months to support the transition and initial set-up phase.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason each new contract for complaints and advocacy services was not awarded to the existing provider. [49254]
Mr. Byrne: The Department conducted a rigorous procurement exercise in which organisations were required to submit bids against a detailed specification that set out our requirements. The successful organisations submitted bids which more closely matched the Department's requirements and offered the best value for money.
All successful contractors have been delivering independent complaints advocacy service under contract to the Department since 1 September 2003, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in general and specialist advocacy service delivery.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the impact on accessibility for patients to complaints and advocacy services of the reduced number of centres. [49255]
Mr. Byrne: The new independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) will be much more locally accessible to clients. In addition to approximately 30 ICAS centres, all of which will for the first time be fully accessible for clients with disabilities, ICAS advocates will be regularly running outreach activities and arranging ICAS surgeries in local venues such as community centres. Clients with complex needs will be able to access the supported advocacy model, which allows for the delivery of the service to clients in their own home if necessary.
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements her Department has made to ensure that (a) patients in Tamworth will have access to an
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independent complaints and advocacy service when the current contract with the citizens advice bureau finishes and (b) that there will be a smooth transfer from the current provider to the new provision. [51222]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has recently awarded contracts to three organisations who will deliver a new and improved independent complaints advocacy service (ICAS) from 1 April 2006 across England.
Contracts have been awarded for each Government region. The new provider for the West Midlands region is POhWER which has been delivering ICAS under contract to the Department since 1 September 2003, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise in general and specialist advocacy service delivery.
All providers, including citizens advice, are working together in order to ensure a smooth transition for clients; their aim is to provide as seamless a transition process as possible. Detailed transition plans have been drawn up, the implementation of which will be monitored by the Department. In addition, the Department's ICAS transition co-ordinator work with all providers over the next six months to support the transition and initial set up phase.
Independent Treatment Centres
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many independent sector treatment centres have not fulfilled their quotas of treatments in the last three years. [44924]
Mr. Byrne: Contract performance is measured on value rather than activity to allow for variations which can occur through substitution of different procedures.
Influenza Pandemic
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current stockpile is of antiviral drugs for use in the event of an influenza pandemic; and whether she plans to stockpile the antiviral drug Relenza. [20853]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We have ordered 14.6 million antiviral treatment courses which is enough to treat the 25 per cent. of the population who may become ill with pandemic influenza. We currently have a stockpile of 3.3 million antiviral treatment courses.
We are regularly reviewing our antiviral strategy, based on expert advice, and will keep any relevant products under consideration.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the current size of the Tamiflu stockpile is; whether she plans to supplement this stockpile with alternative antivirals; when she plans to issue guidance on the prophylactic use of antivirals in the event of an influenza pandemic; what arrangements she has made for distributing the stockpile of antivirals in the event of an influenza pandemic; and if she will make a statement. [51930]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Our stockpile currently stands at 4.9 million treatment courses of Tamiflu, and will be complete by September 2006. We will continue to review our antiviral strategy, including the purchase of other antivirals, and alter our approach if recommended by expert opinions.
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The stockpile of Tamiflu is intended for the 25 per cent., of the population who may become ill with pandemic flu. It is not intended for prophylaxis, but we have not ruled out using antivirals for post-exposure prophylaxis in the very early stages of a pandemic in the United Kingdom. Use of antivirals for prophylaxis would reduce the number of people who could be treated. There is also the possibility that extensive use of antivirals for prophylaxis could encourage development of a pandemic virus with antiviral resistance. This again is under continuous review. Should the policy change in favour of prophylaxis, we would issue appropriate guidance.
We have produced a framework for the storage and distribution of antivirals to support the development of local plans by the national health service to make those medicines available for the treatment of patients. The overall aim is to ensure that antiviral medicines are available to treat patients suffering from influenza within 48-hours of the onset of symptoms.
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