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8 Mar 2006 : Column 1615W—continued
Diabetic Nurses
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the guidelines are on the provision of specialist diabetic nurses for (a) adults and (b) children. [54880]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The national service framework for diabetes: delivery strategy states
diabetes services need to ensure that there are enough staff with appropriate skills who are well-led, supported, and deliver high-quality care".
It is up to local diabetes teams based on the needs of their local population to decide how best these teams are constructed to provide local services for both adults and children.
Domiciliary Oxygen
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation was conducted with (a) service users and (b) health professionals, prior to the recent change in domiciliary oxygen provision. [55008]
Jane Kennedy: For many years, patient organisations and health care professionals have sought improvements in the domiciliary oxygen service. The Department asked the Royal College of Physicians to lead a multi-disciplinary working group, which reported in 1999, to review the clinical assessment and prescribing of oxygen therapy in the home. Following a further review, we announced plans for change in June 2003. Organisations representing patients contributed to the specification for the new service—as patients want better access to modern equipment that can help improve their quality of life, including portable systems that enable them to leave the home. These are important features of the new service.
Health care professionals also contributed to the development of the new service specification, which supports clinical best practice guidelines on the assessment and prescribing of oxygen therapy in the home.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the system of domiciliary oxygen supply has been reformed. [55012]
Jane Kennedy:
The service has seen little change in nearly 60 years and patients and health care professionals have been pressing for a modernised home oxygen service for some time—one that keeps pace with clinical practice and improves patients' access to equipment that can improve their quality of life. The new service supports clinical best practice in the assessment and prescribing of oxygen therapy in the home and makes available a much wider range of up-to-date equipment to patients.
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Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the advice given to community pharmacists with regard to the running down of stocks of oxygen prior to 1 February 2006; and if she will make a statement. [55022]
Jane Kennedy: Communications about cylinder stocks held by community pharmacies are matters for the individual community pharmacy providing an oxygen service and the company supplying the pharmacy with oxygen cylinders.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2006, Official Report, column 170W, on home oxygen therapy, what assessment she made of the feasibility of using pharmacists to supply additional equipment to home oxygen users. [55265]
Jane Kennedy: The tender documents issued for the new service in October 2004 set out the requirements for the provision of oxygen equipment. Like others, pharmacy companies were free to submit bids for delivery of that service for assessment and evaluation.
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what use has been made of the six month transition period for the new domiciliary oxygen supply contract. [56064]
Jane Kennedy: The transition period is in two stages. In stage one, from July 2006 to 31 January 2006, new suppliers continued with arrangements for ordering new equipment and the recruitment and training of staff. They also worked with the national health service in planning the transfer of patients to new suppliers and in this phase, over 30,000 patients highly dependent on the use of oxygen at home, transferred prior to the new contract start date of 1 February 2006. The second stage, which started on 1 February 2006, is a six-month programme to transfer remaining patients to the new suppliers. That programme is continuing.
Dr. Foster
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Department paid to the health care information company Dr. Foster in each of the last three financial years. [51941]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not hold a central contracts database but is able to provide the following analysis for 2004–05 and 2005–06:
In 2005–06, the Department held 11 contracts, two of which were carried forward from 2004–05, and has incurred expenditure of £2,182,794 to date.
Expert Patients Programme
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect on costs in other parts of the NHS of the Expert Patients programme. [53336]
Mr. Byrne:
The expert patients programme (EPP) has been evaluated throughout its pilot and mainstreaming phase. Indications from this data self-reported by
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participants show a reduction in service utilisation which includes, seven per cent, reductions in general practitioner consultations, 10 per cent. reductions in outpatient visits, 16 per cent. reductions in accident and emergency attendances, and 9 per cent. reductions in physiotherapy use.
Further work is under way as part of the broader independent evaluation of the EPP to assess the financial impact of this. Results are expected to be known later in 2006.
Genito-urinary Clinics
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 423W, on genito-urinary clinics, what (a) formula and (b) criteria should be used to allocate the funding. [55515]
Caroline Flint: The 2006–08 revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) separately identify £203 million over the two years to invest in the sexual health modernisation initiative which includes genito-urinary clinics. The funding has been allocated on a weighted capitation basis to all PCTs. It is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to commission services to meet the health care needs of their local populations.
The £15 million allocated in 2005–06 to strategic health authorities (SHAs) for capital for sexual health services was allocated to SHAs on an equal basis to help reduce waiting times and increase capacity.
As part of the 2006–07 capital allocations, £25 million strategic capital was allocated to SHAs for sexual health. This funding was allocated on a weighted capitation basis. It is for SHAs to determine how this funding is distributed within their area.
General Practitioners (Take-home Pay)
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average take-home pay was for general practitioners in (a) England and (b) Beverley and Holderness in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement. [53620]
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Mr. Byrne: Information on the average take-home pay for general practitioners in England and Beverley and Holderness is not collected centrally. However, figures based on information for Great Britain are available, which is shown in the following table.
(45) Forecast figures.
Health Committee
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written answer of 11 January 2006, Official Report, column 725W, on Health Committee evidence, what percentage of the national health service pay bill was spent on agency staff in each year since 1997–98; and which groups constitute agency staff for the purpose of these calculations. [51881]
Mr. Byrne: The Department collects expenditure information on non-national health service staff. Non-NHS staff expenditure includes all agency staff and any other staff not directly employed. Information relating to the percentage of the NHS paybill spent on non-NHS staff under the following categories—medical, dental, nursing, midwifery and health visiting, scientific, therapeutic and technical, administrative and clerical, healthcare assistants and other support, maintenance and works, ambulance and other employees from 1997–98 to 2004–05, the last year for which figures are currently available is shown in the table. This shows a reversal of the previously upward trend of spend, which we expect to continue due to the range of actions we have in hand to reduce costs, drive down demand and improve quality.
Source:
Annual Financial Returns of NHS trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities
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