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8 Jun 2006 : Column 835W—continued
Care Record Service
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost to local NHS bodies of implementing the care record service. [73231]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 17 May 2006, Official Report, column 1114W.
Community Nursing
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of Agenda for Change on (a) community nurses and (b) community nursing posts. [72265]
Ms Rosie Winterton: From the available evidence, where job evaluation outcomes and headcount of staff are both considered community nursing posts have proportionately higher outcomes than nurses working in the acute sector. This is likely to be due to the added level of autonomy required. NHS employers are supporting organisations, via strategic health authorities, to assess properly the impact of Agenda for Change.
Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the letter of 26 April 2006 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire on avian influenza. [75954]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A reply to this letter was sent on 8 June 2006.
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to reply to the letter of 25 April 2006 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire regarding a constituent. [75955]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This letter was replied to on 25 May 2006.
Cottage Hospitals
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cottage hospitals have closed in England since 2001. [74270]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is not centrally available.
Counterfeit Lipitor
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2006, Official Report, column 580W, on counterfeit Lipitor, what recent assessment she has made of whether (a) the UK has a system of monitoring pharmaceutical products sufficient to provide confidence that no quantifiable percentage of counterfeit medicines is entering the UK distribution system and (b) the system of pharmaceutical product recall reaches all those involved in the distribution and provision of medicines. [75187]
Andy Burnham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as the United Kingdom (UK) competent authority responsible for the regulation of medicines, has in place comprehensive systems of surveillance, including medicines testing, reporting of adverse reactions, inspections, product recall and intelligence gathering, based on an ongoing assessment of risk. The MHRA also operates a comprehensive anti-counterfeiting strategy, advising the Government and working with partners and stakeholders to ensure that current safeguards work effectively and that vigilance against counterfeit medicines entering the legitimate UK supply chain is maintained.
The prime responsibility for product recall is with the marketing authorisation (MA) holder and not with the MHRA. The MHRA advises the MA holder as to the classification of recall, recipients who should be informed, wording of notifications, investigations and it reviews proposals for corrective actions. In many cases, the MHRA issues a drug alert to inform possible recipients and support action being taken by the MA holder.
When drug alerts are issued by the MHRA, the extent of distribution is decided from a risk analysis of
the known facts. If there is a significant concern about potential patient harm, the MHRA may advise contact to patient level. In cases of lower risk, the distribution may be limited to pharmacy or wholesaler level.
Dentistry
Mr. Ronnie Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in South East Northumberland have (a) not signed up to new contracts, (b) signed only partial contracts and (c) closed their lists to new NHS patients. [70866]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of dentists or dental practices who have signed the new contract and the number who have not signed is not available centrally. We do however have some provisional information that covers contracts. A contract may be for more than one dentist and so cannot be broken down further to individual dentist level.
The number of new dental contracts signed and rejected in the Northumberland Care Trust area is shown in the table.
| Number/percentage | |
| Notes: 1. The information provided is not validated. 2. It represents a snapshot of the position in early April. Source: Department of Health | |
Departmental Credit Card
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what facility is available for senior civil servants in her Department to use credit cards supplied by the Department. [72860]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has adopted the Office of Government Commerce buying solutions pre-tendered national framework for the Government procurement card (GPC). Under this framework GPC credit cards are held by authorised cardholders throughout the Department and are available for use for properly approved purchases under £2,000 per transaction for all departmental staff.
Departmental Report
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the consultations undertaken by her Department covering the period of the Departmental Report 2006; what steps she is (a) taking and (b) plans to take to meet the 12-week minimum period; and if she will make a statement. [71980]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Consultations launched between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2006 are shown in the table.
The Department seeks through guidance to staff and through a gateway process covering communications with the national health service to ensure that
consultations meet the 12-week minimum period. In the coming year, the Department plans to update its guidance on consultations and promote good practice through communications with staff.
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