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Genetic Testing
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to monitor performance against the target set in the 2003 Genetics White Paper that anyone taking a genetic test would receive their result within two to eight weeks by 2006; [80063]
(2) what the average waiting time was for results of (a) breast cancer and (b) genetic tests in each of the last three years. [80071]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The Government recognise that some patients have experienced long waits for genetic tests and this will have caused stress and anxiety. This is unacceptable.
So, to improve access and cut waiting times, the genetics White Paper ‘Our Inheritance, Our Future—realising the potential of genetics in the NHS’, published in June 2003, committed up to £18 million for national health service genetics laboratories in England. This major investment is boosting capacity and supporting modernisation in genetics laboratories, thus helping them meet the rising demand for genetics tests.
To ensure that this investment resulted in real patient benefit, the White Paper set out new standards for genetic test turn around times, to be achieved by the end of 2006. These are:
within three days where the result is needed urgently, for example for prenatal diagnosis;
within two weeks where the potential genetic mutation is already known, for example, because another family member has already been tested; and
within eight weeks for unknown mutations in a large gene.
This money was allocated during the last two financial years (2004 to 2006), and laboratories are working hard to get their new facilities up to speed to meet these standards.
Health Service Commissioning
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2006 to question 57167, what responsibility she has for the commissioning of publicly-funded health services from the private sector; if she will make it her policy to collect centrally information relating to the companies which are (a) contracted and (b) due to be contracted to provide such services; and if she will list the centrally negotiated contracts with (i) United Health and (ii) other private sector providers. [63223]
Andy Burnham: The Department is responsible for ensuring that health care services are of high quality and provide value for money and good outcomes for patients, whether commissioned centrally or locally and whether commissioned from the independent sector or from national health service bodies. The Department has not awarded any contracts for the provision of health care services to United Health. United Health holds one contract with the Department. That is for project management rather than service provision.
Other independent sector providers hold centrally awarded contracts for the provision of health care services. These are:
NHS walk-in centres with a commuter focus
Atos Origin IT Services (UK) Ltd.
Walk-In Health Ltd.
Care UK Plc
NetCare Ltd.
Mobile magnetic resonance imaging
Alliance Medical Ltd.
Pharmacy chlamydia screening pathfinder
Boots The Chemists Ltd.
Capio UK
InterHealth
Nations Healthcare
Partnership Health Group Ltd.
Mercury Health DTC (1) Ltd.
Netcare Healthcare UK Ltd.
UK Specialist Hospitals
Netcare Healthcare UK Ltd.
The Department does not collect centrally information about individual companies providing health care services under contracts which are agreed locally with primary care trusts or NHS trusts and has no plans to do so.
Health Services (Surrey and Sussex)
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution the Department made to the two documents recently produced by Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority on the future configuration of local health services. [80732]
Caroline Flint: The Department has made no contribution to the two recent documents produced by Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority on the future configuration of local health services. It is for the local health economy to decide on the configuration of local health services.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research (a) the Department and (b) the NHS (i) has carried out and (ii) is planning into travelling times for patients to hospitals in the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority area. [80733]
Caroline Flint: The Department does not collect this information centrally, and has no plans to do so.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) meetings and (b) discussions her Department has had with representatives of the Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority in the last 12 months; and whether changes in services provided at Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust have been discussed. [80734]
Caroline Flint: The configuration of local services is a matter for local health economies. The Department's recovery and support unit (RSU) liaises regularly with representatives of Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority (SHA) on performance and strategic matters.
The Secretary of State met with Candy Morris, Chief Executive of Surrey and Sussex SHA, on 22 March 2006 to welcome her to the position and discuss general issues in the region.
Healthcare Facility (Oldchurch Park, Romford)
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many nurses will be employed in the new Oldchurch Park Hospital; and how many are employed at the existing Oldchurch Hospital; [79631]
(2) how many of those employed at the Oldchurch and Harold Wood hospitals are expected to be employed in the new healthcare facility being built in Romford. [79657]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Data on the number of staff currently employed at Oldchurch and Harold Wood hospitals that are expected to be employed in the new healthcare facility being build in Romford is not collected.
Data are not collected on the number of nurses employed at the existing Oldchurch Hospital. The number of nurses employed at Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals National Health Service Trust is 2,447, September 2005 being the latest figures available.
North East London Strategic Health Authority has advised departmental officials that the breakdown of funded establishment for nurses in the new hospital, not including midwives, is:
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the total cost of the new hospital at Oldchurch Park, Romford is expected to be; [79632]
(2) when she expects the new hospital being built at Oldchurch Park, Romford to be (a) finished and (b) opened. [79639]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: North East London Strategic Health Authority has advised departmental officials that the practical completion date for the new hospital being built at Oldchurch Park, Romford will be 15 October 2006. There will then follow a period of deep cleaning. The hospital is expected to be fully operational by December 2006.
The total cost of the new hospital will be £261 million.
HIV/AIDS
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what HIV/AIDS prevention work is being undertaken in (a) England, (b) Redbridge and (c) Waltham Forest; what change is planned over the next 12 months; what high profile publicity work is being undertaken for prevention; what strategies local public health authorities are adopting; whether these are the same in each area; and if she will make a statement. [78934]
Caroline Flint: Nationally, targeted HIV prevention work is being undertaken specifically for gay men and people from African communities living in England. These are the two groups most at risk from HIV in England. This work is managed by the Terrence Higgins Trust and the African HIV Policy network respectively.
Redbridge primary care trust (PCT) has continued to prioritise HIV/AIDS prevention work as part of the overall sexual health strategy and action plan and they commission four agencies to provide targeted HIV/AIDS prevention work with the most affected communities: gay men and black Africans.
Waltham Forest PCT has an ongoing investment in the promotion of sexual health in schools. This is being delivered by the personal, social and health education coordinator, EduAction. They have also been working very closely with the department of sexual health at Whipps Cross University hospital and are at the stage of thinking with the clinical teams of how they can improve the capacity for prevention and promotion of sexual health delivery by primary care teams. They also participate in the sector wide contracts managed by the London specialised commissioning group.
Nationally and
locally, HIV prevention plans will continue to target the groups most
at risk from HIV. There are no plans for major new high profile HIV
publicity work nationally or locally in the next 12 months, above and
beyond the targeted work mentioned above and the broader national
sexual health campaign planned for later this year.
Strategies for HIV prevention, along with a wider range of issues on HIV are set out in ‘Recommended Standards for NHS HIV services’ published by The Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health in 2004.
Hospital Building
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many major hospital building projects have been completed since 4 May 1979 and are now fully operational, broken down by (a) projects which were given the go-ahead between 4 May 1979 and 30 April 1997 and (b) projects which were given the go-ahead on or after 1 May 1997. [76971]
Andy Burnham: A copy of the full list of operational hospital building projects which were given the go ahead between 1 January 1980 and 30 April 1999, and 1 May 1997 to the present day is available in the Library. Data is not held centrally for schemes before 1 January 1980.
This list has been updated since the previous time this information was used to place data on the record, on 27 February 2006, Official Report, columns 472-73W. The capital value for all schemes has been updated to 2006-07 prices; previously they were at 1999-2000 prices. This in turn means that the threshold we have used for a major hospital building project increases from £50 million to £58.7 million. Three schemes have also opened since the list was last reviewed (the last three on the list).
Independent Sector Treatment Centres
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what approved independent sector treatment centres there are; and how many elective procedures are expected to be carried out at each one each year. [79275]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) contracts stipulate the expected casemix and volume of healthcare to be completed during the five-year period of the contract. The contracts allow flexibility in the actual casemix in order to meet national health service commissioners’ needs. The total volumes currently expected for the agreed wave one ISTC contracts are shown in the following table, although actual volumes may change depending on the casemixes that are referred.
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