House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 21 Mar 2006 (pt 26)

21 Mar 2006 : Column 272W—continued

MRSA (Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA cases there were in each hospital in (a) Lancashire and (b) hospitals which receive significant numbers of patients from West Lancashire constituency in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [58455]

Mr. Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. However, information relating to the national health service hospitals trusts in the Lancashire area is shown in the table.
MRSA cases: Annual data for 2001–05

April 2001 to March 2002
April 2002 to March 2003
April 2003 to March 2004
April 2004 to March 2005

Trust name Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days⁽³²⁾

Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 44 0.22 40 0.11 64 0.17 62 0.16

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 57 0.11 66 0.16 63 0.15 69 0.17

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 76 0.21 58 0.17 56 0.15 74 0.2

Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 33 0.1 24 0.08 30 0.1 30 0.1

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 4 0.02 11 0.06 10 0.06 13 0.07

⁽³²⁾2004–05 rate per 1,000 bed-days is provisional as final 2004–05 activity data are not yet available.
Source:
Department of Health Mandatory MRSA Bacteraemia Surveillance Scheme —MRSA bacteraemia by NHS trust.

21 Mar 2006 : Column 273W

	April 2001 to March 2002	April 2002 to March 2003	April 2003 to March 2004	April 2004 to March 2005
Trust name	Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports	MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days	Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports	MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days	Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports	MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days	Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports	MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days⁽³²⁾
Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust	44	0.22	40	0.11	64	0.17	62	0.16
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust	57	0.11	66	0.16	63	0.15	69	0.17
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust	76	0.21	58	0.17	56	0.15	74	0.2
Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust	33	0.1	24	0.08	30	0.1	30	0.1
Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust	4	0.02	11	0.06	10	0.06	13	0.07

National Blood Service

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding her Department has allocated to the National Blood Service to recruit more bone marrow donors from ethnic minority communities; and if she will make a statement. [57882]

Caroline Flint: NHS blood and transplant is responsible for managing the British bone marrow register (BBMR). It does this through its operating division—the National Blood Service (NBS). The Department has provided NBS with £3.3 million for each of the past three years to help recruit new donors. We are committed to continued improvements to the BBMR so that patients requiring bone marrow are increasingly likely to find a match and we are currently considering future funding.

NHS Finance

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether hospitals who overspend their annual budget are penalised by her Department; and if she will make a statement. [36391]

Jane Kennedy: The Department does not impose any penalty on national health service trusts that overspend on their income and expenditure account.

However, in 2005–06 an incentive scheme has been introduced by the NHS Bank, which imposes a 10 per cent. penalty on strategic health authority (SHA) health economy overspends. SHAs have discretion over how they manage this penalty across the organisations in their economy.

While the Department does not impose a penalty on overspending NHS trusts, it does require them to repay the amount overspent. This is essential as it enables the resources to be returned to those organisations that underspent to offset the overspending.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written statement of 1 December 2005, Official Report, column 37WS, on NHS finance, what the forecast year end financial position was at month six of each strategic health authority area in total, inclusive of all constituent trusts. [52954]

Jane Kennedy: The strategic health authority (SHA) economy forecast figures for 2005–06 at month six are shown in the table.

SHA economy SHA economy surplus/
(deficit) (£000)

Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire (80,703)

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire (74,851)

Essex 416

North West London (94,172)

North Central London (6,313)

North East London (583)

South East London (33,224)

South West London (18,314)

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 10

County Durham and Tees Valley 0
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire
(9,968)

West Yorkshire 0

Cumbria and Lancashire (2,892)

Greater Manchester 5,000

Cheshire and Merseyside (43,764)

Thames Valley (14,850)

Hampshire and Isle of Wight (58,738)

Kent and Medway (3,768)

Surrey and Sussex (80,780)

Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire (11,000)

South West Peninsula 0

Dorset and Somerset 5,000

South Yorkshire (10,725)

Trent 705
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland
(10,000)

Shropshire and Staffordshire (49,898)

Birmingham and the Black Country 0

West Midlands South (29,604)

Source:
2005–06 Monthly Financial Monitoring Returns.

21 Mar 2006 : Column 274W

SHA economy	SHA economy surplus/ (deficit) (£000)
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire	(80,703)
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire	(74,851)
Essex	416
North West London	(94,172)
North Central London	(6,313)
North East London	(583)
South East London	(33,224)
South West London	(18,314)
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	10
County Durham and Tees Valley	0
North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire (9,968)
West Yorkshire	0
Cumbria and Lancashire	(2,892)
Greater Manchester	5,000
Cheshire and Merseyside	(43,764)
Thames Valley	(14,850)
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	(58,738)
Kent and Medway	(3,768)
Surrey and Sussex	(80,780)
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire	(11,000)
South West Peninsula	0
Dorset and Somerset	5,000
South Yorkshire	(10,725)
Trent	705
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland (10,000)
Shropshire and Staffordshire	(49,898)
Birmingham and the Black Country	0
West Midlands South	(29,604)

NHS Trusts

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the NHS trusts which inherited deficits at their inception; what the value of the deficits was in each case; and what the current projected financial position is of each trust. [57514]

Jane Kennedy: No national health service trust inherited deficits at its inception. When a new NHS trust is created its income and expenditure reserve and statutory breakeven duty performance are set to nil, therefore the performance of predecessor organisations is not inherited.

However, a new NHS trust may inherit any liabilities arising from local agreements that had been made or incurred by the predecessor organisations. The Department does not collect information on such arrangements.

Nursing Agencies

Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to monitor the services provided by nursing agencies; and if she will make a statement. [57133]

Jane Kennedy: The national audit team for the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency monitor the commercial agencies providing personnel to the national health service via national framework agreements.

Some of the areas audited to ensure the agencies are compliant with the contract are:

Good employment practice;

Immigration statuses;

Immunisation checks;

Professional qualifications;

Training; and

Criminal Records Bureau disclosures.

The above highlights the core criteria and is not an exhaustive list.

Details of the mechanisms in place to monitor agencies contracted direct by NHS trusts outside the frameworks are not collected centrally.

Nutrient Profiling

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received on the nutrient profiling model used by the Food Standards Agency when assessing the nutrient content of food. [57557]

21 Mar 2006 : Column 275W

Caroline Flint: The Department and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have received eight representations on the FSA nutrient profiling model since it was adopted by the FSA board on 6 December 2005; four from food industry representatives and four from individual consumers and organisations representing consumers' interests.

Overseas Medical Staff

Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's press release of 7 March 2006 (GNN Ref 129686P), entitled Extra Investment and Increase in Home-Grown Medical Recruits Eases UK Reliance on Overseas Doctors", what assessment she has made of the impact on the NHS dental service of the enhanced requirements for overseas doctors and dentists to obtain work permits. [58608]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 15 March 2006]: The enhanced requirements for overseas doctors and dentists to obtain work permits do not have significant implications for national health service dental services. The only implications for dental services are where overseas dentists, from outside the European Union (EU), are seeking employment in the hospital or community dental services and where it will be necessary to show that there is no dentist from the United Kingdom or the wider EU dentist able to fill the post.

The great majority of dentists in England work as independent, self-employed contractors in primary care. In these cases, dentists from outside the EU, who have undertaken vocational training, will continue to be able to seek entry under the Person Intending to Establish Themselves in Business rules" and are not affected by the enhanced requirements for work permits. A non-EU dentist who has not undertaken vocational training will require a work permit, but vocational dental practitioners are included on the Home Office's list of shortage occupations and will not be affected by the enhanced requirements announced on 7 March.

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