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28 Apr 2008 : Column 148W—continued
Mr. Bradshaw
[holding answer 21 April 2008]: Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for providing local health services, including primary medical services, to reflect local needs and healthcare priorities. Westminster PCT has advised they it has a
long-standing general medical services (GMS) contract with a general practitioner to provide primary medical services for staff who live within the borders of Buckingham Palace. All GMS contracts set out the practice’s boundaries, and in this case the practice area covers only the environs of the Palace. The practice does not operate a closed list but, in common with all practices, it does not have to register patients who live outside the practice area. The latest available data show that at 30 September 2007 there were 296 patients registered at the Buckingham Palace practice.
Information about the revenue that the practice has received for additional needs is not held centrally. My hon. Friend may therefore wish to raise this issue with the chief executive of Westminster PCT. However, the issue here is not additional needs funding but payments made under the minimum practice income guarantee, which is being reviewed and on which announcements will be made as part of the Next Stage Review this summer.
General Practitioners: Public Participation
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many responses his Department received to the GP patient access survey, “Your doctor, your experience, your say” in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08; and what the response rate was in each year. [200889]
Mr. Bradshaw: In 2006-07, the first year of the general practitioner patient survey, Ipsos MORI, which conduct, the survey on behalf of the Department, received a total of 2,295,987 valid responses from a total sample of 5,220,482, a response rate of 44 per cent. overall.
Survey data for 2007-08 are currently being processed and remain restricted and unavailable until official publication by the Information Centre for health and social care. Publication has been confirmed for the week commencing 14 July 2008.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners failed to achieve the (a) minimum and (b) maximum percentage response of “yes” to access questions as part of the GP patient access survey “Your doctor, your experience, your say” survey, in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05, (iii) 2005-06, (iv) 2006-07 and (v) 2007-08, broken down by primary care trust. [200892]
Mr. Bradshaw: The first year in which the general practitioner patient survey was conducted was 2006-07. The number of primary medical care contractors in England who failed to achieve the minimum and maximum percentage responses of “yes” to the access questions have been placed in the Library. The table gives the breakdown by primary care trust. The survey does not apply in Wales.
The survey data for 2007-08 are currently being processed by Ipsos MORI, the appointed survey provider, and remain restricted and unavailable until official publication by the Information Centre for health and social care. Publication has been confirmed for the week commencing 14 July 2008.
Heart Diseases
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government have taken to reduce the incidence of heart attacks. [200979]
Ann Keen: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 25 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1191-92W.
Hospitals: Infectious Diseases
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used to appoint authorised persons to inspect (a) central sterile stores and (b) management of infection control. [202167]
Ann Keen: Guidance on the management and environment for the decontamination of reusable medical devices is set out in “Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 01-01): Decontamination of re-usable medical devices”. Copies of this document are available in the Library.
Section five of Part A of HTM 01-01, identifies the functional responsibilities including ‘Authorised Persons (Decontamination)’ to ensure equipment is operated safely and efficiently. The precise criteria concerning the appointment of an authorised person are covered in paragraphs 5.35 to 5.43 in this document.
Directors of Infection Prevention and Control are appointed by national health service trusts who decide which criteria to use. Guidance on competences for DIPCs was issued in May 2004. The detail can be found at
In addition, all acute NHS trusts are inspected against the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections by the Healthcare Commission. The Healthcare Commission decides which criteria to use when recruiting its specialist teams of inspectors.
Influenza
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2008, Official Report, column 596W, on influenza, to which organisations providing essential services the National Capabilities Survey is sent; and if he will make a statement. [199239]
Mr. Watson: I have been asked to reply
The 2008 National Capabilities Survey was sent to the full range of over 1,200 Category 1 and 2 responders in England and Wales, as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. Among these, the private-sector organisations providing essential services are to be found among the category 2 responders. The UK Resilience website provides a list of the kinds of organisations that fall into each of these categories:
Copies of the lists have been placed in the Library for the reference of Members.
Mentally Ill People
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of people were diagnosed with mental health problems before the age of (a) five, (b) 10, (c) 15 and (d) 20 years in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [200983]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not collected by the Department on the number of children and adults diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
The Office for National Statistics 2004 survey ‘Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain’ looked at the prevalence of mental health disorders. It found that 10 per cent. of young people aged five to 16 years had a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. This was further broken down to 8 per cent. of five to 10-year-olds and 12 per cent. of 11 to 16-year-olds. A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
NHS Blood and Transplant: Finance
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the budget was for the NHS Blood and Transplant Special Health Authority in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08; [200637]
(2) what the combined budget was of the National Blood Service and UK Transplant and Bio Products Laboratory in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) 2007-08. [200847]
Dawn Primarolo: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) was established in October 2005 following the merger of the National Blood Authority (NBA) (made up of the National Blood Service and Bio Products Laboratory) and UK Transplant (UKT).
Information on the total budget is provided in the following table.
| Special health authority | Total budget (£ million) | |
NHS Blood and Transplant: Manpower
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what changes in headcount in the National Blood Service and UK Transplant and Bio Products Laboratory are planned as part of the implementation of the findings of the Review of the National Blood Service; [200639]
(2) what estimate he has made of the effects on employee numbers in the National Blood Service of the consolidation of testing and processing facilities. [200801]
Dawn Primarolo: Consolidation of processing and testing to six and five sites respectively will result in a reduction of around 140 posts. This is part of an anticipated overall reduction of up to 600 posts across the National Blood Service (NBS) by the end of 2010-11. The NBS intends to reduce these posts largely through non-compulsory means, including voluntary redundancy, staff turnover and vacancy control. Help will be provided for all staff affected by change to find other jobs, across NHS Blood and Transplant and the wider national health service.
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre: Finance
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much South Central Strategic Health Authority has spent on the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre's (a) foundation trust diagnostic exercise, (b) strategic options exercise with KPMG and (c) Stage 1 financial viability assessment; and how much it is estimated will be spent on Stages 2 and 3 of the financial viability assessment. [200966]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 24 April 2008]: The information requested is not held centrally. It is for South Central Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to work with Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust to develop the strategic future of the trust. The hon. Member may therefore wish to raise this with the chief executive of South Central SHA.
Polyclinics: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation has been undertaken with local stakeholders on the proposed establishment of a polyclinic facility in the Peterborough primary care trust area in March 2009; and if he will make a statement. [201349]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 24 April 2008]: Decisions on the form of consultation process to adopt, whom to consult and the time allowed for this process will be made by each primary care trust, and will need to be taken in the light of all relevant factors, including any consultation already conducted or under way.
PCTs are working locally with their strategic health authorities and relevant stakeholders, including local clinicians and patients, to design their service specifications for new health centres.
Sight Impairment: Research
Judy Mallaber:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to support the continuation of research into gene therapy for
inherited blindness conducted at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institute of Ophthalmology; and if he will make a statement. [202308]
Dawn Primarolo: The ocular gene therapy research being undertaken by University College London Institute of Ophthalmology and Moofield Eye Hospital’Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is at forefront of world science and should lead to the restoration of sight to many people. The project has been directly funded by the Department, along with other funding partners. The Moorfields BRC has been allocated some £14 million over five years by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
The project is an exemplar of translational research, and illustrates the importance of getting cutting-edge science from the laboratory to the patients whom it can benefit. To that end, we have set up the Office for Strategic Co-ordination for Health Research, chaired by Professor Sir John Bell, working with the Medical Research Council and the NIHR to ensure a major improvement in the translation of basic research into
health and economic benefits; and have invested in a single health research fund that will rise to £1.7 billion by 2010-11.
Social Services
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people of working age were assessed for social care needs in each local authority in 2007-08; and how many people so assessed were found to have a (a) low, (b) moderate, (c) substantial and (d) critical level of social care need in each local authority; [202313]
(2) how many people of working age who were assessed for social care needs in 2007-08 and found to have a level of social care need (a) did and (b) did not go on to receive state-funded social care support from their local authority. [202314]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The latest available data are for 2006-07. The level of social care need is not held centrally.
The following table shows the number of new clients aged 18 to 64 with completed assessments and the anticipated sequel to assessment completed during the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007.
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