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14 Mar 2007 : Column 433W—continued


Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what target her Department has set for the length of time a patient should wait for a digital hearing aid to be fitted. [124648]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The national audiology framework “Improving Access to Audiology Services” in England, was published on 6 March 2007 and is available in the Library. It sets out clear guidance to the national health service on how to reduce waiting times and how to provide the additional 300,000 pathways that are needed in the run-up to December 2008 to make a maximum wait of 18 weeks from referral to treatment possible for all audiology referrals. It aims to mitigate the risk to 18-week delivery and create a sustainable service model for audiology for the long term.


14 Mar 2007 : Column 434W

The most complex audiology cases will be covered by the target of treatment within 18 weeks of referral by December 2008. And the remaining routine adult hearing loss cases should be assessed within six weeks by March 2008, in line with the diagnostic waiting time milestone on which local commissioning plans are based. It is also good practice for the subsequent hearing aid fitting to be carried out soon after or at the same time as assessment.

Home Births

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what targets the Government have set for home deliveries in (a) rural and (b) urban settings over the next five years; [126163]

(2) what plans she has to provide further support for those mothers who wish their babies to be delivered at home. [126164]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: We cannot set targets for home births. It is for local primary care trusts and national health service trusts to determine the appropriate pattern of service provision locally, taking into account the choice and needs of local people.

The Government are committed to offering, by 2009, all women the choice of how and where they give birth, for example a birth at home, a birth supported by a midwife or a birth supported by a team of clinicians including a midwife and an obstetrician. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is preparing guidelines on intrapartum care, due to be published in June 2007, which will include guidance on home births.

We will shortly be publishing a document on the delivery of the maternity commitments made in the manifesto and in “Our Health, Our Care, Our Say”, which, when published, will focus on providing continuing support and safe maternity services for all women.

Hospital Beds

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the maximum period of time is for which her Department permits primary care trusts to close beds on a temporary basis. [122537]

Andy Burnham: Decisions on whether to close beds permanently or otherwise are made locally.

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Health after what period of time her Department deems the temporary closure and removal of beds a permanent closure. [122558]

Andy Burnham: Decisions on whether to close beds permanently or otherwise are made locally.

Hospitals: Acute Beds

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many acute hospitals there are in England; how many beds there are in each; and which are (a) tertiary care centres, (b) specialist units and (c) district general hospitals. [125581]


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Andy Burnham: The Department maintains no official definition of acute hospital and is aware of no body with the responsibility to define it.

Data on hospital beds are collected at trust, rather than hospital level. Further, the Department does not centrally collect whether beds are located in tertiary care centres, specialist units or district general hospitals.

A table which shows the average daily number of available hospital beds in 2005-06 (the latest year’s data) for national health service organisations that provided acute beds has been placed in the Library.

Hospitals: Admissions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts carried out public and patient consultation in accordance with section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act prior to introducing referral management schemes. [121924]


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Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally. The use of referral management schemes is for local determination.

Hospitals: Construction

Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what major hospital building projects were approved in each of the last five years, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and if she will make a statement. [124187]

Andy Burnham: The tables give details of hospital building projects with a capital value of over £58.7 million (the threshold conventionally used to denote a ‘major’ scheme at 2006-07 prices) which have had full business case approval or have been approved to proceed to the next stage following the private finance review.

Schemes which have had full business case approval
Constituency( 1) Hospital scheme Capital value at 2006-07 prices (£ million) Year approved Status

Coventry North East

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust

416

2002

Operational

Blackburn

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

117

2003

Operational

Brent

North West London Hospitals NHS Trust

74

2003

Operational

Oxford East

Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust

134

2003

Operational

Wolverhampton North East

The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

61

2003

Operational

Basildon

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Trust

63

2003

Under construction

Derby, South

Derby Hospitals NHS Trust

333

2003

Under construction

Oxford, East

Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust

129

2003

Under construction

Across many

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust

89

2004

Operational

Lewisham West

Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust

75

2004

Operational

Putney

Wandsworth Primary Care NHS Trust

79

2004

Operational

Romford

Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust

254

2004

Operational

Cambridge

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

80

2004

Under construction

Leeds Central

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

277

2004

Under construction

Manchester Central

Central Manchester and Manchester Childrens Hospitals NHS Trust

535

2004

Under construction

Ashfield

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust

326

2005

Under construction

Newcastle Upon Tyne East and Wallsend and Newcastle Upon Tyne Central

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust

299

2005

Under construction

Portsmouth North

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

236

2005

Under construction

Bethnal Green and Bow

St. Barts and the London NHS Trust

1000

2006

Under construction

Birmingham, Edgbaston

University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust

627

2006

Under construction

Bristol West

United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust/North Bristol NHS Trust

64

2006

Under construction

Holborn and St. Pancras

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust

75

2006

Under construction

Kingston Upon Hull West and Hessle

Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust

67

2006

Under construction

St. Helens, North and St. Helens, South

St. Helens Hospitals NHS Trust

338

2006

Under construction



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14 Mar 2007 : Column 438W
Schemes which have been given approval to proceed to the next stage following the private finance review
Constituency( 1) Hospital scheme Capital value at 2006-07 prices (£ million) Year approved Status

Denton and Reddish

Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust

109

2006

Appointed preferred bidder

Leicester, East

University Hospital Leicester NHS Trust

711

2006

Appointed preferred bidder

Newcastle-Under-Lyme

University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust

272

2006

Appointed preferred bidder

Salford

Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

190

2006

Appointed preferred bidder

Walsall, South

Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust

141

2006

Appointed preferred bidder

Edmonton

North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust

111

2007

Appointed preferred bidder

Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford

Mid Yorkshire NHS Hospitals NHS Trust

343

2007

Appointed preferred bidder

Peterborough

Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust

282

2007

Appointed preferred bidder

West Chelmsford

Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust

143

2007

Appointed preferred bidder

Torbay

South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust

163

2006

Shortlisted bidders

Colne Valley

Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust

78

2007

Shortlisted bidders

Tunbridge Wells

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

225

2007

Shortlisted bidders

Bristol, North West

Bristol North and South Gloucester Primary Care Trusts

310

2007

Pre-procurement

(1 )These are the constituencies principally affected by the scheme i.e. those containing a significant element of new build or refurbishment.

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