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NHS Finance

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to monitor NHS expenditure on complementary and alternative medicines. [80164]

Caroline Flint: The Government consider that decision making on individual clinical interventions, using either complementary or more orthodox treatments, is a matter for local national health service providers and practitioners. There are therefore no centrally held records monitoring overall NHS
3 July 2006 : Column 814W
expenditure on complementary and alternative medicines and there are no current plans to change this.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what costs have been incurred through the replacement of the North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire strategic health authorities with the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority; and how much of this sum was accounted for by costs of (a) administration, (b) building relocation, (c) re-branding (d) training events and (e) human resources, including hiring new staff. [80267]

Andy Burnham [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The costs of the changes that were announced on the16 May will depend on a number of factors. New arrangements are currently being developed and discussed with trade unions and staff. Until those discussions have been concluded and the detail of new arrangements agreed it is not possible to confirm or accurately forecast costs. Overall, the changes will free up money to improve front-line services over time.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will be accountable for the breaking even of budgets in (a) University College of London Hospital and (b) the Foundation Trust sector. [80785]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: National health service foundation trusts (NHSFTs) are independent public benefit corporations. The board of directors of each NHSFT is responsible for the performance and success of their organisation. They are subject to a rigorous and transparent regulatory regime operated by Monitor, whose statutory name is the independent regulator of NHSFTs.

I am informed by the chairman of Monitor, that, on 31 May of each year, NHSFTs are required to submit forward planning information to Monitor. Once it has completed its analysis of the annual plans for the 2006-07 financial year, Monitor will assign financial risk ratings that will guide the intensity of its in-year monitoring. The risk ratings, together with the 2006-07 annual plans for each of the 40 NHSFTs, are due to be published on Monitor's website in September 2006 at www.monitor-nhsft.gov.uk.

NHSFTs with poor financial risk ratings are required by Monitor to prepare and deliver effective plans for financial recovery. University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which had a deficit of £35.9 million in the 2005-06 financial year, is implementing a financial recovery plan that will return it to break-even by the 2007-08 financial year.

NHS Performance

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her oral statement of 7 June 2006, Official Report, column 258, on NHS performance, on what basis her assertion was made that the letter of the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) of 18 May called for the wiping out of deficits in NHS organisations in Oxfordshire. [80795]

Caroline Flint: The assertion was based on the following line in the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) letter of 18 May:


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Obesity

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) children and (b) adults are(i) obese and (ii) overweight when measured by body mass index according to the Government’s most recent health survey figures in (A) Bury St. Edmunds constituency, (B) Suffolk county council area, (C) the East of England and (D) England. [79393]

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 22 June 2006, Official Report, columns 2104-05W to the hon. Member for Peterborough(Mr. Jackson).

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the cost was of (a) producing the Obesity Care Pathway and Weight Loss Guide booklet and (b) sending them to the recipients; [80185]

(2) how the effectiveness of the Obesity Care Pathway and Weight Loss Guide booklets will be measured. [80186]

Caroline Flint: To date, the Department has spent £198,000 on producing the “Obesity Care Pathway and the Weight Loss Guide” booklet and £27,751 in sending these materials to the recipients.

The Department intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Obesity Care Pathway and the Weight Loss Guide” booklet early next year. The detailed process and methodology of the evaluation are currently under consideration.

Older People

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she is taking to ensure the effective implementation of the national service framework for older people for those with sensory impairment; and if she will make a statement. [81072]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: A work stream focusing on vision and hearing services for older people is included as part of the implementation programme for the Department’s recently published report ‘A new Ambition for Old Age: Next Steps in Implementing the National Service Framework for Older People’. This work will tie in with the Department’s wider ‘Healthy Ageing’ programme.

Ophthalmic Treatments

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) cataract and (b) non-cataract ophthalmic operations were carried out in NHS hospitals and clinics in each year since 1997. [79589]

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 23 June 2006]: The table shows the number of finished consultant episodes for ophthalmic operations that took place in national health service hospitals in England in each year since 1997.


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Cataract operations Other ophthalmic operations

1997-98

163,885

181,174

1998-99

204,074

195,145

1999-2000

213,769

194,568

2000-01

239,625

187,623

2001-02

250,035

179,323

2002-03

272,395

176,553

2003-04

301,667

175,981

2004-05

309,552

180,700

Notes: 1. Finished consultant episode (FCE) A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. 2. All operations count of episodes These figures represent a count of all FCEs where the procedure was mentioned in any of the 12 (four prior to 2002-03) operation fields in a hospital episodes statistics record. A record is only included once in each count, even if an operation is mentioned in more than one operation field of the record. 3. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data; that is the data is ungrossed. Source: HES, The Information Centre for health and social care.

Primary Care Trusts

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the letter of 10 May 2006 from the acting chief executive of the NHS, on the Operating Framework for 2006-07, Gateway reference 6509, whether all contracts between primary care trusts and providers setting out agreed service requirements and shared activity plans have been signed. [80790]

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally.

Private Sector Contracts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many routine operations have been performed by the private sector for NHS patients in each year since 1997. [61721]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not available relating to operations commissioned locally from the private sector. Information on the number of elective procedures performed by centrally procured independent sector schemes from 2003-04 is shown in the table.

Procedures

2003-04

3,663

2004-05

36,580

2005-06

52,333

Note: Data prior to 2003-04 is not available. Source: Department of Health.

Prostate Cancer

Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the efficacy of the use of Docetaxel in the treatment of prostate cancer. [79414]


3 July 2006 : Column 817W

Andy Burnham: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has conducted an appraisal of Docetaxel for the treatment of hormone refractory prostate cancer and published its guidance to the national health service on 28 June

Recombinant Factor VII

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 3 May 2006, Official Report, column 1708W, on recombinant factor VII, what funding her Department is providing for 2006-07; and what funding will be made available for 2007-08 and beyond. [75194]

Caroline Flint: For 2006-07, the monies previously included within central budgets for allocation to the national health service have now been included as a block sum for strategic health authorities to manage. To ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved this is accompanied by a service level agreement.

We are committed to this area of patient treatment and continue to consider the long-term funding implications.

Residential Care

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adults were placed in residential care out of area in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of state-funded placements this figure represented. [81686]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number of adult supported residents placed outside their local authority in England was 48,900 at 31 March 2005. This represented 18 per cent. of the total council supported residents in England.

Severalls Hospital, Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the former Severalls Hospital at Colchester will be put on the market for sale; and when she expects the sale to be completed. [77864]

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.

The former Severalls Hospital was included in the portfolio of 96 sites acquired by English Partnerships on 6 April 2005 from the Department of Health. I understand English Partnerships anticipates marketing the site in September/October of this year with a view to completing a sale by the summer of 2007.

Stem Cell Research

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) human embryo and (b) embryonic stem cell research projects are being supported from public funds; at which research establishments such research is being conducted; how much has been allocated annually to each project; and which researcher is in charge of each project. [81282]

Andy Burnham: This information is not collected centrally.


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Waiting Lists/Times

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients admitted to out-patient waiting lists by their general practitioner were seen within 13 weeks in each year since 1990. [80786]

Andy Burnham: The figures are shown in the table. Commissioner-based out-patient waiting times figures are only available from June 1997.

Percentage of general practitioner referrals for first out-patient appointment seen within 13 weeks (commissioner-based)
Quarter Percentage of patients seen in under 13 weeks Total number of patients seen in quarter

1997

June

83.5

1,757,243

1998

March

80.7

1,790,658

1999

March

77.0

1,876,685

2000

March

73.4

1,968,469

2001

March

75.6

2,046,691

2002

March

74.4

2,065,774

2003

March

76.5

2,002,030

2004

March

80.1

2,022,454

2005

March

84.0

1,929,415

2006

March

95.8

1,951,789

Source: QM08.

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State forHealth how many people waited for treatment on an (a) in-patient and (b) out-patient waiting list in each year since 1979. [80806]

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table. Note that the full out-patient list was collected for the first time in April 2004.


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Number of patients on in-patient and out-patient waiting lists, 1997 to 2006 (provider-based)
As at March each year In-patient ordinary Day case Total Out-patient

1979

752,422

752,422

1980

664,919

664,919

1981

628,333

628,333

1982

622,480

622,480

1983

726,186

726,186

1984

692,945

692,945

1985

674,453

674,453

1986

673,107

673,107

1987(1)

687,945

687,945

1988

717,892

158,354

876,246

1989

741,822

180,854

922,676

1990

746,694

212,282

958,976

1991

729,061

219,182

948,243

1992

663,264

254,453

917,717

1993

664,681

330,293

994,974

1994

655,287

410,082

1,065,369

1995

582,642

461,409

1,044,051

1996

540,037

507,992

1,048,029

1997

566,588

591,416

1,158,004

1998

593,042

704,620

1,297,662

1999

508,657

564,203

1,072,860

2000

502,174

534,892

1,037,066

2001

494,334

512,393

1,006,727

2002

499,954

535,411

1,035,365

2003

462,730

529,345

992,075

2004

407,606

498,147

905,753

(2)1,379,502

2005

350,762

470,960

821,722

1,322,685

2006

304,107

480,447

784,554

1,165,659

(1) Prior to 1988, in-patient waiting list did not include day case admissions. (2 )Figure quoted for April 2004. Total number waiting for out-patient appointment not collected prior to April 2004. Source: KH07 and QM08.

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2006, Official Report, column 2109W, on waiting times, how many (a) English and (b) Welsh patients had been waiting more than six months for an NHS in-patient operation at English hospitals at the end of April 2006. [82219]

Andy Burnham: The table provides details of the number of patients who have been waiting more than six months for inpatient admission within English national health service provider trusts at the end of April 2006. The data is split down to show patient nationality.

Number of patients

Total

909

of which:

English

120

Welsh

786

Scottish

2

Guernsey

1



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