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7 Nov 2006 : Column 1240W—continued
Mrs. Iris Robinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients in each health
trust area in the Province are waiting for (a) paediatric cardiology inpatient admission and (b) initial paediatric cardiology outpatient assessment. [99477]
Paul Goggins: The total number of children waiting for (a) paediatric cardiology in-patient admission and (b) initial paediatric cardiology out-patient assessment (first outpatient appointment) for each applicable health trust at 31 October 2006 is shown in the following table:
| Children waiting for initial paediatric cardiology assessment at 31 October 2006 | ||
| Total waiting for paediatric cardiology | ||
| HSS trust | (a) In-patient Admission | (b) Out-patient Appointment |
| (1) Only the Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust has a paediatric cardiology inpatient service. (2) Craigavon Area Hospital Group Trust provided numbers waiting at 30 September 2006. (3) Altnagelvin Group Trust provided numbers waiting at 28 October 2006. Source: Health and Social Service Trusts. | ||
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many patients in each health trust area in the Province (a) had an initial paediatric cardiology outpatient assessment and (b) were admitted to hospital for paediatric cardiology in each of the last five years. [99478]
Paul Goggins: The following table shows the total number of children that had an initial paediatric cardiology outpatient assessment in each of the last five years from 2000-01 to 2005-06 for each applicable health trust.
| Number of children having an initial paediatric cardiology assessment 2001-02 to 2005-06 | |||||
| HSS trust | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
| (1 )Figures not yet available for 2005-06 for Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust and Causeway Hospitals HSS Trust could not provide figures for 2001-02. (2 )Craigavon Group Trust provided numbers waiting for 2005-06 only, as prior to March 2005 they included all paediatric cardiology in the paediatrics specialty. Source: Health and Social Service Trusts. | |||||
The number of children admitted to hospital for paediatric cardiology is not available.
Paramilitary Activity
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of levels of loyalist paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland. [99524]
Paul Goggins: As the latest IMC report confirmed, while there are some encouraging signs within loyalism that the leadership is seeking to bring paramilitary and criminal activity to an end, this is not yet reflected throughout the entire membership.
Parliamentary Questions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 11 October 2006, Official Report, column 786W, on parliamentary questions, which questions tabled by (a) hon. Members other than the hon. Member for Upper Bann and (b) peers have been answered on the basisof drafts prepared by the British Irish Inter-Governmental Secretariat since 5 May 2005. [96148]
Mr. Hain: It has not been possible to answer this question before the end of the current parliamentary session.
Pharmaceuticals
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the potential impact on patients in the Province of proposed changes in the pharmaceutical wholesale trade. [99307]
Paul Goggins: Pfizer have recently announced changes in their UK supply and distribution arrangements for prescription medicines effective from March 2007. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety are seeking clarification and assurances from Pfizer in relation to their plans for implementing the new arrangements in Northern Ireland. In particular the Department will be asking for assurances about the future supply and pricing of prescription medicines. Until this information is available it is not possible to make an assessment of the potential impact of the changes on patients here.
Physiotherapists
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many physiotherapy students graduated in Northern Ireland in the last academic year; how many of those graduates have been employed as NHS physiotherapists; and what the average cost is of training a physiotherapy student in Northern Ireland. [99569]
Paul Goggins: 72 physiotherapy students graduated from the University of Ulster at the end of the last academic year.
The number of those graduates who have taken up employment within the NHS is not available. However, the number of new appointees joining the HPSS at a junior physiotherapy grade for the period March 2005
to March 2006 is 69. These joiners may include: new graduates, staff transferring from the private sector, staff from other countries or staff returning after a period of unpaid leave.
The average cost of training a physiotherapy student is currently £35,000.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average waiting time is for an appointment with a physiotherapist in Northern Ireland. [99570]
Paul Goggins: Information on the average waiting time for an appointment with a physiotherapist is not collected centrally. However, information is collected on completed waiting times for a first out-patient appointment of an episode of care with a community physiotherapist. The total number of persons attending their first out-patient appointment, and their waiting times are shown in the table, in respect of the quarter ending 31 March 2006, the latest date for which such information is available. 18,241 persons attended their first out-patient appointment with a community physiotherapist. Of these, 921 (5 per cent.) had waited for six months or more.
| Time waiting | ||||
| Board area | Patients attending first appointment | Less than 3 months | 3 to 6 months | 6 months or over |
| Source: Departmental Information return CP3. | ||||
Planning
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many outstanding planning applications there are in each municipal area in Northern Ireland; and how long on average it takes to deal with such an application. [92992]
David Cairns: The number of outstanding planning applications and average processing times per Council area are detailed in Tables A and B as follows.
Table A shows the number of outstanding planning applications by Council area at 30 September 2006.
| Table A | |
| District council area | Outstanding |
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