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24 Oct 2006 : Column 1846W—continued
Health Services (Prisons)
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what mechanisms are deployed to ensure appropriate financial management of funds allocated to provide health services in prisons; and if she will make a statement; [96154]
(2) if she will assess the (a) role and (b) funding for primary care trusts in the provision of health services in prisons; and if she will make a statement. [96155]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Allocations are made to primary care trusts (PCTs) for the provision of healthcare services in prisons. At present, these funds are provided in addition to baseline budgets. Their use is audited by the Audit Commission in line with their overall duty to monitor financial management in the national health service.
The role of PCTs in commissioning prison health services is continually assessed. The Healthcare Commission is responsible for assessing the performance of NHS bodies, and so prison health services are reviewed as part of the overall assessment of each PCTs performance.
Health services inside prisons are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) under arrangements set out in a formal memorandum of understanding with the Healthcare Commission. HMIP will continue to inspect against their expectations, which are revised against NHS standards ‘Better Standards for Health’, for the quality of the delivery of services.
This memorandum is available on the Healthcare Commission website at:
www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/_db/_documents/MoU_HM_Inspectorate_of_Prisons.pdf
Prison health partnership boards oversee the management of prison health services in every prison. These boards comprise prison governors, PCT commissioners, PCT directors of finance, strategic health authority prison health leads, and heads of healthcare. These partnerships are expected to target investment and improvement on priorities identified in local health needs assessments and prison health improvement plans.
Investment in prison health services is increasing. In total, the Government will be investing around £200 million on prison health services in 2006-07—a substantial increase on the £118 million spent in 2002-03.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the (a) demand for and (b) access to dental services within the prison estate; and if she will make a statement. [96156]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
In April 2003, the Department and Her Majesty's Prison Service produced a strategy for modernising prison health services. This included a recommendation that, as a guide, prisons should aim to provide at least one dental session per week for every 250 prisoners. The strategy was backed by a three-year investment programme of £4.75 million, with a top priority being to reduce waiting lists for dental treatment. All prisons in England have produced action
plans outlining how they will meet the requirements of the strategy including improving access to dental care.
In April 2005, the primary care trusts (PCTs) that host prisons became responsible for commissioning services, including dental services, to meet the healthcare needs of prisoners. PCTs are now responsible for assessing needs and developing services to reflect these needs.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) provision and (b) availability is of (i) eye tests and (ii) professional opticians within prison establishments; and if she will make a statement. [96158]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Prisoners are eligible for free sight tests and any necessary optical appliances under the national health service, and they are exempt from any NHS charges. Funding for optical services, and decisions on optical services and opticians available inside the prison, are the responsibility of the commissioning primary care trust.
Health Visitors and Nursery Nurses
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) health visitors and (b) nursery nurses were employed by each primary care trust in (i) 2001 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available. [95959]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 23 October 2006]: Information on the number of health visitors and nursery nurses in each primary care trust in 2001 and 2005 has been placed in the Library. Although there have been decreases more recently in health visitors, the overall number of nurses working in primary and community care settings has risen by 28,504 to 102,364 between 1997 and 2005, an increase of nearly 37 per cent.
Hospital Closures
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department have had with (i) the former Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority, (ii) the South West Strategic Health Authority, (iii) West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust and (iv) Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to discuss hospital closures in Gloucestershire; and if she will place in the Library copies of the records of those meetings. [92348]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: On July 25, during a visit to the NHS South West area, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Sir lan Carruthers, then chief executive of the national health service, had a meeting at Cirencester. The meeting was with local stakeholders including representatives from NHS organisations in the Gloucestershire area.
On 10 July my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) the Minister of State for Health, had a meeting in Richmond House with the chair and interim chief executive of the new NHS South West.
On 21 September, during a visit to North Bristol Hospitals NHS Trust, I had a meeting with the chief
executive of the NHS South West and interim chief executive of the NHS South West.
During these meetings, a range of issues were discussed, including the public consultation from 12 June to 4 September on reconfiguration of services in Gloucestershire.
Mental Health
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) What assessment she has made of the impact the proposed withdrawal of Ebixa will have on the treatment of people in the later stages of Alzheimer's with particular reference to behavioural symptoms. [91993]
(2) What assessment she has made of the impact of the recommendations of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the prescription of Alzheimer’s drugs on (a) people with dementia, (b) carers of people with dementia and (c) families of people with dementia. [91995]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: I refer my hon. Friend to the replies I gave on 13 July 2006, Official Report, column 2035-36W.
Misdiagnosis
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned into the (i) prevalence and (ii) cost of misdiagnosis within the national health service. [91338]
Andy Burnham: The Department does not undertake research centrally.
The patient safety research portfolio (PSRP) was set up to promote patient safety research in the wake of the publication of the chief medical officer’s report “An Organisation with a Memory” and received central funding until 2005. The university of Birmingham manages PSRP and under this programme the following research project has been commissioned:
“Threats to patient safety in primary care: A review of the research into the frequency and nature of error in primary care”, Dr. John Sanders and Dr. Aneez Esmail at the university of Manchester. The full report is available on the Patient Safety Research Programme website at www.pcpoh.bham.ac.uk/publichealth/psrp
The clinical safety research unit, department of biosurgery and surgical technology, at Imperial College London and the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) have also commissioned a one-year exploratory study, it is looking at the nature of misdiagnosis reported to the national reporting and learning system, which is operated by the NPSA. The results of this study are in the process of being analysed.
Under the National Institute for Health Research, the Department is setting up a small number of research centres for national health service patient safety and service quality. The aim of these centres will be to fund research to drive forward improvements in
quality and effectiveness, particularly in the domain of safety of NHS services and translate advances in health services research in patient safety into benefits for patients and the public. Funding will be available in 2007.
Over 75 per cent. of the Department’s total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of individual projects, including a number concerned with misdiagnosis of particular conditions, are available on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research
Missed Appointments
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the causes for missed appointments in each NHS trust; and what the cost of missed appointments was in each of the last five years. [92205]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on the causes of missed appointments is not collected centrally and the Department has not made an estimate of the cost of such missed appointments. The choose and book system, which is being implemented across the national health service will give patients greater certainty and choice over the time and date of their hospital appointment and will help reduce the number and cost of missed appointments.
Neonatal Care
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds she has allocated for the training of nurses in neonatal care. [91712]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally. The Department allocated the vast majority of national health service central budgets to strategic health authorities (SHAs) as a single bundle of budgets. This includes £3.7 billion for work force programmes, such as training and education. It is for SHAs to decide, in consultation with other local stakeholders, how to deploy this funding.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to include level three neonatal intensive care within the scope of payment by results. [90296]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There are currently no tariffs for neonatal intensive care. Critical care services for children are outside the scope of payment by results, and funding for the service continues to be locally negotiated between commissioners and providers. The range of services covered by payment by results is kept under review.
New Hospitals
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what new hospitals have been built in each of the last 30 years; and what the cost of each was in real terms. [93933]
Andy Burnham:
Information on new hospital schemes in England with a real terms capital value of over £25 million was collated for the years 1980-97 in an exercise in 1999. Since 1997 information has also been collected centrally by the Department for all
schemes over £10 million, but for these years information only for those schemes over £25 million is provided in the table to enable like for like comparisons.
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