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19 Mar 2007 : Column 730W—continued
Family Practitioner Services: Surveys
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are to be surveyed for the NHS’s general practitioner patient survey on hospital choice to be provided by Ipsos MORI. [123971]
Andy Burnham: Questionnaires have been distributed to all general practices with a request that they be distributed to all patients referred by their general practitioners (GPs) between 16 January and 30 March 2007 for a first out-patient appointment where the choice policy applies. In some cases, the need for rapid access to diagnosis and treatment may be judged by the GP to override choice-at-referral policy, for example in cases of chest pain or suspected cancer. In other cases, such as maternity or mental health, other kinds of choice may be more likely to improve the patient experience.
General Practitioners: Bedfordshire
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial support her Department provides for general practitioners in Bedfordshire to undertake training to become GPs with a specialist interest; and if she will make a statement. [122818]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It is for the primary care trusts in discussion with local general practitioners (GPs) to decide how many GPs with a specialist interest are required and how to fund any necessary training.
General Practitioners: County Durham
Dr. Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there are per 1,000 of the population in County Durham; and how many there were in 1997. [123655]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows general medical practitioners (GMPs) per head of population for the former County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority (SHA).
Health Services: Wales
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many Welsh patients were treated in NHS hospitals in England in 2006, broken down by (a) type of treatment and (b) hospital; and how much funding was received by each hospital in payment by the Welsh Assembly Government, broken down by type of treatment; [119009]
(2) how many patients from Wales have been treated in English hospitals as a result of the Welsh Assembly Government's second offer scheme, broken down by (a) health authority area and (b) hospital in which treatment was provided; [119016]
(3) how much each English health authority has received in payment under the Welsh Assembly Government's second offer scheme since its inception; [119017]
(4) what estimate she has made of the cost of follow-up treatment required for patients treated at Weston-super-
Mare Hospital under the Welsh Assembly Government's second offer scheme who have been recalled following knee surgery; and how the costs of the follow-up treatment will be met. [119018]
Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales and I have asked the Health Minister to write to the hon. Member directly.
Health Visitors: Training
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places there were for health visitors in each health region in each of the last three years. [124383]
Ms Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.
Hearing Aids: Stoke on Trent
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on access to digital hearing aids in Stoke on Trent. [125812]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In order to improve access and reduce waiting times for audiology services, the national audiology framework ‘Improving Access to Audiology Services in England’, was published on 6 March 2007.
This measure will assist in significantly reducing waiting times and will greatly benefit those who receive hearing aids.
Herbal Medicine: Regulation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on her plans for the future regulation of herbal practitioners; and what principles will underlie the proposed new regulatory regime. [123950]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A working group has been established to prepare for statutory regulation of herbal medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture practitioners. The working group, chaired by Professor Mike Pittilo, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, has met three times so far and is currently working towards preparing a report to Ministers.
The purpose of statutory regulation is to improve public protection by setting clear standards of training and competence for herbal medicine and acupuncture practitioners. It would also reassure patients that a practitioner they consult is not only suitably qualified, but also competent and up-to-date with developments in practice.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the number of (a) NHS beds, (b) general and acute beds, (c) intermediate care beds, (d) non-residential intermediate care places and (e) adult critical care beds since the publication of the NHS Plan; and if she will make a statement. [126608]
Andy Burnham: The information requested is in the following tables:
| Table 1: Average daily number of available beds | ||||
| All specialties (excluding day only) | Cumulative change | General and acute | Cumulative change | |
| Table 2: Number of intermediate care beds | ||
| Number of beds | Cumulative change | |
| (1) Not collected. Notes: England figure is a pro-rata based on resident PCT populations. This is due to one PCT not returning data. | ||
| Table 3: Number of places in non-residential intermediate care schemes | ||
| Number of places | Cumulative Change | |
| (1) Not collected Notes: England figure is a pro-rata based on resident PCT populations. This is due to one PCT not returning data. | ||
| Table 4: Number of open and staffed adult critical care beds on the census day | ||
| Census date | Critical care | Cumulative change |
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