| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Oct 2007 : Column 1207W—continued
Contraceptives
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS per patient of (a) long-acting reversible contraceptives and (b) other forms of contraception in the next five years. [157307]
Dawn Primarolo: In October 2005 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued clinical guidance on long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). It shows that all LARC methods are more cost effective than the combined oral contraceptive pill even at one year of use. The following table shows estimated method costs (per 1,000 women) after five years of use. Cost per patient is not estimated centrally.
| Method and healthcare service costs | |
| Method | Five year cost |
| Source: Long-acting reversible contraception, clinical guidelines, NICE, 2005 | |
Cosmetics: Health Hazards
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment has been made of the possible effects of skin-lightening products on health; and if he will make a statement; [157826]
(2) what assessment he has made of the compliance with UK regulatory and licensing requirements of skin-lightening products; and if he will make a statement. [158449]
Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.
No such assessments have been made.
Dental Services
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 803W, if his Department will now collect information on dentist practices which have closed their lists to NHS patients since the inception of the new NHS dentist contract. [159034]
Ann Keen: Information on dental practices which have ceased to provide national health service services since the launch of the reforms in April 2006 is not held centrally and there are no plans to make this an additional new central return.
Information is available on the number of dental contracts offered at the start of the new system in April 2006 and the number of those contracts signed and rejected. 8,377 out of 9,428 contracts offered were signed. 2,884 of these were initially signed in dispute. By 30 June 2007, the latest date for which information is available just 223 remained in dispute. Of the disputes resolved over 99 per cent. ended in the contractor staying with the NHS. This information is held by dental contract not by dentist. A contract may cover one dentist or a whole practice.
Dental Services: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what spare capacity, expressed in patient numbers, is available for (a) under 18, (b) over 18 fee-paying and (c) over 18 charge-exempt people to register with each NHS dental practice in Peterborough; and if he will make a statement. [158647]
Ann Keen [holding answer 17 October 2007]: The information requested is not held centrally.
Departments: Consultants
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the contracts his Department signed on a consultancy basis with a net value of more than £20,000 in 2006. [159319]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not collect information on contracts signed on a consultancy basis with a net value of more than £20,000 in the format requested. To do so would attract disproportionate cost.
A new system will be introduced in April 2008 called SHOWA, which will be able to gather such information for the Department.
Departments: Secondment
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are seconded to his Department from outside Government; from which outside body each has been seconded; and what the length is of each secondment. [157892]
Dawn Primarolo: As at 1 September 2007, there were 61 people (57.7 full-time equivalent) seconded into the Department. The Department's main human resources information system does not show where a person has been seconded from, or the length of their secondment.
Work carried out to answer a previous Freedom of Information request suggested that virtually all secondees into the Department are from public sector organisations and anecdotally most of these are from national health service trusts or other health-related organisations. Secondments are normally for a period of up to two years.
Health Hazards: Mobile Phones
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what official response the Government (a) has made and (b) plans to make to the report of the findings of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme; [157200]
(2) what health advice he plans to provide to the public following the findings of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme; [157201]
(3) what discussions he has had with the Health Protection Agency on the findings of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme; whether the Health Protection Agency will be updating its advice to the public in the light of the report from the programme; and if he will make a statement; [157202]
(4) what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of current health advice on the use of mobile telephones in the light of the findings of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme; and if he will make a statement; [157203]
(5) what recent discussions his Department has had with the devolved Administrations on raising awareness of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme report and its findings. [157204]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department is grateful to the Management Committee of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme for producing the “Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme Report 2007—MTHR Programme Management Committee” published on 12 September. The report is available in the Library and at www.mthr.org.uk.
We shall also send a copy to hon. Members, as we believe it will be helpful when responding to enquiries from constituents about mobile phone technology and health.
The Health Protection Agency’s (HPA) Radiation Protection Division has the responsibility of advising on radiation risk and health protection matters. In undertaking this role the HPA monitors progress in radiation and electromagnetic field health research, that is undertaken throughout the world, in order to inform its advice. The MTHR results will add to the information available to the HPA in support of that advice.
The Department’s advice that is currently available in the form of leaflets and web based information will be updated in the course of the next few months in co-operation with the HPA and Health Department officials in the devolved Administrations.
Kidney Patients: Counselling
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many renal counsellors are employed in England; at which kidney units they are located and what services they provide; whether their services are provided by the NHS; how many and what proportion of kidney patients saw a counsellor in the last 12 months; what the average number of sessions with a counsellor for each patient was in that period; by what means kidney patients may access counsellors and how they are informed of their ability to do so; and whether counsellors are employed solely to aid kidney patients. [158396]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
Mentally Ill
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the implications of stigma surrounding mental health in England; and if he will make a statement. [157605]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department recognises that the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental illness is a major social problem. People with mental health problems are one of the most excluded social groups in society, with fewer than a quarter in employment. They can find themselves excluded from education, health care and community participation. People with mental illness who disclose their condition can find themselves shunned by neighbours and colleagues while some do not disclose their illness to family and friends. For many people with mental illness, a diagnosis of mental illness can have a worse impact upon their lives than their symptoms.
The Department is funding a five-year programme, Shift, through the Care Services Improvement Programme to tackle the stigma and discrimination which surrounds
mental illness. Shift is working with various bodies, and its focus this year is on the media and employers. On World Mental Health day on 10 October, Shift launched guidance for employers on improving their recruitment and retention processes for people with mental health problems.
The Department and Shift are working with the mental health charity sector consortium, Moving People, which has recently won £18 million from the Big Lottery and Comic Relief to run a four-year anti-stigma and mental health promotion campaign. The details of how the Government will support this initiative, which involves Mind, Rethink, Mental Health Media and the Institute of Psychiatry, are being formulated.
Midwives: NHS Stockport Primary Care Trust
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were in training in Stockport Primary Care Trust hospitals in each year since 1997. [158000]
Ann Keen: The requested information is not collected centrally.
Myasthenia Gravis
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of services provided by the NHS for people with myasthenia gravis; and if he will make a statement. [157382]
Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the services provided by the national health service for people with myasthenia gravis.
Out of Area Treatment
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provisions he plans to make for cross-border user representation within local involvement networks to reflect situations where residents from one local authority area routinely use services within another. [159095]
Ann Keen: We recognise the need for local involvement networks (LINks) arrangements to reflect the fact that some people do use health and social care services outside the local authority area where they reside. That is why we have ensured there is appropriate provision within the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, currently before Parliament, to enable LINks activities not only to relate to health and social care services provided within their local authority area, but also health and social care services provided, in any place, for people from the area. We have also included provisions which will enable LINks to work together, regionally and/or nationally, as a means of undertaking their activities.
We intend to published guidance for LINks in the spring and as part of this guidance we will explore in detail how LINks might work together to ensure cross-border representation for patients.
Palliative Care
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines there are for provision of palliative care for patients who wish to die at home; and if he will make a statement. [157995]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Three key tools—the Gold Standards Framework, the Liverpool Care Pathway and the Preferred Priorities for Care—are used as a basis for providing training for generalist staff in the principles of palliative care so that all patients at the end of life have access to high quality care.
Over the last three years we have invested £12 million in an end of life care programme to promote roll-out of these tried and tested tools, and thus promote greater choice for patients about where they are able to be cared for and die.
Latest figures show that one or more of these tools is being used in 69 per cent. of general practitioners practices, 81 per cent. of hospitals, 41 per cent. of community hospitals, 69 per cent. of hospices and 6.4 per cent. of care homes. The Department is currently developing the first ever end of life care strategy for adults, which will deliver increased choice to all adult patients regardless of their condition about where they live and die, and provide them with support to make this possible.
We have deferred publication of the strategy to allow us to take account of the important work being undertaken on end of life care at strategic health authority (SHA) level for the next stage review which will be completed in the new year. We have provided SHAs with information that we hope they will find useful and it is important that we now take account of their work to ensure that the national strategy encompasses local innovation.
Palliative Care: Finance
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amount of funding was allocated in each primary care trust area to palliative care for patients who wish to die at home in each year since 1997. [157996]
Ann Keen: This information is not available centrally. Primary care trusts are responsible for commissioning and funding services to meet the needs of their resident population including those for end of life care.
Culture, Media and Sport
Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many licences to sell alcohol were (a) suspended and (b) revoked in (i) London and (ii) England in each year since 1997 on grounds of the sale of alcohol to persons under the age of 18 years. [158807]
Mr. Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally.
Past and future statistical bulletins on licences to sell alcohol include the number of licences revoked, but do not give reasons. Licences may be revoked for a number of reasons or a variety of factors, including sales to children. Prior to 24 November 2005, statistical returns did not differentiate between alcohol licences not renewed and licences revoked.
Big Lottery Fund
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 11 October 2007, Official Report, column 693W, on the Big Lottery Fund, whether interest is earned on this sum. [159357]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The overall balance held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF) on behalf of the 13 non-Olympic distributing bodies is invested by the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt (CRND).
The interest earned on this investment is shared between the 13 distributors in the same fixed percentages as income generated by the national lottery operator, Camelot, and becomes available for distribution to the good causes they support. The Big Lottery Fund receives 50 per cent. of the interest earned on the overall NLDF balance. Its share is not directly related to the size of its individual NLDF balance.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |