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18 Apr 2006 : Column 263W—continued
Sexual Health
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in (a) the North East, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) the area corresponding as closely as possible to Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency were diagnosed with (i) gonorrhoea, (ii)hepatitis, (iii) chlamydia, (iv) epididymitis and (v)syphilis in each year since 1997. [59930]
Mr. Byrne: The data for the number of gonorrhoea, chlamydia and syphilis diagnoses made at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics are only collected at strategic health authority (SHA) level, and the relevant data for County Durham and Tees Valley SHA are available on the Health Protection Agency's website at:
There is no current surveillance system which collects data on the number of epididymitis diagnoses. However, the KC60 statistical return collects
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information on the total number of complicated sexually transmitted infections (B5, C4B and C5) which includes epididymitis in males. These data are shown in table 1.
New diagnoses of viral hepatitis B and hepatitis C in males and females made at GUM clinics in County Durham and Tees Valley SHA for 2000 to 2004 are shown in table 2.
Source:
KC60 Returns.
Source:
KC60 Returns.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2006, Official Report, column 1830W, on sexual health, what assessment she has made of chlamydia levels in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Strategic Health Authority; and if she will make a statement. [60155]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection in England which has no obvious symptoms and can cause infertility. We are therefore tackling this through the national chlamydia screening programme (NCSP).
The White Paper, Choosing Health: Making healthier choices easier", a copy of which is available in the Library, announced an accelerated timetable to achieve national roll out of the NCSP by 2007. We are well ahead of this target.
The Health Protection Agency is now leading on the roll out of the programme and is supporting local areas, including Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire to drive up the number of people screened.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the head of the Sexual Health and Substance Misuse Directorate is; what relevant specialist qualifications he or she holds; and what his or her career has been to date. [60863]
Caroline Flint: Following a reorganisation, the Sexual Health and Substance Misuse Directorate now forms part of the health improvement directorate (HID). Dr.Fiona Adshead, Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO), is the director of the HID.
Dr. Adshead holds the qualifications of Bachelor of Science, MB BS, Fellow Royal College of Physicians, Master of Science, Fellow Faculty of Public Health.
Dr. Adshead has extensive experience of effectively leading, managing and delivering both clinical services and public health programmes at director level, both as DCMO and latterly as director of public health in inner London. She has significant experience at international, national and local levels, working with key stakeholders to drive forward policy development and strengthen service delivery.
As DCMO and director of health improvement, Dr.Adshead leads on health improvement policy development and ensures effective delivery of health care programmes to improve population health in areas which include obesity, sexual health, substance misuse and smoking cessation.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of sexual health education provision in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [41116]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for providing sexual health promotion services which meet local needs, and they have the
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freedom and flexibility to decide how best to configure these services. The Department has provided best practice guidance, through the Recommended Standards for Sexual Health Services", and the Effective Sexual Health Promotion Toolkit" to support them in this role. Sexual health and access to genitourinary medicine clinics is included as one of the six key priorities for the national health service for 2006–07.
Smoking
Peter Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the compatability with the Human Rights Act 1998 of the Health Bill with reference to its proposed prohibition of smoking in public places. [62253]
Caroline Flint: I have made a statement under section 19 of the Human Rights Act 1998 that the Bill is, in my view, compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Various issues are considered to be particularly engaged in relation to the Bill, although careful consideration has been given to all aspects of human rights in relation to these proposals.
On the smoke-free provision of the Bill, the question of whether taking measures of the kind provided for in this Bill to control the use of products which are lawfully on sale to persons over 16 would breach the rights in Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) was considered. However, it was not felt that, even if such rights were engaged, there would be any breach of such rights. Any interference with such rights is justified on grounds of protection of health. This is set out in the explanatory notes published alongside the Heath Bill introduced in the House of Commons on 27 October 2005. A copy is available in the Library.
Strategic Health Authorities (Pensions)
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much money is to be paid into the pension of each strategic health authority chief executive officer who is being made redundant. [58428]
Mr. Byrne: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Streptococcal Diseases
Mr. Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned on severe group A streptococcal diseases in the last five years. [59701]
Jane Kennedy: None. The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the medical research council (MRC). The MRC, an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology, is currently funding one relevant study, Group A streptococcal fimbriae—novel surface structures interacting with human tonsil.
Over 75 per. cent, of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by national health service organisations.
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Details of individual projects, including a number concerned with group A streptococcal diseases, are available on the national research register on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/research.
Stroke
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people under the age of 65 years suffered from (a) ischaemic and (b) haemorrhagic stroke in each year since 1997. [62411]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
(63)Haemorrhagic Stroke defined as ICD-10 = I60-I62 diagnoses codes recorded in primary or in any of the secondary diagnoses fields
(64)Ischaemic Stroke defined as ICD-10= 163 diagnosis code recorded in primary or in any of the secondary diagnoses fields
Patient counts
Patient counts are based on the unique patient identifier Hospital Episode Statistic identification (HESID). This identifier is derived based on patient's date of birth, postcode, sex, local patient identifier and NHS number, using an agreed algorithm. Where data is incomplete, HESID might erroneously link episodes or fail to recognise episodes for the same patient. Care is therefore needed, especially where duplicate records persist in the data. The patient count cannot be summed across a table where patients may have episodes in more than one cell.
All diagnoses count of patients
These figures represent a count of patients where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistic (HES) record.
Diagnosis (primary diagnosis)
The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002–03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
Secondary diagnosis
As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002–03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnosis relevant to the episode of care.
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of people suffering a stroke received a brain scan within (a) three hours, (b) 24 hours and (c) 48 hours in each year since 1997. [62412]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
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