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21 Nov 2006 : Column 76Wcontinued
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken of sporting activity in developing the Healthy Living Social Marketing Strategy. [101622]
Caroline Flint: An extensive stakeholder engagement programme has informed the development of the draft healthy living social marketing strategy to tackle obesity in children under 11 years, including contributions and an ongoing dialogue with sports-related agencies and sports governing bodies.
The Department has also worked in partnership with sports clubs and sports governing bodies to increase physical activity and disseminate health messages to children, young people and adults, for example through business in the communitys Clubs that Count scheme and the teenage health demonstration sites programme.
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she has taken to ensure that NHS financial turn-around teams have no conflict of interest with accountancy companies auditing NHS hospital annual accounts. [100574]
Andy Burnham: Financial turnaround teams are appointed locally and both the national health service and advisory firms assess the scope of work and potential conflicts in interest. There is a shared responsibility to avoid conflicts in interest between advisory firms and clients, who have robust processes to assess any risk in this regard.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why goat milk proteins may not be used in infant formula milk; and what assessment she has made of the effects of goat milk proteins on the health of young babies. [101465]
Caroline Flint: The sources of protein permitted for use in the manufacture of infant formula and follow-on formula are restricted to cows milk or soya protein by European Union wide legislation.
It is for the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to assess the safety and efficacy of sources of protein for use in infant formula. In early 2006, EFSA concluded that there are insufficient data to establish the suitability of goats milk protein as a protein source in infant formula. As a result, the Department does not recommend the use of goats milk protein in foods used for infant nutrition purposes.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussion her Department has had with local health NHS trusts on minor injuries facilities in Northamptonshire over the last month. [100569]
Andy Burnham: It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to commission services for their local populations and to work with the local health community and other stakeholders to plan, develop and improve health services to meet the needs of the community.
NHS East Midlands reports that Northamptonshire PCT and Kettering General Hospital National Health Service Trust have agreed to keep the Corby minor injuries unit open.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the 100 MRI scanners and 200 CT scanners identified as necessary in the Department of Health's Government action plan on epilepsy services (2003) have been procured; [101130]
(2) what estimate she has made of the proportion of people being treated for epilepsy who are not being treated by a specialist; [101132]
(3) what the misdiagnosis rate is for epilepsy; [101133]
(4) what targets her Department has set relating to (a) long-term monitoring, (b) reduction of mortality, (c) severe morbidity and (d) diagnostic accuracy for epilepsy. [101240]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has not set targets for long-term monitoring, reduction in mortality, severe morbidity or diagnostic accuracy for epilepsy. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published, in October 2004, a clinical guideline for the diagnosis and management of epilepsies in adults and children in primary and secondary care. This guideline makes recommendations for treatment and care provided by general practitioners and by specialists. Local health bodies should review their existing practice for epilepsy to implement these recommendations.
Information on the proportion of those being treated for epilepsy who are not being treated by a specialist is not collected.
Information on the misdiagnosis rate for epilepsy is not collected.
Since the start of 2003 the national health service has purchased 157 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners and 131 computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanners.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) specialist epileptic care nurses and (b) agency staff who deal with epilepsy are employed in (i) Greater London, broken down by London borough, and (ii) England; [101247]
(2) which primary care trusts (a) have and (b) do not have equipment that can accurately assess different types of epilepsy in (i) Greater London, broken down by London borough, and (ii) England. [101249]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected centrally on the number of specialist epilepsy care nurses, or agency staff, employed in the national health service.
Nurse specialist roles have been developed to address the unmet care needs for people with a variety of neurological conditions, including epilepsy. Specialist epilepsy nurses provide an additional clinical resource and have spearheaded the development of nurse-led and fast access clinics, monitoring treatment regimes and seizure control, support and information on aspects of medication and side effects and lifestyle precautions.
Specialist epilepsy nurse posts were developed through the British Epilepsy Association, now Epilepsy Action, in association with the Wellcome Foundation. There are a number of funding mechanisms supporting their development including the voluntary sector, pharmaceutical industry and the NHS.
Information on the type of equipment used for the diagnosis of epilepsy owned by each trust is not collected centrally.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children with epilepsy are being educated in mainstream (a) primary and (b) secondary schools. [101253]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of children with epilepsy attending mainstream schools is not collected.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) adults and (b) children suffer from (i) all forms and (ii) severe forms of epilepsy in (A) Greater London, broken down by London borough, and (B) England; [101257]
(2) how many (a) adults and (b) children suffering from epilepsy require full-time specialist care in (i) Greater London, broken down by London borough, and (ii) England. [101256]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on the number of adults and children living with, and requiring full-time specialist care for, epilepsy is not collected.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to complete its consideration of continuous positive airway pressure for people with sleep apnoea. [101096]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We understand that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) expects to publish its technology appraisal guidance on sleep apnoeacontinuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) in January 2008. Further information is available on NICEs website at: www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=350198.
Sir Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will introduce free NHS prescriptions for higher education students. [101634]
Andy Burnham: The Government announced a review of prescription charges on 17 October 2006 in response to the Health Select Committees report on national health service charges. The review will consider changes to prescription charge exemptions on the basis that these are cost-neutral for the NHS.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts do not have a rheumatology multi-disciplinary team for assessing patients. [101423]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information is not available centrally.
The musculoskeletal services framework is supporting improvements in the care offered to people with musculoskeletal disorders. The development of multidisciplinary clinical assessment and treatment services are central to the frameworks delivery, identifying those who can benefit from rapid help locally and those who will need hospital referral.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding she makes available for the provision of talking books for blind and partially sighted people in hospital. [101445]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We recognise that schemes like talking books are important in meeting the needs of some disabled people because they provide accessible materials and thereby extend the range of leisure and learning opportunities available to them. This contributes to improving their quality of life.
The Department itself provides no direct help but it is up to individual hospitals to provide services that best meet the needs of their patients.
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time is for patients for dynamic psychotherapy in the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. [101461]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not held centrally.
The Government are committed to improving mental health services and this is why we support increasing the availability of evidence-based psychological therapies through our programme Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), which began in May 2006. We made improving the availability of psychological therapies a manifesto commitment in 2005, and it was a commitment we also made in the Our health, our care, our say White Paper. The need to increase access to psychological therapies was also highlighted by Professor Louis Appleby, the national director for mental health, in his 2004 report on the progress made in implementing the national service framework for mental health.
IAPT will provide a more effective and timely access to psychological therapies for people with mild to moderate mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, and will increase the choice of treatments available to mental health service users.
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the waiting time is for (a) all minor surgery and (b) circumcision at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. [101460]
Andy Burnham: Waiting times data at procedure level is not available in the format requested. However, waiting times for circumcision at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust is in the following table.
Count of finished admissions and median time waited for circumcisions at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, 2004-05 | |
Number/days | |
320 | |
Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Main operation: The main operation is the first recorded operation in the HES data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main operation when looking at admission details, e.g. time waited, but the figures for all operations count of episodes give a more complete count of episodes with an operation. 3. Time waited (days): Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension. 4. Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 5. Data quality: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care |
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