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21 Jun 2007 : Column 2190W—continued
Other posts are funded through local use of Government funds. Details of these posts are not available.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the United Kingdom Government support medical and clinical research.
The MRC currently supports around 300 fellows and 100 capacity building and industrial collaborative students through its research career award schemes. The number of those currently supported in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research are shown in the table.
| Fellowship type | Cancer | Cardiovascular | Cerebrovascular |
The MRC also supports around 1,000 further students through doctoral training accounts to universities. The information that would be needed to classify those awards by reference to disease areas is not held centrally.
Ruth Hartley
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a unique identification number was accurately maintained for Dr. Ruth Hartley throughout each stage of the ST2007 recruitment process. [134433]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Medical Training Application Service allocates and maintains unique identification numbers for applicants and applications (final suffix letter). These are system generated and are not changed. Our supplier has confirmed that there is no evidence of any corruption to this data.
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) consultants and (c) nurses were employed by Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust in each of the last five years. [136707]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of medical and dental staff showing consultants, qualified nursing, midwifery and heath visiting staff(1) within Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust as at 30 September each year for the period 2002 to 2006 is shown in the table.
(1) Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS).
Smoking: Prisons
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what mechanisms exist to ensure that funding allocated by primary care trusts for nicotine replacement therapy within prison establishments is adequate; and if she will make a statement; [142866]
(2) what assessment she has made of the impact on demand for nicotine replacement therapy within prison establishments of the requirements of Prison Service Instruction 09/2007; what resources she has made available to meet this demand; and if she will make a statement; [142867]
(3) what assessment she has made of the demand for nicotine replacement therapy in areas designated as dormitories within the prison estate; and if she will make a statement; [142868]
(4) what assessment she has made of the availability of nicotine replacement therapy at (a) each prison establishment and (b) for those held in custody while attending courts; what resources are provided to support the demand for this treatment; and if she will make a statement. [142870]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Since April 2006, primary care trusts (PCTs) have been responsible for ensuring that healthcare services in prison(s) in their locality are of an equivalent quality and range to that which the general public receives from the national health service. Provision is determined by local health needs assessment, which, in partnership with the prison, should take into account the type of accommodation in which prisoners are held.
Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is available via prison health services, in the same way that it is in the community, through a general practitioner. This would include those prisoners attending for court appearance from prison.
For each of the financial years 2003-06, the Department provided an additional £500,000 funding to bring smoking cessation services in prisons in England, including NRT, in line with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. Resources are now contained within baseline primary care trust funding.
Strokes
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will increase the availability of (a) acute stroke services available within three hours and (b) other specialist treatment for people suffering from strokes; and if she will make a statement. [143947]
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to ensure that every primary care trust area has a service for diagnosis and treatment of a stroke within three hours of symptom onset; and when she expects this to be in place. [143030]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The rapid diagnosis of stroke and the introduction of thrombolysis (the use of clot-busting drugs) are key challenges for the national health service in its treatment of stroke. This is why the Department is developing a new national stroke strategy for England, which aims to support the NHS to modernise services and deliver the newest treatments for stroke.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what timetable is in place to provide an acute stroke service in every primary care trust area; and if she will make a statement. [142969]
Ms Rosie Winterton: All primary care trusts caring for people who have had a stroke now have a specialist stroke service and 97 per cent. (196 of 203 hospitals) of hospitals in England who treat stroke patients now have a stroke unit (in 2004 only 82 per cent. had a stroke unit).
Source:
National Sentinel Audit for Stroke 2006 conducted by the Royal College of Physicians.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the trend in the number of strokes amongst people in England. [143006]
Ms Rosie Winterton: These data are not collected centrally.
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects the national stroke strategy to be published. [145043]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government are currently developing a new national stroke strategy for England which aims to modernise services and deliver the newest treatments for stroke, and the aim is to publish it this winter, following a full public consultation.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to reduce the number of deaths caused by strokes. [143025]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
Stroke mortality is falling. For people under 65, the three year average death rate from stroke has fallen by 23 per cent. over the period from 1993-95 to 2002-04. For people aged 65-75 the death rate has dropped by 30 per cent. over the same period. However, the Government recognise that more needs to be done. This is why we are developing a new national stroke strategy for England which will modernise services and deliver the newest treatments for stroke. The strategy will be published for consultation shortly
with the intention of the final version being available by the end of the year.
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she plans to take to prevent avoidable deaths from stroke in England; and if she will make a statement. [143946]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Stroke mortality is falling. For people under 65, the three-year average death rate from stroke has fallen by 23 per cent. over the period from 1993-95 to 2002-04. For people aged 65 to 75, the death rate has dropped by 30 per cent. over the same period.
The risk factors which increase an individual’s chances of suffering a stroke include smoking, drinking alcohol, poor diet and lack of physical activity. Strokes are also more likely in those who suffer from hypertension and diabetes. Through the public health White Paper “Choosing Health”, the Department has set out a programme of action to help improve the health of the public including action on smoking and diet. This builds on existing work such as campaigns on smoking and diet, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on the management of hypertension, points for prevention activities in the general practitioner contract and support for the Blood Pressure Association blood pressure awareness campaigns.
The coronary heart disease and diabetes national service frameworks have also driven forward improvements in primary and secondary prevention of risk factors associated with circulatory disease in general. This includes better control of blood pressure and blood glucose, cholesterol management and the use of aspirin.
The Department is also developing a new national stroke strategy for England which aims to modernise services, not just for those who have had a stroke, but also those at risk of doing so.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will provide funding for research into the prevention and treatment of stroke in people of (a) African Caribbean and (b) South Asian origin. [143972]
Ms Rosie Winterton: 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 relevant to my hon. Friend's question are available on the national research register at
The Department's National Institute for Health Research is investing £20 million over five years in the UK Stroke Research Network set up in 2005. The Network is supporting clinical trials and other well designed studies conducted by public and private sector funders, and has adopted the following three studies which involve research into the prevention and treatment of stroke within black and minority ethnic communities:
DNA resource for lacunar stroke
South London ethnicity and stroke study
The South London secondary prevention programme
The Department is also funding the South London Stroke register which assesses the risk of stroke and the natural history of stroke with a focus on ethnicity.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts in London provide acute stroke services. [143020]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Department does not hold this information centrally. However, the following hospitals took part in the 2006 sentinel audit of stroke services conducted by the Healthcare Commission.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust (Oldchurch and Harold Wood hospitals in collaboration with Havering primary care trust)
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (Barnet hospital), Barnet PCT and Finchley Memorial hospital
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust (Chase Farm hospital)
Barts and the London NHS Trust jointly with Tower Hamlets PCT
Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust
Ealing Hospital NHS Trust
Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (Epsom Hospital)
Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust (St. Helier Hospital)
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust
Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust
Kingston Hospital NHS Trust
Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust
Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust
Newham University Hospital NHS Trust
North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust—Jointly with Haringey PCT
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust (Central Middlesex Hospital including Willesden Community hospital (Brent PCT))
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