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21 Mar 2007 : Column 1028W—continued
Patients: Databases
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the security implications of housing patient data in a central database. [123990]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) on 13 December 2006, Official Report, column 1178W.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which (a) Government agencies and (b) other public bodies will have access to a centrally held NHS patient database; [123991]
(2) what arrangements are being put in place to ensure that patients have access to their records for the purpose of allowing mistakes to be discovered and corrected. [123993]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) on 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 799W.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements are in place to allow patients to opt-out of the centrally held NHS database; and what the conditions for opt-out are. [123992]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) on 14 March 2007, Official Report, column 441W.
Plastic Surgery
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to regulate the use of dermal fillers. [117965]
Caroline Flint: Most dermal fillers used in the United Kingdom are regulated as medical devices under the Medical Devices Regulations 2002, as amended. CE-marking of a product under the Medical Devices Directive denotes that the risks are outweighed by the benefits expected from its use for the medical purpose intended by the manufacturer.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the findings of her Department’s review of prescription charges; who is undertaking the review; whether third-party organisations are contributing to the review; whether she plans to consult on the results of the review; and if she will make a statement. [124981]
Caroline Flint: The Government said in its response to the Health Select Committee’s Report on national health service charges, that the Department would undertake a review of the current exemptions for prescription charges and put forward options that would be expenditure neutral for the NHS. We have undertaken to report the outcome of the review to Parliament before the summer recess 2007.
The Department welcomes comments on possible options for changing the current prescription charge arrangements from all organisations that wish to make representations. We will consider the next steps once the outcome of the review has been submitted to Parliament.
Smoking: Housing
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the Smoke Free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations 2007 will apply to privately owned houses (a) when they are being used for public purposes and (b) when in private use. [127250]
Caroline Flint: Where a privately owned house is used as a private dwelling, regulation three will exempt the dwelling from the smoke-free provisions of the Health Act, except any part of it which is shared or used exclusively for work in the circumstances set out in that regulation.
However, regulation three needs to be considered in the context of Section 2 of the Health Act 2006. That section requires only public and work places to be smoke-free and it provides that where public places are not also work places, they are only required to be smoke-free when they are open to the public. Work in this context includes voluntary work.
Sunitinib
Derek Conway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the licensed drug Sunitinib is available on NHS prescription. [126264]
Caroline Flint: Sunitinib (sutent) is licensed for use in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and gastrointestinal stomal tumour and is available on national health service prescription.
The Department is currently considering referring Sunitinib to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) for appraisal. Guidance issued by the Department makes it clear that it is not acceptable for NHS organisations to refuse to fund a treatment simply because if has not been appraised by NICE.
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