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26 Feb 2008 : Column 1468W—continued
Medical Treatments Abroad: Transplant Surgery
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who travelled abroad for an organ transplant in the last year for which data are available. [185299]
Ann Keen: Information is only held for kidney transplants where we have a record of their being followed up in a United Kingdom hospital. In 2006, there were 31 UK residents who were transplanted with a kidney overseas and are being followed up in the UK. Two were from deceased donors, 28 from a living donor and one donor type not recorded. The majority were transplanted in Pakistan.
National Chemotherapy Advisory Group
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the membership of his Department's National Chemotherapy Advisory Group is; what areas of responsibility each member has; and if he will publish the membership on his Department's website. [184558]
Ann Keen: Membership of the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group is shown in the following table:
| Member | Area of responsibility |
|
President of Royal College of Medical Oncologist Pathologists | |
The group collectively provide advice based on their areas of personal expertise and interest. This group has not yet reported. Membership of the advisory group will be included as an annex to their report due to be submitted in spring 2008.
NHS: Drugs
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue revised guidance to health trusts on the storage and use of medicinal drugs to ensure that patients are not given the wrong drug or the wrong amount of drug; and if he will make a statement. [187950]
Dawn Primarolo: Information on the safe handling and use of medicines is available to national health service trusts from a variety of sources including:
comprehensive guidance on the handling, storage and administration of medicines, “The Safe And Secure Handling Of Medicines: A Team Approach”, was issued by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain in March 2005. This updated guidance previously issued by the Department;
guidance on good practice in the management of controlled drugs in primary care was issued by the National Prescribing Centre in February 2007 and the Department issued revised guidance for secondary care in October 2007;
the National Patient Safety Agency provides a range of practical resources to support NHS organisations and independent health care providers in learning from medication errors and reducing risk; and
prescribers also have access to a wide variety of impartial, trustworthy information resources on prescribing and the use of medicines such as the British National Formulary, British National Formulary for Children, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance and information and advice.
Mrs. Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who is responsible for demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of a new drug treatment within the appraisal and authorisation process conducted by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and if he will make a statement. [188140]
Dawn Primarolo: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) draws on a number of different sources of information to appraise the clinical and cost-effectiveness of drugs assessed through its Multiple Technology Appraisals (MTA) process. The different sources of information are set out in more detail in NICE'S “Guide to the methods of technology appraisal” which can be found at
When a single drug for a single indication is being appraised through NICE'S Single Technology Appraisals (STA) process, it is the responsibility of the drug's manufacturer to provide a submission that demonstrates the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the drug concerned.
In both the MTA and STA processes, the cost effectiveness models are independently reviewed by an academic group.
NHS: Public Participation
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of patient and public involvement in Lord Darzi’s reviews of (a) the NHS and (b) NHS London; [185580]
(2) how many requests Lord Darzi has received to meet members of the National Association of Patients’ Forums; and how many times Lord Darzi has met members of the National Association of Patients’ Forums in the course of his reviews of the NHS to hear their views on delivering effective patient and public involvement. [185581]
Ann Keen: The national health service “Our NHS, our future” next stage review is primarily a local process. Eight clinical pathway groups in each strategic health authority (SHA) region outside London are currently considering how to improve models of care across eight pathways from maternity and newborn care to end of life care. Local events are being held to ensure that the views and experiences of the public and patients inform the thinking of each clinical working group.
A second nationwide day of consultative events was held on 24 January 2008 to test the emerging findings of the clinical pathway groups with around 1,000 staff, patients and members of the public across the regions. The findings from the consultation events will contribute to each SHA’s vision for healthcare due to be published in the spring.
An online questionnaire has also been launched to capture the views of patients and the public. This is available on the review’s website at:
NHS London SHA undertook a similar process of engagement during the development of the “Healthcare for London: A Framework for Action” report. This included a telephone poll of 7,000 people, two deliberative events in February and March 2007 attended by over 100 people on each date and two feedback meetings in May and June 2007 attended by more than 60 people on each date.
Following the publication of the report, NHS London has convened a Patient and Public Advisory Group to contribute to the consultation, received over 12,000 visitors to their website, commenced a programme of 40 roadshows and met with stakeholder groups including patient and public involvement forums.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Lord Darzi of Denham) has received three representations from the National Association of Patient Forums on engaging with the NHS Next Stage Review. Since July, Lord Darzi has visited and spoken to large numbers of stakeholders, including patient groups, and members of the public about the review. Thousands of people have already contributed their views at consultative events, via letter, email and other online channels. Representatives of patient groups also attended an International Clinical Summit in November 2007 to share ideas of leading edge care from the United Kingdom and around the world.
NHS: Social Services
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to monitor the level of contributions made by local authority social services departments to NHS local information networks. [183745]
Ann Keen: The level of the local authority contribution to the local involvement network (LINk) is a matter for individual councils. Government funding for local authorities' responsibilities in this area has been added into Area Based Grant.
As part of its annual reporting to the Secretary of State, a LINk will be asked to declare the amount of funding made available to it in order that it might carry out its activities as set out in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.
Obesity
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's estimate is of the average body mass index in (a) England, (b) the East of England, (c) Suffolk, (d) Bedfordshire, (e) Cambridgeshire, (f) Essex, (g) Hertfordshire and (h) Norfolk. [187678]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the exact format requested.
The latest data on average body mass index (mean BMI) for England and for the East of England Government Office Region can be found in the Health Survey for England 2006, in the cardiovascular disease and risk factors adults, obesity and risk factors children—Volume 1 Cardiovascular disease and risk factors in adults, published 31 January 2008, a copy is available in the Library. In England in 2006, the mean BMI for men aged 16 and over was 27.2 kg/m(2 )and for women it was 26.8 kg/m(2). The Mean BMI for men and women aged 16 and over in the East of England Government Office Region in 2006 was 27.2 kg/m(2) and 26.9 kg/m(2) respectively.
Data for Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk are not available.
Obesity: Surgery
Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what role surgery has in the treatment of severe obesity in the NHS; and what assessment he has made of the potential to increase the use of surgery in such cases. [187696]
Dawn Primarolo: Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, the Government's strategy for promoting healthy weight, published in January 2008, reaffirmed the commitment that local health services should provide surgical interventions for obese patients where it is deemed clinically appropriate.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends that surgery should only be considered in adults with severe obesity if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more or between 35 and 40 and other significant disease (for example, type two diabetes, high blood pressure), and after all appropriate non-surgical measures have failed to achieve or maintain adequate clinically beneficial weight loss, and only be considered as a last resort. Surgery can be considered as a first-line option for adults with a BMI of more than 50. NICE do not generally recommend surgery for children or young people and it should only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Regarding the potential to increase the use of surgery to treat obesity, it is up to local areas to decide the best types of treatments, including the level of weight loss surgery, to provide for their own populations, in line with NICE guidance.
Pregnancy: Streptococcus
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) incidence and (b) rate per 1,000 live births of group B streptococcal infection has been in babies aged (i) 0 to six days and (ii) seven to 90 days in each strategic health authority since 1997. [188906]
Ann Keen [holding answer 25 February 2008]: We do not collect this information centrally. The incidence rate of confirmed early-onset Group B streptococcal (GBS) infection in the newborn in the UK has been estimated from recent studies to range from 0.48-0.6 per 1,000 live births. There are about 600,000 live births in England each year.
A study of confirmed cases, published in 2003 by the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (RCOG), identified 311 cases of early onset Group B streptococcus in England a year (0.5 per 1000 live births), of which 39 died. Since then, RCOG has produced “Prevention of Early Onset Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Disease in UK Obstetric Units: An audit of reported practice in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland”, which is available from the RCOG website.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on (a) the incidence and (b) the rate per 1,000 live births of group B Streptococcal infection in babies aged (i) 0 to 6 days and (ii) 7 to 90 days in each strategic health authority area since 1997. [181924]
Ann Keen: We do not collect this information centrally. The incidence rate of confirmed early-onset group B Streptococcal infection in the newborn in the United Kingdom has been estimated from recent studies to range from 0.48-0.6/1,000 live births. There are about 600,000 live births in England each year. A study published in 2004 of confirmed cases, identified 311 cases of early onset group B Streptococcus in England a year (0.5 per 1,000 live births) of which 39 died.
Primary Care Trusts: ICT
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding has been allocated under GP Systems of Choice to each primary care trust (PCT) in England for IT infrastructure upgrades; and what proportion such funding represents of the IT budget of each such PCT. [187204]
Mr. Bradshaw: Information on the funding allocated for GP Systems of Choice to each primary care trust (PCT) has been placed in the Library. However, the budgetary information on information technology for each PCT that is needed to calculate the requested proportion is not held centrally.
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