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22 May 2006 : Column 1553W—continued
Cancer Plan
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to develop a new Cancer Plan to replace the current plan in 2010. [71273]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 16 May 2006]: The need to publish a further update or a second cancer plan is kept under review and as yet no decision has been taken.
Care Homes
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment her Department has made of changes in care home fees in the last five years; [70661]
(2) what assessment she has made of the reasons underlying increases above inflation in care home fees in the last five years. [70733]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: According to the independent social care sector analysts Laing and Buisson, in its annual “Care of Elderly People UK Market Survey 2005”, in the five years up to 31 March 2005 care home fees went up as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| Residential care homes | Nursing homes | |
There are a number of possible causes for the rise in fees. This includes the level of fees paid by local authorities and the national health service, which together pay 68 per cent. of the cost of residential care.
We increased total resources available for social services by an average of six per cent. a year in real terms over the three years 2003-04 to 2005-06. These increases follow a 20 per cent. increase in the level of funding for social services between 1996-97 and 2002-03. This enables local councils to purchase the services to meet their residents' needs. In its annual “Care of the Elderly: UK Market Survey's” Laing and Buisson has reported increases in the fees paid to care homes by social services of around 3 to 4 per cent. a year since 2000-01, with some authorities increasing fees by over 10 per cent.
Child Care
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many child care places are provided by the NHS for NHS employees; [72737]
(2) which hospital trusts provide child care places for employees. [72738]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A survey of child care provision in 2004 by the information centre for health and social care found national health service employers provide 11,700 nursery places for children under five years. In addition, NHS employers provide their staff with a range of child care support, including access to holiday playschemes, after school clubs and access to child care co-ordinators.
Information on hospital trusts providing child care places for employees is not collected centrally. However, of the 571 organisations who responded to the survey, 97 per cent. provided access to a child care co-ordinator.
Choose and Book System
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2006, Official Report, column 954W, on the Choose and Book System, when she expects the trusts listed will implement fully compliant systems. [69650]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department expects that the exempt trusts will implement fully compliant systems once they have access to an economically viable compliant patient administration system (PAS). This matter is under consideration and will be determined on a case-by-case basis with the individual trusts during 2006, when planning dates will be agreed.
Trusts are currently exempt from having a compliant PAS by December 2006 for two reasons. Firstly, for it not being technically possible for them to upgradetheir existing PAS to be compliant and their PAS replacement not being planned until after December 2006. Secondly, for it not being financially viable to upgrade their existing PAS, for example their PAS has a single installation base and the cost to upgrade this versus the benefit to operate this for a finite period is not viable, and their replacement PAS not being planned until after December 2006.
The number of trusts exempt from operating compliant PAS by December 2006 is fluid and may go up or down slightly, as compliant PAS roll-out plans are finalised between now and the end of the year.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many patients in each primary care trust in Hampshire have been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases in each of the last five years. [71217]
(2) which primary trusts in Hampshire make available continuous positive airway pressure machines when requested by their specialist to those whose chest conditions make sleeping difficult; and which occasionally refuse a clinician's request. [71219]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is not held centrally.
Combined Contraceptive Pill
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what mortality rates are attributed to the use of combined oestrogen-progesterone contraceptive pill among women (a) in the United Kingdom, (b) in other member European Union countries and (c) in other World Health Organisation nations; and if she will make a statement; [72035]
(2) what mortality rates are attributed to the use of the intra-uterine device as a contraceptive among women in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) other member European Union countries and (c) other World Health Organisation nations; and if she will make a statement; [72188]
(3) what mortality rates are attributed to the use of the drug Depo-Provera as a contraceptive among women in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) other member European Union countries and (c) other World Health Organisation nations; and if she will make a statement; [72189]
(4) what the mortality rates directly attributed to the use as a contraceptive of the progesterone-only pill were in the latest period for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement. [72286]
Andy Burnham: Mortality rates directly attributed to the use of different methods of contraception in different countries are not available.
The yellow card scheme collects reports of suspected adverse drug reactions associated with medicines occurring in the United Kingdom. This data cannot be used to calculate mortality rates attributed to medicines for a number of reasons. Importantly, not all adverse reactions are reported and the level of underreporting differs between medicines. Furthermore, doctors are asked to report suspected adverse reactions regardless of any doubts about a causal association with a medicine. Therefore, a report of a particular adverse reaction on the yellow card database does not necessarily mean that the drug caused it, and other factors such as an underlying or new medical condition may have played a role. Any comparison between products is invalid as the usage of these products and the other factors which affect the level of reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions vary greatly between products.
The table contains the number of reports of suspected adverse drug reactions, and the number of fatal reports, received by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency during 2005 in association with the following: Mirena—an intrauterine device (IUD) that contains progesterone; non-hormonal IUDs; Depo-Provera; the progesterone-only pill; and the combined oral contraceptive. These figures should be viewed in the context of the extensive usage of the contraceptive devices and medicines.
| Contraceptive | Total reports | Fatal reports |
The majority of reports with a fatal outcome relate to venous thromboembolism. An increased risk of venous thromboembolism is well recognised in association with combined hormonal contraceptives and extensive information is provided in the product information for doctors and women.
Healthcare professionals providing contraceptive services should provide accurate information about the possible side effects of each method to allow women to make informed choices as to the most appropriate method for them. This information is also included in the patient information leaflet. The benefits associated with modern contraceptive use far outweigh the side effects.
Modern methods of contraception are safe for the vast majority of women who use them and are not only highly effective in preventing pregnancy, but are also associated with other health benefits. The pill for example can reduce menstrual blood loss and relieve painful menstruation. It may also reduce the incidence of ovarian and endometrial cancer.
Dentistry
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists have left the NHS to work in private practice in each year since 1997. [64034]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Data on the destination of dentists leaving the general dental services (GDS) or personal dental services (PDS) are not held centrally.
The table, however, provides the numbers of national health service dentists who have left the GDS or PDS in England, in each year since 1997.
| General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS): Number of dentists who have left the GDS or PDS in England for the 12 months ending 30 September each year | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Leavers indicate that the dentist had an open GDS or PDS contract in September of the previous year but no GDS or PDS contract in September of the specified year. 2. Data include all notifications of dentists joining or leaving the GDS or PDS, received by the Business Services Authority, up to 8 November 2005. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending upon the notification period, for example data with a later notification period will include more recent notifications of dentists leaving the GDS or PDS. 3. A dentist with a GDS or PDS contract may provide as little or as much NHS treatment as he or she chooses or has agreed with the primary care trust. Information concerning the amount of time dedicated to NHS work by individual GDS or PDS dentists are not centrally available. 4. Dentists consist of principals, assistants and trainees. Prison contracts have been excluded. Sources: Information Centre for health and social care Business Services Authority |
Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures are in place to ensure that primary care trusts are given clear guidance on the transitional arrangements underpinning the transfer to the new dental contract. [72337]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has made a wide range of guidance available to primary care trusts to support the transition to local commissioning of primary dental care services and the introduction of new contracts. This has included a fact sheet on ‘Understanding the transitional provisions order’, which explained how dentists would transfer to the new contracts. This and other fact sheets are available on the Department website at: www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAnd Guidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/Dental. NHS primary care contracting has provided a range of other guidance and support to primary care trusts in implementing the new contracts, both through its website at: www.primarycarecontracting.nhs.uk/89.php and through learning events and a dental helpdesk.
Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been provided to enable primary care trusts to provide maternity payments to dentists during the transition to the new dental contract. [72437]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts have been given funding allocations for national health service dentistry based on previous levels of expenditure during the reference period of October 2004 to September 2005. This included all dental expenditure in that period including any maternity, paternity or sick pay given to qualifying dentists. In dentistry, as in any other areas of NHS provision, maternity payments will vary over time but allowing for such variation is a normal part of a PCT’s funding role.
Mr. McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a dentist who was pregnant before the
new dental contract was introduced on 1 April 2006 is able to claim maternity pay at the levels prescribed in the old dental contract. [72568]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Under the former general dental services contract, the level of maternity pay for a principal dentist providing NHS general dental services was based on the principal's earnings during a 12-month test period (beginning 21 months before the expected period of confinement). Under the new GDS contract that came into effect from 1 April 2006, any dentist (be they the contract holder, a partner or a practice employee) performing dental services under a national health service contract is entitled to payments in respect of a period of maternity leave. The level of the payment is based on the dentist's pensionable earnings immediately before the period of maternity leave begins.
Under the transitional arrangements, a principal dentist who was entitled to NHS maternity pay under the former GDS contract and who began her maternity leave before 1 April is entitled to continue receiving the same level of payment as before (based on the earlier test period), if this is higher than payments calculated on the basis of her most recent pensionable earnings.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of (a) adults and (b) children were registered with an NHS dentist in each primary care trust in Devon in (i) 1998 and (ii) 2000. [72970]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Below is the number of adults and children registered with a national health service dentist in each primary care trust (PCT) in Devon in the specified years. The percentage of those registered is not available as population figures were not collected at PCT level prior to 2001.
| 1998 | 2000 | |||
| Adults registered | Children registered | Adults registered | Children registered | |
| Notes: 1. The areas have been defined using practice postcodes within the PCT, not the patient’s home address. 2. Prison contracts have not been included in this analysis. 3. Children are deemed as 17 years or under and adults as 18 years or over. Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care. Business Services Authority. |
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