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21 Feb 2007 : Column 811W—continued

Hospices: Children

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which organisations have been consulted during the review of funding for children’s hospices; and how many meetings have been held with representatives of those organisations; [118545]

(2) if she will make it her policy to ensure that children’s hospices receive adequate funding; and if she will make a statement; [118553]

(3) when she expects to receive the recommendations of the review of the funding of children’s hospices. [118554]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: Professor Sir Alan Craft, Head of Child Health at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Sue Killen, a senior civil servant, are leading the review into the future sustainability of palliative care services for children and young people who have a life-limiting or life-threatening condition. We expect to receive their recommendations during February.

A full list of those consulted, and a list of the meetings and visits conducted as part of the review will be made public at the time the report is published in the spring. In the meantime, it would not be sensible to comment on future, long-term funding arrangements.

Maternity Care

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans her Department has to introduce neonatal training in teaching hospitals on developmental care. [100918]

Ms Rosie Winterton: All national health service employers have a duty to ensure that their staff are properly trained for the duties they undertake. It is a matter for strategic health authorities and NHS trusts locally to include provision for any necessary training in their development plans for services.

Medical Records

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is responsible for the incorporation of special case files into medical records at North Staffordshire NHS trust and the Royal Brompton hospital; and if she will take steps to ensure full integration of the records. [108101]

Caroline Flint: Information from special case files should not be included in medical records without the consent of the individual patient concerned. The patient should also agree the person to whom information should be disclosed, and this should normally be a clinician who is actively involved in providing care to the patient. A clinician in receipt of such information must determine whether to record it within the patient’s record and should do so where the information is relevant to the ongoing care of the patient concerned.


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Netcare: UK

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many (a) clinical and (b) non-clinical staff Netcare (UK) employs undertaking services for the NHS; [118760]

(2) how many and what percentage of Netcare (UK) clinical staff undertaking services for the NHS have (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) South African medical qualifications. [118761]

Andy Burnham: Netcare provides healthcare services through the independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme but also provides services in addition to those contracts. The Department does not routinely collect information on independent providers’ total work force.

Netcare has provided information on total clinical staff numbers as part of the bidding process for phase two of the ISTC programme. The information, provided in 2005 showed approximately 10,950 clinical staff. The other information requested is not held by the Department.

Netcare is contractually required to ensure that appropriately qualified staff are employed in facilities providing services to national health service patients through the ISTC programme.

NHS Dentistry

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many fillings were undertaken by NHS dentists in the Torbay primary care trust area in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [114465]

Ms Rosie Winterton: Data are not available prior to 1998-99. The following table shows data for Torbay primary care trust (PCT) for the years ending 31 March 1999 to 2006.

Number of individual teeth filled by national health service dentists within Torbay PCT in the years ending 31 March 1999-2006
Year ending 31 March Number of teeth filled

1999

62,652

2000

65,231

2001

63,929

2002

60,430

2003

58,176

2004

50,298

2005

40,908

2006

40,288

Sources:
1. The Information Centre for health and social care
2. NHS Business Services Authority

NHS Prescriptions

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescription items were dispensed by the NHS in each year since 1990; and what the total (a) gross and (b) net cost of these items was in each year. [116853]

Caroline Flint: Information on the number and net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed in the community is shown in the following table.


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Prescription items (Thousand) Net ingredient cost (£000)

1990

360,505

2,109,067

1991

406,488

2,519,870

1992

425,148

2,857,983

1993

445,434

3,158,503

1994

456,069

3,405,159

1995

473,347

3,680,642

1996

484,913

4,006,988

1997

500,153

4,367,474

1998

513,209

4,701,487

1999

529,770

5,291,242

2000

551,843

5,584,645

2001

587,049

6,116,569

2002

617,022

6,846,656

2003

649,703

7,510,134

2004

686,139

8,079,567

2005

720,283

7,936,564


These figures do not include drugs dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions. Information on the gross cost of prescription items dispensed is not collected centrally.

NHS: Finance

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to table 5 in her Department's Memorandum to the Health Committee entitled Public Expenditure on Health and Personal Social Services 2006, HC 1692-i, published 21 November 2006, what the total NHS Trust reported use of additional resources for the purpose of debt repayment was in each year since 2001-02, expressed (a) as a percentage of the additional resources available and (b) in cash terms; and if she will make a statement. [118152]

Andy Burnham: The data used in table five in response to the Health Select Committee memorandum were constructed using data collected from national health service trusts as part of the process for increasing in-year financial monitoring and were collected for the first time in 2005-06. Therefore, the historical information requested is not available.

Orthopaedics: Training

Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution independent treatment centres make to training in orthopaedic (a) surgery and (b) nursing. [121147]

Andy Burnham: Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) are increasing the number and variety of training opportunities. Seven ISTCs are able to provide training and training has taken place within ISTCs in both nursing and orthopaedics.

Postgraduate deans have requested that activity is available for training purposes in the second phase of
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ISTCs. Independent providers will be expected to appoint directors of postgraduate training to work with local deaneries to oversee training provision within ISTCs across a range of clinical professions.

Skin Cancer

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with skin cancer (a) in each year between 1987 and 1997 and (b) in the last 10 years. [118929]

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 Colin Mowl, dated 21 February 2007:

Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of melanoma skin( 1) cancer registered in England, 1985-2004
Number

1985

2,994

1986

2,999

1987

3,432

1988

3,879

1989

3,613

1990

3,505

1991

3,559

1992

3,893

1993

4,429

1994

4,465

1995

4,577

1996

4,487

1997

4,703

1998

5,000

1999

5,041

2000

5,821

2001

6,062

2002

6,416

2003

6,689

2004

7,363

(1) Melanoma skin cancer is defined: from 1979 to 1994 as code 172 in the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9); from 1995 as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
Source:
Office for National Statistics

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of skin cancer there have been since the imposition of VAT on sunscreen. [118930]

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.


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Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 21 February 2007:


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