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6 Dec 2006 : Column 560W—continued
The number of patients on the quality and outcomes framework for the only years available, 2004-05 and 2005-06, for the disease registers for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which are the only relevant data we hold in QOF are listed in the following table.
| Asthma | Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | |
Research active NHS organisations account for their use of the research and development allocations they receive from the Department in an annual research and development report. The reports for 2005-06 show that in that year those organisations spent some £31 million on research to do with respiratory disease.
Figures were not collected prior to that date.
Figures for resources allocated for treatment since 1997 are not collected centrally.
Management Consultants
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of total NHS expenditure was spent on management consultants in the last period for which figures are available. [101833]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect information from the national health service on expenditure on management consultants. While primary care trusts and NHS trusts operate within the financial framework set by the Department, they are accountable to strategic health authorities for their financial performance, not the Department, and publish their own set of annual financial accounts.
Mental Health Services
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children in Brent with mental health problems were treated on an adult ward in the last period for which figures are available. [105788]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally.
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the causes of the variation in spending by primary care trusts on mental health services. [101863]
Ms Rosie Winterton: No assessment has been made. The Audit Commission’s June 2006 report, “Managing finances in mental health” confirms that mental health spending across all ages groups represent the largest single element of programme budget spending in the national health service (NHS), amounting to 12.2 per cent. of total NHS expenditure. It is for each PCT to determine what proportion of the resources allocated to it are spent on commissioning mental health services and the other healthcare needs of their local populations.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Mrs. Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by primary care trusts on treatments not approved by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in each year for which figures are available. [104015]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is not available.
Neurology and Epilepsy
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what framework her Department has in place for the development of general practitioners and nurses with a special interest in (a) neurology and (b) epilepsy. [101124]
Ms Rosie Winterton: In April 2003 the Department published guidelines for the appointment of general practitioners with special interests in epilepsy. Those guidelines, which were endorsed by the Royal College of General Practitioners, are currently under review alongside those for other specialties. Updated and revised versions will be published in 2007.
There are no plans to develop specific guidelines for nurses with a special interest in epilepsy, although under the ‘Modernising Nursing Careers’ initiative specialist nursing practice will be reviewed during the course of next year.
NHS Blood and Transplants
Jim Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the proposals of NHS Blood and Transplant, what steps she plans to take to ensure the
(a) supervision, (b) security and (c) protection from contamination of fixed equipment for blood donations in (i) schools and (ii) other public buildings; and whether she proposes to indemnify schools against risks associated with storing such equipment. [104742]
Caroline Flint: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for managing blood supplies in England and north Wales. It does this through the National Blood Service (NBS).
The NBS use school sites all over the country with the agreement of local governing bodies. NBS has robust venue assessment procedures, signed off and approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority. Every site is evaluated for its clinical safety, donor safety, staff safety and public safety. Blood collection is not held in areas where children are taught. They are either in a separate area of the building, for example a shared community facility, or alternatively are held at times when the school is closed.
NBS does not plan to have fixed equipment installed on school sites. If separate storage facilities exist, NBS may arrange to hold basic equipment such as donation beds, tables and chairs. Again, the venue would be fully risk assessed for staff, donors and public. Storage facilities would be separate, locked and under NBS’ control. Blood packs containing needle sharps would be held separately in NBS temperature controlled facilities. During any blood collection session, any such equipment would be in the direct control of health care professionals.
In view of the above, the Department does not consider it necessary to indemnify schools against risks associated with storing equipment.
NHS Estate
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much land at Stoke Mandeville hospital, Aylesbury (a) she owns, (b) is owned by the Buckinghamshire hospitals NHS trust and (c) has been sold to developers within the last two years. [103213]
Andy Burnham: My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for Health and Buckinghamshire national health service trust currently own approximately 6.1 and 16.85 hectares respectively at Stoke Mandeville hospital. During the last two years, land sales to developers amounted to 0.13 and 7.72 hectares respectively.
NHS Identity
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department’s total expenditure has been on managing the NHS identity, as explained on the website www.nhsidentity.nhs.uk, in each financial year since 1997-98. [101695]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The national health service corporate identity was developed and introduced in 1999-2000. Cost information is available as follows:
| £ | |
NHS Pension Scheme
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of cap is of employer contributions to the NHS pension scheme; and if she will make a statement. [101285]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Current employer contribution rates to the national health service pension scheme are not capped.
Under proposals for reform of the NHS pension scheme, on which consultation is now completed, it is proposed to cap employer contributions in future at 14.2 per cent. initially and then at 14.0 per cent. from 2016.
NHS Posts
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacant NHS posts were frozen in (a) Surrey Primary Care Trust (PCT) and its predecessor PCT, (b) South East Coast Strategic Health Authority (SHA) and its predecessor SHA and (c) England in each year since 1997. [102940]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
NHS Staff
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other hospital staff employed in the NHS are from India. [102550]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information relating to the country of origin of national health service staff is not collected centrally.
NHS Staff Earnings Survey
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the NHS staff earnings survey for 2006-07; and which specific staff groups are classified as administrative and clerical in the survey. [101682]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Information Centre for health and social care is responsible for national health service staff earnings information. They are currently working on a methodology to extract earnings data from the electronic staff record data warehouse. It is hoped that an updated NHS staff earnings survey can be published in 2007, depending on the outcome of methodology and data quality checks being satisfactory. It is not a pre-announced publication, and as such no exact date has been set.
NHS Staff Sickness Absence
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the staff sickness absence rate has been in the NHS in each financial year since 1997-98, broken down into each major category of staff. [101689]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The national health service sickness absence survey was first collected in 1999. It is not possible to split the rates into staff groups. The following table shows NHS sickness absence rates from 1999 to 2005.
| NHS sickness absence rates 1999 to 2005, England | |
| Percentage | |
| Notes: 1. Sickness absence rate is defined as the amount of time lost through absences as a percentage of staff time available. 2. This does not cover maternity leave, carers’ leave or any periods of absence agreed under family friendly/flexible working policies. 3. General practitioners and their staff are not included in the above figures. 4. The above figures are estimates as some organisations in the NHS did not provide figures for sickness absence. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care sickness absence survey. | |
Nurses
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many newly qualified nurses did not find work in the NHS in the last two years for which figures are available. [103497]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information relating to the number of newly qualified nurses who do not find work in the national health service is not collected centrally.
Pain Clinics
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dedicated pain clinics there are in England, broken down by (a) NHS hospital trust and (b) primary care trust. [106044]
Andy Burnham: The responsibility to commission appropriate pain management services based on the needs of the local population lies with primary care trusts. The Department does not collect this information centrally.
Patient Pathway Guidance
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to encourage NHS clinicians to develop patient pathway guidance for the treatment of conditions which have not been addressed by clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; [104242]
(2) what patient pathway guidance NHS clinicians should follow where clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are not available; [104263]
(3) whether her Department recognises patient pathway guidance developed by NHS clinicians prior to clinical guidelines being developed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence for specific conditions. [106898]
Andy Burnham: The Department recognises that professional bodies and other relevant organisations continue to have a role in drawing together good practice advice on such issues where they are not the subject of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance. From time to time we work with specific professional organisations, such as the Royal Colleges, to that end. For example, to support delivery of the 18 week general practitioner referral to treatment target the Department is working with clinical leaders to identify good practice and develop high level symptom based pathways. The Royal Colleges have been invited to nominate clinical leads for each of the high volume specialties to form a clinical advisory group for this work.
Payment by Results
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether diagnostics commissioned as a direct access service, as explained on page 7 of Annex B to her Department’s road-testing guidance for payment by results in 2007-08, will fall within the scope of the 18 week waiting time target. [103204]
Andy Burnham: By the end of 2008, patients on hospital consultant pathways will be treated within a maximum 18 weeks from general practitioners (GP) referral to hospital treatment. All diagnostic tests on patient pathways between GP referral to treatment including straight to test referrals for diagnostic tests as part of consultant-led pathways fall within the scope of the 18 week waiting time target.
Prescriptions
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions have been issued using the electronic prescriptions service in each month since it became operational. [106131]
Andy Burnham: The number of prescription messages issued using the electronic prescription service (EPS) are detailed in the following table:
| Prescriptions messages | |
| Date | Number |
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