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14 Mar 2007 : Column 446W—continued
Mr. Anthony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for people on the organ transplant list to receive a donation in each year since 1997. [125578]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Median time waited (in days) on the active list to transplant in the United Kingdom, by year of transplant and transplant type, is shown in the following table:
| Kidney( 1) | Heart( 2) | Lung(s) | Liver( 2) | |
| (1) Living donor transplant cases excluded (2 )Urgent cases excluded | ||||
Mr. Anthony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people are waiting for organ transplants; and how many people are registered to donate organs. [125579]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number listed actively for an organ transplant in the United Kingdom as at 4 March 2007 is shown in the table.
| Organ | Active list |
At 4 March 2007 there were 14.13 million people registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
Osteoporosis
Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what provision has been made for the allocation of Government funding towards osteoporosis treatment to remain ring-fenced; [127468]
(2) how much her Department allocated for expenditure on the treatment of osteoporosis in 2005-06; and how much was spent. [127469]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold data which link treatment to disease. Because of the number of different diagnostic and treatment episodes a patient with osteoporosis and any concurrent condition may undergo, the Department cannot record spending on an individual illness or condition.
The capital provision of £17 million to improve national health service capacity in dual X-ray
absorptiometer (DXA) scanning provision in the diagnosis of osteoporosis has been included in strategic health authorities' (SHA) strategic capital allocation and is not ring-fenced. Whilst the Department does not monitor how SHA strategic capital is spent, it has been clear in its expectations that this funding is spent exclusively on DXA provision. In May 2006, the national director for older people, Professor Ian Philp, wrote to SHAs to highlight the importance of DXA scanning in delivering the relevant elements of the national service framework for older people.
Palliative Care: Finance
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress she has made towards meeting the commitment contained within the Labour party 2005 election manifesto to double spending on palliative care services. [123064]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Ministers have charged Professor Mike Richards, the national cancer director, with support from all other national clinical directors, to develop an end of life care strategy for adults. The strategy will deliver increased choice to all adult patients regardless of their condition about where they live and die, and, within available resources, provide them with support to make this possible. The strategy will help deliver the Government's manifesto commitment and the commitments in the White Paper “Our health, our care, our say”.
Pregnant Women: Lancashire
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pregnant women in Lancashire were diagnosed with a mental illness (a) during pregnancy and (b) in the year after their pregnancy in each of the last 10 years. [125672]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not collected centrally. The Department does not collect information about diagnoses in primary care, so information about the number of people with a mental illness, and who are treated in primary care, is not available at primary care trust, county or national levels.
However, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence issued clinical guidance note CG45 on 28 February 2007 about treating antenatal and postnatal mental health and is available on its website at www.nice.org.uk. This estimates that one in seven women experience a mental health problem in the antenatal (during pregnancy) and postnatal (first year after giving birth) periods.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts there were as at 1 January 2007. [126735]
Andy Burnham: On 1 January 2007 there were 152 primary care trusts.
Ritalin
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what meetings she has had with Novartis to discuss the use of the drug Ritalin. [112649]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has not met with representatives of Novartis to discuss the use of the drug Ritalin.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Vaccination
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will ensure that the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on a human papilloma virus national immunisation programme are implemented within the school year 2007-08. [124115]
Caroline Flint: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) human papilloma virus (HPV) subgroup met on 28 February to review the available information on the protective effect of the vaccine against cervical cancer, and the safety of HPV vaccines. Further work is ongoing to evaluate whether the vaccine is considered to be a cost-effective prevention of cervical cancer; and the impact that HPV vaccine may have on genital warts.
The subgroup’s advice will be reported to the main JCVI committee for further discussion. No decisions will be taken on introducing these vaccines into the immunisation programme until the main JCVI present their advice to Ministers for their consideration.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the potential impact on NHS spending of a national human papilloma virus types 6, 11, 16 and 18 immunisation programme for (a) 12-year-old girls, (b) 12 to 16-year-old girls and (c) 12 to 16-year-old girls and boys. [124121]
Caroline Flint: This work is currently being undertaken for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s consideration.
Smoking: Television
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of people smoking on television and in films on young people's decision on whether or not to start smoking; and if she will make a statement; [125008]
(2) what steps her Department is taking to ensure that smoking is not encouraged by its depiction in television programmes and films; and if she will make a statement. [125009]
Caroline Flint: The Department has not made a recent assessment of the impact of people smoking on television and in films on young people's decision on whether or not to start smoking.
The Government have taken steps to reduce the impact of smoking on young people. The glamorising of tobacco products through advertising, promotion
and sponsorship as well as through their depiction in the media has been shown to be linked to increased smoking rates. The Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002 provides a comprehensive ban on advertising promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products.
The Office of Communications code covers the portrayal of smoking in television programmes. This code specifically requires that the portrayal of smoking should not be featured in children’s programmes, and included only when there is a strong editorial case for inclusion. In other programmes likely to be widely seen by young people, smoking should be included only where context or dramatic veracity requires it. In such programmes, smoking should not be prominently featured as a normal and attractive activity.
In films, the independent British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) undertook a public consultation exercise to update its guidelines on granting classifications for films which can be seen by children. The public expressed some concern at the depiction of smoking in films. The BBFC issued updated guidelines in 2005, which included the following:
No work taken as a whole may promote or encourage the use of illegal drugs. Any detailed portrayal of drug use likely to promote or glamorise the activity may be cut. Works which promote or glamorise smoking, alcohol abuse or substance misuse may also be a concern, particularly at the junior categories.
The BBFC apply these guidelines to cinema films, as well as videos and computer games.
Waiting Lists: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting times in (a) Eastbourne and (b) East Sussex for treatment in (i) ear, nose and throat, (ii) general surgery, (iii) gynaecology, (iv) orthopaedics, (v) rheumatology, (vi) urology and (vii) pain relief specialities were in the last period for which figures are available. [125490]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is only available at primary care trust (PCT) level. The following tables detail the latest figures for average waiting times for the specialities requested for PCTs in East Sussex, based on the wait between consultant decision to admit and in-patient admission.
| Commissioner based in-patient median waiting times for East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT and Hastings and Rother PCT, end of December 2006 | ||||
| East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT | Hastings and Rother PCT | |||
| Specialty | Total number waiting | Median waiting time (weeks) | Total number waiting | Median waiting time (weeks) |
| Commissioner based in-patient median waiting times for East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT and Hastings and Rother PCT, end of January 2007 | ||
| Specialty—trauma and orthopaedics | Total number waiting | Median waiting time (weeks) |
| Notes: 1. East Sussex, Downs and Weald PCT is a merger between Eastbourne Downs PCT and Sussex Downs and Weald PCT (due to the recent PCT restructuring that took place in October 2006). In addition, Hastings and Rother PCT is a merger between Bexhill and Rother PCT and Hastings and St. Leonards PCT. 2. Medians are not provided for specialties with a total waiting list of less than 100 because this population is too small for a statistically meaningful median to be calculated. 3. Pain management data are collected as part of the anaesthetic specialty, and Orthopaedics is part of trauma and orthopaedics. It is not possible to break these down into constituent parts. 4. Data by specialty are collected on a quarterly basis apart from trauma and orthopaedics, which are collected monthly. Source: Department, QF01 and Monthly Monitoring | ||
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