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10 May 2007 : Column 407W—continued
Health Services: Private Sector
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library (a) any Official Journal of the European Union notice for private sector involvement in supporting primary care trusts sent for publication and subsequently withdrawn and (b) subsequent versions of that notice. [134242]
Andy Burnham: The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) notice has been placed in the Library and is available at the Department’s website:
A copy of the previous OJEU notice has also been placed in the Library.
Heart Diseases: Strokes
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department provides to NHS trusts on safe travelling times for (a) heart attack and (b) stroke patients for emergency admissions. [135348]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The national service framework (NSF) for coronary heart disease published in March 2000 sets the standard that people thought to be suffering from heart attack should be given thrombolysis (treatment with clotbusting drugs) within 60 minutes of calling for professional help. Where the journey time to hospital is routinely more than 30 minutes, the NSF states that other models of treatment should be considered, for example pre-hospital thrombolysis.
Angioplasty given as an emergency treatment (known as primary angioplasty) is developing as an alternative treatment to thrombolysis in some cardiac centres. No guidance has been issued on safe travelling times to receive primary angioplasty. Current evidence is that this technique leads to improved outcomes compared to thrombolysis, even if performed up to three hours from time of call for help.
No guidance has been issued on safe travelling times for stroke patients. The Department is preparing a stroke strategy, which will include guidance on the emergency treatment of stroke.
Hospital Wards: Gender
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will place in the Library a copy of the report on mixed sex wards she has received from the heads of strategic health authorities; [121793]
(2) whether she intends to improve the target on mixed sex wards to take account of more factors. [121814]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
The target to eliminate mixed sex accommodation in 95 per cent. of trusts was achieved on time in 2002. We have not collected formal
information against the target since then, and do not have any current plans to reinstate or expand this collection.
In November 2006, David Nicholson asked strategic health authorities to review their latest information on mixed-sex accommodation and ensure it was accurate. Alongside other data, including patient environment action team reports, and findings from the Healthcare Commission inpatient survey, this information has been brought together in a comprehensive report on the situation by the chief nursing officer, which includes identification of best practice examples. Copies of the report are available in the Library.
Hospitals: Finance
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of the research and development budget for London hospitals was reallocated to hospitals in the regions in each of the last three years; [131348]
(2) what proportion of her Department’s research and development budget is allocated to (a) London and (b) each of the regions following her recent announcement on biomedical research centres. [131350]
Caroline Flint: Allocations from the research and development budget are made on the basis of research activity rather than a regional basis. Details of the allocations made to national health service trusts and other research active NHS organisations over the last three years are published on the Department’s website
The distribution of the allocations has not varied significantly over this period.
The Department’s implementation of the Government’s health research strategy “Best Research for Best Health” will deliver a funding system that is transparent, fair and sustainable and where funding better reflects research and development activity. The creation of Biomedical Research Centres alongside the expansion of national research programmes and the establishment of new funding schemes is one of the ways in which these objectives will be achieved. The transition to the new system will be complete by 2009. Further details are available on the National Institute for Health Research website
Hospitals: Infectious Diseases
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths have resulted from hospital-acquired infections in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; what steps she is taking to reduce these incidences; and if she will make a statement. [133412]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information on deaths from hospital acquired infections is not available. The Office for National Statistics publishes analyses of deaths in England and Wales with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or Clostridium difficile (C. difficile ) mentioned on the death certificate but these data do not indicate if the infection was acquired in hospital or elsewhere.
The following tables show the latest information available on MRSA and C. difficile deaths in England and Wales.
Reducing healthcare associated infections (HCAIs), including MRSA and Clostridium difficile is one of just four development priorities in the operating framework for 2007-08 published in December 2006. In addition to the existing target to halve MRSA blood stream infections by 2008 the operating framework requires new local targets to significantly reduce Clostridium difficile infections.
In October 2006 a new statutory code of practice for the prevention and control of healthcare associated infections came into force. This requires the national health service to have appropriate management and clinical governance systems in place to deliver effective infection control and will drive up standards.
| Number of death certificates with Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) mentioned and as the underlying cause in England and Wales from 1996 to 2005 | ||||||||||
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| (1) The inclusion of ICD-10 code A41.9 in selecting the underlying cause has resulted in small differences to data for 2001 and 2002 previously published for England and Wales in HSQ21. For the years 1996 to 2000 previously published figures incorrectly excluded deaths coded to ICD-9 code 008.4 (an addition of between 1 and 7 deaths has been made). (2) Excludes neonatal deaths Note: England and Wales data include non-residents who died in England and Wales. | ||||||||||
| Number of death certificates with Clostridium difficile, mentioned and recorded Clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death from 1999 to 2005( 1) in England and Wales( 2) | |||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
| (1) England and Wales data include non-residents who died in England and Wales (2) All deaths in England and Wales are coded by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). The Tenth revision (ICD-10) has been used by the ONS since 2001. In the Ninth revision of the ICD (ICD-9) there are no specific codes that would allow deaths mentioning C. difficile to be easily identified. Data for 2000 are therefore not available as ICD-9 was used in this year. Deaths registered in 1999 in England and Wales were coded to both ICD-9 and ICD-10 as part of a special study to compare the two ICD revisions, and have therefore been used to give an additional year of data on deaths involving C. difficile. (3) Excludes neonatal deaths | |||||||
Hospitals: Telephones
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what payments her Department has made to Patientline; [135483]
(2) how many complaints she has received about Patientline. [135484]
Andy Burnham: The Department has not made any payments to Patientline. Contracts are agreed directly between the NHS trust and their chosen service provider. The service provider pays the costs of installation and managing the service and charges the patient directly, if they choose to use its services.
Since August 2005, some 182 members of the public have written to the Department about integrated bedside television and telephone services. The number of complaints this correspondence may contain is not identified separately.
Medical Records: Disclosure of Information
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) central funding is planned to be made available and (b) local funding is planned to be ring-fenced for a locally-led public information programme to inform patients about the way their healthcare information will be held and to tell patients about the right they have to limit the way their information is shared. [131758]
Caroline Flint: A public information programme about the national health service care records service (NHS CRS) will be delivered to inform patients of the changes to how their health information will be stored and accessed, and the rights and choices they will have. It has been developed by the Department’s NHS Connecting for Health agency, in conjunction with key stakeholders which include clinicians and patient representative groups, and with input and advice from the Information Commissioner and the Summary Care Record Advisory Group.
Key elements of the programme are already in place and include leaflets, posters, patient guidance, a telephone information line, and outdoor exhibition trailers. National health service organisations will be free to tailor these for local use. As a national supplier
to the national programme for information technology, British Telecom has agreed to sponsor some elements of this work.
It is not currently possible to estimate what central funding will be required to ensure delivery of the public information programme. This will depend on the number of early adopter primary care trusts that decide to implement the NHS CRS in 2007-08. Local planning and funding of implementation of the programme is a matter for individual NHS bodies.
Multiple Sclerosis: Drugs
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the availability of the drug Tysabri for the treatment of sufferers of multiple sclerosis. [131105]
Caroline Flint: Tysabri for the treatment of highly active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis is subject to a continuing appraisal by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
Pending NICE’s final guidance on Tysabri national health service bodies should continue to make local decisions on its availability, taking account of the available evidence.
NHS: Drugs
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost (a) in total and (b) per capita was of the drugs budget of the NHS in each of the last 15 years. [133668]
Caroline Flint: Primary care and national health service trust drugs budgets are not determined centrally. From the inception of primary care trusts in 1999-2000, trusts are responsible for setting their own budgets; decisions on the level of funding will depend on local priorities.
The table gives the total drugs bill since 1990-91, and is broken down by primary care and the hospital and community health service (HCHS).
The Department does not publish the drugs bill on a per capita basis. The per capita figures shown have been derived from Office National Statistics mid-year total population estimates for England, and do not take into account age related demand for drugs.
| Total outturn (£ million) | Per capita (£) | O f which: primary (£ million) | Per capita (£) | O f which: HCHS (£ million) | Per capita (£) | ||||||||
| Notes: 1. Sources: Prescription Pricing Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, England and Department of Health Finance Division. 2. Figures are net which include Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) receipt savings. 3. The total drugs spend include drugs expenditure in primary care and the HCHS. The primary care expenditure reflects amounts paid to pharmacy and appliance contractors and amounts authorised for dispending doctors and personal administration in England. HCHS expenditure includes drugs and medical gases. 4. From 2000-01 figures are in resource terms, prior to this figures are in cash terms. Cash figures relate to February to January prescribing due to delay in prescription processing and payment calculations. Resource figures represent the actual cost between April to March. | |||||||||||||
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