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30 Jan 2008 : Column 470W—continued
Patients: Safety
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what incident types are used for entries in the National Reporting and Learning System in England and Wales. [180885]
Ann Keen: The current version of the National Patient Safety Agency's National Reporting and Learning System dataset comprises 15 categories of incident type.
access, admission, transfer, discharge (including missing patient);
clinical assessment (including diagnosis, scans, tests, assessments);
consent, communication, confidentiality;
disruptive, aggressive behaviour;
documentation (including records, identification);
implementation of care and ongoing monitoring/review;
infection Control Incident;
infrastructure (including staffing, facilities, environment);
medical device/equipment;
medication;
patient abuse (by staff/third party);
patient accident;
self-harming behaviour;
treatment, procedure; and
other.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data his Department collects from primary care trusts on hospital at night teams. [178262]
Ann Keen: The Department does not collect information from primary care trusts on Hospital at Night (H@N) teams. However, we are aware that the H@N team in National Workforce Projects (NWP) has surveyed trusts.
In the baseline survey of acute trusts, completed in October 2006, 65 per cent. of respondents had completed an audit and identified key competencies needed for their H@N team, and over half the trusts used the National Patient Safety Agency guide to do their risk assessment. This report can be found on NWP's website at
Primary Care Trusts: Pay
Stephen Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average annual salary is of a primary care trust (PCT) chief executive in England; what the average was in (a) 2001 and (b) 2005; how many PCT
chief executives received bonuses in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2005; and what the total value of such bonuses in each year was. [178960]
Ann Keen: The Department does not collect details on the pay of individuals in primary care trusts (PCTs), and we therefore cannot provide the average salary of their chief executives. National health service organisations are public bodies and as such, the pay of their senior executive teams is a matter of public record, published in their annual accounts.
Following the reconfigurations proposed by “Commissioning a patient-led NHS” in July 2006 the Department published a new “Pay Framework for very senior managers in strategic and special health authorities, primary care trusts and ambulance trusts”, a copy is available on the Department’s website at
PCT chief executives are paid a spot rate salary which is determined (within a range) by the size of the population the PCT serves. The document was updated in July 2007 and is available in the Library and on the Department’s website at
The current spot rate salaries are shown in the following table. The framework also provides for the payment of recruitment and retention premiums (of up to 30 per cent. of the spot rate salary) and payments for additional duties (up to 10 per cent. of the spot rate salary) where appropriate.
| Spot rates for PCT chief executives in 2007-08 | ||
| Weighted population | Salary from 1 April 2007 (£) | |
In 2001, PCTs were still being established and there were no nationally set rates for the pay of their chief executives.
For information, the arrangements for the pay of their chief executives were formalised from 2002 with the publication of “Shifting the balance of power: a framework for benchmarking PCT Chief Executive salaries”. A copy is available on the Department’s website at:
| Salary ranges for PCT chief executives in 2002-03 | |||
| £ | |||
| Population served | Minimum | Midpoint | Maximum |
The Department issued guidance on pay ranges and each year notified the NHS of the maximum increase in the pay envelope for senior executive staff. Pay increases awarded to individuals may have varied as long as organisations limited the total pay envelope for this staff group to the maximum set by the Department. For the period 2002 to 2005, these were as follows:
| Percentage | |
By applying these annual uplift levels to the salary ranges published in 2002, an estimate of typical salary levels can be made:
| Typical salary ranges for PCT chief executives in 2005-06—estimated | |||
| £ | |||
| Population served | Minimum | Midpoint | Maximum |
Prior to 2006, PCT chief executives were on local contracts. Although in some cases individuals may have been awarded performance-related awards, there were no national arrangements for the payment of bonuses to PCT chief executives.
Performance awards were introduced for all PCT chief executives as part of the “very senior managers’ pay framework” published in July 2006.
Queen’s Hospital Romford: Doctors
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultants were working at Queen’s Hospital, Romford in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what steps the Government are taking to increase the number. [179668]
Ann Keen: The information requested is held by national health service trust only, and is therefore provided for Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust, of which Queen’s hospital, Romford is a part. September 2006 is the most recent period for which data are available.
| Hospital and community health services: medical and dental consultants working within Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust( 1) as at 30 September 2006 | |
| Consultant (Number, headcount) | |
| (1) Queens hospital, Romford is contained within this Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust. Note: Data only available at trust level. Source: The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census. | |
There were 32,874 consultants counted in the 2006 census—10,500 (49 per cent.) more consultants working in the national health service than there were in 1997.
The number of training opportunities is reviewed regularly. However, this is a matter for determination by individual NHS organisations. Forecasts show increasing demand for consultants, with around 2,500 more consultants employed by 2010-11. This reaffirms the Government’s commitment to having more specialist doctors overall.
Review Group
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to paragraph 39, page 37 of his Department’s resource accounts for 2006-07, what the dates were of each meeting held by the review group led by Professor Neil Douglas; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of each meeting. [178281]
Ann Keen: The group led by Neil Douglas was asked to
understand what has worked and not worked to date (March 2007);
identify and promote good practice;
recommend action to remedy any weaknesses, taking account of legal and operational constraints;
identify specifically what further action or guidance is required:
immediately (or before completion of round one);
before commencement of round two;
before and subsequent rounds; and
develop improved arrangements for the support and care of applicants.
The Department accepted and acted upon recommendations as they were made. The report of the review team can be found at:
Meetings were held on 16 March, 21 March, 26 March, 30 March, 4 April, 17 April, 26 April, 9 May, 17 May, 24 May, 5 June and 28 June. They took place at a critical stage in the development of policy and it therefore would not be appropriate to publish the agenda and minutes of them. In addition, as the meetings began nearly a year ago, they may be misleading in the context of a rapidly changing environment.
Screening
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 1194W, on screening, what estimates he has made of the cost of the screening programme in each future financial year for which estimates have been made; [180773]
(2) how frequently people will be screened under the programme; [180775]
(3) on what date the right to screening for (a) heart disease, (b) kidney disease, (c) stroke and (d) diabetes will be implemented (i) for the most vulnerable groups and (ii) for the whole population. [180853]
Ann Keen: The Prime Minister announced on 7 January that proposals were under development for a vascular risk programme. A departmental project is currently under way to assess the costs and benefits of an integrated, systematic population-wide vascular risk screening programme.
We have a piece of modelling work in train which will develop the evidence base on which to construct an integrated approach to vascular risk assessment. The work will include estimating the amount of preventive work currently carried out by general practitioner surgeries and the impact of the introduction of a vascular screening programme.
The exact nature of a vascular risk assessment and management programme, including details of operations, time scales for implementing the programme and determining the frequency of screening individuals, is still the subject of developmental work.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 1194W, on screening, what preventive measures will be offered if people are found to be at risk through screening. [180779]
Ann Keen: The Prime Minister announced on 7 January that proposals were under development for a vascular risk programme. A departmental project is currently under way to assess the costs and benefits of an integrated, systematic population-wide vascular risk screening programme.
Clear guidelines already exist for the management of identified risk in relation to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and heart disease. These can be found in the CHD, Diabetes and Renal National Service Frameworks, the National Stroke Strategy, and various relevant pieces of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
NICE continues to ensure that updated guidance is available to the clinical community.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 1194W, on screening, which of the tests and measurements referred to relate to (a) heart disease, (b) kidney disease, (c) stroke and (d) diabetes. [180780]
Ann Keen: The Prime Minister announced on 7 January that proposals were under development for a vascular risk programme.
A departmental project is currently under way to assess the costs and benefits of an integrated, systematic population-wide vascular risk screening programme. This would be focused on the shared risk factors for conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease and as such would use an assessment of risk based on a range of known predictive factors including age, gender, smoking status, body mass index, high blood pressure, and cholesterol and glucose, as appropriate.
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