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9 May 2007 : Column 262W—continued
Ambulance Services: Rural Areas
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of experienced ambulance control room staff in saving lives and minimising risks to patients in rural areas. [135185]
Andy Burnham: No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of experienced ambulance control room staff in saving lives and minimising risks to patients in rural areas.
However, national health service ambulance trust control room staff play an important role in ensuring that responses to 999 calls are dispatched promptly, that calls are prioritised accurately and that callers receive the advice and reassurance that they need. For example, call handlers can give callers advice on dealing with childbirth, uncontrolled bleeding or resuscitation while they wait for help to arrive. This advice is routinely provided no matter where the control room or the caller is located.
Asthma
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans she has for the provision of specialist asthma healthcare staff and care plans; [136065]
(2) what studies her Department has undertaken of the variations in rates of admission for asthma attacks across primary care trusts; [136066]
(3) what steps her Department is taking (a) to improve preventative provision for asthma and (b) to reduce the need for asthma-related emergency admissions. [136074]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 8 May 2007]: The Department published “Supporting People with Long-term Conditions: An NHS and Social Care Model” in January 2005. The purpose of the model is to improve the health and quality of life of people with long-term conditions, including asthma, by providing:
early detection;
good control to minimise the effects of the disease and reduce complications;
more effective medicines management to reduce the number of crises; and
promoting independence by empowering patients allowing them to take control of their lives.
The new general medical services contract was launched in February 2003. The contract includes a specific quality indicator for treatment and care of people with asthma based on:
a register of patients diagnosed with, and prescribed drugs for, asthma;
a record of patients aged 8 years and over where diagnosis confirmed by spirometry or peak flow measurement; and
a record of asthma review within past 15 months.
We are not aware of the Department’s having undertaken any studies of the variation in admission rates across primary care trusts.
It is the responsibility of local health bodies to ensure they have adequate staff with the skills necessary to meet the health needs of their local population.
Brain Tumours
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been provided by her Department for research into brain tumours in 2006-07. [129877]
Caroline Flint:
The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service
development in the national health service. The Department’s national research programme spend on projects related to brain tumour in 2006-07 is £868,000. This figure includes expenditure in two areas where the focus is on paediatric oncology as a whole. It excludes expenditure from the research and development allocations made annually to NHS providers. That information is not held centrally.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the brain tumour studies being supported by her Department; how much funding has been provided to each study by her Department; and how many (a) children and (b) adults are taking part in these studies. [129878]
Caroline Flint: The information available is shown in the table.
The Department’s allocation to the NCRN in 2006-07 is £14.5 million. It is not possible to say what part of this support funding is spent on individual projects.
Details of a number of other non-NCRN studies supported from the allocations made by the Department to national health service research active organisations can be found on the National Research Register at
Care Homes
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) care homes and (b) care home beds there were in (i) the Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) England in each year since 1997. [134850]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information for the Jarrow constituency is not centrally available.
Table 1 shows the number of care homes open and places available in England, the North East region, and South Tyneside and Gateshead area for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March for the years 1997 to 2001. Data for 2002 are not available. Data for 2001 are not comparable to 2003 data.
| Table 1: Number of care homes( 1) open and places available for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March, 1997 to 2001 | ||||||
| England | North East region | South Tyneside and Gateshead( 2) | ||||
| Homes | Places | Homes | Places | Homes | Places | |
| (1 )Includes residential homes, nursing homes, mental nursing homes and private hospitals/clinics. (2 )Nursing care relates to Gateshead and South Tyneside Health Authority; residential care relates to Gateshead and South Tyneside councils with social services responsibilities. Data for South Tyneside alone was not collected until 2003, with the establishment of the National Care Standards Commission and later the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) to register and inspect social care providers. Source: RA and RH(N) returns | ||||||
Table 2 shows the number of care homes and places registered in England, the North East region and South Tyneside for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March for the years 2003 to 2007.
| Table 2: Number of care homes( 1) open and places available for adults aged 18 and over, at 31 March, 2003 to 2007 | ||||||
| England | North East region | South Tyneside | ||||
| Homes | Places | Homes | Places | Homes | Places | |
| (1) Includes care homes with nursing, adult placement, non-medical and personal care. (2) Excludes some local authority homes, which were open but not registered. Source: CSCI registration and inspection database. Data as at 26 April 2007. | ||||||
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