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23 Jan 2007 : Column 1738Wcontinued
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The statement that 250 strokes could be prevented if we had national coverage of primary angioplasty services for treatment of heart attack is an estimate based on the published evidence
comparing the risk of stroke from administering thrombolysis, about 2 per cent., and the risk of stroke from primary angioplasty, about 1 per cent.
A rounded annual figure of 25,000 acute myocardial infarctions was taken from the myocardial infarction national audit project (MINAP). Using this, 500 in 25,000 would potentially suffer a stroke whereas 250 in 25,000 would potentially suffer a stroke of those treated with thrombolysis.
Source:
Primary Angioplasty versus intravenous thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction: a quantitative review of 23 randomised trialsKeeley, Boura and Grines, The Lancet, Volume 361, Number 9351, 4 January 2003. Copies of this paper have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within (a) 10 and (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement. [114669]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members and Peers correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 75-78WS. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in (a) her Department and (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year. [102951]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not keep records relating to the number of staff engaged through employment agencies; the records we do keep relate to the cost of doing so.
In the years where information is available, the costs of agency staff were:
£ | |
NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) | ||
2006 | 2005 | |
Medicines and Healthcare Regulations products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
We do not keep records relating to the number of staff engaged through employment agencies. Each department/division takes responsibility for their own arrangements.
The costs of agency staff in the years where information is available is shown in the table.
£ | |
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which studies have been commissioned by her Department from (a) external agencies, (b) companies, (c) academics and (d) individuals in 2006. [107153]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to ensure that GPs are referring cases to dermatology services appropriately. [113866]
Andy Burnham: Appropriate referral of patients to dermatology services is part of the essential services which primary medical service contractors are required to provide for their registered patients. General practitioners are therefore required under the terms of the contract to ensure the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all registered patients and temporary residents taking account of their specific needs, including referral of the patient for other services under the National Health Service Act 1977. Primary care trusts are responsible for the management of contracts with providers of primary medical services and taking action if patients do not receive the appropriate care that is required under the terms of the contract.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of doctors who have ceased to offer out of hours services as a result of changes made in pay rates offered under revised contracts. [116896]
Andy Burnham: This information is not held centrally.
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to appoint an independent adviser to implement the recommendations of the Cooksey
review in respect of the drug development pathway, as stated in paragraph 3.68, pages 56-57, of the pre-Budget report, Cm 6984, published 6 December 2006. [114940]
Caroline Flint: The Department is considering possible candidates for the independent adviser position, and an appointment will be made in due course.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are provided under the routine NHS eye examination; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of these services in assessing (a) the health of patients' eyes and (b) detecting early signs of conditions which can cause deterioration or loss of sight. [113834]
Ms Rosie Winterton: By Section 26 of the Opticians Act 1989 and the Sight Testing (Examination and Prescription) (No. 2) Regulations 1989, when a doctor or optometrist is testing the sight of another person it is his duty, as part of that sight test, to perform such examinations of the eye for the purpose of detecting signs of injury, disease or abnormality in the eye or elsewhere:
(i) an examination of the external surface of the eye and its immediate vicinity;
(ii) an intra-ocular examination;
(iii) such additional examinations as appear to the doctor or optometrist to be clinically necessary.
These requirements apply to all sight tests whether paid for privately or funded by the national health service.
The doctor or optometrist is then required to give to the patient a statement setting out that they have carried out the examinations required and, following an eye examination under NHS arrangements, that he is or is not referring the patient to a doctor or to an ophthalmic hospital. The patient would also be given a signed written prescription for an optical appliance or a statement setting out that he does not need to wear or use an optical appliance.
Those at risk of specific eye disease may be asked to attend for more regular checks.
There has been no formal assessment of the effectiveness of these services. The Department's view is that sight tests provide a good basis for detecting signs of eye disease, and it is encouraging that the number of NHS sight tests continues to increase annually.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned on gender awareness since 2001. [115728]
The Departments Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care sets out general principles that apply to all research in the
national health service. The framework requires that that research, and those pursuing it, should respect the diversity of human society and conditions and the multi-cultural nature of society; and that, where relevant, it should take account of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, culture and religion in its design, undertaking, and reporting.
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients whose parents were first cousins were (a) diagnosed and (b) treated for a genetic disorder in each primary care trust in England in the latest year for which figures are available. [115511]
Caroline Flint: The Department does not collect such data centrally.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of the document Choosing your hospital: National menu - your choice of hospitals across England, were ordered by her Department. [117399]
Andy Burnham: 100,000 copies of the Choosing your hospital: National Menu were printed and distributed to primary care trusts for onward distribution to patients via general practitioner practices, other primary care professionals and local libraries.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of (a) publishing and (b) disseminating the publication Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England; and if she will make a statement. [117400]
Andy Burnham: Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England, was published in November 2006 on www.nhs.uk. 100,000 hard copies of the booklet were printed for distribution to general practitioner practices and libraries via primary care trusts. The total cost of publication, including the compilation of the necessary information, was £191,000. The cost of distribution was £3,500.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) in total and (b) under the age of (i) one and (ii) five died from (A) clostridium difficile and (B) MRSA infection in each year since 1997. [116118]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 January 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people (a) in total and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old died from (A) clostridium difficile and (B) MRSA infection in each year since 1997. (116118)
Special analyses of deaths involving MRSA and clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by ONS for England and Wales. These are published in Health Statistics Quarterly. The latest year for which such figures are available is 2004.
Information on the numbers of deaths between 1999 and 2004 involving clostridium difficile was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 30 in May 2006.(1) This report presents data for the number of death certificates which (a) mention clostridium difficile and (b) list clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death. The table below is extracted from ONS special clostridium difficile database. Data for 1997, 1998, and 2000 are not available.
Table 1: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales which (1) mentioned clostridium difficile( 1) and (2) recorded clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death( 2) at (a) all ages and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old ( 3) in 1999 and 2001-2004 ( 4) | ||||||
(1) Mentions | (2) Underlying cause | |||||
(a) Total | (b)(i) under 1 | (b)(ii) under 5 | (a) Total | (b)(i) under 1 | (b)(ii) under 5 | |
(1) Identified using the methodology described in Office for National Statistics (2005) Report: Deaths involving clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004. Health Statistics Quarterly 3Q, 56-60. (2 )Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Total for under five years includes deaths under 1 year of age. (4) Deaths registered in 1999, deaths occurring in 2001-2004. |
Information on the number of deaths involving MRSA was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 29 in February 2006.(2) The report presents data for the number of death certificates which (a) mention MRSA and (b) list MRSA as the underlying cause of death. The table below is extracted from the ONS special MRSA database.
Table 2: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales which (1) mentioned MRSA( 1) and (2) recorded MRSA as the underlying cause of death( 2) at (a) all ages and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old,( 3) 1997-2004 | ||||||
(1) Mentions | (2) Underlying cause | |||||
(a) Total | (b)(i) under 1 | (b) (ii) under 5 | (a) Total | (b)(i) under 1 | (b) (ii) under 5 | |
(1) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL,. Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22, (2) Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Total for under five years includes deaths under 1 year of age. |
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