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4 Jun 2007 : Column 270W—continued
The Department has no current plans to commission any research in this area, but keeps all new and emerging evidence under review.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will amend the abortion notification form to distinguish between physical and mental health grounds for abortion; and if she will make a statement. [136803]
Caroline Flint: The section of the abortion notification form that requests information on grounds already requires doctors to distinguish between physical and mental health grounds for abortion.
The form was redesigned in 2002, following a consultation with stakeholders. We have no current plans to make further changes to the form.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals in England had acute accident and emergency facilities and accepted acute admissions in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [135349]
Andy Burnham: Information is not collected in the format requested. National health service trusts self-report the number of accident and emergency (A&E) services they provide against definitions provided by the Department for the three types of A&E on a quarterly basis. The information available is provided in the following tables.
Information on number of type one (major) A&E services is as follows:
| Number of type one (major) A & E services | |
| Note: Position is at end March. Source: Department of Health QMAE dataset. | |
Prior to 2000-01 trusts submitted written information on whether or not they provided A&E services. They did not submit a count of the number of services provided. The following table shows information for the number of trusts that said “yes” to providing type one (major) A&E services for the period available.
| Number of trusts reporting type 1 (major) A & E services | |
| Note: Position is at end March. Source: Department of Health KH03 dataset. | |
Information on number of national health service trusts reporting emergency admissions via type 1 (major) A&E departments is as follows:
| Number of trusts reporting emergency admissions via type 1 A&E departments | |
| Source: Department of Health, QMAE dataset. | |
This does not include planned admissions in acute specialities.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS organisations reported a large number of delays in the transfer of care for patients at accident and emergency who were brought by ambulance, referred to on page 12 of her Department's Winter Report 2006-07, published on 3 April 2007; for what reasons the delays in transfer of care occurred; and if she will make a statement. [135877]
“a small number of organisations reported a large number of delays in the transfer of care for patients at A&E who were brought in by ambulance”
in the Department's Winter Report 2006-07 arises from an assessment of information made available to the Department by strategic health authorities (SHAs) through routine winter self-reporting arrangements.
From the information made available to the Department the trusts which reported the largest numbers of ambulances waiting last winter for transfer of care were:
Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals National Health Service Trust;
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust;
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Trust;
Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust;
Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust; and
Weston Area Healthcare NHS Trust.
It is for local NHS organisations, overseen by SHAs, to ensure action locally in line with agreed escalation plans to overcome these operational problems. The reasons given for delays included instances of pressure on A&E departments and hospital beds from large numbers of patients attending, as well as temporary restrictions caused by infections.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Nicholas Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of admissions to NHS accident and emergency departments were alcohol-
related in the most recent period for which figures are available. [135674]
Caroline Flint: Information on attendances at accident and emergency departments (A&E) for alcohol-related reasons is not held centrally. Listed as follows are admissions via accident and emergency to national health service hospitals in England for alcohol-related conditions. Also detailed are alcohol- related admissions as a percentage of total admissions via A&E.
Count of finished admission episodes where the patient was admitted via accident and emergency departments and count of finished admission episodes where the patient was admitted via accident and emergency with a primary or secondary diagnosis of alcohol-related illness for 2005-06.
Acute Hospital Services
Anne Milton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer of 24 April 2007, Official Report, column 778, on acute hospital services, what cost was incurred by Surrey Primary Care Trust
in employing the Matrix consultancy for the purpose of producing the document “Squaring the Triangle” on the reconfiguration of health services in Surrey; and whether she plans to visit the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford in 2007. [136890]
Caroline Flint: This is a matter for Surrey Primary Care Trust.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no current plans to visit the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford in 2007.
Aerials: Health Hazards
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process is in place to continue to review the potential health impacts of mobile telephone masts; and what plans she has to report any changes in the scientific assessment. [138084]
Caroline Flint: The Health Protection Agency’s Radiation Protection Division (HPA-RPD) continually monitors the health impact of mobile phone technologies. The research field was comprehensively reviewed in ‘Health Effects from Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields - Report of an independent Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation’ (Documents of the NRPB, Volume 14, No 2 2003).
This report concludes that the weight of evidence now available does not suggest that there are adverse health effects from exposures to radiofrequency (RF) fields below guideline levels, but the published research on RF exposures and health has limitations, and mobile phones have only been in widespread use for a relatively short time. The possibility therefore remains open that there could be health effects from exposure to RF fields below guideline levels; hence continued research is needed.
The report specifically mentions base stations (mobile telephone masts) saying exposure levels from living near to mobile phone base stations are extremely low, and the overall evidence indicates that they are unlikely to pose a risk to health.
The full report is available in the Library and also at the HPA website at:
The mobile telecommunications health research programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, is due to report later this year. Many of the studies supported under this programme have already been published and the details are available on its website at www.mthr.org.uk
AIDS: Medical Treatments
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress she has made towards the target of universal access to treatment for all those with AIDS in the UK by 2010. [134507]
Caroline Flint:
The national health service already provides access to treatment for HIV and AIDS for all people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, including refugees and asylum seekers. Data from
the annual Survey of People with Diagnosed HIV indicated that in 2005 there were 47,517 individuals with diagnosed HIV seen for care in the UK.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will (a) publish a review of the Government's first alcohol strategy and (b) publish details of the second alcohol strategy; what procedure was used to consult on the second alcohol strategy; and what measures she plans to use to assess the performance of the alcohol strategies. [136737]
Caroline Flint: The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England was published in 2004. It contained a commitment for its review during 2007 and this review is under way. We expect to publish a renewed strategy very shortly; this will set out the progress made towards the goals of the 2004 strategy and indicate how the progress which has been made already will be built upon in the future.
The renewed strategy will set out the outcomes to be achieved. After publication, we will discuss how best to achieve the outcomes with stakeholders, and consult as appropriate on detailed proposals.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2007, Official Report, column 1771W, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential for fiscal incentives to promote responsible drinking. [137367]
Caroline Flint: Tax decisions are made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, taking account of a range of factors, including health.
Alcoholic Drinks: Rehabilitation
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department’s alcohol treatment strategy; whether she has means to gather best practice from different parts of the country; and if she will make a statement. [139599]
Caroline Flint: The “Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England” was published in 2004. It contained a commitment for its review during 2007 and this review is under way. We expect to publish a renewed strategy very shortly; this will set out the progress made towards the goals of the 2004 strategy and indicate how the progress which has been made already will be built upon in the future.
Ongoing liaison with stakeholders has meant that officials and Ministers from the Government Departments dealing with the different aspects of alcohol policy are aware of many examples of good practice, both at regional and local level. Along with developments in the evidence base, examples of good practice are an important component of the review of progress and will also be drawn upon to support work to achieve the outcomes being set out in the renewed strategy.
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