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Drug Tariffs
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process her Department used to determine the proposed 15 per cent. price decrease for chemical reagents in the Drug Tariff Part IX consultation; and what steps she is taking to ensure transparency in the consultation. [80428]
Andy Burnham: The Department has undertaken an analysis of the reimbursement prices on the drug tariff for chemical reagents and as a result, has concluded that the national health service and the taxpayer may not be obtaining value-for-money at the current reimbursement levels. Further details are available in the consultation document ‘Arrangements for the provision of dressings and chemical reagents to primary care: A consultation’ which is available on the Department’s website at: www.dh.gov.uk/Consultations/ClosedConsultations/fs/en A copy has been placed in the Library.
Where specific information has been required from manufacturers as part of the consultation, the Department has provided clear guidelines as to what was required. The Department has held meetings with manufacturers and their representative trade body, with NHS representatives and with patient groups. In addition, a meeting was hosted to brief hon. Members on 21 June 2006.
Flag Flying
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on how many days since May 1997 the St. George's flag has been flown from her Department's buildings; [77730]
(2) what her Department's policy is on flying the (a) St. George's flag and (b) EU flag from departmental buildings; [77731]
(3) if she will ensure that the Union Flag is flown from her Department's buildings on every day the offices are open. [77732]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issues guidance for flying flags on Government buildings of which the Department adheres to. This includes flying the St. George's flag and the European flag on buildings with two or more flagpoles. These rules area approved by the Queen on advice from that department.
The Department has only one flagpole and therefore does not fly the St. George's flag or the European flag. There are no plans at present to change the number of days flags can be flown from Government buildings.
Foreign Travel
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on foreign travel by her Department in each of the last eight years. [76061]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
General Practitioners
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there were in Coventry, South constituency (a) in 1997 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [79470]
Ms
Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the
format requested. The following table shows the number of general
practitioners (GPs) within the area covered by the current West
Midlands, South strategic
health authority in each year since 1997, and within Coventry teaching
primary care trust (PCT) each year since 2001, the earliest date for
which figures are
available.
| All general medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars( 1) , for specified organisations, 1997 to 2005 | ||
| West Midlands, South | Of which: Coventry PCT | |
| n/a
= Data not
applicable (1) General medical practitioners, excluding retainers and registrars, includes contracted GPs, general medical service (CMS) others and personal medical service (PMS) others. Prior to September 2004 this group included GMS unrestricted principals, PMS contracted GPs, PMS salaried GPs, restricted principals, assistants, salaried doctors (Para 52 SFA), PMS other, flexible career scheme GPs and GP returners. Note: Data as at 1 October 1997- 2000 and 30 September 2001-2005 Source: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics | ||
Health Treatment Centres
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of her Department’s budget was spent on the establishment of independent sector treatment centres in each year since 1997; what proportion of the budget for the establishment of such centres was spent on the employment of management consultants in each year; and what proportion of each budget she expects to be spent in each category in 2006-07. [61717]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme was launched in December 2002 and figures for the establishment of ISTCs are not available prior to 2003. The percentage of the Department’s budget that was spent on the procurement of ISTCs was 0.03 per cent. in 2003-04; 0.05 per cent. in 2004-05; 0.04 per cent, in 2005-06 and it is estimated to be 0.05 per cent. for 2006-07. Much of the work of this programme is done through consulting staff so the proportion of these costs estimated to have been spent on management consultants is 84.6 per cent., 67.4 per cent., 59.3 and 60 per cent., respectively.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by her Department in each year since 2001; in what capacities they were employed; how many were discovered as part of a criminal investigation; and what the nature of the charges brought against them were. [73963]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: No illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by the Department in the period for which information is requested.
Independent Sector Treatment Centres
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria she uses to determine the allocation of resources to independent sector treatment; and what account she takes of the distance between facilities, whether NHS or not, providing similar services. [79279]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: It is for local national health service commissioners to determine the volume of healthcare they purchase from the independent sector (IS) in line with local priorities.
The Department conducted national capacity planning exercises through strategic health authorities (SHAs) in 2002 and 2004. Through these exercises SHAs estimated the additional capacity in elective treatment and diagnostics required to meet key public service agreement waiting times targets, and identified how much of this capacity would need to be sourced from IS providers.
The outcomes of capacity planning provided the basis for taking forward national procurements of elective and diagnostics capacity from the IS. The procurement process is designed to allow the independent sector to work in partnership with local healthcare economies to provide solutions which meet local requirements and work effectively alongside NHS provided services.
Mental Health
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure was on mental health promotion in each year since 1997-98. [75437]
Ms Rosie Winterton: We provide support to implementing mental health promotion through our funding of the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE), part of the care services improvement partnership. Most of NIMHE's national programme priorities will not have had mental health promotion as a distinct priority, but will have included this as an integral element. Information on the exact proportion of spending on mental health promotion is therefore not known.
The table shows NIMHE's total allocations for each year since 2002-03, when it was established. Information on funding which could have been used for mental health promotion prior to this date is not available. NIMHE's eight regional development centres (RDCs) are allocated funding each year to finance all mental health workstreams in their own areas, and RDCs make their own spending decisions, including choosing the proportion of their budgets which are spent on mental health promotion.
| Total departmental funding for NIMHE, by financial year, since 2002-03 | |
| Funding (£000) | |
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what physical protection is routinely offered to mental health professionals in the course of their work; [76760]
(2) how many attacks have been made on people who work with mental health patients in each of the last 10 years for which records are available. [76777]
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to improve the safety of patients and staff on mental health wards; [77228]
(2) how many (a) members of staff, (b) patients and (c) visitors have suffered (i) verbal and (ii) physical assaults on mental health wards in each of the last 10 years. [77229]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The NHS Security Management Service has developed a range of both proactive and reactive initiatives to tackle violence and aggression against staff, including those who work in the mental health setting.
A network of local specialists has been put in place, with the professional skills to provide advice on the protection of national health service staff, supported nationally by the NHS Security Management Service. All health bodies, including mental health trusts, are required to nominate a local security management specialist to provide localised, specialist skills. A specific accreditation course has been developed for those local security management specialists based in mental health trusts and the first course took place in April 2006.
An expert group has also developed a national syllabus for the management of violence training in mental health and learning disability settings. The aim is to equip staff with the necessary skills to be able to identify and de-escalate potentially violent situations from occurring in the first place. The NHS Security Management Service has worked closely with stakeholders such as the Department, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and the National Institute of Mental Health England to develop this syllabus.
The information requested was not collected in the format requested prior to 2004-05. However, the NHS Security Management Service has collected data on the number of physical assaults on NHS staff in England for the period 2004-05. The figure for assaults in mental health and learning disability environments was 43,097.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided by her Department for research into the (a) prevention, (b) treatment and (c) cure of dementia in each of the last three years; whether she has made an assessment of the research funding provided by other EU countries; and if her Department will increase the priority for those purposes it gives to such research. [77632]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Innovation. Recent levels of MRC expenditure on research into dementia(1) have been as follows:
(1 )Including Alzheimer's disease, general dementia. AIDS related dementia, Pick's disease and Huntingtons.
| £ million | |
The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service. National research programme expenditure on projects related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementia has been:
| £ million | |
The Department has not made international comparisons of research spend in this area.
The Department has set up and is investing £20 million in a national research network on dementias and neurodegenerative disease. The network will bring together NHS staff and resources to expand the number and range of clinical trials of medical treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. In addition, the funders’ forum for research on ageing and older people will shortly begin the process of mapping the profile of ageing-related research and identify gaps. This work will help the Department, and other funders, to decide on research priorities.
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department collects data on the regional and socio-demographic profile of people with dementia; whether she has made a comparison of the prevalence of dementia in the UK with other EU countries; what plans her Department has for monitoring changes in the number of people with dementia; and if her Department will (a) estimate the costs to the NHS of dementia and (b) assess the economic effect on those affected by dementia and their carers. [77633]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Data on the regional and socio-demographic profile of people with dementia is not collected centrally and the Department has not compared prevalence of dementia in the United Kingdom with other European Union countries.
The Department is currently looking into the process of collecting information on older people with mental health needs, including people with dementia, and the services which support them.
NHS employers
have announced changes to the new general medical services contract for
2006-07. New indicators are being introduced to the quality and
outcomes framework for 2006-07 and include the introduction of a disease
register of patients diagnosed with
dementia.
The Department has not made an estimate of the costs to the national health service of dementia and an assessment of the economic effect on those affected by dementia and their carers.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits to NHS hospitals (a) she and (b) each of her Ministers made between 4 April and 13 June; and which hospital was visited in each case. [78644]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 19 June 2006]: Between 4 April and 13 June 2006 the Secretary of State for Health visited the following national health service hospitals:
4 April 2006—Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool;
4 April 2006—Liverpool Royal Infirmary, Liverpool;
4 April 2006—North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary, Stoke on Trent;
1 June 2006—Lewisham University Hospital, London; and
2 June 2006—The Whittington Hospital, London.
The Minister of State for Reform visited Chase Farm Hospital, London on 8 May 2006.
The Minister of State for Delivery and Quality visited the following hospitals:
31 May 2006—The Princess Royal Hospital, Orpington;
1 June 2006—Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading;
1 June 2006—Salisbury Hospital, Salisbury; and
1 June 2006—Yeovil District Hospital, Yeovil.
The Minister of State for Health visited the University College Hospital, London on 11 May 2006.
The Minister of State for Public Health visited the Crawley Hospital, Crawley on 11 April 2006.
Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers Framework
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers framework (MoCAM); what the reasons are for the delay in publication; and when she expects to publish the evidence review of effectiveness of treatment expected to inform the MoCAM framework. [79261]
Caroline Flint: The delay in publication has occurred because of some recent changes made to the document to ensure that it does not contradict other key commissioning guidance, including guidance on “Models of Care for Drug Misusers”, which has recently been reviewed.
A comprehensive review of the evidence base for the effectiveness of alcohol treatment interventions will be published shortly, alongside guidance on “Models of Care for Alcohol Misusers” which will lay out how best to combine treatment approaches into an effective local alcohol treatment system.
National Beds Inquiry
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department is following the care closer to home scenario outlined in the conclusions of the national beds inquiry of 2000. [79039]
Andy Burnham: “Our Health Our Care Our Say: a future direction for community services” signalled our intention to carry out a project in conjunction with the speciality associations and Royal Colleges to look at a range of care pathways and service models that deliver care that is more convenient for patients in settings that are more accessible to them. The care closer to home demonstration project is now under way and it is considering intermediate care, step down facilities and greater use of community-based services as per the suggestions in the national beds inquiry.
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