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13 Jun 2007 : Column 1100W—continued



13 Jun 2007 : Column 1101W

13 Jun 2007 : Column 1102W
Table 3: Commissioner based median in-patient waiting times, PCTs now part of Somerset PCT (excluding Taunton Deane)
As at March each year
Somerset Coast PCT Mendip PCT South Somerset PCT
Specialty 2003 2004 2005 2006 2003 2004 2005 2006 2003 2004 2005 2006

All specialties

11.4

9.9

7.9

6.3

13.2

11.7

11.2

7.4

9.6

8.8

7.0

6.1

General surgery

10.1

8.1

7.0

5.8

10.6

10.5

11.2

6.3

7.9

7.9

5.4

4.8

Urology

8.1

7.8

4.1

3.8

8.7

9.2

8.3

5.0

7.5

7.6

4.1

3.4

Trauma and Orthopaedics

14.7

12.6

10.3

8.3

17.5

14.6

13.7

7.9

11.7

10.8

9.9

6.7

ENT

9.3

9.5

8.6

6.0

11.3

11.7

12.1

10.2

7.5

7.0

5.9

8.2

Ophthalmology

11.2

8.8

7.1

4.9

14.8

10.9

7.5

6.6

10.1

8.4

6.7

5.3

Oral surgery

8.1

8.3

9.5

6.5

10.7

13.6

12.8

10.5

7.3

7.7

5.6

7.0

Plastic surgery

20.0

13.8

n/a

n/a

16.0

n/a

11.4

n/a

14.0

11.2

14.2

9.0

Cardiothoracic surgery

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

10.5

n/a

n/a

n/a

Cardiology

9.1

8.2

5.6

4.0

19.8

9.4

9.4

7.6

n/a

9.1

7.7

n/a

Gynaecology

11.5

9.3

8.6

8.7

12.7

11.1

13.8

8.9

8.6

8.1

6.2

5.3

Notes:
1. Prior to the financial year 2002-03 commissioners were organised into health authorities, with Somerset being the appropriate authority in this case.
2. In October 2006 Taunton Deane PCT, Somerset Coast PCT, South Somerset PCT and Mendip PCT merged to form Somerset PCT. The question specifically refers to Taunton Deane, however, the others are included for reference.
3. Statistically meaningful medians cannot be calculated for specialties with a total waiting list of less than 50. These cases will be marked n/a.
Source:
Department of Health, QF01

Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust: Admissions

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions were cancelled for a non-clinical reason within seven days of the proposed date of admission by Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last two years, broken down by hospital. [140845]

Andy Burnham: The information is not available as requested. Data is not collected at hospital level. The following data shows the number of operations cancelled at the last minute. Last minute is defined as on the day the patient was due to arrive, after the patient has arrived in hospital or on the day of the operation or surgery itself.

Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust: Waiting Lists

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of outpatients in (a) the area covered by Hull and East Yorkshire NHS Trust and (b) England waited less than 13 weeks for a hospital appointment in each of the last five years. [140821]

Andy Burnham: The percentage of patients who were seen within 13 weeks, in each of the last five financial years are outlined in the following table.

Percentage of general practitioner referrals for first consultant led out-patient appointment seen within 13 weeks
Financial year Hull and East Yorkshire national health service trust National

2002-03

73.1

77.8

2003-04

72.5

80.3

2004-05

74.2

83.6

2005-06

81.6

91.4

2006-07

90.8

98.1

Source:
Department of Health, QM08s

Human Embryo Experiments

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons she proposes that sex selection for non-medical reasons will not be permitted under Clause 18 and Schedule 2 of the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill; and what the evidential basis is for the proposal. [142321]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 12 June 2007]: The Government stated in the White Paper “Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: Proposals for revised legislation (including the establishment of the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos)”, published in December 2006, that it is persuaded that sex selection for non-medical reasons within treatment services should be prohibited(1).

Such a provision, as envisaged by clause 18 and schedule 2 of the draft Human Tissue and Embryos Bill would, in effect, put existing restrictions applicable to non-medical sex selection onto a statutory footing. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's (HFEA) code of practice makes clear that licensed centres should not, for social reasons, (a) select embryos of a particular sex, or (b) separate sperm samples, or use sperm samples which have been separated, for the purpose of sex selection(2).

Allowing sex selection for non-medical reasons found very little support in responses to the Department of Health’s consultation on the review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which ran from 16 August to 25 November 2005.

The Government also took into consideration the recommendations resulting from the HFEA’s extensive review of sex selection and options for regulation conducted in 2002-03, which revealed widespread public opposition to non-medical sex selection.

As stated in the White Paper, the Government’s position reflects, in part, the strength of public opinion on this matter and also takes account of the possible effects—including internationally—on cultures where there are marked preferences for male children.

Permitting sex selection for family-balancing reasons would also run the risk of opening the door to sex selection for other non-medical reasons.

Injuries: Offensive Weapons

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many knife wound injuries were treated in hospitals in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 1997. [140634]

Andy Burnham: Information is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows
13 Jun 2007 : Column 1103W
the number of finished admission episodes with a cause code for contact with a knife, sword or dagger for acute trusts in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire,
13 Jun 2007 : Column 1104W
(d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 1997-98 to 2005-06.

Suffolk Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire Essex Hertfordshire Norfolk

2005-06

21

15

86

363

267

78

2004-05

36

8

90

366

246

87

2003-04

28

(1)

106

334

258

83

2002-03

30

(1)

93

325

252

93

2001-02

30

7

87

320

234

70

2000-01

41

6

83

292

219

94

1999-2000

30

(1)

75

313

191

85

1998-99

33

8

68

255

155

81

1997-98

23

7

87

262

176

83

(1) Due to reasons of confidentiality, low numbers (figures between one and five) have been suppressed.
Notes:
1. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
2. Cause code: The cause code is a supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects.
3. Data quality: Hospital episode statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.
4.Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series.
5. Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

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