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12 Oct 2006 : Column 846W—continued
Chlamydia Screening
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to use postal screening in the national chlamydia screening programme. [92030]
Caroline Flint: There are a number of local programmes using postal kits within the national chlamydia screening programme. The kits have been developed so that they can be picked up from various venues. Local programme areas are encouraged to evaluate the success of this approach so that best practice can be shared within the programme.
This is only one of the options available to young people within the NCSP. Other successful screening venues includes educational institutions, community contraceptive services, youth clinics, military settings, prisons and general practice.
Connecting for Health Contracts
Mr. Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the definition is under the terms of the Connecting for Health contracts to local service providers of a (a) severity 1 service failure and (b) severity 2 service failure; and how many of each there were in each local service provider area in (i) February 2006, (ii) March 2006 and (iii) April 2006. [74873]
Caroline Flint: Definitions of service failure severity levels are common to all local service provider (LSP) contracts.
A Severity 1 service failure is a failure which, in the reasonable opinion of NHS Connecting for Health, the contractor, or a National Health Service system/service user has the potential to:
have a significant adverse impact on the provision of the service to a large number of users; or
have a significant adverse impact on the delivery of patient care to a large number of patients; or
cause significant financial loss and/or disruption to NHS Connecting for Health, or the NHS; or
result in any material loss or corruption of health data, or in the provision of incorrect data to an end user.
A severity 2 service failure is a failure which, in the reasonable opinion of NHS Connecting for Health, the contractor, or a national health service system/service user has the potential to have a significant adverse impact on the provision of the service to a small or moderate number of service users; or
have a moderate adverse impact on the delivery of patient care to a significant number of service users; or
have a significant adverse impact on the delivery of patient care to a small or moderate number of patients; or
have a moderate adverse impact on the delivery of patient care to a high number of patients; or
cause a financial loss and/or disruption to NHS Connecting for Health, or the NHS which is more than trivial but less severe than the significant financial loss described in the definition of a Severity 1 service failure.
Details of severity 1 and 2 failures in each local service provider area for February to April 2006 are in the following table.
| February | March | April | ||||
| LSP area | Severity 1 | Severity 2 | Severity 1 | Severity 2 | Severity 1 | Severity 2 |
The definitions relate to the potential for adverse incidents. In practice, there is no evidence that these or other service failures have had any material impact on the quality of patient care.
The service availability levels required for national programme for information technology (NPfTT) systems are exceptionally demanding compared with those which preceded the programme. Performance against these standards typically exceeds contracted levels. The overall data spine and LSP service availability delivered in 2005 and to date in 2006 compared to contracted service levels is shown in the following tables.
| Spine services | |||
| Period | Total targeted availability in user minutes (million) | Total actual availability delivered in user minutes (million) | Percentage variance against target |
| Note: The contracted requirement was for the system to be available to users 99.8 per cent of the time up to March 2005, and 99.9 per cent of the time from April 2005 | |||
| LSP services | |||
| Period | Total targeted availability in user minutes (million) | Total actual availability delivered in user minutes (million) | Percentage variance against target |
Details of service availability for live services, measured against contracted target availability, is routinely published, and updated weekly, on the NHS Connecting for Health website at:
www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/delivery/servicemanagement/statistics/operational
Dentistry
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has received representations from trainee dentists or organisations acting on their behalf regarding a failure to pay salaries to trainees; whether funding for trainee dentists is provided by strategic health authorities; and if she will make a statement. [91636]
Ms Rosie Winterton: One of our objectives in delegating the commissioning of primary care dental services to primary care trusts was to improve the quality of services through the enhancement of vocational training.
With the abolition of the dental assistant status, all dentists graduating from dental schools in the United Kingdom who wish to practise in the national health service have to undertake one year’s vocational training. In order to ensure that funds for payments to trainers and the vocational dental practitioners were appropriately distributed for 2006-07, we delayed their allocation to strategic health authorities until we had information on the placement of students graduating in July. During the period from April to July, the Department had a number of inquiries from SHAs and individual dental practices about these new arrangements which have now been resolved.
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists providing NHS treatment are available in (a) Edmonton constituency, (b) the London borough of Enfield and (c) Greater London; and if she will make a statement. [90157]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of NHS dental performers on open contracts in the specified strategic health authority and primary care trust as at 30 June 2006 is provided in the following table. Information is collected by primary care trust and strategic health authority area and is provided in this format.
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. The new NHS dental contract was introduced on 1 April 2006. Data from this date are not comparable with numbers provided under the old contractual arrangements. 2. A performer is defined as a dentist who has been set up on the dental practice division Payments online system by the PCT to work under an open contract as at 30 June 2006. Data provided are a count of the individuals listed as performers on open contracts. 3. Under the new contract arrangements PCTs agree a specified annual level of NHS dental treatment, known as units of dental activity. 4. In some cases an NHS dentist may appear on a PCT list but not perform any NHS work in that period. 5. Data consists of performers in general dental services, personal dental services and trust-led dental services. 6. Data as per report run by the DPD of the NHS business services authority on 31 August 2006. 7. Figures for the numbers of dentists at specified dates may vary depending on the date the figures are compiled. This is because the NHS business services authority may be notified of joiners or leavers up to several months, or more, after the move has taken place. Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS business services authority. | |
Disease Awareness Campaigns
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on disease awareness campaigns for (a) cervical cancer and (b) human papillomavirus in the last five years. [90237]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of 80 viruses, some of which are known to cause cervical cancer and genital warts. We have not funded any campaigns specifically to raise awareness of HPV.
Genital warts were included in the Sex Lottery campaign (2002-04), to which the Department contributed £2 million. Additionally, as part of their Department of Health funded work, the Family Planning Association produce an information leaflet on genital warts.
Raising awareness of cervical cancer is an integral activity in the running of the national health service cervical screening programme, but the amount spent on raising awareness cannot be disaggregated from the programme's overall expenditure.
Drugs Rehabilitation
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated for drug rehabilitation centres and courses in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07 in (i) England and (ii) the region of Merseyside; and what the estimate is for 2007-08. [89305]
Caroline Flint:
We are unable to determine specific allocated funding for drug rehabilitation centres and courses. The pooled drug treatment budget (PTB), is allocated to drug action teams throughout the country, who use the funding to commission all forms of drug treatment services to best meet local need. The PTB for 2005-06 and 2006-07 is shown in table 1, in addition to
estimated local mainstream funding. The allocation in these years for DATs within Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority is shown in table 2. We are unable to estimate drug treatment allocations for 2007-08.
| Table 1:Yearly funding | |||
| £ million | |||
| PTB | Local mainstream funding | Total | |
| Table 2:Cheshire and Merseyside SHA | |
| £ million | |
Emergency Readmissions
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 13 September 2006, Official Report, column 2275W, on emergency readmissions, when she plans to publish the conclusions from the National Centre for Health Outcomes Development on emergency readmissions. [92419]
Andy Burnham: The National Centre for Health Outcomes Development intends to report the results of its research on emergency readmissions to the Department in the first half of next year. Ministers will consider their advice and take any decisions on the publication of NCHOD’s conclusions at the appropriate time.
Eye Services
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she has taken in 2006 to improve community and hospital eye services. [91600]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The current review of general ophthalmic services is looking at ways of supporting the national health service in providing more integrated services across primary and secondary care and greater choice for patients.
We are currently piloting model care pathways as developed by the eye care services steering group for glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and low vision. Learning from the pilots and their developing evidence base will be shared with the NHS to support wider implementation.
From December 2008, no patient will have to wait longer than 18 weeks from GP referral to the start of hospital treatment. All consultant-led eye services will fall within this 18 week patient pathway.
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures she has taken to promote eye health awareness. [91601]
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