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26 July 2007 : Column 1272W—continued
Abortion: Children
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many children under 18 years had (a) a third and (b) fourth abortion in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; [152782]
(2) how many women in (a) Essex Strategic Health Authority and (b) England and Wales had an abortion in 2006 who had already had (i) six and (ii) seven previous abortions. [152784]
Dawn Primarolo: Numbers of abortions to women age under 18 who have had a third or fourth abortion are not available for release for confidentiality reasons. This is because either the totals are less than 10 (between zero and nine cases) or because a presented total would reveal the value of a suppressed total already published. This is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics (2005).
Numbers of women resident in the Essex Primary Care Trusts of Mid Essex, North East Essex, South East Essex, South West Essex and West Essex who had an abortion in 2006 who already had (i) six and (ii) seven previous abortions are also not available for release for the same reasons stated above. The numbers for England and Wales are published in Table 4b of the Statistical Bulletin “Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2006”, copies of which are available in the Library.
Abortion: Private Sector
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the independent-sector places which applied to be registered with the Healthcare Commission to perform abortions in each of the last 12 months; how many applications were (a) accepted and (b) rejected; and if he will make a statement. [152858]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Healthcare Commission had three new applications from independent-sector places to register for the termination of pregnancy between July 2006 and the end of June 2007. The applications have yet to be determined and therefore remain commercial in confidence.
Admissions: Heart Diseases
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were admitted to hospital with congestive heart failure in each of the last five years, broken down by strategic health authority. [152919]
Ann Keen: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy
Mr. Burrowes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement by the Minister of State on 15 May 2007, Official Report, column
203WH, on the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, whom the Minister of State has met; and which further stakeholders she plans to meet. [153372]
Dawn Primarolo: As the ministerial reshuffle occurred shortly after publication of the strategy and the recess is now imminent, no ministerial meetings with alcohol stakeholders have taken place since the strategy was published. However, early meetings are being sought by industry organisations, and Ministers would expect to meet them, as well as non-governmental organisations such as Alcohol Concern and senior medical representatives.
Alcoholic Drinks: Females
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of smoke-free pubs on levels of binge drinking by women. [153632]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department is not aware of any assessment or evidence on the potential impact of smoke-free pubs on levels of binge drinking by women.
Alcoholic Drinks: Health Services
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to incorporate alcohol monitoring in the Quality and Outcomes Framework. [147980]
Mr. Bradshaw: As part of the ongoing development of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), indicators and clinical areas will be reviewed in the light of the clinical evidence base. The Expert Panel which advises the QOF negotiations looks at new areas for clinical intervention by practices, in the context of value for money and the benefits to patients.
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish regular progress reports on the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy. [153634]
Dawn Primarolo: The ministerial group on alcohol harm reduction, which is chaired jointly by myself and the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker), continue to monitor and manage the delivery of the priority actions and outcomes that are set out in ‘Safe. Sensible. Social. The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy’.
Information on progress against the priority actions that are detailed in ‘Safe. Sensible. Social.’, and links to statistical data assessing reductions in alcohol harm or changes in public awareness will be published regularly on a new Government website, the details of which will be announced in the near future.
Ambulance Services
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which conditions are treated by ambulance trusts as Category (a) A and (b) B emergencies. [151817]
Mr. Bradshaw: Emergency 999 calls made to ambulance control centres are prioritised so that each can be responded to according to clinical need and receive a level of care appropriate to the patient(s) condition. In order to do this national health service ambulance trusts within England use a process of call categorisation.
Call categorisation means that the caller is asked a series of questions about the patient. From the responses provided, the call is allocated a code (determinant). This provides a description of the caller’s injury/illness and the severity of that problem. Software products are used to help call handlers triage and categorise calls, and the code allocated will depend on the software product used.
Each determinant has been allocated a response level, by the Department, based on independent expert advice, according to the perceived severity of the determinant description. There are three response levels:
category A applies to a call where there appears to be an immediate threat to life.
category B identifies cases that appear to be serious in nature and require urgent assessment.
category C identifies cases that appear to be neither immediately serious or life-threatening.
Lists of codes for each software product, grouped by response level, are produced annually and are published on the Department of Health’s website. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Ambulance Services: Manpower
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paramedics worked for the North West Ambulance Service and its predecessors in each of the last five years; and what the projected numbers are for (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2009-10. [152870]
Mr. Bradshaw: The number of paramedics (headcount) working in the specified organisations as at 30 September each year for the period 2002 to 2006 is shown in the table.
| Specified o rganisation | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| (1 )Not applicable. Source: Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census. | |||||
Workforce planning is a matter for individual trusts to undertake, working with their commissioners and strategic health authorities. Plans need to be, and are,
regularly reviewed as circumstances change. North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust has recently provided information to the Department on projected numbers for paramedics. I understand that the trust intends to have 1,347 whole-time equivalents in employment as paramedics in 2007-08, 1,361 in 2008-09 and 1,375 in 2009-10.
In 2006, numbers of ambulance staff were collected under new, more detailed occupation codes. This included the introduction of a code for emergency care practitioners and the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust recorded 39 ECPs in 2006.
More accurate validation processes in 2006 have resulted in the identification and removal of 9,858 duplicate non-medical staff records out of the total workforce figure of 1.3 million in 2006. Earlier years’ figures could not be accurately validated in this way and so will be slightly inflated. The level of inflation in earlier years’ figures is estimated to be less than 1 per cent. of total across all non-medical staff groups for headcount figures (and negligible for full-time equivalents). This should be taken into consideration by those analysing trends over time.
Anaemia: Medical Treatments
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the negative guidance by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in its final appraisal of the frequent use of erythropoietins in managing cancer-related anaemia on UK blood stocks; [152992]
(2) what guidance his Department provides to clinicians managing cancer-related anaemia on the account to be taken of (a) the Chief Medical Officer's advice to conserve blood stocks and (b) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s cost-effectiveness advice on the use of erythropoietins. [152993]
Ann Keen: We have made no such assessment. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has not yet issued final guidance to the NHS on the clinical and cost effectiveness of erythropoietins in the management of cancer treatment-induced anaemia. NICE issued an appraisal consultation document on 29 June and its Appraisal Committee will consider the responses received. NICE expects to issue final guidance later this year.
Arthritis: Young People
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatment options are available to people with juvenile arthritis. [153343]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Children living with juvenile arthritis are able to access a range of treatment options depending on the severity of their condition. Drugs that health professionals are able to prescribe include analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, disease-modifying drugs, corticosteroids, and anti-tumour necrosis inhibitors. Surgery and joint replacement are also available for those severely affected.
Asthma: Greater London
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) children and (b) adults were diagnosed with asthma in each London borough in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [153561]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of cases of adult and childhood asthma is not collected centrally.
Autism: Greater London
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services were provided for autistic children in each London borough in each of the last five years. [153639]
Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally. It is for primary care trusts to decide what services to provide for their local communities.
Blood Transfusions: Cancer
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of (a) the proportion and (b) the number of blood transfusions given to cancer patients in the latest period for which figures are available. [151997]
Ann Keen: It is estimated that at least 25 per cent. of red cells are given to patients with cancer. Not all of these units are given for direct treatment of cancer. Figures for the actual number of transfusions are not collected, but in 2006-07 the National Blood Service issued 1,864,271 units of red blood cells.
These figures are based on provisional results from the Epidemiology and Survival of Transfusion Recipients study, a National Blood Service study of patients transfused in England in 2001-02. The study is in the final stages and will be submitted for publication soon. However, it is based on data collected five years ago so it is likely that changes in blood use have occurred since then.
Breast Cancer: Screening
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce family history breast screening as part of the national breast screening programme; and if he will make a statement. [152926]
Ann Keen: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on familial breast cancer in May 2004, partially updated in October 2006.
The clinical guideline relates to the classification and care of women at risk of familial breast cancer in primary, secondary and tertiary care. The guideline recommends that women at moderate familial risk of breast cancer or greater should receive annual mammography or magnetic resonance imaging surveillance.
NICE clinical guidelines are covered by the Department’s developmental standards, standards which the national health service is expected to achieve
over time. The Healthcare Commission has responsibility for assessing progress towards achieving these standards.
As part of the development of the new Cancer Reform Strategy, we are examining the feasibility of bringing the management of surveillance of women at moderate familial risk of breast cancer or greater into the NHS breast screening programme.
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