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14 Mar 2006 : Column 2192W—continued
Health Services (Gloucestershire)
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money has been redirected from Gloucestershire to Avon and Wiltshire in each year since the creation of the strategic health authority; and if she will make a statement. [57576]
Caroline Flint: I am informed by Avon, Gloucester and Wiltshire strategic health authority (SHA) that no funds have been redirected from Gloucestershire to Avon and Wiltshire since the creation of the SHA in 2001.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the (a) reasons for and (b) plans to address the budget deficits in (i) two of Gloucestershire's primary care trusts and (ii) the Gloucestershire hospitals NHS trust; and if she will make a statement. [57613]
Caroline Flint: It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities (SHAs) to manage local finances.
In organisations that have the greatest financial challenges turnaround teams will support the national health service in identifying opportunities to deliver services with greater cost-effectiveness and to make financial savings. They will help the local NHS ensure that the NHS delivers both its key targets and financial balance.
The first stage of this is a baseline assessment, the aim of which is to ensure there is an agreed understanding of the local financial problem and that actions are in hand to address this. The first phase of this assessment is complete and Cotswold and Vale primary care trust was included in this assessment. It was assessed as requiring additional expertise to support turnaround. The team is agreeing a tailored package of turnaround support with the SHA and the organisation. SHA turnaround work is led by the new finance director, who took up post last December.
Hepatitis C
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written answer of 24 November 2005,
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Official Report, column 2279W, on hepatitis C, in what settings other than genito-urinary medicine clinics opportunistic testing for hepatitis C takes place; in how many settings people can be anonymously tested for hepatitis C infection; what plans she has to increase the number of (a) settings and (b) sites where people can be tested; and if she will make a statement. [57442]
Caroline Flint: Surveillance of hepatitis C testing by the Health Protection Agency indicates that opportunistic testing for hepatitis C may take place in a range of health care settings other than genito-urinary medicine clinics, including accident and emergency departments; antenatal clinics; drug services; fertility clinics; gastroenterology departments; general practice surgeries; haematology departments; infectious disease departments; occupational health departments; prisons and renal units.
Information on the total number of settings where people can be anonymously tested for hepatitis C infection is not held centrally.
The Department has been running an awareness campaign for health care professionals, which encourages them to offer hepatitis C testing to individuals at increased risk of infection. To support this, the Department has published guidance on hepatitis C testing.
The provision of hepatitis C testing facilities is a matter for local national health service organisations who are best placed to assess local needs and priorities.
Homeopathic Doctors
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of statutory regulated homeopathic doctors who practise independently who may (a) deregister and (b) close practices as a result of the cost of registering with the Healthcare Commission; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact on (i) patient choice and (ii) safety. [55688]
Jane Kennedy: No such estimate has been made. Only homeopaths who are also medical practitioners will be registered with and regulated by the Healthcare Commission. The chairman of the Healthcare Commission has confirmed that the Commission does not have data on how many such practitioners are registered with it.
Hospital Cleaning
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the cleaning of equipment in hospitals which is provided by suppliers of in-hospital patient entertainment services. [57727]
Jane Kennedy: There are now over 77,000 bedside television and telephone systems installed in national health service hospitals. The service providers are responsible for ensuring that these systems are cleaned. The cleaning specification and frequency are agreed between the NHS trust and service provider.
In a small number of hospitals, responsibility for cleaning has been assumed by the hospital or its cleaning contractor.
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The efficiency of the current arrangements for cleaning the systems are being assessed as part of a wider review being carried by the Department as a result of recommendations made by Ofcom in a investigation into the price of making telephone calls to hospital patients it concluded on 17 January 2006.
Hospital-acquired Infections
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have contracted infections in hospitals in Gloucestershire in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [57577]
Caroline Flint: Available data indicate that healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) affect an estimated 9 per cent. of hospital patients each year.
Information on all infections is not collected centrally. However, the mandatory surveillance system in operation for certain infections provides data by acute trusts and these results are available on the Department websites as follows:
Data are available on MRSA bloodstream infections from 2001, for Clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea and orthopaedic surgical site infections from 2004 and for Glycopeptide resistant enterococci bloodstream infections from 2003.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will publish her response to the consultation on the review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990; and when she expects legislation updating the Act will be brought forward. [57657]
Caroline Flint: The Department's consultation on the review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 closed on 25 November 2005. We intend to publish a summary of the responses received shortly. Copies of the responses and the summary will be placed in the Library.
Any plans to introduce legislation will be announced in the Queen's Speech.
Immunisation
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will publish the figures referred to on page 104 of Our health, our care, our say" reference five, on the number of general practices opted out of immunisation service provision, broken down by (a) primary care trust and (b) deprivation level. [53604]
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Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the form requested.
The analysis looked at the proportion of general medical services (GMS) partnerships in England opting out of childhood immunisation services as at 30 September 2004, by deprivation using the index of multiple deprivation (2004 at primary care trust (PCT) level) and in the spearhead group of PCTs.
The vast majority of GMS partnerships (93.7 percent.) had not opted out. However, a clear gradient in the proportion of partnerships opting out was seen, with the proportion opting out increasing with increasing deprivation.
The spearhead group had a higher than average proportion of partnerships opting-out, lying between the most and second most deprived fifth of PCTs.
Life Expectancy
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commissioned on the main health factors affecting differences in life expectancy in different regions. [56419]
Caroline Flint: Research has not been commissioned on the main health factors affecting differences in life expectancy between different regions. Research considering variations within regions may have been commissioned at local level.
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