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26 Mar 2008 : Column 216W—continued

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of repeat prescriptions were transferred via the electronic prescriptions service in each month since its inception. [195213]

Mr. Bradshaw: Repeat electronic prescriptions will be transmitted through the electronic prescriptions service with the enablement of Release 2. At present, the system is unable to distinguish practice instigated repeat prescriptions compared to other prescriptions.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many and what percentage of GP sites were technically live on the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since its inception; and how many and what percentage of GP sites were using the Electronic Prescriptions Service system in each month since its inception; [195257]

(2) how many and what percentage of community pharmacies were technically live on the electronic prescription service system in each month since its inception. [195274]

Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is shown in the following table.

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26 Mar 2008 : Column 218W

	Technical go live—general practitioner	Percentage based on 8,480 sites	Technical go live—pharmacy	Percentage based on 10,363 sites
February 2005	2	0.0	1	0.0
March 2005	2	0.0	1	0.0
April 2005	2	0.0	1	0.0
May 2005	17	0.2	2	0.0
June 2005	61	0.7	3	0.0
July 2005	118	1.4	3	0.0
August 2005	167	2.0	5	0.0
September 2005	179	2.1	7	0.1
October 2005	198	2.3	7	0.1
November 2005	468	5.5	10	0.1
December 2005	610	7.2	11	0.1
January 2006	650	7.7	12	0.1
February 2006	739	8.7	17	0.2
March 2006	998	11.8	219	2.1
April 2006	1,083	12.8	243	2.3
May 2006	1,226	14.5	1,404	13.5
June 2006	1,408	16.6	1,425	13.8
July 2006	1,536	18.1	1,493	14.4
August 2006	1,864	22.0	1,809	17.5
September 2006	1,987	23.4	2,195	21.2
October 2006	2,185	25.8	3,395	32.8
November 2006	2,289	27.0	3,544	34.2
December 2006	2,335	27.5	3,626	35.0
January 2007	2,375	28.0	3,950	38.1
February 2007	2,402	28.3	4,132	39.9
March 2007	2,815	33.2	4,340	41.9
April 2007	3,885	45.8	4,587	44.3
May 2007	5,023	59.2	4,933	47.6
June 2007	5,924	69.9	5,527	53.3
July 2007	5,980	70.5	6,036	58.2
August 2007	6,028	71.1	6,605	63.7
September 2007	6,177	72.8	6,971	67.3
October 2007	6,462	76.2	7,326	70.7
November 2007	6,552	77.3	7,652	73.8
December 2007	6,612	78.0	7,833	75.6
January 2008	6,649	78.4	8,052	77.7
February 2008	6,664	78.6	8,154	78.7
March 2008	6,667	78.6	8,159	78.7

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deployments of the general practitioner system for the electronic prescriptions service have been made, broken down by (a) local service provider and (b) practice. [195263]

Mr. Bradshaw: Existing general practitioner (GP) system suppliers have developed systems that support release one of the electronic prescriptions service (EPS). The EPS has been deployed to 6,663 (79 per cent.) GP practices in England. Through the local service providers, a number of alternative GP systems have been provided to 699 GP practices.

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of dispensing appliance contractors were technically live on the electronic prescriptions service system in each month since its inception; and how many and what percentage of dispensing appliance contractors were using the electronic prescriptions service system in each month since its inception. [195276]

Mr. Bradshaw: There are no dispensing appliance contractors participating in release one of the electronic prescription system.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prostate screenings there were in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire in each of the last five years. [193625]

Ann Keen: The national health service, including the South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust, does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.

The prostate cancer risk management programme was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of male prisoners eligible for prostate cancer screening have been screened in the last three years; [193634]

(2) what percentage of males eligible for prostate cancer screening have been screened in the last three years in England. [193635]

Ann Keen: The national health service does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom national screening committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.

The prostate cancer risk management programme (PCRMP) was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

26 Mar 2008 : Column 219W

Radiography: West Midlands

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what forecasts he has made for the future requirements for (a) radiographers and (b) radiologists in (i) Tamworth and (ii) the West Midlands. [193628]

Ann Keen: Local national health service organisations are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and plan the work force they need.

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