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4 Sep 2006 : Column 2169W—continued
Sexual Health
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what interim monitoring her Department is undertaking of the delivery by primary care trusts and strategic health authorities of the Government’s 2008 targets (a) to reduce the level of new infections of gonorrhoea and (b) to ensure that all patients have access to genito-urinary medicine clinics within 48 hours. [81520]
Caroline Flint: Data on the number of sexually transmitted infections for 2005 for each region were published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on 4 July in each region. The number of cases of gonorrhoea has decreased by 14 per cent. in England since 2004. The report is freely available from the HPA website at:
www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm
Sexual health and access to genito-urinary (GUM) clinics is one of the six top priorities for the national health service in 2006-07. By 2008 everyone should be offered an appointment within 48 hours of contacting a GUM clinic. Strategic health authorities (SHAs) have all submitted plans to meet this target.
The GUM clinic waiting times audit collects data on waiting times for all GUM clinics in England for a period of one week every quarter. All patients attending a GUM clinic with a new episode or registering for the first time are asked to complete the short questionnaire on waiting times. This audit has been chosen as the initial method of monitoring and improving access to genito-urinary medicine services. Current analysis is published on numbers seen within 48 hours. The most recent survey is for May 2006 which shows that in England 54 per cent. of attendees were seen within 48 hours and a further 4 per cent. were offered an appointment but did not attend. This compares with 45 per cent. seen within 48 hours in May 2004. A summary of the data is published on the HPA website at the following web address:
www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/results_May_2006.htm
In addition the Department is working with SHAs and primary care trusts to establish a new continuous monitoring system for GUM access to all local areas to better performance manage their progress to the 2008 target. We expect GUM services to start returning data in August 2006.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) gonorrhoea, (b) syphilis, (c) chlamydia and (d) thrush were diagnosed in each primary care trust in London in the last year for which figures are available. [81687]
Caroline Flint: Data on the number of sexually transmitted infections for 2005 for each region was published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) on 4 July in each region. Copies have been placed in the Library. The report is freely available from the HPA website at:
www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/datatables2005.htm
Figures on the number of cases of thrush are not collected centrally.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free condoms her Department has issued in each London borough in each year since 1997. [87506]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 9 November 2005, Official Report, column 635W.
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners have opted out of providing sexual health services in each year from 1997 to 2005 (a) in total and (b) broken down by region. [89089]
Caroline Flint: This information is not collected centrally.
Shared Business Services
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS organisations have transferred their finance, accounting and payroll services to shared business services; what estimate she has made of the reduction in the number of NHS posts as a result of the transfer of these services; and to what extent predicted cost savings have been achieved. [86147]
Andy Burnham: Since the inception in April 2005 of the Department’s 50/50 Joint Venture (JV) with Xansa to provide shared services to the national health service, 56 NHS organisations have transferred their finance and accounting to the JV, whilst 20 have transferred payroll.
The estimate of the reduction in the number of NHS posts as a result of the transfer of these services is over 200.
For the 56 trusts that have joined for finance and accounting, they are achieving savings of over 30 per cent. (which is relative to their previous in house costs) and greater than the original commitment by the JV of achieving 20 per cent. savings. This amounts to a saving, for the 56, of circa £3.9 million per annum.
Sight Loss (Emotional Support)
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) primary care trusts and (b) social services departments provide emotional support services for patients in Shropshire at the time of sight loss. [88673]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally. It can be obtained from Shropshire County Primary Care Trust and Shropshire county council.
Smoking
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods she uses to estimate the number of children who (a) smoke and (b) have stopped smoking. [88046]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The survey “Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England” collects information on secondary school children’s smoking behaviour. This includes information on the proportion of children who: are regular smokers; are occasional smokers; have tried smoking; used to smoke, that is, have now given up; have ever smoked; and have never smoked.
The methodology for this survey is available within the report. A copy is available in the Library.
Social Care
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to increase the number of social care workers available to individuals requiring assistance during the evenings and at night time. [86237]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: It is the responsibility of local employers to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of social care workers available to provide the full cover to meet service needs.
Social Marketing
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to implement the recommendations in the National Consumer Council document on the potential for effective social marketing within the Health Service; and if she will make a statement. [82478]
Caroline Flint: We commissioned the National Consumer Council to write a report analysing the case for using social marketing and give recommendations on how we could embed the necessary techniques and systems to achieve our Choosing Health white paper commitment to implement a social marketing strategy for England. This report was published on 26 June 2006, and the Department is currently reviewing these recommendations. Following evaluation over the summer we will announce in the autumn what recommendations we will be taking forward to enable us to implement a social marketing strategy for England.
Social Services Care
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2006, Official Report, columns 2163-70W, on social services care, what guidance her Department has issued on the splitting of each of the four eligibility bands into sub-priorities. [87083]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 25 July 2006]: The Department has not issued specific guidance on the splitting of each of the four bands of categorisation contained in the fair access to care services (FACS) guidance into sub-priorities.
Specialised Children's Services
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to report on the review into commissioning of specialised children’s services. [88717]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The review into commissioning arrangements for specialised services was published on 19 May 2006. A number of services covered by specialised commissioning arrangements are for children. The key messages in that Review have been incorporated in the commissioning framework—national health service guidance issued on 13 July—with the aim of achieving more robust, consistent commissioning arrangements across the country to improve quality of, and reduce variation in, specialised service provision.
Specialist Nurses
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist nurses are employed in the NHS to care for people who have (a) multiple sclerosis, (b) Parkinson's disease, (c) palliative care, (d) rheumatology, (e) diabetes and (f) epilepsy in (i) Guildford and Waverley primary care trust, (ii) Surrey and (iii) England; whether her Department plans to increase the number of specialist nurse posts in each specialty; and whether there have been redundancies of specialist nurses in the NHS since 1997. [87917]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
The annual workforce census does not collect information about nurses by speciality. It is the responsibility of local national health service employers and strategic health authorities to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of nurses to meet their local service needs.
Speech Therapists
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many speech and language therapists (a) started and (b) finished employment within the NHS in each year since 1997. [86775]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by her Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005. [85188]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Statutory instruments were reported on five occasions, in the committee’s 4(th), 10(th), 13(th), 25(th) and 30(th) reports. Reports from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported.
Sterilisations
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many sterilisations were carried out (a) alone and (b) with other procedures in each health authority in England in the last year for which figures are available; [87216]
(2) how many sterilisations have been carried out within each health authority in England in each year since 1990, broken down by sex; [87217]
(3) what the cost to the NHS of (a) male and (b) female sterilisations in each health authority was in the last year for which figures are available; [87218]
(4) what the average time spent in hospital by women having sterilisation operations in each health authority was in the last period for which figures are available. [87219]
Caroline Flint: The information available has been placed in the Library.
The cost to the national health service for these treatments is not collected centrally.
Substance Misuse (Hospital Admissions)
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions there have been via accident and emergency departments for (a) alcohol-related conditions and (b) illegal drug-related conditions for (i) those aged over 18 and (ii) under 18s in (A) absolute terms and (B) per 1,000 population in (1) rural areas and (2) non-rural areas in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [84622]
Caroline Flint: Information is not held centrally split between rural and non-rural areas.
National data on the number of alcohol and drug related admissions via accident and emergency departments between 1996-97 and 2004-05 is shown in the table.
This data is broken down between under 18, over 18 and also provides data in terms of per 1,000 of the population.
| Count of accident and emergency admissions for alcohol and drug related conditions as primary diagnosis (see footnotes for codes used). Data for all national health service hospitals in England, data years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 | ||||
| Alcohol related admissions | ||||
| Data year | Under 18 | 18 and over | Total episodes | Admissions per 1,000 of population |
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