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Government Powers of Direction

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what powers she has to direct (a) ambulance trusts, (b) primary care trusts, (c) acute hospital trusts and (d) strategic health authorities; and on what occasions these powers have been used in each case. [38287]

Jane Kennedy: Under section 17 of the National Health Service Act 1977, the Secretary of State may direct NHS trusts including ambulance trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities about the exercise of any of their functions.

A list of directions issued is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Legislation/DirectionsFromSecretaryState/fs/en.

Health Expenditure

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the percentage of an average lifetime's health expenditure which is incurred in the last year of life. [50333]

Mr. Byrne [holding answer 13 February 2006]: In his final report on Securing our Future Health: Taking a Long-Term View" published April 2002, Sir Derek Wanless said that

on average, around a quarter of all the healthcare someone consumes in their lifetime is consumed in the last year of their life".

Health-specific Inflation

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what health-specific inflation has been in each year since 1997–98; and what the components are of health-specific inflation indices for revenue spending on (a) hospital and community health services and (b) family health services in each year. [43529]

Mr. Byrne: The hospital and community health services (HCHS) pay and price inflation is a weighted average of two separate inflation indices, the pay cost index and the health service cost index which gives the measure of price inflation.

The HCHS pay and price inflation index is available on the Department's website at: www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/finman.nsf/newsletters (see financial matters-February 2006).

The family health service (FHS) index is calculated from inflation figures associated with general medical services/personal medical services, general dental services/personal dental services, pharmaceutical services and general ophthalmic services.

The FHS inflation index is available United Kingdom's Parliament website at: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhealth.htm (see report 1 December 2005)

Hospital Beds

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the effect on hospital trusts of beds being taken up by individuals not receiving any medical treatment and the consequent effect on patients waiting on trolleys who require medical treatment; [48107]
 
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(2) what steps she (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to reduce the number of beds on wards being taken up by individuals who are not receiving medical treatment. [48108]

Mr. Byrne: Delayed transfers of care have been a priority area for action since 2001 when the health and social care change agent team was created specifically to help local health and social care communities tackle the problem. Delays in the acute sector have fallen since then by over 65 per cent. by December 2005, releasing about 1.5 million bed days a year. Delayed transfers of care are an issue for the whole health and social care system and require concerted action from all parties— acute sector, primary care trusts, local authorities and the voluntary and independent sector—to make sure people get the right care at the right time in the right place. They are expected to work together to agree how resources, such as the delayed discharges grant to local authorities, can be invested to develop services that enable people to be treated at home wherever possible or close to home in intermediate care or other rehabilitation services. The reimbursement scheme provides financial incentives to local authorities to complete their assessments quickly and enable people to move from acute hospital beds at the optimum time. The Government is currently considering an extension to reimbursement to non acute and mental health sectors.

Delays in accident and emergency (A&E) departments have been cut dramatically in recent years, including waits for admission. Alongside headline improvements in total time spent in A&E for all patients, the percentage of patients waiting over four hours for admission following a decision to admit being made has fallen from 13 per cent. at the end of September 2001 to one per cent. as at the end of September 2005.

Hospital Management Frameworks

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) by what date NHS trusts will be asked to complete a third hospital management framework self-assessment; [53687]

(2) what discussions her Department has had with strategic health authorities about the hospital medicines management framework self-assessment responses. [53688]

Jane Kennedy: The need for a third medicines management framework will be reviewed in the light of the report of the Healthcare Commission on medicines management in national health service hospitals.

Departmental officials meet regularly with strategic health authority (SHA) pharmaceutical leads to discuss a wide range of issues including medicines management.

The Department has facilitated feedback from the self-assessments, which were returned to the SHAs, to the Healthcare Commission so that the learning can be incorporated into their audit of medicines management, the report from which is due to be published in summer 2006.

Mobile Telephones

Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent representations she has received concerning the use of mobile telephones in NHS hospitals; and if she will make a statement; [47767]
 
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(2) what assessment she has made of the merits of allowing NHS in-patients to use their mobile telephones; [47769]

(3) what the evidential basis is for NHS hospitals banning the use of mobile telephones on hospital premises; [47770]

(4) if she will take steps to ensure that NHS trusts enable patients to use mobile telephones without disruption to medical equipment; [47786]

Jane Kennedy: The Office of Communications (Ofcom) concluded an investigation on 17 January 2006 following complaints from consumers about the prices charged for calls to hospital patients.

Ofcom wrote to the Secretary of State recommending that the Department should provide a clear message to National Health Service trusts that they are free to decide their own policy on mobile phone uses.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued guidance to hospital trusts that they should undertake a local risk assessment within their hospital to determine those areas where it is safe to permit mobile telephone usage and those areas where usage should be prohibited, due to the presence of electrically sensitive medical devices, for example. This risk assessment should cover not only the publics' use of mobile telephones and other radio equipment, but also the use of communication equipment by hospital staff and the emergency services.

The use of mobile phones and other communication equipment in close proximity to certain electrically sensitive medical equipment is not advised, as the consequences of disrupting such equipment may cause direct harm to patients.

It is the responsibility of individual trusts to assess the areas within hospitals where a total ban on the use of mobile telephones is appropriate on safety grounds. Restrictions in other areas of the hospital premises may be introduced for reasons other than their impact on the safety of medical equipment, such as the desire to reduce the disruption caused by the uncontrolled use of mobile phones and the possible invasion of patients' privacy from mobile telephones with built in cameras, for example.

No assessments have been carried out to determine the merits of allowing patients to use their mobile telephones in NHS hospitals.

MRSA

Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Answer of 2 February 2006, Official Report, column 723W, on MRSA, what her Department's policy is on maintaining current records on reported cases of MRSA; how frequently those data are updated; and if she will make a statement. [52241]

Jane Kennedy [holding answer 16 February 2006]: Mandatory surveillance measures Methicillin-resitant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (bacteraemias). Results from this surveillance are published every six months. The results from April to September 2005 were published on 6 February 2006 and are available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/hcai.
 
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From April 2005, trusts have been required to report bacteraemias monthly to the Health Protection Agency, and to check these initial reports quarterly before they are collated for publication.

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