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13 Dec 2007 : Column 870W—continued
Hospital Beds: Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what procedures were used in determining the status of a delayed discharge patient in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area in (a) 2002 and (b) the latest period for which figures are available; [171842]
(2) how many delayed discharges there were in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area in each of the last 12 months; [171844]
(3) what assessment has been made of the effect of the closure of the intermediate care wards at St. John's Hospital, Chelmsford on the number of delayed discharge patients in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area in the last 24 months. [171845]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 6 December 2007]: The information is not currently available, it will be available in February and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Hospitals: Admissions
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related admissions there were to hospitals in each primary care trust area in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006; and what proportion these figures represented of all admissions in each area. [172406]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Hospitals: Eastern Region
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled at (a) Addenbrooke’s hospital, (b) West Suffolk hospital and (c) Ipswich hospital within (i) seven days and (ii) 24 hours of the appointment in each of the last five years. [167901]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested. However the following table shows the number of last minute cancelled operations for non clinical reasons, at Cambridge University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust and West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust for each year from 2002-03 to 2006-07 which is the latest data available.
| Number of last minute cancelled operations for non clinical reasons | |||||
| Name | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| Notes: A last minute cancellation is one that occurs on the day the patient was due to arrive, after they have arrived in hospital or on the day of their operation. Some common non-clinical reasons for cancellations by the hospital include: ward beds unavailable; surgeon unavailable; emergency case needing theatre; theatre list over-ran; equipment failure; admin error; anaesthetist unavailable; theatre staff unavailable; and critical care bed unavailable. An operation which is rescheduled to a time within 24 hours of the original scheduled operation should be recorded as a postponement and not as a cancellation. The QMCO collection does not record the number of postponements. Source: Department of Health dataset QMCO | |||||
Hospitals: Manpower
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) of 16 October 2007, Official Report, column 1055W, on hospitals: manpower, what funding his Department has provided to the NHS National Workforce Projects (NWPs) in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08; where the pilots commissioned by the NHS NWPs are operating, and what the objectives for each pilot is; whether the results of the pilots will be made public; what lessons have so far be learned as a result of the pilots; and if he will make a statement. [166324]
Ann Keen: The funding allocations to national health service National Workforce Projects were £6,800,000 in 2005-06; £3,500,000 in 2006-07; and £762,000 in 2007-08 for NHS National Workforce Projects. A total of £11,062,000 is being invested for the five year duration of the programme from 2005-06 to 2009-10 to support front line NHS services.
The pilot projects under way are with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists; Milton Keynes General NHS Trust; shift patterns; paediatric solutions; cooperative solutions; taking care 24:7; team working, handover and escalation; and information technology solutions. Full details of all these pilots including locations and where available their objectives, results and lessons learned have been placed in the Library. All this information can also be viewed at the National Workforce Project website:
Hospitals: Standards
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he intends to publish Patient Environment Action Team scores for 2007; [170054]
(2) whether the National Patient Safety Agency's Patient Environment Action Team scores for 2007 incorporated an assessment of the extent to which nutritional screening is undertaken in hospitals as part of its work on hospital food. [170081]
Ann Keen: The 2007 patient environment action team (PEAT) scores were published on 21 November 2007 and the summary results for the last three years are given as follows. Full details are available on the NPSA website at:
| Percentage | |||||
| Excellent | Good | Acceptable | Poor | Unacceptable | |
| Notes: Figures rounded to one decimal place | |||||
As part of the PEAT survey 2007, responding national health service organisations were rated on various aspects of hospital food provision. This includes a category designated ‘nutritional’ care which asks whether all patients have been nutritionally screened, but this is only one component of the category, and the results cannot be disaggregated.
Guidance states that in answering, respondents should also consider whether there is evidence that weighing scales are regularly calibrated; there is a policy on nutritional care; there is an active nutritional screening group; and whether staff are aware of the importance of nutritional care for patients' health and quality of life.
Influenza: Disease Control
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much his Department has budgeted for the costs associated with the new measures in the Flu Pandemic Plan in each financial year from 2007-08 to 2010-11, broken down by (a) resource and (b) capital expenditure; [169945]
(2) what arrangements his Department has to replenish its stocks of Tamiflu as existing stocks expire; what estimate he has made of the cost of stock replenishment; and how such costs will appear in his Department’s resource accounts; [169953]
(3) when he expects his Department to have increased its stock of antivirals to the levels where it has sufficient for at least 50 per cent. of the population in the event of pandemic influenza. [169954]
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where the advanced supply vaccines recently announced will be manufactured. [170201]
Dawn Primarolo: Clinical countermeasures, vaccines, antivirals, antibiotics and facemasks are a key part of the Government response to pandemic influenza. I refer the hon. Member to the statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 22 November 2007, Official Report, columns 1350-61, to launch the national framework for responding to an influenza pandemic and the Government’s plan to increase the level of stockpiles of the clinical countermeasures to improve the ability of the United Kingdom to respond to a pandemic.
The costs of new clinical countermeasure strategy cannot be provided as it could affect the commercial negotiations that will be progressed and potentially reduce the possibility of getting best value for money.
The increasing of current stockpile of antivirals is subject to a commercial assessment on antivirals will be completed that will identify the worldwide capacity and demand for antivirals.
The current stockpile of Tamiflu will be replenished if it passes its shelf life and has not been used to respond to a pandemic. The costs of replenishment will be subject to the same commercial arrangements as that for procuring new stockpiles and therefore cannot be currently stated.
The Advance Supply Agreements for the supply of pandemic specific vaccine were signed with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Baxter this summer. These
allow for the purchase of sufficient vaccine for the UK population. The Baxter vaccine will be manufactured in the Czech Republic and Austria, while the GSK vaccine will be manufactured in Germany and Belgium.
Influenza: Vaccination
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase the percentage of old age pensioners who receive an influenza vaccine. [170092]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 5 December 2007]: We launched a campaign on 28 September incorporating a number of strategies aimed at encouraging people aged 65 and over to receive their flu immunisation. The campaign incorporated:
national television advertising;
advertising in national and regional newspapers, including ethnic media;
advertising on pharmacy bags; and
work with commercial partners such as Tesco, Morrisons and other stakeholders such as Alzheimer's Society and Aid for the Aged in Distress.
Details of those eligible to receive their free flu vaccination this year was made available to all health professionals via the chief medical officer letter dated 30 March 2007 and also as part of the ‘If you knew about Flu’ campaign leaflet. Two million of these leaflets have been distributed as part of this year's campaign.
In-vitro Fertilisation
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will estimate the cost to the NHS of providing one cycle of in-vitro fertilisation treatment in the latest year for which figures are available. [174014]
Dawn Primarolo: We do not have an estimate of how much the national health service spends on in-vitro fertilisation. However, we arranged for a survey of primary care trusts by strategic health authorities in the autumn about the commissioning of infertility treatment. The responses to the survey are currently being analysed.
Malnutrition: Screening
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what progress has been made in establishing a nationally-agreed standard malnutrition screening tool, as stated in section 5.0 of the National Patient Safety Agency’s Nutritional Screening: Structured Investigation Project; [170078]
(2) what steps he is taking to ensure patients are aware of nutritional screening so that they can ask for an assessment, as recommended in section 4.4 of the National Patient Safety Agency’s Nutritional Screening: Structured Investigation Project. [170079]
Ann Keen:
The National Nutrition Plan published in October 2007 encouraged commissioners and providers to promote nutrition screening in all health and social care settings. The National Patient Safety Agency is currently supporting the implementation of the malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) as the
screening tool of choice. This is being done in collaboration with the Royal College of Nursing, as part of the Nutrition Now Campaign, through a serious of trust based workshops. The workshops are attended by nurses, dieticians and caterers and provide a training session on using the MUST screening tool.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received from (a) NHS staff, (b) social care staff and (c) other interested parties on the (i) availability and (ii) suitability of weighing scales to assess patients for risk of malnutrition in the last year; what the content was of these representations; and if he will make a statement. [170080]
Ann Keen: The Department’s correspondence database contains no representations made in the last year that mention ‘weighing scales’. Other departmental offices also confirmed that they are not aware of receiving representations in the previous year, which raised the issue of the availability and suitability of weighing scales to assess patients for risk of malnutrition.
Maternity Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS trusts in England provide maternity services. [171664]
Ann Keen: Analysis of national data from NHS Maternity Statistics, England 2005-06 shows that the national health service trusts listed as follows provide maternity services.
Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Airedale NHS Trust
Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust
Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust
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