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19 Feb 2007 : Column 398W—continued
Health Services: Assessments
Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of Fair Access to Care Assessments resulted in the person having some or all of their needs assessed as too low to receive services since the introduction of the scheme; [120794]
(2) whether Fair Access to Care Services assessments of people over 65 years with dual sensory impairments are routinely carried out by someone qualified in dual sensory impairment; [120795]
(3) what assessment of the effectiveness of Fair Access to Care has been made since it was introduced; and whether this included a specific assessment of its effectiveness in assessing the needs of deaf/blind people. [120796]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested about what proportion of fair access to care assessments resulted in the person having some or all of their needs assessed as too low to receive services since the introduction of the scheme is not held centrally.
Local authority circular LAC (2001) 8 issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 places a duty on local authorities to ensure that an assessment is carried out by a specifically trained person or team, equipped to assess a person with dual sensory impairment. Our expectation is that local authorities are fulfilling their responsibilities in respect of this.
An assessment of the effectiveness of fair access to care since it was introduced, and a specific assessment of its effectiveness in assessing the needs of deaf/blind people, have not been made.
Health Services: Hertfordshire
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to bring Hertfordshire's NHS health economy back into financial balance; and if she will make a statement. [120928]
Andy Burnham: Both West Hertfordshire Hospital National Health Service Trust and East and North Hertfordshire Hospital NHS Trust are receiving ongoing support from a turnaround director and they were both assisted by a major accountancy firm in the development of the trusts' turnaround plans. Implementation of the trusts’ plans are being closely monitored by the strategic health authority turnaround director and the National Programme Office.
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what restrictions have been placed on hospital referrals in Hertfordshire; and if she will make a statement. [120929]
Andy Burnham: The Department is not aware of any restrictions to hospital referrals in Hertfordshire.
Health Services: Leeds
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people come under the auspices of the new Leeds primary care trust. [121627]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Data collected in April 2005 for general practitioner relevant population as at April 2004 showed 726,377 people came under the auspices of the Leeds primary care trust. The data have been constrained to the Office for National Statistics 2004 mid-year population estimates—based on the 2001 census, but do not include armed forces and some prisoners.
Health Services: North East Region
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the effect of her Department’s policies on Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency (a) was between 1997 and 2005 and (b) has been since 2005. [121098]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. There is
significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency.
there are no patients waiting over 26 weeks for in-patient treatment and no patients waiting over 13 weeks for out-patient treatment;
Redcar and Cleveland Primary Care Trust’s allocation increased to £189.4 million in 2006-07, a real terms increase of 6.3 per cent. By 2007-08 the PCT’s financial allocation will increase to £206.2 million;
In June 2003 at South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust, 92.7 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency (A and E) from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. Figures for September 2006 show an improvement to 99.5 percent.;
in September 2006 at South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 100 per cent. of patients with suspected cancer were seen within two weeks of referral;
from April 2006 to September 2006 there were 1.9 MRSA cases per 10,000 bed days compared to 2.9 from April 2001 to September 2001;
in the Redcar and Cleveland local authority area death rates from cancer per 100,000 population were 194.8 in 2003, compared with 243.2 in 1997;
in the Redcar and Cleveland local authority area death rates from coronary heart disease per 100,000 population were 141.4 in 2003, compared with 103.3 in 1997;
in June 2006 a £21 million redevelopment was completed at the Friarage Hospital;
a £122 million private finance initiative project to build a major tertiary centre at the James Cook University Hospital was completed in June 2003; and
a new scanner which more accurately pin points where cancer patients need treatment opened in June 2006 at the James Cook University Hospitals at a cost of £650,000. It was purchased through the Department’s cancer plan fund.
Sources:
Department of Health
Office for National Statistics
Health Services: Oxfordshire
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports she has received on the progress that NHS organisations comprising the Oxfordshire health economy are making on planned budget deficit reduction measures. [121078]
Caroline Flint: In 2006-07, the Department has considerably strengthened the financial regime applied to the national health service, not least by introducing more stringent monthly monitoring arrangements for all organisations, and by the appointment of the NHS Financial Controller to engage in regular performance management discussions with senior strategic health authorities (SHA) representatives.
The Department therefore continues to work closely with all NHS organisations, especially the most financially challenged, to reduce forecast deficits, acting through the SHAs and turnaround teams as appropriate. For example, action plans have been agreed with SHAs to ensure that financial performance continues to improve. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and SHAs to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local NHS trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services while achieving financial balance.
Health Services: Plymouth
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 703, on the private sector, (1) what the evidential basis is for the performance of the Plymouth and Bodmin treatment centres; and what assessment she has made of the effect of such throughput on the effective use of local NHS hospital capacity; [121188]
(2) what effect the performance of private sector treatment centres have had on the operation of minimum waiting times for patients; [121190]
(3) what assessment her Department has made of the impact on NHS hospitals of non-urgent care being undertaken by the private sector. [121191]
Andy Burnham: The performance of the independent sector treatment centres (ISTC) in Bodmin and Plymouth is monitored weekly. The number of referrals and completed outpatient and surgery activity figures are monitored and reconciled between the independent provider and the primary care trust sponsors. The value of referral numbers and hospital activity figures are measured as a percentage of the value of the available hospital capacity. The Department is working with the national health service and independent providers to ensure contracts deliver best value.
ISTCs have been able to provide additional surgical capacity in the South West whilst offering patients a wider choice of hospitals for their treatment. The treatment centres have helped local NHS hospitals in achieving their own maximum waiting time targets. Prior to the opening of the treatment centres, the local NHS used private sector capacity to manage demand from general practitioner, but the introduction of treatment centres has reduced the requirement for this.
Health Services: Prisons
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received from primary care trusts on the impact of prison overcrowding on providing health care to prisoners. [118170]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I have had no such representations. The Government have been working to reform the health services available to prisoners. This has seen spending increase from £118 million in 2002-03, to nearly £200 million in 2006-07.
Health Services: Private Sector
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to privatise the commissioning of local health services. [118123]
Andy Burnham: We have no plans to privatise the commissioning of local healthcare. Primary care trusts will need reliable experienced support and new skills and techniques to fulfil their challenging role as commissioners of health care. Current procurement arrangements will allow them to access appropriate help should they need and choose to do so.
Health Services: Reorganisation
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the total costs arising directly from the structural reorganisation of (a) strategic health authorities and (b) primary care trusts, exclusive of any savings made through reductions in the cost of administration. [118143]
Andy Burnham: The Department has estimated that the total redundancy costs arising from “Commissioning a patient led national health service” will be £325 million. These figures are difficult to estimate and will only become firmer as new structures are put into place in the strategic health authorities (SHAs), primary care trusts (PCTs) and ambulance trusts.
The reconfiguration of PCTs and SHAs provides an opportunity to deliver savings by reducing the number of organisations and through the greater sharing of functions. By 2008, this reconfiguration is expected to deliver at least £250 million annual savings for re-investment in frontline services.
In 2006-07, we have not collected separate information in respect of any additional costs of the organisational change.
Health Services: War Pensions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place a copy of the most recent guidance issued by her Department to trusts on the priority treatment that should be provided to people who receive a war pension; and when such guidance was last issued. [121528]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Health Service Guidelines (97)31—“Priority treatment for war pensioners”, issued on 18 June 1997, is available in the Library.
Hospitals: Admissions
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mean length of stay was for patients admitted to hospital in each year from 1997-98 to 2005-06. [118147]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
| Mean length of stay (days) | |
| Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care | |
Hospitals: Waiting Lists
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) mean and (b) median waiting times were as provided by data drawn from hospital episode statistics in each year from 1993-94 to 2005-06; and what the commissioner-based (i) mean and (ii) median waiting times were as provided by NHS organisations' monthly returns to her Department in each year. [118148]
Andy Burnham: The figures are shown in the table:
| Inpatient mean and medians in weeks from 1994 | ||||
| Korner aggregate returns (stock) | Hospital episode statistics (flow) | |||
| Year ending | Median commissioner | Mean commissioner | Median provider | Mean provider |
| Notes: 1. HES figures relate to patients admitted during financial year ending March. 2. Korner figures relate to numbers waiting as at 31 March (or at 31 December for the current figures). Source: QF01 return, HES. | ||||
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