| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Mar 2006 : Column 782W—continued
Communication Impairments
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made of the number of people in England with communication impairments. [59857]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally.
Community Hospitals
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that primary care trusts with deficits are supported to keep community hospitals open. [52544]
Jane Kennedy: The White paper, Our health, our care, our say", sets out a new vision for the future of community health and social care services. Paragraph 6.43 makes the following commitment:
PCTs taking current decisions about the future of community hospitals will be required to demonstrate to their SHA that they have consulted locally and have considered options such as developing new pathways, new partnerships and new ownership possibilities. SHAs will then test PCT community hospital proposals against the principles of this White Paper."
The Department has written to strategic health authorities (SHAs) reminding them of this commitment and setting out the practical arrangements for SHAs. This applies to all primary care trusts (PCTs) and it is for SHAs to work especially closely with PCTs that are forecasting deficits.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library copies of guidance, instructions and requests sent to Kingston primary care trust on community hospitals since the publication of the White Paper Our Health, Our Care, Our Say. [58959]
Mr. Byrne: The Department has not sent any communications on community hospitals, directly to primary care trusts (PCTs) since the publication of the recent Health White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: a new direction for community services" in January 2006.
However, a letter relating to the community hospital commitment made in paragraphs 6.42 and 6.43 of the White Paper was sent out to strategic health authorities (SHAs) on 16 February. This letter provided instruction on how SHAs should go about ensuring and testing PCT compliance with the commitment and a copy is available in the Library.
Consultant Urologists
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant urologists there have been in the UK in each year since 1997. [59721]
Mr. Byrne: The table shows the number of consultant urologists employed in the national health service in England since 1997.
| Number (headcount) | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 343 |
| 1998 | 358 |
| 1999 | 388 |
| 2000 | 382 |
| 2001 | 427 |
| 2002 | 448 |
| 2003 | 473 |
| 2004 | 503 |
Consultants
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost to her Department of consultancy fees in relation to (a) restructuring and (b) private finance initiatives has been since 1997. [32200]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not collect information that would allow for an analysis of the consultants engaged in restructuring and could not obtain this information without incurring disproportionate costs.
The total spend on consultancy work directly related to private finance initiative in each year is shown in the table.
27 Mar 2006 : Column 784W
| Financial year | Cost (£000) |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 108,824 |
| 2000–01 | 60,379 |
| 2001–02 | 168,277 |
| 2002–03 | 207,171 |
| 2003–04 | 892,859 |
| 2004–05 | 89,698 |
| 2005 to date | 47,856 |
Continuing Care
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the new National Framework for Continuing Care will provide for increasing awareness supported by consistent training as set out in the Government's reply to the Health Committee Sixth Report of Session, on Continuing Care. [59858]
Mr. Byrne: Public consultation on the national framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is due to start in April 2006, will begin to raise awareness and promote understanding of continuing care systems and processes. Following publication of the national framework, national implementation will be supported by a range of training to ensure awareness and consistency in application.
Dementia
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by her Department to improve care for people with dementia and their families and carers. [58854]
Mr. Byrne: The Department's policy on the treatment and support of those with Alzheimer's disease and their carers is stipulated in the mental health standard of the older people's national service framework.
This policy has been reinforced with the publication of the Department's service development guide, Everybody's Business", which outlines the key components of a comprehensive older people's mental health service including dementia care.
Dentistry
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average remuneration per full-time equivalent NHS general dental practitioner was in the York andSelby Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997. [53680]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Average remuneration per full-time equivalent national health service general dental practitioner in the York and Selby Primary Care Trust area alone is not identifiable from the data available centrally.
All estimated average annual net incomes, between 1997–98 and 2004–05, of general dental service (GDS) dentists with a reasonable commitment to the GDS are shown in the table. These are calculated by first estimating average gross GDS income of a dentist with a reasonable NHS commitment and then applying estimates of the expenses to earnings ratio covering dentists.
27 Mar 2006 : Column 785W
Note:
The income figures cover both estimated fees for treatments and patient capitation as well as other estimated payments such as seniority payments and commitment payments and payments for maternity and sickness. Income from private sources is excluded from these estimates.
(51)Dentists with a reasonable commitment to the GDS are defined as dentists with GDS earnings equivalent to at least £40,000 in 1993–94 in fees for treatments and patient capitation. This equivalent is calculated each year by adjusting figures to take into account the effect of fee increases. The equivalent figure for 2004–05 is £59,100.
(52)Commitment payments started in 2001
(53)Figures since 2000–01 use a different methodology to calculate the contribution from other non-fee/capitation payments
Source:
Department of Health and Health and Social Care Information Centre analysis of Dental Practice Board payments and HMRC tax data
Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in respect of how many courses of NHS dental treatment the patient paid the maximum charge in the last 12 months. [56471]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 6 March 2006]: In year ending 31 December 2005, the number of claims by general dental services and personal dental services dentists for courses of treatment involving the maximum patient charge in England was 39,276.
Dental Practice Board
Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many claims for NHS dental treatment were received by the Dental Practice Board in 2004–05. [56472]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 6 March 2006]: The table shows the number of claims made by general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS) dentists in England in year ending 31 March 2005.
| All | Adults | Children | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDS | 29,357,532 | 23,936,400 | 5,421,132 |
| PDS | 3,249,595 | 2,491,131 | 758,464 |
| GDS and PDS | 32,607,127 | 26,427,531 | 6,179,596 |
Source:
Dental Practice Board
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have left the NHS since the announcement of the new dental services contract in each of the last five years in (a) England and (b) Westmorland and Lonsdale. [58998]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 16 March 2006]: The following table shows the numbers of leavers and new entrants in England and in Westmoreland and Lonsdale as at 30 September in each specified year.
27 Mar 2006 : Column 786W
Draft regulations governing general dental services (GDS) contracts and personal dental services (PDS) agreements were first published in August 2005.
| of which: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | Westmorland and Lonsdale | |||
| Complete leaver | Complete new entrant | Complete leaver | Complete new entrant | |
| 2001 | 1,207 | 1,747 | 2 | 4 |
| 2002 | 1,352 | 1,523 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1,236 | 1,474 | 4 | 3 |
| 2004 | 1,224 | 1,632 | 2 | 1 |
| 2005 | 1,097 | 2,283 | 1 | 1 |
Notes:
1.Complete leaver means
dentist had an open contract in September of year one but no GDS or PDS contract in England in September of year two"
2.Complete new entrant means
dentist had an open contract in September of year two but no GDS or PDS contract in England in September of year one"
3.This includes all notifications up to 8 November 2005.
4.Areas have been defined using the Office of National Statistics all fields postcode directory—May 2005.
Source:
Dental Practice Board
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average remuneration per full-time equivalent NHS general dental practitioner in Lancashire was in (a) cash and (b) real terms (i) in each of the last five years and (ii) on the latest date for which figures are available. [60797]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 23 March 2006]: Average remuneration per full-time equivalent national health service general dental practitioner in the Lancashire area alone is not identifiable from the data available centrally.
All estimated average annual net incomes, between 1997–98 and 2004–05, of general dental service (GDS) dentists with a reasonable commitment to the GDS are shown in the table. These are calculated by first estimating average gross GDS income of a dentist with a reasonable NHS commitment and then applying estimates of the expenses to earnings ratio covering dentists.
(54)Dentists with a reasonable commitment to the GDS are defined as dentists with GDS earnings equivalent to at least £40,000 in 1993–94 in fees for treatments and patient capitation. This equivalent is calculated each year by adjusting figures to take into account the effect of fee increases. The equivalent figure for 2004–05 is £59,100.
(55)Commitment payments started in 2001
(56)Figures since 2000–01 use a different methodology to calculate the contribution from other non-fee/capitation payments.
Notes:
Figures converted into real terms using Gross Domestic Product deflator at market prices.
The income figures cover both estimated fees for treatments and patient capitation as well as other estimated payments such as seniority payments and commitment payments and payments for maternity and sickness. Income from private sources is excluded from these estimates.
When account is taken of the lower expenses ratio for dentists with a higher NHS commitment, the estimated average net GDS income for 2004–05 in the table would be about £74,000. In 2005–06, after allowing for the 3.4 per cent. fee increase, the average would be about £76,500 for a dentist with a reasonable NHS commitment.
Source:
Department of Health and Health and Social Care Information Centre analysis of Dental Practice Board payments and HMRC tax data
27 Mar 2006 : Column 787W
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |