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20 Jun 2007 : Column 1927W—continued
NHS: Procurement
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007, Official Report, column 372W, on NHS: procurement, how many NHS Supply Chain clinical councils there are; and what areas of healthcare procurement they advise on; [143935]
(2) what criteria are used for the appointment of members of NHS Supply Chain clinical councils; and what appointments have been made; [143936]
(3) pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007, Official Report, column 372W, on NHS: procurement, what (a) resources and (b) information are available to members of NHS Supply Chain clinical councils in their evaluation of the product requirements of the NHS. [143937]
Andy Burnham: NHS Supply Chain is currently devising product councils that will cover its major product categories. The first two councils will cover the areas of theatre and nursing and it is expected that they be set up towards the end of this year.
No appointments have been made yet. The appointment criteria for product council members will cover the level of experience of each applicant, including both academic qualifications and clinical experience in the field. Decisions will be made based on the application form and curriculum vitae of each applicant.
As the product councils are not yet operating, resources and information about the evaluation of national health service product requirements are not yet available.
Mr. Havard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2007, Official Report, column 341W, on NHS: procurement, what non-financial aspects of quality assessment are used by NHS Supply Chain in tender evaluations in addition to National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. [143938]
Andy Burnham: NHS Supply Chain employs a number of qualitative measures during the tender evaluation process. Owing to the complexity and variety of products and services within the NHS supplies market, these are determined on a case by case basis against the background of the specific category market. As a rule the measures will include requests for evidence of quality testing that meets relevant British, European or international standards, independent testing, product evaluation by clinicians, caterers or other end users. NHS Supply Chain will also facilitate product trials with national health service trusts where possible.
Evidence of suppliers’ quality control systems are also reviewed and NHS Supply Chain actively monitors existing suppliers’ delivery performance and product quality during the life of the contract to ensure that the NHS secures reliable and consistent supply of effective, value for money products for use in patient care.
NHS: Stoke-on-Trent
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will review the adequacy of (a) the pool budget allocation for Stoke-on-Trent and (b) the formula on which the funding is allocated. [143347]
Caroline Flint: Decisions regarding pooled drug treatment budget (PTB) allocations beyond 2008 have yet to be made.
The allocation process for 2007-08 involved an element of re-distribution to narrow the differing PTB spend per head within each drug partnership area. Stoke-on-Trent were allocated a 7 per cent. PTB increase from 2006-07, an overall increase of 35 per cent. in the last two years.
NHS: Surrey
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of the impact which the NHS funding formula has had on NHS deficits within Surrey; and if she will make a statement. [143281]
Caroline Flint: The Department’s director general of finance commissioned a report from the chief economic adviser to consider potential causes for the emergence of national health service deficits. The report “Explaining NHS Deficits 2003-04 to 2005-06” was published on 20 February 2007.
The report discusses purported explanations for the timing, geographical patterns and organisational structure of NHS deficits. The report shows that the resource allocation funding formula did not play a significant role in causing aggregate NHS deficits in the years in which this formula was used to allocate funding.
Copies of the report are available in the Library.
NHS: Training
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how her Department monitors spending on training for NHS staff. [144043]
Andy Burnham: The Department monitor spend on training for national health service staff via biannual monitoring returns.
The returns are completed by strategic health authorities (SHAs) at the end of quarter two and outturn at quarter four. They include information on how much each SHA spends on training medical and dental undergraduates, medical and dental postgraduates and their non-medical professional workforce.
This monitoring process only covers posts that are funded from the multi professional education and training budget and NHS trusts will also invest in training their own staff, however, this information is not held centrally.
Nurses: Redundancy
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS nurses applied for voluntary redundancy in 2006; and what the cost of those redundancies was. [134781]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect centrally the number of nurses who apply for voluntary redundancy.
However, since April 2006 we have collected information centrally on the number who were offered and have taken voluntary redundancy.
There were 118 nurses who decided to take voluntary redundancy in the 12 months to 31 March 2007.
The cost of these redundancies was not collected centrally.
Palliative Care: Children
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for publishing her Department’s response to the independent review of children’s palliative care services; and if she will make a statement. [141578]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department will publish a response later in the year.
Palliative Care: Finance
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much her Department provided in exceptional allocation monies for specialist palliative care in Gloucestershire in each of the last three years for which figures are available; [143696]
(2) what steps she is taking to ensure that exceptional allocation monies for specialist palliative care services are spent on those services; and if she will make a statement. [143697]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer s 18 June 2007]: Ministers set up a central budget of £50 million per annum for specialist palliative care for the three years beginning 2003-04. Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT) is part of the Three Counties Cancer Network which received £928,000 per annum between 2003-04 and 2005-06. The Department does not have figures for individual PCTs. The £50 million was made recurrent in PCT baseline allocations from 2006-07.
PCTs are responsible within the national health service for commissioning and funding services for their resident population, including end of life care. It is for PCTs to determine how to use the funding allocated to them to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.
Pregnancy: Stress
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been (a) funded and (b) carried out by her Department into stress in unborn children; when her Department last undertook an evidence review on the issue that drew on (i) UK and (ii) international research; and if she will make a statement. [142834]
Caroline Flint: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research has recently awarded funding for a trial of the use of the hyperemesis impact of symptoms score for individualised assessment and management of the symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum. Research on fetal and birth stress also forms part of the work programme of the Hammersmith and St. Mary’s and Imperial College Biomedical Research Centre which the Department is funding from April 2007.
Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department’s total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects including a number concerned with fetal stress are available on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research.
The Department has not undertaken an evidence review of the sort to which the hon. Member refers.
Pregnant Women: Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the new advice on pregnant women and alcohol was submitted for ministerial approval. [142071]
Caroline Flint: I have agreed the new advice on pregnant women with four United Kingdom chief medical officers.
Prescriptions: Carlisle
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for (a) diamorphine and (b) methadone were dispensed in Carlisle constituency in each year since 2003; and if she will make a statement. [143217]
Caroline Flint: The information is not available in the requested format. The data provided in the following tables are for the number of items prescribed for diamorphine hydrochloride and methadone hydrochloride in the former Carlisle and District Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Cumbria PCT (after October 2006).
| Diamorphine hydrochloride (British National Formulary (BNF) codes 3.9.1 and 4.7.2) | ||
| Prescriber name | Total items diamorphine hydrochloride | |
| Methadone hydrochloride (British National Formulary codes 3.9.1 and 4.7.2 and 4.10) | ||
| Prescriber name | Total items methadone hydrochloride | |
| (1) Cumbria PCT was formed in October 2006 and consists of Carlisle and District PCT, Eden Valley PCT, West Cumbria PCT and part of Morecambe Bay PCT. | ||
This information was obtained from the prescribing analysis and cost tool (PACT) system, which covers prescriptions prescribed by general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and others in England and dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom. For data at PCT level, prescriptions written by a prescriber located in a particular PCT but dispensed outside that PCT will be included in the PCT in which the prescriber is based. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Prescriptions written in hospitals/clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data. It is important to note this as some BNF sections have a high proportion of prescriptions written in hospitals that are dispensed in the community.
For example, BNF chapter 4, Central Nervous System, has a fair proportion of items written in mental health clinics that are dispensed in the community—these prescriptions are not included in PACT data.
Prescriptions are written on a prescription form known as a FP10. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.
A PCT will only appear in the PACT system if a prescription has been made within the time period that the data spans. Hence, the total number of PCTs will vary for different BNF chapters/sections. Blank fields are indicative of PCTs which have ceased to exist (or come into existence) either because they have merged with one or more other PCTs or have been officially renamed during the time period for which data has been requested.
The sum of the data for all PCTs does not equal the total England figure, because the total England figure includes unidentified Doctors (not possible for the Prescriptions Pricing Division to allocate to a PCT).
The prescription cost analysis system uses the therapeutic classifications defined in the BNF. No information on why a drug is prescribed is available and since drugs can be prescribed to treat more than one condition it is impossible to separate the different conditions that a drug was prescribed for.
Psychology: Waiting Lists
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to reduce the waiting time for primary care psychological therapy services for residents of Altrincham and Sale West to less than 15 months. [139187]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Trafford Primary Care Trust (PCT) is putting in place a range of measures to reduce waiting times for psychological therapy services. These include establishing joint working practices across primary care mental health services and primary care psychology services, setting up a single point of access to services and introducing an improved waiting list management service.
We made a manifesto commitment in 2005 to increase the provision of psychological therapies. This followed 2001 Department guidelines on treatment choice in psychological therapies and 2004 guidance, “Organising and Delivering Psychological Therapies”, to help local services to understand best practice and how to organise local services to support access. Last year we embarked on a new programme, Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, to provide more effective and timely access to psychological therapies for people with mild to moderate mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.
Research: Heart Diseases
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on research into (a) coronary heart disease, (b) cancer and (c) stroke and stroke related problems in each of the last 10 years. [144055]
Caroline Flint: The available information is shown in the table.
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