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7 Mar 2006 : Column 1240W—continued
Correspondence
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to correspond electronically with (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public. [52693]
Mr. Byrne: We have no current plans to correspond electronically with hon. Members. We have an email service for members of the public which is accessible through the Department's website at dhemail@dh.gsi. gov.uk.
Dementia
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has allocated for drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia in each year from 1997 to 2005 in (a) Leicester and (b) England. [50443]
Mr. Byrne: This information requested is not held centrally.
Dentistry
Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy that all dentists trained in the UK should have to participate in the provision of NHS dental services for a minimum period of time. [51845]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Before they may practise independently in the national health service, newly qualified dental graduates are required to undertake one year's vocational training in a dental practice under the supervision of a suitably experienced general dental practitioner. It is the Department's policy that these vocational trainers should have a significant commitment to the NHS.
NHS dentists already enjoy a wide range of benefits including membership of the NHS superannuation scheme and support given to their continuing professional development. The Department will continue to identify and promote good practice by primary care trusts in encouraging continued commitment to the NHS.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists, excluding orthodontists, have been available for dental students to work for during their compulsory work experience year in (a) Leicester, (b) Surrey and (c) England in each year since 1997. [49585]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Newly qualified dental graduates are required to undertake one year's vocational training before they may practise independently in the National Health Service. These vocational dental practitioners (VDPs), none of whom
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would have started specialist training in orthodontics at this stage, undergo the training in approved vocational training dental practices distributed across the country.
In 2005, there were 14 training places in the Leicester area, 24 in Surrey and 624 in England as a whole. In 2005, 598 VDPs were appointed to these vocational training practices including 14 in the Leicester area. Information for earlier years is not held centrally. Given that the number of VDPs is largely determined by the number of dental undergraduates and there had been no significant increase in admissions to dental schools until we funded a major expansion from autumn 2005, it may, however, be assumed that these figures have remained fairly constant since 1997.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vocational dental trainees have taken up places in the general dental service in 2005. [31446]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In 2005, 598 dentists, most of whom were newly qualified graduates, were placed as vocational dental practitioners (VDPs) in dental practices within the vocational training scheme. It is our policy that practices which take VDPs should be making a significant commitment to the national health service. We do not hold information centrally on where VDPs go on to work, but in general, recently qualified dentists tend to work predominantly with NHS patients before they have the option of undertaking much private practice.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time target is for NHS out-patients requiring dental work that can only be carried out in hospital. [54825]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 2 March 2006]: From January 2006, no patient should expect to wait longer than 13 weeks for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant, following referral by a general medical practitioner or general dental practitioner. This applies equally to dental services and other hospital services.
Departmental Information Leaflets
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of printing and distributing information leaflets produced by her Department was in each of the last five years. [51913]
Mr. Byrne: Between 1 October 2004 and 31 September 2005, the Department produced 697 publications. The cost of producing these including design, typesetting and print services totalled £6,781,780.
For all other printed publications produced prior to 1 October 2004, the Department has no central record of this information and could not obtain these without incurring disproportionate cost.
Digital Hearing Aids
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for people to receive digital hearing aids in England was in 2005; and if she will make a statement. [56313]
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Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts to ensure their local population benefits from modernised hearing aid services.
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the target waiting time is for existing NHS hearing aid users to be upgraded to digital hearing aids. [52026]
Mr. Byrne: It is for primary care trusts to plan and commission appropriate services for their local population including those who require digital hearing aids.
There is no specific target for replacing analogue hearing aids. This should be done as part of the routine maintenance programme for individuals based on their clinical need.
Dr R Hensman
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to resolve the complaint made to her Department from the hon. Member for Bolton South East and the right hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Frank Dobson) regarding the way in which D R R Hensman and his patients were treated by the NHS. [33912]
Jane Kennedy: This is a confidential matter and I will write to the hon. Member about it.
Dysfluency
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the provision of NHS services for children who stammer; and what plans she has to provide further services to deal with dysfluency. [52751]
Mr. Byrne: No assessment has been carried out centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities, local authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of services for children with dysfluency.
Speech and language therapists treat children with dysfluency. We have increased the number of speech and language therapists employed in the national health service by 34.6 per cent. since 1997, and the numbers of people in training for this profession by 62 per cent. since 1999–2000.
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is given to health visitors concerning the detection and treatment of dysfluency in young children. [52752]
Mr. Byrne:
No guidance is given centrally. Health visitors are free to make decisions about the services and care they provide. This will be matched with accountability for individual professional judgment and the use of best available evidence in detecting dysfluency in young children. They will then refer the child to an appropriate healthcare professional, such as a speech and language therapist, for treatment.
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External Contractors (Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire)
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what external contractors were used by (a) Bedfordshire Heartlands NHS primary care trust, (b) Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire NHS strategic health authority and (c) Bedford Hospital NHS Trust in the last period for which figures are available; what the costs of using these contractors were in that year; and if she will make a statement. [52141]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The details of the expenditure at Bedford Hospitals Trust on contractors is shown in the table.
| Expenditure (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 197,000 |
| 2002–03 | 244,000 |
| 2003–04 | 202,000 |
| 2004–05 | 284,000 |
| 2005–06 | 241,000 |
Bedfordshire Heartlands primary care trust costs for KPMG in 2005–06 and Audit Commission were funded by the Department.
The names of the external contractors are commercially confidential.
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