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14 Dec 2006 : Column 1349W—continued
Ms Rosie Winterton: The formal evaluation of the prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) was undertaken by the primary care education research group at the University of Oxford. As part of the evaluation, the researchers undertook an on-line questionnaire with 400 general practitioners (GPs), and a resulting paper has now been published in the journal BioMed Central (BMC) Family Practice ( BMC Family Practice 2005; 6:24).
58 per cent. of GPs questioned were aware of the PCRMP, and 67 per cent. said they supported the policy. 41 per cent. reported having received the PCRMP resource pack, of whom 80 per cent. felt the pack would be very or fairly useful. 83 per cent. favoured both the general practitioner and the man being involved in the decision making process.
The PCRMP pack is currently being reviewed, and as part of this process, we will be looking at how to engage GPs better in the programme. The review will take into account the results of the evaluation, and involve a formal literature review of the most recent evidence on prostate cancer testing.
The review will also involve discussions with key stakeholders in the voluntary sector, we are committed to involving key stakeholders in policy development. That is why the prostate cancer advisory group (PCAG), chaired by Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, has representation from signatories to the prostate cancer charter for action, including the Prostate Cancer Charity. We are also ensuring that revisions to the PCRMP are consistent with the development of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guide on the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer.
Mr. Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of (a) breast cancer, (b) lung cancer, (c) prostate cancer and (d) colorectal cancer patients were urgently referred to see a specialist by their GP in each of the last eight years. [106367]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Comparative cancer waiting times treatment data are only available for breast cancer patients from 2002 and for all cancer patients since 2005. Percentages of patients urgently referred by their general practitioners are show in the table.
| Year | Urgent GP referrals | Other referrals | Total referrals | Percentage of urgent GP referrals |
Further cancer waiting times data are available at:
www.performance.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits
Capture, Assess, Treat and Support Scheme
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions have taken place about (a) the transfer of NHS staff to Netcare and (b) the use of NHS MRI and other scanners in negotiations with Netcare, the preferred bidder for the Capture, Assess, Treat and Support Scheme in Lancashire. [107084]
Andy Burnham: The contract for services is still being negotiated with the preferred bidder. The scheme is expected to employ staff additional to the national health service workforce. The use of magnetic resonance imaging scanners is being proposed at all computerised axial tomography scan sites.
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proposals Netcare has made during negotiations to deliver the Capture, Assess, Treat and Support Scheme in Lancashire to ensure that the outpatient procedures they would perform have emergency facilities available as a back-up if necessary. [107085]
Andy Burnham: The provider will be required to have arrangements for responding to clinical emergencies, including:
emergency response arrangements;
staff training for emergency response events;
provision of equipment and
transfer to other healthcare facilities where required.
Child Health Interim Application
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children did not receive immunisations as a consequence of the disruption to child health services caused by problems with the Child Health Interim Application; whether the catch-up exercise has been completed; what the additional cost has been as a result of the problems; and whether she plans to make available the appraisal which was to be completed in September. [102661]
Caroline Flint: The 10 primary care trusts (PCTs) using CHIA do not currently have a validated accurate picture of the number of children that have not received their immunisations. There are a number of significant factors contributing to this, including the migration and merging of PCT records from the previous system to CHIA, data quality issues and delays in deploying key functionality in CHIA.
To ensure children receive their immunisations at the right time, both regular and additional audit activities are being carried out by PCTs, GP practices, BT (the local service provider for the London cluster) and the Health Protection Agency. These activities will validate the immunisation returns to identify and ensure that any children that are overdue an immunisation are invited to have one at the appropriate time. PCT Chief Executives and the Director of Public Health for London are fully engaged and supportive of these activities.
PCTs are working closely with general practices to ensure that children are immunised at the appropriate time. In addition to child health systems, due
immunisations can also be identified in other ways such as general practice systems and the individual child’s records (known as the ‘Red Book’) held by parents.
As described, the catch-up exercise is on-going. BT, the local service provider (LSP) for the London cluster, has made resources available to PCTs, at its own cost, to assist with resolving issues relating to the migration to CHIA.
The options appraisal report will be made publicly available after it has been considered and reviewed by PCT boards in January, as part of their business case to determine whether to move to another interim application or to the strategic solution proposed by the LSP. In addition new governance arrangements are being introduced to expedite an early resolution to the difficulties PCTs are experiencing. In parallel with this a new National Child Health Immunisation Board is being established, to ensure standards are more clearly applied in future child health systems.
We shall continue to monitor progress on the resolution of these matters and I have requested an update at end of January.
Cholesterol
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to encourage adults to reduce their cholesterol levels. [104374]
Caroline Flint: The Department is responsible for a range of public health campaigns, which will help people to manage their cardiovascular risks. High cholesterol levels are linked to obesity. Reducing obesity is one of the six overarching priorities of the “Choosing Health” White Paper published in November 2004. The White Paper sets out a comprehensive plan of action on physical activity, diet, personalised support, information and curbs on marketing that provides a strong foundation for tackling obesity. This plan will include a comprehensive communications strategy, focussing on behaviour change communication using a social marketing approach, aiming to provide clear, and simple messages on tackling and preventing obesity. Also included will be provision of support, guidance and advice to the delivery chain, including specific support to the health service in tackling obesity. New initiatives such as early years and adolescent life checks and the introduction of health trainers will support people to adopt healthier lifestyles.
Many people will require drug therapy—usually statins—to manage their cholesterol levels. The General Medical Service contract includes quality indicators on control of cholesterol in patients with coronary heart disease. Since the launch of the national service framework for coronary heart disease in 2000, prescriptions for statins have risen by 30 per cent. every year. NHS spending on statins has increased to about £0.6 billion a year. In January 2006 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a health technology appraisal on statins which found that it was both clinically and cost-effective to prescribe them for patients with a 20 per cent. 10-year risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This updates the NSF’s threshold for treatment, which
stood at a 30 per cent. 10-year risk of coronary heart disease, and greatly extends the NHS’s scope to use statins for the primary prevention of disease.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the number of cognitive behavioural therapists employed by NHS trusts in each year since 2004. [108949]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 11 December 2006]: Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is provided for the national health service in England by a range of different professionals, including consultant psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, nurse consultants and psychiatric nurses. Not all staff within each professional group will provide CBT and the Department does not collect data about the numbers actually doing so.
Information about the number of consultant psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, nurse consultants, psychiatric nurses as of September 2004 and September 2005 is available as shown in the following table:
| 2004 | 2005 | |
| Source: Information Centre for Health and Social Care. | ||
In addition, CBT can be provided for the NHS by graduate primary care mental health workers, of whom 720 were in post in March 2006. General practitioners and NHS employers such as primary care trusts may also commission CBT from individual counsellors or CBT practitioners, on behalf of NHS patients.
Community Treatment Orders
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who within her Department has seen the findings received so far from the report which her Department commissioned to look at international experiences of implementing community treatment orders; and what discussions have taken place in the Department on those findings. [108452]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Officials and I have received updates on the research into international experiences of community treatment orders. The findings will be made available when the report is completed.
Cystic Fibrosis
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many preventative treatment programmes for cystic fibrosis sufferers are in operation in hospitals in (a) West Sussex and (b) the South East of England; and how many of these programmes are able to support the needs of paediatric cystic fibrosis cases. [105161]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 11 December 2006]: The information requested is not collected centrally. The provision of services for patients with cystic fibrosis is the responsibility of the local national health service.
Dentistry
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average wait for (a) braces and (b) corrective dental treatment for children is in each primary care trust. [105654]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information on waiting times for orthodontic treatment in primary care is not collected centrally. Where patients are referred for hospital orthodontic treatment, information is collected on waiting times for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant and, where a patient is treated on an in-patient basis, waiting times for admission. The latest information available by primary care trust is set out in a table which has been placed in the Library. The information is also available at:
www.performance.doh.gov.uk/waitingtimes/index.htm
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of (a) the demand for and (b) number of places available to dentists to complete their vocational training; and if she will make a statement. [107498]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The annual allocation of training places is based on the number of dental students who are expected to graduate from dental schools in England. For 2006-07 624 places were allocated.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 548W, on dentistry, when her Department expects to reclaim from primary care trusts underspends from their 2006-07 NHS dentistry budget allocations. [108803]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department will review expenditure levels on primary care dentistry when final outturn data for 2006-07 are available.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 6 December 2006 to question 102331, on dentistry, how many individual dental patients were recorded in each month of 2006-07 for which figures are available; and what receipts from dental charges were in each month. [108818]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information is available on the number of individual patients who received national health service (NHS) primary dental care or treatment in the most recent 24-month period. The Information Centre for Health and Social Care publish this information quarterly. Monthly information is only available at disproportionate cost.
The latest available information shows that 28,068,025 patients received NHS primary dental care or treatment in the 24-month period ending 30 June
2006 and 28,083,591 in the same period ending 30 September 2006 in England.
This information is also available at http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/nhsdentq2
The Information Centre will be adding information on income from dental patient charges to its set of publications in due course.
Sources:
The Information Centre for Health and Social Care.
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