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26 July 2007 : Column 1302W—continued
Environment Protection: Dartmoor National Park
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the Minister for the South West will make an early visit to the Holne Common in Dartmoor National Park to see the results of the Environmental Agency's action under its obligation under the Environmentally Sensitive Agreement 1999. [153663]
Mr. Bradshaw: I am aware of the work undertaken by the Environmental Agency and others on Dartmoor. Owing to current diary pressures I am currently not able to accept the hon. Member’s kind invitation, but if he has particular concerns I would welcome his raising them with me in writing.
Eyesight: Testing
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pensioners in York have had free eye tests since they were reintroduced. [152198]
Ann Keen: The information is not centrally available in the format requested.
Data on the number of people aged 60 and over who have had a free national health service eye tests are collected at primary care trust (PCT) level, rather than by geographical area. Data for the former North Yorkshire health authority and York and Selby PCT are shown in the table.
| Number of people aged 60 and over who have had NHS eye tests in North Yorkshire health authority and York and Selby PCT | ||
| Financial year | North Yorkshire HA | York and Selby PCT |
| (1) Total shown is for the period April to September 2006 only. October to March 2007 figures are due to be published on 31 July. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care. | ||
Gender Identity Disorder
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 18 July 2007, Official Report, column 362W, on gender identity disorder, how many (a) men and (b) women from Wales received gender reassignment surgery to treat gender dysphoria from the national health service in England in each of the last 10 years. [153709]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Owing to the small number of treatment episodes involved and the need to protect patient confidentiality, the Department cannot disclose this information.
General Practitioners
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the statement by the right hon. Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) of 26 June 2007, Official Report, column 160, on GP out-of-hours services, that the GP out-of-hours service was close to collapse in 1997. [147974]
Mr. Bradshaw: It was clear from the rising number of complaints to the Health Service Commissioner that the previous model of provision by general practitioners (GPs) was not meeting patients’ expectations and was not sustainable.
In addition, the responsibility for out-of-hours care was affecting the ability to recruit and retain GPs.
General Practitioners: Passports
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received reports of GPs levying a charge to countersign passports for patients; and whether his Department issues guidelines to GPs who charge fees to authenticate patients' passports for renewal applications. [151557]
Mr. Bradshaw: The countersigning of passports is not part of the work that primary medical services contractors are required to do as part of their contractual arrangements with the Primary Care Trust. Should a general practitioner countersign an application it is a private matter between the doctor and the applicant. General practitioners may make a charge for this service should they wish.
The Department does not issue guidelines on this matter.
Health Professions: Qualifications
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether private-sector NHS contractors are required to ask for the same level of qualifications when recruiting staff as primary care trusts. [152902]
Mr. Bradshaw: The qualification requirements for the employment of clinical staff in Independent Sector Treatment Centres (ISTCs) are the same as those in the national health service. Surgeons must be registered with the General Medical Council and be on the specialist register in the specialty in which they are trained.
While both the NHS and ISTCs require the same level of qualifications for clinical staff, the process in which they are appointed differs.
All health practitioners employed in ISTCs are required to be registered with the relevant professional body, and providers are required to ensure that there is a programme of continuing professional development.
Health Professions: Regulation
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of those attending her Department’s Call for Ideas event on medical and non-medical professional regulation in autumn 2005 were (a) from healthcare professional regulatory bodies, (b) lay members of healthcare professional regulatory bodies, (c) from public and patient representative organisations, (d) members of the public, (e) health officials, (f) from other health and social care regulators and (g) others. [146199]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department issued two Calls for Ideas in 2005. One was the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) “Call for Ideas” on the review of medical regulation and the other was by Andrew Foster, the then Director of Workforce, on the review of non-medical professional regulation. Neither of these were held as actual events. The CMO’s was published on the Department’s website, while Andrew Foster wrote to a range of stakeholders to seek their views. This included members of the non-medical review reference group, which met twice during the course of the review, in July and November 2005. The make-up of the group is as follows.
| Percentage | |
|
Public and patient representative organisations and members of the public | |
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements she expects to make for (a) periods of pre-legislative consultation and (b) provision of information and technical support to consultees on (i) forthcoming primary legislation on professional healthcare regulation and (ii) Orders in Council under section 60 of the Health Act 1999. [146200]
Mr. Bradshaw: There has been extensive consultation leading up to the publication of the White Paper in February. The White Paper anticipated the need for new legislation on a number of issues. Some may require primary legislation but other changes can be made under section 60 of the Health Act 1999. The procedures for the latter require that a draft order is published and consulted upon at least three months before the amended order is laid before Parliament. Other matters requiring legislation will be considered by the stakeholder working groups which will be advising on implementation of the White Paper. We will be publishing their terms of reference and membership shortly.
Health Professions: Training
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what analysis his Department has carried out on the reasons for the fall in the number of pre-registration training commissions from 2004-05 to 2005-06. [148820]
Ann Keen: The numbers of pre-registration training commissions for most professions actually increased between 2004-05 and 2005-06 with the exception of nursing where numbers fell by about 1 per cent.
Workforce planning for the health service is challenging and complex and workforce needs are difficult to predict as technological advances and social changes lead to some skills becoming redundant while demand for others will suddenly increase.
Health Professions: York Hospitals NHS Trust
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent (a) medical consultants, (b) other medical staff, (c) nurses, (d) other professional staff, (e) administrative and clerical staff and (f) auxiliary staff were employed by York NHS Trust in all areas, excluding those transferred to Selby and York Primary Care Trust, in each year since 1996-97. [151622]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is set out in the following table.
| NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Medical and dental staff and non-medical staff( 1) withi n York Hospitals NHS Trust. Full- time equivalents at 30 September each year | |||||||||||
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| (1) 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 work force 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 when analysing trends over time. Sources: Information Centre for health and social care Non-Medical Workforce Census. The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census. | |||||||||||
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