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13 Mar 2007 : Column 312W—continued
Liver Diseases: Alcoholic Drinks
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver there were in each of the last 10 years, broken down by age. [124017]
Caroline Flint: Information regarding the number of diagnoses of alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver is collected centrally only for individuals suffering from this condition in secondary (for example, hospital) care. The information is shown in the following table.
| All diagnoses count of episodes for alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, 1996-97 to 2005-06—national health service hospitals: England | |||||
| 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | |
Lyme Disease
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her answer of 30 November 2006, Official Report, columns 916-7W, on Lyme disease, what strategies her Department has in place to deal with the increase in the number of people contracting Lyme disease. [124013]
Caroline Flint: Increases in laboratory confirmed cases have occurred due to both improved ascertainment and increased exposure to infection.
There is now an expanded and improved repertoire of diagnostic tests that have become available in the past three years to enable rapid laboratory confirmation of diagnosis of Lyme disease.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) provides clinical advice to physicians who care for patients who may have Lyme disease, and has nationwide links to experts in infectious diseases, neurology, rheumatology and other specialties who have a particular interest in Lyme disease, to whom patients can be referred. The HPA takes part in national and international collaborations to improve diagnostic tests and to promote evidence based treatments.
The HPA has raised awareness of Lyme disease through its website and through presentations to, and discussions with, professional and recreational and special interest groups. NHS Direct has published comprehensive information on the disease, including preventive measures, on its website.
Medical Training Application Service
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the projected cost was of the Medical Training Application Service at the instigation of the service; and what the latest estimate is of the cost of the service. [126460]
Ms Rosie Winterton
[holding answer 9 March 2007]: The projected cost of the medical training application service at instigation was £5.8 million over five years for an England only service. Expanding to United Kingdom wide coverage and incorporating academic/specialty and general practitioner recruitment into a
single, two-round recruitment exercise has slightly increased set-up costs. The projected cost of the service is now expected to be £6.3 million over five years.
NHS: Finance
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of NHS deficits on local authority budgets. [126788]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Delivering high quality health and social care while remaining on a sound financial footing can only be achieved by national health service bodies and local authorities working together to make best use of the available resources.
Local area agreements are negotiated between partners to reflect local circumstances.
NHS: Procurement
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department has received from NHS Supply Chain on the consideration that it gives to National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines for medical devices when procuring those items. [125358]
Andy Burnham: NHS Supply Chain has informed the NHS Business Service Authority that they place considerable emphasis on National Institute For Health And Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines when evaluating the non-financial aspect of quality in a tender evaluation to ensure that the products they offer are in line with NICE guidance.
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the likely effect on patient access to new medical technologies of NHS supply chain's decision to designate preferred suppliers for product areas for fixed periods. [125359]
Andy Burnham: NHS supply chain does not operate a preferred suppliers list but will manage the procurement and delivery of in scope products through a formal contracting process in-line with the European Union directives. Procurements undertaken prior to the establishment of NHS supply chain were also governed by the EU directives and contracted in the same way.
Transparency is brought to this process by publication of a procurement calendar identifying all opportunities that are available and open to supplier bids. New opportunities will be added on a regular basis. This calendar is available on the NHS supply chain website at
NHS supply chain actively monitors the progress of new and innovative products and will work with small suppliers to ensure innovative products can be delivered at the best possible price.
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information her Department has received from NHS supply chain about (a) how it chooses the products included on its preferred supplier lists and (b) how standard prices are set for these products. [125417]
Andy Burnham: The tender process which national health service supply chain use to select which suppliers should be awarded contracts is shown in the table.
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