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18 May 2006 : Column 1176W—continued
NHS Staff
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2006, to Official Report, column 62W, on NHS staff, what the estimated out-turn figures are for 2006. [70667]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is not held centrally.
Nurses
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of student nurses who graduate in 2006 who will find jobs within the NHS. [67208]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We estimate up to 19,000 student nurses will complete their training in 2006. It is not possible to state exactly how many nursing students will complete their training in any given year because a number will delay completion, leave the course or take career breaks.
There are still jobs for newly qualified staff in the national health service but there is now a closer match between demand and supply, and consequently more competition. We will continue to need new staff to replace those who retire or take career breaks. Strategic health authorities and trusts are working proactively to find opportunities for graduates within their overall workforce plans.
Obesity
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the annual change in obesity levels in children under 11 years of age in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [67410]
Caroline Flint: The data requested are shown in the table:
| Prevalence of obesity among among children aged 2-10 by sex, England 1997-2004 | |||||||||
| Percentage | |||||||||
| unweighted | weighted( 1) | ||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| (1) From 2003 data were weighted for non response and are not directly comparable with previous years. Unweighted 2003 data are also included to show the effect of weighting. Source: Health Survey for England 2004—updating of trend tables to include 2004 data |
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on progress towards issuing guidance on (a) prevention, (b) identification, (c) management and (d) treatment of obesity. [67422]
Caroline Flint: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence's (NICE) guideline on the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children is currently out for consultation. The guideline will be published in November 2006. Meanwhile, in order to help primary care trusts to improve the provision of obesity services and advice to patients, the Department has published an obesity care pathway and weight loss guide on 4 May.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions she has had with the British Medical Association on the prevention of childhood obesity; and if she will make a statement. [68843]
Caroline Flint: On 1 February 2006, I met with the British Medical Association to discuss issues related to the prevention of childhood obesity.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines her Department has set for the (a) minimum and (b) maximum recommended daily calorie requirements for adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. [71010]
Caroline Flint: The Department has not set any minimum or maximum daily calorie requirements for adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. However, the committee on medical aspects of food policy published a report in 1994, “Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the United Kingdom”, which gives estimated average energy requirements for children and adolescents based on their present lifestyles and activity levels.
The relevant estimated average requirements (EARs) for energy in adolescents is shown in the table:
| EAR (kcal/d) | ||
| Age | Males | Females |
Parkinson's Disease
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist neurological nurses there have been for Parkinson's disease in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) region and (b) primary care trust area. [64765]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of specialist neurological nurses for Parkinson’s disease is not collected centrally.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease there were in (a) England and (b) Tamworth constituency in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement; [71251]
(2) what percentage of people in (a) England and (b) Tamworth constituency diagnosed with Parkinson's disease have access to a specialist nurse; and if she will make a statement. [71252]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Data on the number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease are not collected. However, the Parkinson's Disease Society estimated that around 10,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year in the United Kingdom.
The percentage of those living with Parkinson's disease with access to a Parkinson's disease nurse specialist is not collected.
Sexual Health
Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients who presented themselves at a genito-urinary medicine clinic within the Greater Derbyshire and Derby Central Primary Care Trusts were treated or tested within (a) 24 and (b) 48 hours in the last period for which figures are available. [67632]
Caroline Flint: Data on patients seen within 24 hours are not routinely collected. The latest available data for patients seen within 48 hours, as at February 2006, are shown in the table.
| Primary care trust (PCT) | Percentage of patients seen within 48 hours |
| Source: Health Protection Agency quarterly survey of genitor-urinary medicine waiting times. |
As part of the Government’s drive to improve sexual health, all PCTs are working towards the target of 100 per cent. of genito-urinary (GU) attendees being seen within 48 hours by 2008. To help achieve this, sexual health and GU access have been identified as one of the top six national health service priorities in the NHS operating framework for 2006-07, and additional investment of £130 million over three years, was announced through the ‘Choosing Health’ White Paper.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has commissioned to explore the relationship between recreational drug use and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and infections. [71011]
Caroline Flint: The Department has not commissioned any specific research to explore the relationship between recreational drug use and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures her Department is taking to educate the public on the potential dangers of recreational drug use with particular reference to the risk of spreading sexually transmitted diseases and infections. [71012]
Caroline Flint: As part of the Government's commitment to educating and advising people regarding the harms associated with recreational drug use, we along with the Home Office have invested substantial funding in programmes such as FRANK, talktofrank.com, which where appropriate will include risks of spreading sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
Speech/Language Therapists
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement by the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Mr. Byrne), of 25 April 2006, Official Report, column 549, how many of the 100 extra speech and language therapy staff in the North Central London strategic health authority area will be deployed to each borough. [69333]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of qualified speech and language therapy staff in the North Central London strategic health authority (SHA) area by national health service organisation in 1997 and 2005, which are the latest figures available.
| NHS hospital and community health services: qualified speech and language therapy staff in North Central London SHA area by organisation as at 30 September each specified year | |||
| headcount | |||
| 1997 | 2005 | ||
| n/a = not applicable. Note: 1997 total is estimated based on the 2002 organisational structure. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care, non-medical workforce census |
Staff and Associate Specialist Group
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors in the staff and associate specialist group are employed in the NHS. [64223]
Ms Rosie Winterton: At September 2005, there were 2,554 doctors who were associate specialists and 5,527 who were staff grades.
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