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19 Jun 2008 : Column 1154W—continued
Health Services: Religion
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on healthcare chaplaincy in the NHS. [210194]
Ann Keen: No such research has been commissioned by the Department during the current parliamentary session, which commenced in November 2007.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what central allocation of funding was made to healthcare chaplaincy services in the NHS in each of the last five years. [210195]
Ann Keen: Funding for the provision of health care chaplaincy services is built into the financial allocations to primary care trusts, who commission services on behalf of patients.
The Department provides central funding to support the development of the chaplaincy work force. The information in the following table shows which faith groups received funding in the last three years. Funding arrangements were restructured in 2005, following an independent review of central funding of hospital chaplaincy, conducted by John James and involving all main faith-based groups. The new arrangements resulted in more support for minority faith groups by redistributing the existing budget more equitably to provide for the religious and spiritual needs of patients while in hospital. Prior to 2005-06, funding totalled £170,000 per annum.
The distribution of funding for 2008-09 is yet to be determined.
| £ | |||
| Organisation name | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 |
| (1) Denotes no bid received. (2) Allocated but not claimed. | |||
In addition to this specific budget, the Department also supports faith groups by way of Section 64 grant funding. Since 2006-07, 19 applications were received from faith groups, of which one was funded.
Incontinence: Children
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the progress that has been made towards achieving an integrated community-based paediatric continence service as set out in the Children’s National Service Framework. [210530]
Ann Keen:
The National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (the NSF) is a 10-year programme to shape the way local authorities and primary care trusts provide or commission services for children. Copies of the NSF are available in the Library. Increasingly, we will judge the work of the authorities involved on the degree to which they have met the standards set out in the NSF. However, it would
not be appropriate to establish a formal review of the implementation of the standard on continence services half way through.
Incontinence: Females
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance for the management of urinary incontinence in women. [211540]
Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on the management of female urinary incontinence.
Infectious Diseases: Prisoners
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners were tested for (a) HIV, (b) AIDS, (c) hepatitis A and (d) hepatitis B in each of the last three years. [211574]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 16 June 2008]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
The Health Protection Agency collects surveillance data on infection with HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis viruses. However, if a prisoner is diagnosed with HIV or hepatitis, the fact that they are a prisoner at that time, or the specific prison in which they currently reside, is not routinely recorded on notifications.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department’s policy is on testing on arrival in prisons for (a) HIV, (b) AIDS, (c) hepatitis A and (d) hepatitis B; and how frequently such testing is conducted during the course of sentences. [211575]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer16 June 2008]: Prisoners are not screened for infection with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis A or hepatitis B on reception in prisons.
Any prisoner concerned about the possibility of being infected with a blood borne virus or HIV can have a confidential discussion with a trained health practitioner in the prison, and, if they wish to be tested for infection, will have pre-test discussion, the test itself, and post-test discussion about the result. This is similar to the experience of any person requesting such a test in the community.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what expenditure his Department has incurred on the treatment of prisoners for (a) HIV, (b) AIDS, (c) hepatitis A and (d) hepatitis B in each of the last three years. [211576]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 16 June 2008]: The information requested is not held centrally.
Health care provision for prisoners in England is commissioned by local national health service primary care trusts (PCTs). It is a matter for PCTs to decide how funding allocated to them should be used to provide services for their local population.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in the prison population (a) are HIV positive, (b) have AIDS, (c) have hepatitis A and (d) have hepatitis B. [211577]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 16 June 2008]: The information requested is not collected centrally.
However, the prevalence of blood-borne virus (BBV) infection in injecting drug users (IDUs) in the community is used by the Department to estimate infection rates in prisoners.
Therefore, from the data on the prevalence of BBVs in current and former IDUs from the Unlinked Anonymous Prevalence Monitoring Programme (UAPMP) survey in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2006(1,) the Department estimates that, at any one time in the prison estate, there are currently around 1,000 male and 60 female prisoners living with HIV infection; around 250 male and approximately 15 female prisoners with an AIDS-defining illness; and around 16,400 male and around 940 female prisoners living with Hepatitis B.
For Hepatitis A, in 2006, the total number of laboratory reports of Hepatitis A infection in England and Wales was 396. Therefore, the Department estimates that the number of acute Hepatitis A cases within the prison estate is currently very low.
( 1 ) Source:
Health Protection Agency 2007 Injecting Drug Users Summary Statistics, available at:
www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&;Page&HPAwebAutoList Name/Page/1202115502904#f2
Mental Health Services: Pensioners
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the quality of mental health care for pensioners. [211287]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 18 June 2008]: We are improving mental health care for older people including pensioners through our new National Dementia Strategy and Implementation Plan, which will be out for consultation this month. The aim of the strategy is to ensure that significant improvements across three key areas in relation to dementia services: improved awareness; earlier diagnosis and intervention; and higher quality of care.
In addition to this, in 2006, we produced “Everybody's Business, Integrated Mental Health Services for Older Adults: A service development guide”, which set out the key components of a comprehensive mental health service. Copies of the guide are available in the Library. Since April 2006, the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) has rewarded general practitioner practices for maintaining a register of patients diagnosed with dementia and, more recently, the Care Services Improvement Partnership, our social care implementation arm, has been active in rolling out the Let's Respect campaign which provides guidance for general hospital staff on older people's mental health.
Muscular Dystrophy
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much was spent on research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy in each of the last 10 years; [212430]
(2) what plans he has to fund research and clinical trials into Duchenne muscular dystrophy for the next three years. [212431]
Dawn Primarolo: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research. MRC spend on research relevant to Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) since 1997 is shown in the following table.
| £ million | |
Much of the muscular dystrophy research supported by the MRC is on-going.
Over the last 10 years, the main part of the Department’s total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by national health service organisations. Details of individual NHS supported research projects undertaken during that time, including a number concerned with DMD, are available on the archived national research register at:
https://portal.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/NRRArchiveSearch.aspx
The Department has additionally provided £1.6 million for a four year project aimed at developing a new treatment for DMD; and through its Policy Research Programme is funding a £1.1 million long term neurological condition research initiative. One of the studies commissioned as part of the initiative is specifically concerned with DMD.
Implementation of the Department’s research strategy “Best Research for Best Health” and the establishment of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has resulted in an expansion of our research programmes and in significant new funding opportunities. Two of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centres formed last year—at Imperial College and at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Institute for Child Health—plan over the next five years to undertake research on DMD therapy.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent assessment he has made of the availability of new (a) drugs and (b) treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy; [212432]
(2) what recent estimate he has made of the number of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. [212433]
Ann Keen: We have made no recent estimate of the number of people with this condition.
While there are several drugs undergoing clinical trials around the world, there are currently no drugs available for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
NHS: Reorganisation
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation took place prior to the publication of the Next Stage Review Interim report; whom was consulted; and how they were selected. [210190]
Ann Keen: Prior to the publication of the interim report, “Our NHS, Our Future: NHS Next Stage Review” copies of which are available in the Library, Lord Darzi: visited and spoke to 1,500 national health service staff in 17 NHS organisations across the country;
on 18 September 2007, took part in a nationwide day of detailed discussions on the priorities for the NHS with 1,000 patients, public and health and social care staff in nine different towns and cities;
met with representatives of 250 stakeholder groups representing the full diversity of our population and staff;
read more than 1,400 letters and e-mails from people up and down the country; and
brought together over 2,000 clinicians to form clinical working groups in every part of the country to focus on discussing how best to plan and provide care for patients.
The interim report was based on these views, visits and discussions.
Each deliberative event on 18 September was attended by a regionally representative sample of members of the public (demographic data were taken from census data), with specific quotas set on health status (including use of certain services in the past two years). This ensured that there was a broad mix of members of the public, many of whom had used services and were in a position to give views based on their own experience of health care provision. Participants were recruited off the street, to ensure a wide representation of the public. Members of NHS staff were nominated to attend by their strategic health authority.
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