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8 Nov 2006 : Column 1822W—continued
Health Trust Staff
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) non-voluntary redundancies, (b) voluntary redundancies and (c) vacant posts remaining unfilled in each of the last six months in Mid Essex Hospital Trust have been notified to her Department; and what projections of figures in each case up to 31 December 2006 the trust has notified her Department. [99651]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information collected from Strategic Health Authorities on the number of compulsory and voluntary redundancies broken down by trust in the six months to 30 September 2006 is being placed in the Library (PQ 15197).
Information on the number of vacant posts remaining unfilled in each of the last six months and the requested information on projections is not collected centrally.
Health Visitors
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have been working in the Aylesbury Vale area in each of the last five years. [92948]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is as follows.
| National health service hospital and community health services: qualified health visitors in each specified organisation as at 30 September each specified year. | |||||
| Headcount | |||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census | |||||
In October 2006, Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire, Vale of Aylesbury and Wycombe Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) merged to form Buckinghamshire PCT. In the Buckinghamshire PCT area, numbers of PCT-based practice nurses have increased from 198 in 2001 to 216 in 2005.
I understand that the new re-redesigned health visitor service is now made up of a skill mix of health visitors and nursery nurses. In terms of the increase in community nursing component, there has been a target for the trust to recruit 17 community matrons by March 2007. These nurses work with patients with long-term conditions.
It is the responsibility of PCTs and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services using the most appropriate skill mix of different types of primary care and community care nurses.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors worked in the Tees Valley in each of the last five years. [96206]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
Health White Paper
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 452W, on the Health White Paper, when she expects the review of walk-in centre funding arrangements to be complete; whether she plans to publish the review in full; and if she will make a statement. [91809]
Caroline Flint: Fieldwork to inform the review is now well advanced and we plan to publish the review report in the new year.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 453W, on the Health White Paper, when she plans to run the campaign to increase awareness and understanding of direct payments. [97736]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department is working with stakeholders, including local authorities and the Commission for Social Care Inspection, to increase uptake. This includes planning a national campaign to raise public awareness of direct payments. In addition, the Government are seeking to extend direct payments to those without capacity to consent to them. This will require legislative changes so the timing will depend on the parliamentary timetable.
HIV/AIDS
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when a finalised version of the Government's report to the 2006 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS will be published. [92805]
Caroline Flint: The Department published a final version of the Government's report on monitoring the UNAIDS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS on 6 November which we have also sent to UNAIDS. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to submit proposed legislation amending the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 to pre-legislative scrutiny. [98756]
Caroline Flint: The Government intend to publish policy proposals shortly, following the Department's review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The Government accept that the benefits of wide consultation and scrutiny are especially appropriate to this ethically contentious area, and will give serious consideration to publishing any legislation to revise the 1990 Act in draft for pre-legislative scrutiny.
Incontinence
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what (a) steps the Government have taken and (b) resources it has allocated to ensure that the recently published National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on urinary incontinence are followed; [100229]
(2) what the NHS budget is in 2006-07 for provision of incontinence services; [100228]
(3) what treatment for incontinence is provided by the NHS; [100274]
(4) which stakeholders are working on the development of commissioning guidance on incontinence services; and how many meetings of the stakeholder group have been held in 2006; [100231]
(5) what the timetable is for publication of the commissioning guidance on incontinence services; [100232]
(6) how many primary care trusts provide an integrated incontinence service; [100230]
(7) what progress the Government have made in delivering the commitment in the National Service Framework for Older People to establish integrated incontinence services by April 2004; [100234]
(8) when the second National Audit of Continence Care for Older People is expected to be published. [100233]
Andy Burnham: We have established the independent Healthcare Commission, which is charged with ensuring compliance with national guidelines, including National Service Frameworks (NSFs) and guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE have estimated that full implementation of the guideline on incontinence will save about £3 million a year nationally, or about £46,000 a year for a primary care trust serving a population of 300,000 which will determine how to re-invest any savings for the benefit of the people they serve.
It is for professionals in primary care trusts to commission services for local people, based on current and forecast needs and in consultation with stakeholders, rather than operate within fixed budgets for continence care.
A range of services are provided by the national health service for people with continence needs, including free continence pads and a variety of clinical interventions.
We have commissioned guidance on a number of key issues, one of which is continence services, which will form part of a high-level report to the Secretary of State in 2007 on developing services for older people with complex needs. The National Director for Older People has convened an Older People’s Specialist Forum comprising national leaders from medicine, occupational therapy, nursing and allied health professions, including mental health and the independent sector along with the Department’s specialist clinical advisers. The forum meets quarterly.
As part of monitoring the implementation of the NSF for Older People, an initial audit of continence services has been undertaken by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) on behalf of the Healthcare Commission, and supported by the National Director for Older People. It indicated that less than half of primary care trusts included in the initial survey had met the target. The RCP re-audited the service between 3 July 2006 and 13 September 2006 and will publish the findings in November of this year.
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