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7 Mar 2007 : Column 2089W—continued
Independent Treatment Centres
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2006, Official Report, columns 1824-25W, on independent treatment centres, what the utilisation rate of independent sector treatment centres was in each month since June 2006. [123032]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the table.
| 2006 | Independent sector treatment centre utilisation (percentage) |
| Notes: 1. Figures include the mobile ophthalmology service but exclude the general supplementary contracts, the national contract for MRI services, and the pathfinder schemes. Utilisation is measured on the basis of value rather than activity to allow for the variations which can occur through substitution of activity between procedures of varying value. 2. Figures are subject to the reconciliation of some contracts. 3. The Department procured independent sector capacity on the basis of capacity planning exercises conducted through strategic health authorities where the additional capacity in elective treatment and diagnostics required to meet key public service agreement waiting times targets was estimated. Where the estimates of demand have not been met so far in a contract the Department is working with the national health service and independent providers to ensure contracts deliver best value over the life of the contract. | |
Infection Control
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will estimate the average cost of treating an episode of infection by (a) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and (b) Clostridium difficile; and what her most recent estimate is of the overall cost in a year of treating healthcare-associated infections in the NHS. [112411]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Precise data are not available.
Maternity Services: Manpower
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what projections her Department has made of the number of (a) midwives, (b) consultant obstetricians and (c) consultant gynaecologists required within the NHS over the next 10 years; [120946]
(2) how many (a) midwives, (b) consultant obstetricians and (c) consultant gynaecologists have been trained since 1997; and if she will make a statement; [120947]
(3) how many (a) midwives, (b) consultant obstetricians and (c) consultant gynaecologists there are in each region covered by strategic health authorities; and if she will make a statement. [120948]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Local national health service organisations are responsible for developing maternity services in response to the needs of their local population, and for ensuring that they have sufficient staff, with the right skills, to offer appropriate choices.
The number of registrar group doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table. These are the doctors training to be consultants.
| Hospital and community health services (HCHS): registrar group doctors within the obstetrics and gynaecology specialty England—as at 30 September each year | |
| Registrar group | |
| Source: The Information Centre for health and social care—Medical and Dental Workforce Census | |
The number of midwives entering training in each year since 1997 is shown in the following table.
| Degree | Diploma | Other | Total | |
| Source: Quarterly Monitoring Returns | ||||
The number of midwives and consultants in obstetrics and gynaecology in each strategic health authority is shown in the following table.
| NHS hospital and community health services: NHS staff in England in each specified area of work by strategic health authority area as at 30 September 2005 | ||
| Headcount | ||
| Consultants in obstetrics and gynaecology | Qualified midwifery staff | |
| Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental and non-medical workforce census | ||
Mental Health Services
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007, Official Report, column 944W, on mental health services, which mental health trusts were found not to have contributed disproportionately to savings made by the local health economy in 2006-07 following investigation by her Department’s recovery and support unit. [125421]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 5 March 2007]: The trusts that I referred to in my previous reply to the hon. Gentleman were Berkshire Healthcare National Health Service Trust, North Essex Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust.
Mentally Ill: Community Care
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date she received from the researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry (a) the first draft and (b) the final version of the report which her Department commissioned to look at international experiences of implementing community treatment orders. [125391]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 5 March 2007]: An early draft of the literature review, which looks at international experiences of using community treatment orders, was received by the Department on 18 August 2006. The report then underwent the standard process of peer review. A revised report in response to the peer review was received on 1 February 2007. The final version of the report was received on 15 February 2007.
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which individuals participated in the peer review of the report which her Department commissioned to look at international experiences of implementing community treatment orders; and what criteria were used for their selection. [125392]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 5 March 2007]: The Department’s policy research programme considers peer reviewers’ completed responses confidential and so it would be inappropriate to release individual names.
The Department selected three peer reviewers, two from the United Kingdom and one outside the UK. The criteria used for the selection of peer reviewers are as follows:
highly qualified in the area that they are being asked to review—including a strong track record of publication in the field;
recognised authority in the subject area;
have current or recent relevant active research experience; and
have expertise in research methods, for example, in this case a systematic review.
MRSA: North-east Region
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were recorded in (a) Sunderland Royal Hospital, (b) Hartlepool University Hospital and (c) Durham University Hospital in (i) 2004, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2006; and if she will make a statement. [121257]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The number of reports of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia recorded at the City Hospitals Sunderland National Health Service Foundation Trust, County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust from April 2004 to September 2006 is shown in the table.
| Numbers of MRSA bacteraemias April 2004-September 2006 | |||
| Acute hospital trust | April 2004-March 2005 | April 2005-March 2006 | April-September 2006 |
| Note: Information on MRSA bacteraemia in individual hospitals is not published routinely, as it has only been collected at hospital level since October 2005. Prior to this date numbers of MRSA bacteraemia were recorded six-monthly by NHS acute trust only. The Department and the Health Protection Agency are currently considering the publication of the more detailed data, gained through the enhanced recording system. Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA) | |||
Tackling MRSA is a priority for both the Government and the NHS. A target has been set to halve the number of MRSA bloodstream infections by 2008 with each NHS acute trust having its own target to achieve. The latest data showing MRSA numbers between January to September 2006 were published by the HPA on 30 January 2007.
National Blood Service: Reorganisation
Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect on staff of the way in which changes to the National Blood Service estate were communicated to them. [121801]
Caroline Flint: The National Blood Service (NBS) has established a group comprising senior managers and staff-side representatives to discuss the implications of the changes and how to implement policies designed to reduce any adverse impact on staff, such as redeployment. The NBS expects to manage many of the post reductions through natural turnover and reduce the impact on staff to the absolute minimum.
National Patient Safety Agency
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much salary the joint chief executives of the National Patient Safety Agency have received since they stopped work; how much salary has been paid in that period to the acting chief executive; and what the cost is of the retirement packages for the joint chief executives. [121429]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The joint chief executives have each received a salary of £53,481 from 7 July 2006 to the end January 2007. They will receive a further £7,912 each per month for February and March 2007. They retire on 31 March 2007. The cost of the early retirement has yet to be finalised.
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