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7 Jun 2007 : Column 656W—continued
Hospitals: Costs
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the through-life costs of (a) a conventionally procured hospital and (b) a private finance initiative hospital. [139817]
Andy Burnham: To be approved, the private finance initiative (PFI) option for every national health service capital investment project must demonstrate that, overall, it is better value for money when compared to the publicly funded alternative, the public sector comparator (PSC). As part of the business case process a quantitative assessment involving an estimation of the discounted, risk adjusted whole life costs (facilities management, life-cycle for the full life of the contract) for both PSC and PFI options, is now performed using a standard model designed by HM Treasury.
Maternity Services: Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on changes to neonatal care at the Royal Shrewsbury hospital, with particular reference to the care of babies born under 27 weeks gestation. [140709]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The NHS West Midlands strategic health authority reports that there has been no change in where babies of less than 27 weeks gestation are cared for within the Staffordshire, Shropshire and Black Country Newborn Network.
Primary care trusts locally have provided additional funding in 2007-08 for neonatal services in the locality. Commissioners are working with the network to use this extra funding to increase the resources at the two proposed level 3 units. This will ensure that they can be staffed appropriately to provide the improved standard of care necessary for the smallest and sickest babies in
the network, as described in the report by the expert review group on neonatal intensive care, published in 2003.
Decisions about the size and locations of networks, including the number of hospitals and the levels of care provided, are for local decision and should reflect local need and geography.
NHS Direct
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the service provided by NHS Direct NHS Trust; and in what ways she plans to inform Parliament of its performance. [140194]
Andy Burnham: NHS Direct became an national health service trust on 1 April this year. The NHS Direct Board is responsible for monitoring the performance standards, which we have agreed with them. Senior officials will be meeting with the chief executive and senior management team quarterly to review performance against the objectives set out and agreed in their business plan. NHS Direct NHS Trust will lay before Parliament its annual report and accounts shortly.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of operating NHS Direct in each of the last three years. [140196]
Andy Burnham: Expenditure on NHS Direct for the years 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 is shown in the following table. Expenditure figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.
| £ million | |||
| Revenue( 1) | Capital( 2) | Total | |
| (1) Revenue funding available to NHS Direct via primary care trusts. (2) Capital funding from the Department to NHS Direct. Source: Department of Health | |||
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which primary care trusts serve each parliamentary constituency. [140436]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 4 June 2007]: Information on parliamentary constituencies served by primary care trusts is available via the Department’s website at:
Psychiatric Services: Waiting Times
Mr. Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time was for outpatient psychiatric care in each NHS Trust in the latest period for which figures are available. [140695]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 6 June 2007]: Information on the median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a mental health consultant in the latest period for which figures are available is shown in the following table. It should be noted that waiting times collected by the Department relate to consultant-led services only.
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