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2 Mar 2006 : Column 903W—continued
Cadaveric Donations
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cadaveric donations of organs there were in England in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what the refusal rate was of families asked if they would permit cadaveric donation in each year. [54257]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of cadaveric donors who have donated organs in the last 10 years is shown in the table.
| Donors | |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 668 |
| 1997 | 689 |
| 1998 | 620 |
| 1999 | 617 |
| 2000 | 653 |
| 2001 | 640 |
| 2002 | 652 |
| 2003 | 599 |
| 2004 | 683 |
| 2005 | 633 |
UK Transplant's national potential donor audit began in January 2003, as part of a series of measures to improve organ donation. All patients for whom death was diagnosed following brain stem tests can be identified. The reasons why potential donors did not become actual solid organ donors can then be investigated. Validated data from 1 April 2003 to 31 December 2004 show that 40 per cent. of the 2,051 families who were approached did not give their consent for heartbeating solid organ donation.
Cervical Smear Tests
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of women received the results of their cervical smear test from their primary care trust (a) within four weeks, (b) between four and six weeks and (c) over three weeks from time of screening in England in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [45517]
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Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Weeks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than four | Four to six | Over six | |
| 1999–2000 | 32 | 27 | 41 |
| 2000–01 | 32 | 28 | 40 |
| 2001–02 | 25 | 25 | 50 |
| 2002–03 | 33 | 25 | 42 |
| 2003–04 | 38 | 29 | 33 |
| 2004–05 | 29 | 28 | 43 |
Notes:
1. Information about the time from the taking of a sample to the notification of the test result is currently available only where the result letter is sent by the primary care organisation. In 2004–05, this was reported as occurring in 89 per cent. of cases overall.
2. Information on waiting times for results of cervical screening tests was first published in 1999–2000. Information before this date is not held centrally.
Source:
Statistical Bulletin: Cervical Screening Programme, England: 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05
The increase in waiting times for results for 2004–05 are the result of laboratories converting to liquid based cytology, and the retraining of staff this entails.
Colon Cancer
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment she has made of the reasons underlying the lower survival rate for colon cancer in England than in (a) Germany and (b) the United States of America. [46748]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Although no direct comparison between Germany and the United States of America has been made The Cancer Atlas, published by the Office for National Statistics in 2005, sets out the possible causes and risk factors for developing colorectal cancer.
These include a diet low in vegetables or high in meat, lack of physical exercise, obesity and smoking. The Cancer Atlas also notes that the increase in colorectal incidence may be due partly to changing referral practices or increased patient awareness, leading to an
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increase in colonic investigations finding colorectal cancers which may not have been diagnosed during the patient's lifetime.
Five-year survival rates from colorectal cancer in England are improving, from 38.8 per cent. for the years 1986 to 1990 to 49.8 per cent. for the years 1996 to 2001.
Defibrillators
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her opinion piece in The Independent on 19 January, what the evidential basis is for her statement that 681 defibrillators have saved 68 lives so far; when the defibrillators began to be installed in railway stations and airports; at what cost the defibrillators were installed; and if she will make a statement. [45479]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In July 1999, the White Paper, Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation" announced the Government's intention to invest £1 million in installing automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in busy public places such as railway stations, airports, coach stations and ferry ports. A further £1 million was then committed to training people employed at the site in their use and in basic life support.
In April 2000, the Metro Centre shopping complex was the first public place in which AEDs were installed. Nine further public places (sites) received AEDs, completing the pilot phase of the programme and in November 2002, phase one of the programme was completed. This resulted in 110 sites receiving 681 AEDs and over 6,050 people receiving training in basic life support skills and the use of an AED. These AEDs were mainstreamed to the national health service as of 1 February 2005.
Evidence suggests that 71 lives have been saved as a result of the programme. This information is derived from stakeholders; sites report incident activity to the manager of the national defibrillator programme within 48 hours. On notification from a site or the Department, the manufacturers download data from the AED and forward to the Department within 72 hours. The manager then liaises with ambulance trusts and receiving hospitals, as the download data can be used for diagnosis and follow up treatment if the resuscitation has been successful. Patient confidentiality precludes the Department from insisting on identification and outcomes of the patients so the actual survival rates could be much higher.
Dementia
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned on (i) Alzheimer's disease and (ii) senile dementia. [50442]
Jane Kennedy: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
The Department funds research through its national research programmes that supports policy and provides the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service.
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National programme projects related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementia planned, in hand, and recently completed, include:
a systematic review of injury prevention programmes and strategies for older people with cognitive impairment and dementia in hospital and care home settings;
a cross-cultural qualitative study on improving access to care for people with dementia and their carers;
the development of a new instrument and an evaluation of current methodology for the measurement of health-related quality of life for people with dementia;
a technology assessment report on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine for Alzheimer's disease;
a systematic review of interventions to prevent wandering in dementia and evaluation of the ethical implications and acceptability of their use;
a randomised controlled trial to explore whether befriending by trained lay workers improves psychological well-being and quality of life for carers of people with dementia, and at what cost; and
a health technology assessment study of antidepressants for depression in dementia via a definitive multi-centre pragmatic randomised controlled trial of clinical and cost-effectiveness.
Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of individual projects, including a large number concerned with dementia, can be found on the national research register on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/research.
Dentistry
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have been registered with the General Dental Council in England in each year since 1997. [28699]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The General Dental Council (GDC), which is responsible for the registration of dentists, is a United Kingdom wide regulator and does not separately record registrations by the constituent countries within the UK.
The number of dentists registered with the GDC across the UK each year since 1997 is shown in the table.
| Dentists registered | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 29,055 |
| 1998 | 29,951 |
| 1999 | 31,029 |
| 2000 | 31,577 |
| 2001 | 31,827 |
| 2002 | 31,932 |
| 2003 | 32,517 |
| 2004 | 31,813 |
| 2005 | 33,631 |
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices in each local authority in England accepted NHS patients in each year since 1997. [31580]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 24 November 2005]: Information on the number of dental practices which provided care for national health service patients since 1997, by local authority, has been placed in the
2 Mar 2006 : Column 907W
Library. We do not hold information on how many of these practices were accepting new patients during this period.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists were registered in each of the last 30 years. [38277]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of dentists registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) across the United Kingdom each year since 1975 as at 31 December is shown in the table.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is planning to take to ensure NHS dental provision for the elderly in England. [40523]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
There has been a major improvement in the oral health of adults. The 1998 National Adult Dental Health survey showed that the proportion of adults with no natural teeth had fallen from 37 per cent. in 1968 to 12 per cent. in 1998. However, as was recognised in the 'Report of the Primary Care Dental Workforce Review' published in 2004, people who keep their teeth have a greater need for oral hygiene advice and restorative dental treatment. This additional demand was one of the reasons why, in response to the report, we took measures to expand the dental work force by recruiting the equivalent of over 1,400 whole-time national health service dentists (comparing October 2005 with April 2004) and providing for an extra 170 dental training places each year from 2005.
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Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2139W, on dentistry, if she will provide a breakdown of the new NHS dentists by nationality. [45412]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 25 January 2006]: Data on dentists' nationality are not held centrally. The table provides information on the numbers of complete new entrant general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS) dentists, who have joined the GDS or PDS in England, by country of qualification as at 30 September each year.
(22) Unknown dentists include dentists whose status is shown as awaiting entry or statutory exams. Awaiting entry means the dentist did not identify his or her country of qualification when requesting the opening of a new contract. Generally, these are replaced with the genuine country of qualification within weeks. Statutory exam indicates the exam taken by dentists whose home qualification is not recognised by the UK. By its nature, it does not specify a country of qualification but confirms that it is different from all country-specific qualifications.
Notes:
1. Complete new entrant means the dentist had an open GDS or PDS contract in September of the specified year but no GDS or PDS contract in September of the previous year.
2. Data includes all notifications, received by the Dental Practice Board, up to 3 November 2005. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, for example, data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists leaving the GDS or PDS.
Source:
Dental Practice Board
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists are on the current NHS dental contract in each primary care trust in England. [51636]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Information on the number of dentists providing general dental services and personal dental services in each primary care trust has been placed in the Library.
2 Mar 2006 : Column 909W
Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to ensure that all children are being covered by NHS dental care provision. [51843]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Dentists working in the salaried primary care dental services examine schoolchildren at least three times in their school career. They also contribute to regular surveys, which have shown that the oral health of children is improving.
Where dentists advise that treatment is necessary, children under 16 and young people aged 16, 17 and 18 who are in full-time education are exempt from charges for national health service dental treatment.
Recent and on-going action to improve access to NHS dentistry, including the recruitment of the equivalent of over 1,450 additional dentists, the establishment of a new university dental school and the introduction of local commissioning responsibilities for primary care trusts, will benefit both children and their families.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has met the British Dental Association over the past six months to discuss the NHS Dental Contracts. [54173]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I met the British Dental Association, on 14 February 2006 to discuss the new contracts.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adults and children in England were registered with an NHS dentist in each year since 1997 in each primary care trust area. [54174]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there were in the Bournemouth area in each of the last five years. [54285]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of national health service dentists within Bournemouth teaching primary care trust (PCT) and Poole PCT as at 30 September each year is shown in the following table.
| Bournemouth teaching PCT | Poole PCT | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 72 | 81 |
| 2002 | 76 | 84 |
| 2003 | 71 | 106 |
| 2004 | 70 | 110 |
| 2005 | 74 | 109 |
Notes:
1. Data includes all notifications of dentists joining or leaving the general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS), received by the Dental Practice Board, up to 19 October 2005. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, for example, data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS.
2. Dentists include principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts have been excluded from the data.
3. The postcode of the dental practice was used to allocate dentists to specific geographic areas. PCT areas have been defined using the Office for National Statistics all fields postcode directory.
4. An individual dentist may have a contract with more than one PCT, in which case he or she will appear in figures for each PCT with which he or she holds a contract.
Source:
Dental Practice Board
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Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the time taken by primary care trusts to finalise contracts with dentists. [54505]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) have until 31 March to finalise new general dental services contracts or personal dental services agreements with dentists, although both PCTs and dentists have been encouraged to sign contracts by the end of February wherever possible to ensure that the first monthly payments under the new arrangements can be made in time.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the decision of Warrington Primary Care Trust not to fund extra dentistry in Culcheth. [53543]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority reports that a time-limited arrangement, agreed between Warrington Primary Care Trust (PCT) and the Culcheth Village Dental Practice, has seen a second dentist at the practice since August 2005. The dentist has been salaried through short-term funding, allocated by the Department in October 2005 which ends on 31 March 2006. From April 2006, the national health service will be implementing major reforms to dentistry. New contracts for dentists will abolish the traditional fee per item remuneration system and support new ways of working with a greater focus on preventative care. Evidence from personal dental services pilot schemes is that these new ways of working free up significant capacity that dentists can then use in part to see a greater range of patients.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 9 November 2005, Official Report, columns 17–18WS, on national health service dentistry, what the headcount figure is for dentists which results in the figure of 622 whole-time equivalents. [31444]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available as the data were not collected in this format.
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