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20 Oct 2006 : Column 1475W—continued
Carers
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the commitment contained in the White Paper, “Our health, Our care, Our say”, for training all staff who look after people at the end of their lives, will incorporate staff working in care homes. [92270]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The programme of action outlined in “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say” sets out a clear direction for end of life care, which will deliver increased choice to all patients, regardless of their age or condition, about where they live and die, and provide them with the support to make this possible. The continuation of the current end of life care programme is a key part of this wider plan of action. The end of life care programme is providing training to staff in all settings, including care homes, in the principles of palliative and end of life care.
Cervical Screening
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to speed up the results of cervical screening; and if she will make a statement. [93806]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government are committed to reducing waiting times for the results of cervical screening. In order to inform a way forward, national health service cancer screening programmes commissioned a formal options appraisal from the School of Health and Related Research in Sheffield.
Officials are now considering the findings of the report with key stakeholders, including the advisory committee on cervical screening. A series of possible actions to speed up the results of cervical screening are being developed, and advice will be sent to the national health service in due course.
Community/Cottage Hospitals
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which community hospitals and cottage hospitals which have closed since 1997. [95401]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 19 October 2006]: This information is not collected centrally.
Continuing Health Care
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate she has made of the number of people who will meet the eligibility criteria for NHS continuing health care which are set out in the Government’s proposals for a new national framework for NHS continuing health care; [92277]
(2) what additional resources are being made available to finance the Government’s proposals for a national framework for NHS continuing health care. [92278]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The public consultation on the national framework for national health service continuing health care closed on 22 September and participants’ comments are currently being collated.
Until this process is completed, it will not be possible to make a decision about funding levels and no estimate of the number of individuals eligible for NHS funding can be made. However, the national framework will not change the existing legal basis for the provision of NHS continuing health care. Fully funded NHS continuing health care will continue to be provided for all those individuals whose primary need is a health need.
Correspondence
Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will reply to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire’s letter of 11 July about the closure of the residential side of Osborne Court community unit. [95697]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A reply was sent on 18 October 2006.
Health Act
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for the publication of regulations made under the Health Act 2006; and if she will make a statement. [95499]
Caroline Flint: The Health Act 2006 contains a wide range of regulation-making powers, covering issues such as smoke-free premises, pharmaceutical services, ophthalmic services, the Appointments Commission and the national health service cost recovery scheme. The timetable for publication of regulations also varies considerably, depending on the circumstances in each case. The following regulations have already been published:
draft regulations, “Smoke-free premises and vehicles”, were published for consultation on 17 July. The consultation finished on 9 October 2006 and Ministers are considering the responses before publishing final regulations; and
regulations in respect of the Appointments Commission were made on 4 September and came into force on 1 October 2006 (SI2006/2380).
Other regulations will be published in due course.
Health Funding
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total unified financial allocation to each primary care trust (PCT) for 2006-07; and what was the allocation per head of population for each PCT. [92813]
Andy Burnham: Revenue allocations were made to 303 primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2006-07. The information placed in the Library shows these and the allocation per head of population.
The number of PCTs was reduced from 303 to 152 on 1 October 2006.
Isoft
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what risks there are for the National Health Service posed by the financial losses of isoft. [91976]
Caroline Flint: The national health service currently uses iSOFT products extensively outside the national programme for information technology (IT) in the NHS. In light of the financial statements made by iSOFT, Connecting for Health reminded all NHS trusts that it was normal best practice to ensure that copies of the software they use is held in escrow allowed within their own locally owned contracts.
Connecting for Health, the agency delivering the national programme for IT, does not contract directly with iSOFT. iSOFT is contracted to deliver clinical software to local service providers in three of the five clusters. One of the local service providers, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), has agreed with iSOFT additional rights to step in and undertake the management of development of iSOFT’s Lorenzo software in the event that iSOFT fails to meet its agreed delivery targets.
This additional right by CSC adds greater certainty to the delivery of the Lorenzo product for the NHS in England.
Lyme Disease
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the number of people with Lyme disease who are not receiving treatment for their illness. [93458]
Caroline Flint: The information is not collected centrally.
Missed Hospital Appointments
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the percentage of missed appointments was in each hospital in London in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the financial costs were for each hospital. [95692]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information has been placed in the Library. The Department has not made an estimate on the cost of missed appointments.
National Tariff
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what market forces factor variation from the national tariff presently applies to each provider NHS trust. [92807]
Andy Burnham: The following table shows the market forces factor applicable under payment by results in 2006-07.
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