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18 Apr 2006 : Column 221W—continued
Health Professionals
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of (a) nurses, (b) midwives, (c) physiotherapists, (d) podiatrists, (e) radiographers, (f) doctors, (g) dentists and (h) members of professions complementary to dentistry from EU accession states (i) in training and (ii) practising in England since 1 May 2004. [60391]
Mr. Byrne: Information on the number of nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, podiatrists, radiographers and members of professions complementary to dentistry from former European Union accession states is not collected centrally.
Table one shows the number of doctors by specified country of primary medical qualification as included in the national health service census of September 2004.
Information on the nationality of dentists is not available. Country of qualification is the only indicator that can be used for providing breakdowns of dentists
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by country. Country of qualification is not available for dentists in training therefore no country breakdown is available for such dentists.
Table two shows the number of dentists by country of qualification for the relevant countries in England, as at 30 September each year.
| 2004 | 2005 | |
|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 1 | 7 |
| Cyprus | 0 | 0 |
| Estonia | 1 | 0 |
| Hungary | 3 | 0 |
| Latvia | 0 | 6 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 |
| Malta | 2 | 6 |
| Poland | 5 | 341 |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 |
| Slovenia | 0 | 0 |
Health Services
Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waited more than 17 weeks for an out-patient appointment in the constituency of Brentford and Isleworth in the last period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [62209]
Jane Kennedy: Latest published information shows no patients waited more than 13 weeks for an out-patient appointment in the North West London Strategic Health Authority area where the constituency is based.
Ann Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are waiting for operations in the constituency of Brentford and Isleworth; and if she will make a statement. [62210]
Jane Kennedy: Waiting list data are collected at national health service trust and primary care trust (PCT) level. At the end of January 2006, there were 3,082 patients from Hounslow PCT waiting for elective admission.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she expects (a) NHS staff to be made redundant, (b) NHS appointments to be cancelled and (c) bed closures in Gloucestershire as a result of budget deficits; and if she will make a statement. [57614]
Caroline Flint: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are responsible for assessing and managing performance of local national health service organisations within their geographical area. Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA has advised that all NHS organisations in their region are taking action to reduce expenditure in all areas that will not directly impact on issues of clinical safety. They are also exploring ways of providing NHS services locally so that they are more efficient and cost-effective.
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the likely cost of redundancies in (a) Shropshire and Staffordshire
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strategic health authority and (b) primary care trusts within Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority as a result of planned hospital mergers. [58100]
Ms Rosie Winterton: There are currently no definite proposals for hospital trust mergers in the Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority (SHA) area.
With respect to the proposed reconfiguration of SHAs and primary care trusts and associated redundancies, until any boundary changes are agreed it is not possible to calculate the number of job losses in any particular area nor any associated costs of redundancies. SHAs have been asked to minimise the cost of severance.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the financial position of each hospital in the Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority area. [58101]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The financial position, according to the unaudited month six forecast, for each national health service trust in the Shropshire and Staffordshire strategic health authority economy is shown in the table.
Health Trainers
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long she estimates it will take to train a health trainer; and if she will make a statement. [62527]
Caroline Flint: The employment requirements are that health trainers satisfy the mandatory core competences supplied by the Department. The core competences have been finalised during the early adopter phase which finishes 31 March 2006.
The scheme and training is organised locally through primary care trusts and, as such, varies from area to area. There are approximately 200 national health service health trainers recruited to the programme currently undergoing training.
Heart Disease/Diabetes
Keith Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1)what the average rate of (a) heart disease and (b) diabetes was among people of South Asian origin in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement; [59833]
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(2) what steps her Department is taking to reduce the rates of (a) diabetes and (b) heart disease in people of South Asian origin; and if she will make a statement; [59834]
(3) what (a) funding and (b) other support she plans to provide to primary care trusts to reduce the rates of (A) heart disease and (B) diabetes among people of South Asian origin in the next three financial years. [59835]
Ms Rosie Winterton: These data are not held centrally. However, non-departmental data suggest that United Kingdom Asians have an approximately 50 percent. higher risk of coronary heart disease 1 , with 20 per cent. diagnosed with type 2 diabetes compared to 3 per cent. of the general population 2 . South Asian men and women are more likely than the general population to have abdominal obesity (shown by a large waist circumference), which has been identified as a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes3, 4, 5.
There is a raft of cross-Government public health measures to help prevent obesity which is a major cause of type 2 diabetes. Our White Paper, Choosing Health", sets out a range of actions to improve health and tackle the health inequalities that can lead to poor diet and ill health. Reducing obesity is one of our key priorities and work under way includes a new cross-Government obesity campaign and food labelling to help people buy healthier food and further work with industry to reduce salt, fat, sugar and portion sizes.
The White Paper, Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", sets out a new direction for health and social care services and we are reorganising health and social care services to focus together on prevention and health promotion. For 2008, primary care trust (PCT) local delivery plans will have to include a clear strategy for the development of preventative services, including tackling health inequalities across socio-economic and ethnic minority groups requiring targeted, innovative and culturally sensitive responses.
The White Paper also includes details of the self-assessment, Life Check", which everyone will have at key points in life. This will support individuals and communities at high risk of developing diabetes to get involved in more healthy lifestyles and environments. If the results show that a person is at risk of poor health, they will be able to talk to a health trainer about the help available from local services, specialist services, referral for further medical advice and develop a personal health plan.
A Healthy Living" digital versatile disc (DVD) was launched recently to help raise awareness of and address potential inequalities in the identification and treatment of people from the Asian population with diabetes. The collaboration, backed by the Department, Diabetes UK and South Warwickshire PCT, aims to raise awareness of the growing incidence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes among the Asian population and illustrate how small changes to diet and lifestyle can have a big impact on diabetes.
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1 Petersen S, Peto V, Scarborough P, Rayner M, editors. Coronary Heart Disease Statistics—2005 edition. British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group (fact sheet on the internet). Oxford c2005. (cited 3 February 2006). Available from: http://www.heartstats.org/temp/CHD_2005_Whote_spdocument.pdf
2 Existing Clinical Indicators. Diabetes UK (GMS response on the internet). London c2005. (cited 3 February 2006). Available at: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/infocentre/state/GMS__response.doc
3 Patel S, Bhopal R, Unwin N, White M, Alberti KGMM, Yallop J. Mismatch between perceived and actual overweight in diabetic and non-diabetic populations: a comparative study of South Asian and European women. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2001; 55;332–333.
4 Rexrode KM, Carey VJ, Hennekens CH, Walters EE, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ et al. Abdominal adiposity and coronary heart disease in women. JAMA. 1998; 280:1843–8.
5 Wang Y, Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Comparison of abdominal adiposity and overall obesity in predicting risk of type 2 diabetes among men. Am J Clin Nutr; 81:555–63.
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