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29 Nov 2006 : Column 791W—continued
working with NHS organisations and staff, especially on workforce development issues;
working with NHS prime or first tier suppliers and getting them to understand the legal responsibility to the RRA and review their own work practices in relation to BME communities;
promoting the use of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and BME suppliers in particular, as a means of promoting race equality.
The Department in collaboration with NHS Employers has published a disability equality guide which gives practical best practice advice on how NHS organisations might produce a disability equality scheme that sets out how they will meet their statutory duty to promote disability equality. The disability equality duty comes into effect on 4 December 2006.
In preparation for the gender equality duty which comes into force in April 2007, the Department is in the process of developing a gender equality duty guide to assist NHS organisations meet the duties of the gender duty legislation.
Health Service Reorganisation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments for (a) redundancies and (b) additional pension contributions have been made as a result of (i) strategic health authority (SHA) and (ii) primary care trust (PCT) reorganisations by each PCT and SHA in England. [100775]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
HIV/Tuberculosis/Malaria
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) HIV, (b) tuberculosis and (c) malaria were diagnosed in Shropshire in each year since 1997; and how many of these were of people (i) born in the UK and (ii) not born in the UK. [101919]
Caroline Flint: The information requested is provided in the tables:
Adults aged 15 and over diagnosed with HIV. By year and county of diagnosis (Shropshire), for the period 1997 to 2005. (These data represent the cumulative total as at the end of September 2006).
| Number | |
| (1) These data include individuals who have an existing diagnosed HIV infection and may include occasional duplicates for the same individual where records with different information could not be reconciled. The data are based on reports received up to the end of September 2006 and these numbers may rise as further reports are received (particularly true for more recent years). Source: Health Protection Agency | |
Adults aged 15 and over diagnosed with HIV. By year, county of diagnosis (Shropshire) and probable country of birth, for the period 2000 to 2005. (These data represent the cumulative total as at the end of September 2006. Data on country of birth were not collected prior to 2000).
| Country of birth( 1) | Total |
| (1) These data include individuals who have an existing diagnosed HIV infection and may include occasional duplicates for the same individual where records with different information could not be reconciled. The data are based on reports received up to the end of September 2006 and these numbers may rise as further reports are received (particularly true for more recent years). Source: Health Protection Agency | |
Cases of tuberculosis in Shropshire 1998 to 2005 by country of birth.
| Country of birth | Total |
| Data sources: National Tuberculosis Survey (1998), and HPA enhanced tuberculosis surveillance (1999 to 2005). 1997 data were collected through the Statutory Notification of Infectious Disease system and are not comparable with the later data collection system, and have therefore not been included. 2006 data not yet available. | |
Cases of malaria reported to HPA malaria reference laboratory diagnosed in Shropshire by country of birth; 1997 to 2005.
| Country of birth | Total |
| Note: Aggregated data have been used for each infection rather than annual data in view of the risk of deductive disclosure. Source: HPA malaria reference laboratory. | |
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each GP practice in Shropshire, including those in Telford and Wrekin, were diagnosed with tuberculosis in each year from 1996 to 2005. [100577]
Caroline Flint: Data by GP practice are not available centrally.
Maternity Care
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance is given to hospital trusts on the minimum advisable distance between a consultant-led maternity unit and midwife-led maternity units; [100847]
(2) what discussions she has had with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on a national strategy for maternity services. [100857]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Neither the Department nor the Royal Colleges have prepared guidance on the minimum advisable distance between a consultant-led maternity unit and midwife-led maternity units. Distance alone should not be the only factor as safety, risk and travelling times are equally important. Any woman and maternity professional discussing the planned place of birth should share relevant general information, then during labour make continuing decisions taking this into account. Ultimately, care should be provided within a framework that ensures that the safety of the mother and baby are paramount and that considers factors such as distance, travel times and weather conditions.
The Department has been working on a delivery plan for maternity services. A maternity standard implementation advisory group, on which many stakeholders, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), other royal colleges and voluntary organisations are represented, has been established and has helped develop the delivery plan. We have already held one bilateral meeting with the RCOG with a further one scheduled later in November jointly with the Royal College of Midwives and the National Childbirth Trust, specifically to discuss this plan further. A meeting between the president of the RCOG and Mr. Lewis, the Minister for Care Services, will be held on 27 November.
Matrons
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many modern matrons were employed in the NHS in each year since 2001. [101711]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of modern matrons were recorded for the first time in the 2005 national health service work force census which showed there were 1,606 modern matrons in the NHS in England.
Mental Health Services
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many beds are available for working-age mental health patients in Gloucestershire in (a) low, (b) medium and (c) high-security units; and on how many occasions capacity has been reached or exceeded in the last two years. [101446]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Gloucestershire does not have any local providers of high-security services as these are only provided on three sites, which are Ashworth, Rampton and Broadmoor hospitals.
The average daily number of available and occupied secure unit mental health beds in Gloucestershire for the years 2004-05 and 2005-06 is shown in the following table.
| Org code | Organisation | Number |
| Notes: 1. The latest available data are for 2005-06. 2. The Department collects the total number of available and occupied bed days in the financial year. The average daily number of available and occupied beds is calculated from these figures, so that we do not have data on the actual occupancy rate on a given day. 3. The Department collects data on all secure unit beds, with no breakdown between low, medium and high security beds. Source: Department of Health dataset KH03 | ||
MRI Waiting Times
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the waiting time is for an MRI scan to investigate a trapped nerve in the neck at the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. [101313]
(2) what the waiting time is for an MRI scan for a trapped nerve in the shoulder at the Coventry and Walsgrave hospitals. [102028]
Andy Burnham: The information is not available in the format requested. The latest available information on waiting times for MRI scans is shown in the following table.
| Diagnostic provider waiting statistics for the University Hospital of Warwickshire NHS Trust—MRI-scan (week ending 30 September 2006) | |
| Time in weeks | Number |
Neurology/Epilepsy
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many trained paediatric neurologists there are in England; and how many specialise in epilepsy. [101131]
Ms Rosie Winterton: As at 30 September 2005 there were 6,680 medical staff identified as working in the paediatric specialty in the national health service in England, of whom 59 were employed in paediatric neurology.
Information on the number of paediatric neurologists specialising in epilepsy is not collected centrally.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress her Department’s Government action plan on epilepsy services in England has made in addressing the problems raised in the National Sentinel Audit of Epilepsy-Related Deaths in May 2002; [101242]
(2) which (a) primary care trusts and (b) strategic health authorities in (i) Greater London, broken down by London borough, and (ii) England have (A) taken up her Department’s suggestion that they review local epilepsy services in the light of the National Sentinel Audit of Epilepsy-Related Deaths findings and (B) addressed any shortfalls as part of their local delivery plans; [101239]
(3) what discussions her Department has had with the Royal Colleges on informing epilepsy patients about the management of and the risks associated with the condition. [101374]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Although the specific cause of sudden death by epilepsy (SUDEP) is unknown, the risks of sudden death are considered to be greater for those patients whose epilepsy is poorly controlled. Action to reduce SUDEP has therefore concentrated on improving epilepsy services in general, raising awareness of SUDEP among those living with epilepsy and their families, and the introduction of new more effective drugs to control seizures.
We have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to produce clinical guidelines for the diagnosis, management and treatment of epilepsy. This guidance, published in October 2004, specifically covers the importance of informing patients and their families of the risks of sudden death in epilepsy. In addition, we have made a grant of almost £290,000 to the National Society for Epilepsy to improve support and information for people with epilepsy and their families through their Epilepsy Information Network.
NICE has also published guidance on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new epilepsy drugs in adults (March 2004) and children (April 2004).
The Department published the national service framework (NSF) for long-term conditions in March 2005. This focuses on improving neurological services across the country for a range of conditions, including epilepsy.
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