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21 Jun 2006 : Column 1931W—continued
Zimbabwe
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will
make a statement on the political situation in Zimbabwe. [78085]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 20 June 2006]: The political situation in Zimbabwe is dire as is the economic collapse. Mugabe's regime continues to deny the people of Zimbabwe their basic rights and freedoms; intimidate and suppress opposition; silence independent media; force people from their homes; ignore international calls for reform; and deny any responsibility for the grave situation the country faces. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister told the House on 19 April 2006, Official Report, columns 122-23, what the regime in Zimbabwe is doing is a disgrace.
We will continue to work for the restoration of good governance and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Health
Abortion
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many women taking the abortion drug RU 486 suffered (a) excessive bleeding, (b) haemorrhaging when the foetus was expelled from the uterus, (c) damage to the cervix and (d) an infection in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by (i) age of the woman, (ii) gestation of the pregnancy and (iii) region; [75641]
(2) how many women taking the abortion drug RU 486 required further treatment because the womb was not completely emptied of its contents or it failed to end the pregnancy in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by (a) age of the woman, (b) gestation of the pregnancy and (c) region. [75642]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is shown in the tables.
Under the Abortion Act, any registered medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy is required to supply the Chief Medical Officer with the information set out in the Abortion Regulations 1991. As such, information is not held centrally on how many women taking mifepristone (Mifegyne, RU486) required further treatment because the womb was not completely emptied of its contents or why the drug failed to end the pregnancy.
| Total complications reported for abortions using mifepristone (Mifegyne, RU486) by gestation and age for residents, England, 2000-04 | |||||
| Gestation | |||||
| Haemorrhage | Other complications( 1) | ||||
| Total complications | Under 13 weeks | 13 weeks plus | Under 13 weeks | 13 weeks plus | |
| Age | |||||
| Haemorrhage | Other complications( 1) | ||||
| Total complications | Under 25 years | 25 years plus | Under 25 years | 25 years plus | |
| (1) Includes uterine perforation and/or sepsis. (2) For confidentiality reasons, totals less than 10 (0-9 cases) are suppressed. This is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics, 2005. Note: Breakdown by region is not possible, for confidentiality reasons, due to small numbers. | |||||
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2006, Official Report, columns 1161-62W, on abortion, what estimate she has made of the cost of answering the question; and if she will make a statement. [77593]
Caroline Flint: Data on grounds, funding, gestation, and age are currently available but not in the format requested. We estimate it would take 33 hours, at a cost of £825, to extract the data and prepare the tables for publication, which is why we have previously stated that this information is only available at disproportionate cost.
If these tables were to be produced, we believe, given the level of detail and areas of interest requested, much of it could not be made available owing to patient confidentiality (the number of cases is likely to be very small).
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women seeking an abortion in England gave a Northern Ireland address in each of the last five years, broken down by postcode. [78938]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 19 April 2006, Official Report, columns 730-31W. The information cannot be broken down by postcode owing to patient confidentiality.
Accident Costs (Recoupment)
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much has been recovered for the NHS in respect of recoupment of treatment costs from (a) accident victims and (b) insurance companies in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement; [75993]
(2) in what circumstances medical treatment costs can be recovered from (a) insurers and (b) accident victims, in respect of treatment under the NHS for injuries; what the maximum sums are that can be recovered in each case; and if she will make a statement; [75995]
(3) if she will extend the (a) range of cases and (b) maximum sum that can be recouped in respect of recovery of costs of medical treatment for (i) accident victims and (ii) insurers; and if she will make a statement. [76127]
Ms Rosie Winterton: For more than 70 years hospitals have been able to recover the costs of providing treatment to the victims of road traffic accidents where the injured person successfully claims personal injury compensation from the person responsible for the accident. The arrangements for this were streamlined and centralised through the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999 which established a formal recovery scheme, operated on behalf of the Secretary of State by the Compensation Recovery Unit, part of the Department for Work and Pensions. Where a compensation payment is made to a road traffic accident victim by an insurer, the insurer is also obliged under the terms of the scheme to make a payment towards the cost of any hospital treatment the injured person needed, in accordance with a simple tariff system covering in-patient or out-patient treatment as appropriate. The injured person is not required to make any payment towards their own treatment costs under the scheme.
At present the maximum amount that can be recovered in respect of any injury is £37,100. The tariffs and the maximum amount are uprated each year in line with Hospital and Community Health Services inflation. The amounts recovered in the last three years are as follows:
| £ | |
Part 3 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 laid the legislative framework for a wider-ranging NHS Injury Costs Recovery (ICR) scheme to be established, subsuming the existing road traffic accident scheme and extending it to all cases in which personal injury compensation is paid to an injured person who has received national health service hospital treatment. Following a public consultation on draft regulations that will govern the operation of the ICR scheme, it was decided to widen the scope for the scheme to take into account contributory negligence where this has been a factor in the primary compensation claim. The necessary amendment to the 2003 Act is contained in the Health Bill. In order to allow adequate time for the Bill to complete its passage through Parliament and for the amending clause to be brought into effect from the outset of the ICR scheme, the scheme is now expected to be introduced from 29 January 2007. The intention is to transfer the tariffs and maximum amount from the existing road traffic scheme, together with the
introduction of a new tariff covering the cost of ambulance journeys required to take the injured person to hospital. As now, these amounts will be uprated annually.
Acute Care Beds
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute care beds per 100,000 population have been provided in each financial year since 1997-98 in each strategic health authority area. [74066]
Andy Burnham: Data for the years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 are shown in the following table. Strategic health authorities (SHAs) were established in 2002 and, therefore, data prior to 2002-03 are not available on a SHA basis.
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