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13 Mar 2008 : Column 548W—continued
Community Care: Expenditure
Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was spent on NHS-funded continuing care for (a) adults with learning disabilities, (b) older people, (c) adults with physical disabilities and (d) adults with mental health problems in each primary care trust area in England in each quarter of 2007. [192340]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not collected by the Department.
Dementia: Health Services
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on development of a national dementia strategy; and if he will make a statement. [192392]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department has so far published two documents in support of the forthcoming national dementia strategy—‘Strengthening the Involvement of People with Dementia: a resource for implementation’ was published in November 2007 and ‘Creative models of short breaks (respite care) for people with dementia’ in February 2008.
The Department is working with stakeholder groups in developinf the national dementia strategy, and a formal consultation on the draft will take place between June and August 2008.
Drugs: Babies
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many babies were born with an addiction to a class A drug in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [193636]
Dawn Primarolo: We do not hold this information centrally but the following table gives details of babies born with addictions to any substance. The figures are from the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) and are based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) ICD-10 codes for identification of conditions. (ICD is the WHO’s system for identifying conditions. ICD-10 is the tenth (and current) version.
| Finished consultant episodes for ICD-10 code P96.1 | |
There are no specific codes in ICD-10 that identify babies born with class A drug addiction. ICD-10 code P96.1 (neonatal withdrawal symptoms from maternal use of drugs of addiction) indicates withdrawal symptoms due to maternal use of drugs of addiction. The fact that the neonate is in withdrawal indicates that they were born addicted to a drug. However, it is not limited to class A drug addiction. The P96.1 code includes neonatal addiction as a result of maternal use of class A drugs but also includes maternal addiction to any drug, for example cannabis or analgesics.
Drugs: Misuse
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with chronic health problems arising from illicit drug-taking; and what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of this. [191383]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has not made any formal estimate of the number of people with chronic health problems arising from illicit drug-taking. Nor has it made an estimate of the annual cost of this to the national health service.
However, there is a strong evidence base which has established the serious harms that drug misuse causes including those that are health-related. This is why we have invested substantially in drug treatment, allocating another £398 million pooled drug treatment budget this year for the treatment of drug misuse.
The Government launched their new national Drug Strategy on 27 February 2008, which, following on from the previous Drug Strategy, again identifies effective treatment as key to tackling these problems.
Hearing Impaired: Standards
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the recommended frequency with which people with hearing and balance disorders should be monitored by health care professionals. [190459]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
Patients should be advised to return to primary care to be referred for a review on a needs basis. It is suggested that patients are reviewed after a period of time, to check that their hearing aid is delivering optimum benefits. The frequency of such a review should be determined locally in conjunction with audiology providers and based on patient need. If
a patient’s hearing deteriorates and/or they feel their hearing aid is no longer fit for purpose, they should be advised to return to primary care where support may be provided. If appropriate, the patient will be referred to an audiology provider for assessment and, if required, treatment.
Macular Degeneration: Smoking
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research on the relationship between smoking and the long-term incidence of age-related macular degeneration; if he will consider as part of the research the work that has been carried out by (a) Jennifer S. Tan and others for the Centre for Vision Research, University of Sydney and the Department of Ophthalmology, Westmead Hospital, New South Wales and (b) U. Chakravarthy and others; and if he will make a statement. [193521]
Dawn Primarolo: Research proposals in all areas compete for the funding available. The usual practice of the Department’s National Institute for Health Research and of the Medical Research Council is not to ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. Both organisations welcome applications for support for research on any aspect of human health and these are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
Nursing and Midwifery Council
Mr. Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve the regulation of the activities of the Nursing and Midwifery Council; and if he will make a statement. [191966]
Mr. Bradshaw: In February 2007 Government published the White Paper “Trust, Assurance and Safety - The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century”, which sets out a series of proposals to modernise the system of professional regulation. These proposals include a number of reforms to the governance of the regulatory bodies, such as the introduction of fully appointed, smaller, more board-like councils, where professional members no longer form a majority.
The Health and Social Care Bill will introduce provision to require the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) in its annual report to state how far, in exercising statutory functions, it and each health professions regulatory body has, in the council’s opinion, promoted the health, safety and well-being of patients and other members of the public. It also clarifies that the CHRE is not prevented from investigating particular cases for the purpose of making general reports on the performance of health care regulatory bodies of its functions or making general recommendations to those bodies affecting future cases.
All regulators are currently required to produce annual reports which they send to the Privy Council, which then lays the reports before each House of Parliament. We have introduced further provision on the content of these reports, which includes a description of the arrangements that the council has put in place to ensure that it adheres to good practice in relation to equality and diversity. It will be a requirement that the regulator
lay a copy of its annual report and strategic plan before the United Kingdom Parliament, and where appropriate the Scottish Parliament.
Palliative Care: Cambridgeshire
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on supportive and palliative care has been implemented in North West Cambridgeshire. [192669]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Cambridgeshire PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care, based on assessments of local needs and priorities. The NHS has been asked to set out action plans to achieve compliance with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations on supportive and palliative care. Implementation is being monitored by strategic health authorities (SHAs).
Information on the rate of progress locally can be obtained through East of England SHA.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are used by commissioners in North West Cambridgeshire to determine the need for specialist palliative and neurological care. [192670]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Cambridgeshire PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure that they are effective and efficient.
The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the “National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions” outlines commissioners’ information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of the framework is available in the Library.
Palliative Care: Eastbourne
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data are used by commissioners to determine the need for specialist palliative and neurological care in Eastbourne. [192019]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT, within the national health service to commission services for their resident population, including end of life care and neurological care, based on an assessment of local needs and priorities. Strategic health authorities are responsible for monitoring PCTs to ensure they are effective and efficient.
The NHS operating framework for 2007-08 asked PCTs, working with local authorities, to undertake a baseline review of their end of life care services. These will allow local commissioners to assess current services, identify gaps and obtain a much clearer view of local need, which will inform local commissioning.
Regarding neurological care, the information strategy published alongside the ‘National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions’ outlines commissioners' information requirements and a series of local and national actions designed to meet those needs. A copy of this document is available in the Library.
Patients: Nutrition
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bed days were occupied by patients with a (a) primary and (b) secondary diagnosis of (i) malnutrition, (ii) nutritional anaemias and (iii) other nutritional deficiencies in each year since 1997-98, broken down by NHS trust; and what estimate he has made of the cost per bed day of treating a patient with a (A) primary and (B) secondary diagnosis of (1) malnutrition, (2) nutritional anaemias and (3) other nutritional deficiencies in the latest period for which figures are available. [189475]
Dawn Primarolo: Detailed information has been placed in the Library.
Pharmacies: Opening Hours
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many pharmacies are operating for under 100 hours per week under the Medicines (Pharmacy and General Sale—Exemption) Amendment Order 2005 in the Peterborough constituency; and if he will make a statement; [193710]
(2) how many pharmacies operate in the Peterborough constituency (a) for under 100 hours a week under the provisions of section 12 of the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 and (b) for over 100 hours a week under the provisions of section 13 of the regulations; and if he will make a statement. [193828]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not held centrally.
The hon. Member may wish to raise this issue directly with the chief executive of Peterborough primary care trust.
Self-Mutilation
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many recorded self-harm incidents there were in England in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) age group, (b) sex and (c) constituency; and if he will make a statement. [192567]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The data are not available in the requested format.
Deliberate self-harm (DSH) results in about 170,000 attendances at accident and emergency departments in the United Kingdom annually, with more than 140,000
of these being in England and Wales. DSH is one of the top five causes of acute medical admission, and is the most common reason for medical admission of females and the second most common reason for males. Approximately two thirds of DSH patients are under 35 years old.
Hospital episode statistics record the number of finished consultant episodes of people who have been admitted in national health service hospitals with a primary diagnosis of injury and poisoning. Since a high proportion of these records do not record an external cause of injury or poisoning, such as deliberate self-harm, it is not possible to ascertain the total number of self-harm admissions accurately.
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