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31 Jan 2007 : Column 353W—continued
Mr. Keith Moffat
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what period Mr. Keith Moffatt was chief executive of Translink; and on which occasions he met Mr. Moffatt during his time as chief executive. [112429]
David Cairns: Mr. Moffatt was employed as the chief executive of Translink from 1 October 2003 to 31 December 2006. During that period he met with DRD Ministers on 11 occasions.
Neonatal Care
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many neonatal cots there are in each hospital in the Province; and how many are in (a) intensive care, (b) high dependency and (c) special care units; [112433]
(2) if he will make a statement on the current provision of specialist neonatal services in the Province; [112434]
(3) whether he plans to increase the number of neonatal cots in hospitals in the Province; [112438]
(4) what plans there are to enhance specialist neonatal services in the Province; [112439]
(5) what assessment he has made of the findings of recent work commissioned by his Department on the current level of specialist neonatal provision in the Province. [112441]
Paul Goggins: There are currently 104 neonatal cots in Northern Ireland: 20 intensive care, 21 high dependency and 63 special care. Their distribution is shown in the following table.
| Level of care | RJMS | Antrim | Altnagelvin | CAH | Ulster | DHH | Erne | Total for NI |
| Notes: RJMS: Royal Jubilee Maternity Service; CAH: Craigavon Area Hospital; DHH: Daisy Hill Hospital. | ||||||||
Typically this highly specialised service is required for premature and very ill newborn babies. Demands on the service have increased in recent years; a trend also evident in other parts of the UK.
A working group, commissioned in 2005 by the Chief Medical Officer, has assessed the current provision of services across Northern Ireland. The report included a number of recommendations to sustain and strengthen services. With regard to the capacity of current services, the report indicated that an additional two neonatal cots would help meet the service demands more effectively. Other recommendations included the development of a neonatal intensive care network, improved information systems on neonatal cot usage and availability, and measures to increase the complement of appropriately trained neonatal nurses.
An additional £800,000 will be allocated for neonatal/paediatric intensive care services in 2007-08. This will allow the introduction of at least one additional neonatal intensive care cot, one additional paediatric intensive care bed and other improvements in a number of associated areas, including the establishment of a managed clinical network.
These measures to increase capacity within neonatology will also be supported by the development of a neonatal and paediatric critical care transport service. A lead consultant for the service has already been appointed and other staff are currently being recruited.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many consultant nurses in the neonatology specialty there are in the Province; and what plans there are to increase the number of consultant nurses in neonatology in the Province. [112435]
Paul Goggins: Health and social services trusts have confirmed that there are no consultant nurses in the neonatology specialty.
Staffing is a matter for individual trusts, taking into account factors such as service needs and available resources. Information is not held centrally on projected appointments to specific grades.
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many babies were transferred outside the Province (a) for services that are not provided in Northern Ireland and (b) on account of all available neonatal cots being occupied in each of the last five years. [112436]
Paul Goggins: The information is as follows:
| (b) Number of babies that have been transferred outside Northern Ireland in each of the last five years on account of all available neonatal cots being occupied | ||||||
| Trust | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Total |
| (1 )Royal Group of Hospitals Trust stated that they had not transferred any babies out of Northern Ireland in the last five years as a result of neonatal cots being full to capacity. However, they stated that they have transferred mothers in late pregnancy outside of Northern Ireland because all neonatal cots were being used. Source: Health and social service trusts. | ||||||
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his estimate is of the costs incurred as a result of transferring babies outside the Province for neonatal care in each of the last five years. [112437]
Paul Goggins: The average transport costs associated with transferring a baby outside Northern Ireland for treatment are in the region of £5,000 to £8,000 per transport. This is with the exception of ECMO cases (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation), which is a service not provided in Northern Ireland. Babies requiring this treatment are collected by a specially equipped and staffed helicopter at a cost of approximately £20,000.
Due to the method by which reimbursement between NHS trusts has been carried out until recently it is not possible to disaggregate the treatment costs associated with transferred babies without incurring disproportionate costs in obtaining the information. The cost of treatment elsewhere in the United Kingdom, however, is comparable with provision of the same treatment locally. The additional expense lies in travel for the patient and relatives, as appropriate.
Parkinson’s Disease
Mark Durkan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements are in place for people with Parkinson's disease in the Western Health and Social Services Board area to see consultants; how
many consultants trained to address the needs of people with Parkinson's disease are employed in the Western Board area; and how long, on average, patients with Parkinson's disease in the Western Board area have to wait before seeing a consultant. [111663]
Paul Goggins: Patients suffering from Parkinson's disease in the Western Health and Social Services Board area are usually referred to consultants in either neurology, or care of the elderly services.
Within these specialty areas, there are six whole-time equivalent consultants employed in the Western Health and Social Services Board area who treat patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
Information on waiting times specific to Parkinson's disease is not available. By March 2007, however, no one will be waiting more than six months for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many consultants trained to address the needs of people with Parkinson's disease were employed in the Western Health and Social Services Board area in each of the last five years. [111664]
Paul Goggins: There are a number of consultants in ‘care of the elderly’ and consultant neurologists employed within the Western Health and Social Services Board area who treat patients with Parkinson's Disease.
Information on these consultants (headcount) is detailed in the following table.
| Consultants | 2002( 1) | 2003( 1) | 2004( 1) | 2005( 1) | 2006( 1) |
| (1 )Year Ending 31 December. (2 )Two consultants in ‘care of the elderly’ at Altnagelvin have experience in dealing with people with Parkinson' s. One consultant holds a movement disorder clinic once per month with the Parkinson's Nurse. (3 )In addition both 'care of the elderly' consultants at Altnagelvin see patients with Parkinson's on a regular basis throughout their clinics, but these clinics are not specifically for Parkinson's patients. | |||||
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