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18 Dec 2007 : Column 1386W—continued
Heart Diseases: Medical Equipment
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the average change in the costs of drug eluting stents has been over the last four years; and if he will make a statement; [173948]
(2) what the cost to the NHS of drug eluting stents was over the past four years. [174589]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not collect information on the cost of stents centrally.
There is no national framework agreement for the supply of drug eluting stents, and trusts or their
Collaborative Procurement Hubs purchase or contract these directly from suppliers.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence health technology appraisal on drug eluting stents has been referred to the Decision Support Unit at Sheffield University for further work. [173949]
Dawn Primarolo: We understand that the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has not asked the Decision Support Unit at Sheffield University to carry out any work relating to this appraisal.
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recommendations his Department has made to refer the technology appraisal on drug eluting stents to the Decision Support Unit at Sheffield university. [174922]
Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is conducting a review of earlier guidance issued in October 2003 on the use of drug eluting coronary artery stents in the treatment of heart disease. The conduct of the appraisal is a matter for NICE. We understand the Institute has not asked the Decision Support Unit at Sheffield university to carry out any work relating to this appraisal.
Hospitals: Parking
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospitals provide car parking concessions for patients travelling regularly for treatment. [175263]
Mr. Bradshaw: It is for each national health service trust to set the level of charges for its car parks, taking into account local circumstances. However, the Department issued revised guidance to the national health service in December 2006 entitled ‘Income Generation: Car Parking Charges—Best Practice for Implementation’ on the issues to be considered when setting up a car parking scheme or when reviewing existing ones, including what charges to impose and what concessions to consider. This guidance strongly encourages the NHS to be sensitive to those patients who have to use their car parks regularly, by, for instance, offering them reduced price or free car parking.
Human Papilloma Virus: Screening
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which sites will begin human papilloma virus testing as triage, as referred to in paragraph 3.15 of his Department's Cancer Reform Strategy; and if he will make a statement. [175137]
Dawn Primarolo: The sites which will begin human papilloma virus testing as triage are:
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
Central Manchester and Manchester Childrens University Hospitals NHS Trust;
North Bristol NHS Hospital Trust;
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust;
North West London Hospitals NHS Trust; and
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Results from these sites will be known by 2009 at which point further roll-out can be considered.
Independent Reconfiguration Panel
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1002W, on the Independent Reconfiguration Panel, if he will list the members of the panel, stating in each case whether they are a (a) clinical, (b) managerial and (c) lay representative; [169859]
(2) on what dates the annual review meetings between the Panel and senior representatives from his Department were held; and if he will place copies of the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of each of these meetings in the Library; [169860]
(3) what the value of the contract between the Panel and the Central Office of Information for media work was in each financial year since the Panel was established. [169861]
Ann Keen: The Independent Reconfiguration Panel website lists both the members of the panel and their category of membership. It also includes details of business reviews for 2004-05, 2005-06 and can be found at:
The business review for 2006-07 will be published on the website in due course.
The value of the contract between the panel and the Central Office of Information for media work in each financial year since the panel was established is given as follows. The increase in costs during 2006-07 is a result of the panel's increased work load during that time.
| Total (£) | |
Industrial Diseases
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the annual financial cost of the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the National Health Service; and if he will make a statement. [173112]
Ann Keen: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease accounts for more than £800 million in direct national health service healthcare costs each year.
Infectious Diseases: Screening
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department’s most recent estimate is of the number and proportion of (a) elective and (b) emergency patients screened for (i) MRSA and (ii) clostridium difficile in the last period for which figures are available. [165718]
Ann Keen: The decision to screen for MRSA is currently taken by local managers and clinicians in health organisations. The department does not routinely produce estimates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) screening or estimates of the extent of screening. Information on MRSA screening is not collected centrally.
Patients, whether elective or emergency admissions, are not usually screened for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). However, if a patient presents with diarrhoea clinicians may request testing for GDI.
Infertility: Females
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many diagnoses of (a) female infertility there have been (i) in total and (ii) of tubal origin and (b) male infertility there have been in England in each year since 1997-98. [174017]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 13 December 2007]: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Count of finished consultant episodes in England where there was a primary or secondary diagnosis of female infertility, female infertility of tubal origin and male infertility since 1997-98( 1) | |||
| Female infertility | Female infertility of tubal origin( 2) | Male infertility | |
| (1) The figures do not represent a count of total diagnoses of infertility as many patients may have this diagnosis but not be admitted to hospital. The figures may also capture the same patient twice if they have more than one finished consultant episode where the infertility diagnosis was recorded. (2) Data for ‘female infertility of tubal origin’ are also included in the data for total ‘female infertility’. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics | |||
Influenza
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Government has to stockpile (a) anti-inflammatory drugs and (b) immunomodulatory statins for use in the event of an influenza pandemic. [175092]
Dawn Primarolo: On 22 November, the Secretary of State (Alan Johnson) announced the commitment to increase stockpiles of antivirals and antibiotics in preparation for an influenza pandemic. The Department is also working on a number of measures to safeguard the supply of a range of other medicines including anti-inflammatories and statins. Stockpiling is one option among several that are being explored. Work on preparedness for an influenza pandemic continues.
Maternity Services: Standards
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to improve the standard of services for women in labour since 1997. [170373]
Ann Keen: Since 1997, we have made great strides in improving maternity care. On 27 November 2007, the Healthcare Commission published a report of their survey of “women's experiences of maternity care in the NHS, England”. The survey found that “89 per cent. of women rated the overall care received during labour and birth as ‘excellent’, ‘very good’ or ‘good’ ". However, we recognise that more work needs to be done.
The standard for maternity care is contained in Standard 11 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (published September 2004) the standard sets out the Government's vision for maternity services, which is for women
“to have easy access to supportive, high quality maternity services, designed around their individual needs and those of their babies”.
Earlier this year we published “Maternity Matters: Choice, access and continuity of care in a safe service”. This document introduces a new national choice guarantee for women. This means that by 2009 all women will have choice in where and how they have their baby and what pain relief to use, depending on their individual circumstances.
On 26 September 2007, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published a guideline on “Intrapartum care: management and delivery of care to women in labour”. It provides additional information to help women and their partners to make a truly informed choice as to which setting is most appropriate for their own needs and wishes in where their baby is delivered, having discussed this with their midwife.
Medical Treatments Abroad
Dr. Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2007, Official Report, column 831W, whether the health care professionals who advised his Department on classification were informed that this classification would be used as the basis of a proposed pricing system. [171195]
Dawn Primarolo: Health care professionals reviewed responses to the consultation on the basis of items meeting similar medical need, and product features such as size and material.
This was designed as technical input and they were not requested to consider the item price of any of the items under consideration, and the application of the economic pricing model was not discussed. This was made clear in the Consultation published on 6 September 2007, “Arrangements under Part IX of the Drugs Tariff for the provision of stoma and incontinence appliances—and related services-to Primary Care: Annex C Proposals regarding reimbursement for items”.
It should be noted that in November 2006, the Department consulted upon the principle of the economic model proposed, as this information and how it was proposed to be applied to any item classification was clearly laid out, for all stakeholders to review.
Mentally Incapacitated: Protection
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) role is performed by and (b) action is required from the Commission for Social Care Inspection when a local authority notifies it of an adult protection case. [172108]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: In 2000, the Department issued “No Secrets— guidance on developing and implementing multi-agency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse”. Under the guidance, local authorities are allocated the lead and co-ordination responsibility in local safeguarding situations. The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) established a protocol with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and the Association of Chief Police Officers to clarify the role of key agencies collaborating in multi-agency safeguarding procedures. This was revised and updated in 2007.
As detailed in section 3.2 of CSCI's Safeguarding Adults Protocol and Guidance, CSCI works in partnership with other agencies to ensure that concerns or allegations of abuse are appropriately referred to and investigated by the most appropriate agency; and ensures regulated services comply with relevant regulations.
While CSCI will aim to co-ordinate any regulatory action with the police or commissioners of the service, the need to give primary consideration to its own statutory responsibilities follows the key principle which emerged from the ‘Longacre’ inquiry. This was that while working in partnership with other agencies, CSCI will not suspend its own statutory enforcement responsibilities pending the outcome of another (e.g. criminal) process where to do so would run counter to the safety and well-being of the people who use the service. In such circumstances, CSCI will aim wherever possible to coordinate actions in order to preserve evidence and avoid impeding each other's investigations or enforcement action.
Where there are no indications of serious risk requiring immediate regulatory action, the outcome of any investigation undertaken by partner agencies or the care provider will inform CSCI's decision making about further regulatory action.
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