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5 Jun 2006 : Column 368W—continued


Table 3: All diagnoses count of patients with eating disorders (ICD-10 F50) and as a percentage of the total population, NHS hospitals 2004-05
Government office region of residence All diagnoses of patients with eating disorders admitted into NHS hospitals 2004-05 Estimated population for 2004 All diagnoses of patients with eating disorders admitted into NHS hospitals as a percentage of the total population 2004-05

North East

129

2,545,073

0.01

North West

329

6,827,170

0.00

Yorkshire and the Humber

194

5,038,849

0.00

East Midlands

215

4,279,707

0.01

West Midlands

221

5,334,006

0.00

East of England

288

5,491,293

0.01

London

362

7,428,590

0.00

South East

439

8,110,242

0.01

South West

311

5,038,200

0.01

Other (Non-England and unknown)

55

Notes: 1. All diagnoses count of patients: these figures represent a count of all patients where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record. 2. 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. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.

European Nutrition for Health Alliance International Longevity Centre UK

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations her Department has received from the (a) European Nutrition for Health Alliance and (b) International Longevity Centre UK. [64142]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department has not, to date, received any representations from either the European Nutrition for Health Alliance or the International Longevity Centre UK.

Fraser Day Hospital

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects Milton Keynes primary care trust's consultation on the closure of the Fraser day hospital to end; and who the consultees are. [75141]

Andy Burnham: Public consultation commenced on 8 May and is due to run for 90 days. Those being consulted include staff, patients, the general public, voluntary organisations, Members of Parliament, local authorities, and local overview and scrutiny committees.


5 Jun 2006 : Column 369W

Health Services (Cornwall)

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of accident and emergency patients in Cornwall had a trolley wait of over four hours in the last period for which figures are available. [72793]

Caroline Flint: Information on the percentage of patients not placed in a bed in a ward within four hours of a decision to admit, commonly referred to as a trolley wait, is reported by national health service trusts and published quarterly. Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust reported that 3.4 per cent. of patients were in this position for the period January to March 2006. This information is for admissions from type one (major) accident and emergency departments only.

Further information is available on the Department's website at: www.performance.doh.gov .uk/hospitalactivity.

Hospices

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to increase the proportion of the costs of hospices contributed by the NHS. [74700]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible within the national health service for commissioning and funding services for their resident population, including palliative care. The Government have met their commitment in the NHS Cancer Plan to provide an extra £50 million per annum for specialist palliative care. This represents a 40 per cent. increase in NHS funding on 2000 levels. PCTs, having assessed their local priorities, can invest more. This investment must be in line with local strategic plans and an assessment of need.

The NHS is currently receiving the largest sustained increase in funding in its history. PCTs will be able to use these extra resources to deliver on both national and local priorities including, as they determine, palliative care.

Hospital Building

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the major hospital building projects that (a) are under way and (b) have received building permission. [74189]

Andy Burnham: The following information lists the major hospital building projects that are under construction:


5 Jun 2006 : Column 370W

All schemes are required to have secured outline and full planning permission as a condition of approval to proceed to construction.

Hospital Provision (Liverpool)

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she last reviewed strategic hospital provision in Liverpool; and if she will make a statement. [74554]

Ms Rosie Winterton: It is the responsibility of the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority to build capacity and create a strategic framework for the improvement of the health service in Cheshire and Merseyside, including the provision of hospital services.

Islington Primary Care Trust

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total spending by Islington primary care trust was in each of the last five years; what those figures represent per capita; what the capita figures were for the rest of London in each year; and what the estimated figures are for 2006-07. [73904]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The table shows total expenditure and expenditure per head by Islington primary care trust (PCT) and organisations in London.

Islington PCT London strategic health authorities (SHA) area
Expenditure (£000) Expenditure per head (£) Expenditure per head (£)

2002-03

260,897

1,444.14

1,186.77

2003-04

261,761

1,448.92

1,315.78

2004-05

313,248

1,721.45

1,441.33

Notes: 1. Islington PCT did not come into existence until 1 April 2002. 2. Expenditure by strategic health authority area is taken as the total expenditure of the strategic health authority, and primary care trusts within the strategic health authority area. 3. Expenditure on general dental services and pharmaceutical services accounted for by the Dental Practice Board and Prescription Pricing Authority, respectively, are excluded. This expenditure cannot be included within the figures for the individual health bodies as they are not included in commissioner accounts. Sources: Audited summarisation forms of London SHAs 2002-03 to 2004-05. Audited summarisation schedules of London primary care trusts 2002-03 to 2004-05.

Language Assessments

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what language assessments are undertaken by non-UK trained (a) medical and (b) nursing staff before they are permitted to work in the NHS. [70155]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Medical and nursing overseas applicants must be registered by the General Medical
5 Jun 2006 : Column 371W
Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) respectively before being permitted to work in the national health service. Both the GMC and the NMC require applicants from outside the European Economic Area to demonstrate competence in the English language by achieving a specific mark in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). NHS employees have a responsibility to satisfy themselves that doctors and nurses they employ are able to communicate effectively and may decide to test accordingly.

Local Improvement Schemes

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list local improvement finance trust schemes undertaken in (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency and (b) Shropshire in each year since the initiative was introduced. [74337]

Ms Rosie Winterton: There are no local improvement finance trusts (LIFT) schemes in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency or in Shropshire. It is for local primary care trusts to decide to seek approval from the Department to establish LIFT schemes in their areas, and they do this in the light of the health and social care needs of their population. The local primary care trusts have decided not to seek approval to establish LIFT schemes in their areas.

Lowermoor Water Pollution

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will arrange for funding for a systematic long-term study of the health effects that (a) have resulted and (b) will result from the Lowermoor water pollution incident. [74280]

Caroline Flint: We will consider the need for further work on health effects of the Lowermoor water pollution incident after we have received the final report of the Lowermoor sub-group of the committee on toxicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment. The draft report has been out for consultation.

Lyme Disease

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Department is providing for research into Lyme disease in 2006-07; and how much was spent in each of the last three years. [74622]

Caroline Flint: The Department is funding research by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in two areas relating to Lyme disease: diagnosis and detection, and a survey of ticks.

The HPA's Lyme disease specialist reference unit laboratory, which undertakes routine diagnostic work, is conducting research in diagnosis and detection. The costs of the research work are financed from the core funding of the HPA and are not separately identifiable.

A survey of ticks is being undertaken by HPA's centre for emergency preparedness and response.
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Funding for this is through HPA's grant in aid and the estimated costs for this work is as follows:

£
Amount

2006-07(1)

38,777

2005-06

37,286

2004-05

35,851

(1) Full year projection

Figures are not available for 2003-04.

Macfarlane Trust

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether she has arranged to meet the Chairman of the Macfarlane Trust to discuss the Trust's report requesting increased funding for people with haemophilia who were infected with HIV by their NHS treatment; [73258]

(2) what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the average payment to those registered with the Macfarlane Trust; [73259]

(3) what response her Department has made to the recommendation in the business case of the Macfarlane Trust that a capital sum should be paid to the surviving registrants of the Trust. [73260]

Caroline Flint: The Department is considering a submission from the Macfarlane Trust seeking increased funding. This consideration will be concluded shortly. It is the Department's intention to continue funding the Trust on a year to year basis. I have written to the chairman of the Macfarlane Trust agreeing to arrange a meeting.

Medicine Disposal

Mr. Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to prevent the inappropriate (a) use and (b) disposal of drugs following the death of a person in receipt of prescribed medicines. [74609]

Andy Burnham: A number of steps have been taken. As part of the new contractual framework that went live from April 2005, all community pharmacies are expected to accept unwanted medicines and should have suitable and safe arrangements for the collection and safe disposal of medicines. The profile of safe use, storage and disposal of medicines has been raised through NHS Direct's website and the NHS Direct section of the Thompson local directory, which is issued to all households. We are also in discussion with NHS Direct to develop a leaflet, which professionals can give to members of the public when they are prescribed controlled drugs to ensure that they understand the importance of taking these medicines, and also to encourage them to return unused and unwanted medicines to pharmacies for safe disposal. We take every appropriate opportunity to communicate messages of safe use and disposal of medicines in our communication strategy.


5 Jun 2006 : Column 373W

The Fourth Report of the Shipman Inquiry made a number of recommendations to ensure the appropriate disposal of controlled drugs following the death of the person in receipt of these prescribed medicines. The Department is currently piloting patient drug record cards for schedule two injectable controlled drugs in the community.


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