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21 Nov 2007 : Column 994W—continued
Departmental Health Insurance
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies have private health insurance provided as part of their employment package. [165046]
Mr. Bradshaw: None of the officials in the Department or its agencies have private health insurance provided as part of their employment packages.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make available the internet protocol addresses of computers in his Department used by (a) special advisers, (b) Ministers and (c) press officers. [164607]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not release IP addresses of its computers as this could facilitate an attack by someone with malicious intent.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to page 20 of his Department’s resource accounts for 2006-07, which NHS organisations contributed to his Department’s capital underspend in 2006-07 by delaying capital investment because they were in the process of financial recovery; and what the value of the capital underspend for each organisation was. [165712]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is not collected centrally. It is for strategic health authorities, working with organisations in their economy, to agree plans for both revenue and capital investment and, where appropriate, any plans needed to achieve financial recovery.
Dermatology
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of regional variations in financing of dermatology services for patients with skin disease; and whether regional funding formulae take into account any aspect of dermatological care provision. [165654]
Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the alleged regional variations in funding for dermatology services. The regional funding formula does not specifically take into account dermatological care provision.
It is the responsibility of local health bodies to fund dermatological services, from their general allocations, to meet the needs of their local population.
Dermatology: Waiting Lists
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of (a) the average and (b) the maximum length of time a patient waited for a first dermatology outpatient appointment in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2007. [166497]
Ann Keen: The information is available in the following tables:
| Median waiting times (weeks) for General Practitioner (GP) written referrals seen for dermatology in England in 2002 and 2007 | |
| Maximum waiting times (weeks) for GP written referrals seen for dermatology in England in 2002 and 2007 | Number of GP written referrals seen who waited for maximum waiting time for dermatology in England | |
| Note: The median is reported rather than the mean as the distribution of waiting times is skewed towards the right: the mean would be affected by outliers. Source: Department of Health Form QMO8rs | ||
Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will provide the data supporting Table 2.1 on page 11 of his Department’s evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ remuneration (i) as presented and (ii) including agency costs. [163371]
Ann Keen: Table 1 shows data as presented in table 2.1 of the Department’s evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ remuneration and table 2 shows the data including agency costs.
| Table 1: Trends in the hospital and community health service (HCHS) paybill | |||
| Million | |||
| Doctors and Dentists’ Review Body | NHS Pay Review Body | Total HCHS | |
| Notes: 1. Part of the 2004-05 growth is due to a transfer of pension responsibilities from the HM Treasury to Department of Health. 2. Figures exclude agency costs. Source: Paybill reference: 071012 | |||
| Table 2: Trends in the HCHS paybill including agency costs | ||||
| Million | ||||
| Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body | NHS Pay Review Body | Total HCHS | Total HCHS including agency costs | |
| Note : Part of the 2004-05 growth is due to a transfer of pension responsibilities from the HM Treasury to Department of Health. | ||||
Doctors: Training
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many training places he expects will be provided for registrar group doctors in 2008, broken down by region and specialty. [165687]
Ann Keen: There will be over 18,000 training posts at levels ST1 to ST4 from August 2008, of which over 10,000 are already filled by applicants who successfully applied for run-through training places in 2007.
The Department estimates that there will be approximately 8,000 training places advertised in 2008. Final details are being discussed with the Deaneries.
Recruitment to specialty training will start on 5 January 2008 and we will publicise the details and breakdown prior to that. We intend to publish the information on the Modernising Medical Careers website for the benefit of applicants.
Domestic Accidents: East Sussex
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many home hazard assessments were performed by the East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust in each year since 1997. [165335]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Eastbourne Hospital: Cleaning Services
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the Patient Environment Action Team scores for cleanliness were in Eastbourne district general hospital in each year since 1997. [165340]
Dawn Primarolo: The Patient Environmental Action Team (PEAT) scores for cleanliness did not exist until 2000. The first PEAT results were published in 2001.
The following table shows the PEAT assessments for levels of cleanliness at Eastbourne district general hospital from 2001.
| Rating | |
| Note: From 2001-03 the scale was green, amber, red - green = good, amber = acceptable, red =poor. | |
From 2004 onwards the scale changed to a five-point one of excellent, good, acceptable, poor, and unacceptable.
Since 2005, assessments have been undertaken by self-assessment with a percentage independently validated.
Fibromyalgia
Mr. Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed as suffering from fibromyalgia; what progress has been made in identifying the causes of fibromyalgia and developing a treatment for it; what research his Department is supporting on fibromyalgia; and if he will make a statement. [165600]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of people living with fibromyalgia is not collected.
We are not aware of any progress having been made on the causes of, or treatment for, fibromyalgia.
Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department's expenditure on health research has been allocated to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual projects supported in the NHS, including a significant number concerned with fibromyalgia, can be found on the national research register at www.dh.gov.uk/research. The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is not currently funding research specifically on fibromyalgia although some basic research currently being undertaken will help develop our understanding of the condition.
General Practitioners: Hemel Hempstead
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in Hemel Hempstead constituency have not been able to register directly with a general practitioner’s surgery and have had to register centrally since 1997. [164111]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not collect data on individuals who approach their local primary care trust (PCT) directly for help and advice on registration with a local general practitioner (GP) practice. Any individual is free to approach a GP practice near to where he/she is living and apply to join the practice’s list of national health service patients. Where a patient is having trouble registering, a PCT can use its powers to allocate a person to a general practice’s list of patients.
General Practitioners: Eastbourne
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs in Eastbourne were invited by their primary care trusts to attend courses to update their skills in each year since 1997. [165337]
Mr. Bradshaw: This information is not collected centrally.
Health Education: Copeland
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on (a) alcohol awareness and (b) drug awareness campaigns in Copeland over the last five years. [163017]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.
The provision of services for drug and alcohol treatment in Copeland, including awareness campaigns, is commissioned through the Drug and Alcohol Action Team Partnership, using both ring- fenced Government grants and budgets and mainstream primary care trust and county council resources.
Health Services: Barnet
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact of inward migration on health services in the Chipping Barnet constituency over the last 10 years. [164620]
Mr. Bradshaw: This is a matter for the local national health service. It is for the local health organisations to decide how best to serve their local communities.
Health Services: Scotland
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people with a home address in Scotland were treated in NHS facilities in England in each year since 2004. [165283]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information is not available in the format requested. The data for 2006-07 are not yet available. The following table shows the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) and patients with Scottish postcodes who received treatment under the national health service in England. The data are for NHS hospitals in England, for the data years 2004-05 and 2005-06.
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