---

15 Mar 2006 : Column 2332W—continued

MRSA

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide additional funding to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to tackle MRSA. [56504]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Maintaining hospital hygiene is part of an everyday baseline of activity carried out across the national health service. Against a background of above-inflation levels of investment in this area, all NHS trusts are expected to implement a range of improvements in healthcare, including successful pursuit of trust-based targets for reducing methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. Therefore, there are no plans to provide additional funding for the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to tackle MRSA.

We continue to monitor individual trust performance and have set up an MRSA improvement programme, funded by the Department, with specialist teams providing tailored support for trusts. This work will reinforce those mutually reinforcing initiatives already in place throughout the NHS. Selection for participation in the programme will depend on a trust's progress towards the MRSA target and other factors.

Neuroblastoma

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to questions 47415 and 47427, on neuroblastoma, tabled by the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes on 30 January 2006. [56939]

Ms Rosie Winterton: A reply was given to the hon. Member on Tuesday 21 February 2006, Official Report, column 471W.

NHS (Violence)

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training NHS staff are given to enable them to deal with potentially violent patients and visitors. [57045]

Ms Rosie Winterton: From April 2004, the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) has made available a national syllabus for conflict resolution training (CRT) for all frontline staff and professionals working in the national health service.

This will equip NHS staff with the necessary skills to identify and de-escalate potentially violent situations from occurring. From returns made by health bodies for the last financial year, it is estimated that around 252,000 frontline NHS staff will have been trained by 31 March 2006.

The NHS SMS has also developed a specific training syllabus for staff working in mental health and learning disability settings. Work is also underway to develop a specific CRT syllabus for ambulance personnel.
 
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2333W
 

Organ Donor Cards

Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of people carrying organ donor cards in each year between 1995 and 2005. [55523]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The first organ donor cards, initially for kidneys only, were introduced in 1971. A survey in spring 2003 revealed that 36 per cent. of the 90 per cent. of people who said they supported organ donation in principle said they had or thought they had had (at some time) a donor card.

Although the donor card is still widely available, all recent campaign work has been aimed at encouraging people to register their wishes on the NHS Organ Donor Register. Currently 13,000,558 people—22 per cent. of the United Kingdom population have registered. The Government have set the objective of encouraging 16 million people to register their wishes by 2010. The number registered on the organ donor register from 1994 is shown in the table.

	People Registered (million)
1994	0.14
1995	2.25
1996	3.49
1997	4.22
1998	4.86
1999	7.45
2000	8.01
2001	9.03
2002	10.10
2003	10.91
2004	11.95

Orthodontics

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what factors were taken into account when deciding to place orthodontists' remuneration on the same basis as that of dentists under the NHS contract changes. [51920]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department's commitment has always been to base contract values for all dentists providing general dental services on their most recent gross earnings. 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2005 is the most recent 12-month period for which data are available.

The new arrangements for orthodontists are not identical to those for general dental practitioners. In each case, the dentist will be guaranteed an annual national health service contract value, paid in 12 monthly instalments. For general dental practitioners, the services to be provided in return are measured through units of dental activity, which correspond to three types of courses of treatment, with a weighting to reflect their relative complexity. For orthodontists, the services to be provided are measured through units of orthodontic activity, with different units to reflect care assessment and care start.
 
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2334W
 

Palliative Care

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the commitment contained within the Labour party 2005 election manifesto that investment in palliative care services will double, with particular reference to (a) the timescale over which this commitment will be met and (b) the size of the budget in the baseline year used for the purposes of the commitment; and whether the commitment will be financed from her Department's Centrally Funded Initiatives and Services and Special Allocations budget. [39347]

Ms Rosie Winterton: In the White Paper Our health, our care, our say" the Government mapped out a strategy for how we will meet our manifesto commitment on palliative care and set out the key areas of action that we will now develop in partnership with key stakeholders. These are the establishment of end of life care networks; ensuring that all staff who work with people who are dying are properly trained to look after dying patients and their carers; investing in community-based specialist palliative care services and auditing capacity of care provision for disabled children and children with complex health needs. The strategy will be delivered over a three-year period.

In Commissioning a Patient-Led NHS" we announced that the reconfiguration of primary care trusts (PCTs) would save at least £250 million, which would be channelled back into frontline services. The savings will be available to invest in the local health economy on the agreed Labour party manifesto priorities, including palliative care. Any change in PCT provided services needs to be made by December 2008.

Professional Misconduct

Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health care professionals who have had complaints of (a) sexual misconduct and (b) inappropriate behaviour upheld by their professional body are in NHS employment. [48216]

Mr. Byrne: National health service employers are responsible for ensuring that their staff do not pose a threat to the safety of patients and for acting on information about the registration status of staff subject to statutory regulation.

Recombinant Factor VIII

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the files and information the Department holds on the supply for use in the UK of Factor VIII and blood and plasma products, including files relating to the source of such products from inmates within the Arkansas prison system, over the last 37 years; and what record she has of files and information once held which are no longer available. [49700]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 7 February 2006]: Officials would need to undertake lengthy enquiries to provide the information requested on files held on the supply for use in the United Kingdom of Factor VIII and blood and plasma products, including files relating to the source of such products.
 
15 Mar 2006 : Column 2335W
 

During the HIV litigation many papers were recalled. We understand that papers were not adequately archived and were unfortunately destroyed in the early 1990s.

Officials have also established that documents relating to the advisory committee on the virological safety of Blood were destroyed in error between July 1994 and March 1998.

Salary Statistics

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average starting salary was for a newly qualified (a) nurse, (b) GP, (c) hospital doctor and (d) laboratory technician in Oxford in each of the last 10 years. [58296]

Caroline Flint: Information specifically on starting pay for nurses, general practitioners, hospital doctors and laboratory technicians by specific area is not collected centrally.

---