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2 July 2008 : Column 941W—continued
Medical Records: Databases
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the draft guidance from the Section 29 Working Party on electronic medical records, what evaluation he has undertaken of the compatibility of the Connecting for Health proposals with the draft guidance; and if he will make a statement. [213347]
Mr. Bradshaw: The ‘draft guidance’ is contained in a European Union working document, issued for consultation purposes. It does not represent an agreed legal interpretation and has no legal weight attached to it.
The document, as it stands, suggests that electronic health records should be supported by specific legislation to fully comply with data protection requirements. This is applicable to all electronic health records, not just those being introduced by NHS Connecting for Health. We responded to the consultation suggesting that the document should be amended to better reflect the realities of team-based modern health care and to allow for the impact of United Kingdom domestic common law of confidentiality that runs alongside data protection requirements.
The Department has sought and received the advice of the Information Commissioner to ensure that the various elements of the national programme for information technology enable users to be fully compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998, which is the domestic legislation that gave effect to the European Directive on Data Protection.
NHS
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has considered the merits of establishing a legal requirement for NHS trusts to implement recommendations made by (a) the Healthcare Commission and (b) the Parliamentary Health Service Commissioner. [213318]
Mr. Bradshaw: Subject to parliamentary approval, the Healthcare Commission will cease to exist on 1 April 2009, with its regulatory function being replaced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In the reformed complaints process, we do not envisage the CQC having a direct role in handling individual NHS complaints (other than specific complaints as to discharge of powers or duties under the Mental Health Act, carrying forward the current Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC) role). Unsatisfied complainants will be able to approach the health service ombudsman directly if their complaint cannot be resolved locally. None the less, the issue of learning from complaints is certainly very important.
However, we do not believe that a specific legal requirement will be necessary. Requirement 10 of the CQC registration requirements, proposed in our recent consultation “The future regulation of health and adult social care in England: A consultation on the framework for the registration of health and adult social care providers”, would require registered providers and managers to have effective systems in place for handling complaints. This would place an obligation on care providers to ensure that learning from complaints is reflected in risk management, quality assurance, clinical governance and training and development arrangements. Learning would be informed by a variety of sources, but we would expect recommendations from the Ombudsman and other key sources to play a vital role. The new Care Quality Commission will be able to use the full range of its enforcement powers to take action where people fail to meet those requirements.
NHS: Finance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the financial position of Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement. [214181]
Mr. Bradshaw: We recognise the challenging financial position of Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust, which reported in its draft accounts a deficit of £35.6 million for the 2007-08 financial year. We are continuing to work with the London strategic health authority as it and the trust’s management develop plans for the trust’s financial recovery.
NHS: Telecommunications
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1160W, on NHS: telecommunications, what assessment has been made of the impact on the provision of radio and entertainment for patients in the event of the contractor ceasing to support the contracted for service. [214428]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has not assessed the impact on the provision of radio and entertainment for patients in the event of the contractor ceasing to support the contracted for service. The Department is not party to the contracts, which are made between the national health service trust and its chosen provider.
It is the responsibility of individual NHS trusts to assess the impact of its provider ceasing to support the service and have in place a contingency plan should this happen.
The bedside entertainment systems are additional to the provision of services that existed in the past and alternatives could be made available, such as hospital payphones and free televisions in day rooms.
Papillomavirus
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what criteria were taken into account in selecting the vaccine to be used by the NHS for the prevention of human papilloma virus infection; [215476]
(2) what criteria were used to assess the efficacy of human papilloma virus vaccines in preventing sexual health disorders in the decision-making process to determine which vaccine is available on the NHS. [215477]
Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons GlaxoSmithKline were selected to provide the vaccine against the human papillomavirus. [215084]
Dawn Primarolo: Cervarix, the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline was selected because the bid from this company scored higher in the adjudication process against the pre-agreed award criteria than the competitor.
The pre-agreed award criteria, as follows, were shared with the manufacturers during the process so that they were fully informed of the criteria against which their bids would be evaluated.
Award criteria for the evaluation of the contract to supply HPV vaccine
quality of protection against cervical cancers caused by HPV strains 16/18;
duration of protection against cervical cancers caused by HPV strains 16/18 for more than 10 years duration;
quality of protection against anogenital warts caused by HPV strains 6/11;
duration of protection against anogenital warts caused by HPV strains 6/11 for more than 10 years duration;
quality of protection against HPV strains not included in the vaccine formulation;
other evidence of additional clinical benefits;
effective price per dose excluding VAT;
supply of the vaccine as single pre-filled syringe pack presentation;
quality of labelling, leaflets and presentation;
shelf life;
flexibility in the vaccine dosage schedule;
offers that reduce the risk of wastage if the vaccine is subject to temperatures above 8°C (this include the provision of temperature indicators and evidence based guidance on the stability of the vaccines at higher storage temperatures and subsequent safe administration.);
closeness of proposed delivery schedule to authority requirements;
pallet configuration including a preference for the use of Euro pallets;
impact of proposed amendments to the terms and conditions;
quality/robustness of manufacturing contingency arrangements;
quality/robustness of the risk management of storage and distribution; and
information provided relating to pack sizes, cold chain delivery, batch numbering systems and production capacity.
Patients
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what circumstances his Department requires independent verification of the figures for patient numbers by category provided by the medical director of an NHS trust. [209857]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not seek independent verification of patient numbers produced by a national health service medical director.
The Department, through Connecting for Health, is responsible for setting the national standards for national health service datasets and for the maintenance of NHS datasets supporting these national standards. Datasets are groups of information provided by the NHS, and collected in a standardised way. They cover a range of clinical areas including mental health, acute myocardial infarction, diabetes and cancer.
Pressure Sores
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases were dealt with by the NHS Litigation Authority (a) in which pressure ulcers were the ground for the claim and (b) which were settled in the claimants favour in each of the last five years; what the administrative cost was of dealing with the cases in each year; and how much was paid in settlements and compensation in each year. [214463]
Mr. Bradshaw: The available information requested, provided by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), is in the following tables; the administrative cost for dealing with the cases in each year is not quantifiable.
| Number of clinical negligence claims received from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2008 by NHSLA where the injury is pressure sore as at 31 May 2008 | |
| NHSLA notification year | Number of claims |
| Number of closed clinical negligence claims by year of settlement for the last five years where the injury is pressure sore as at 31 May 2008( 1) | |||||
| Closed with damages payments | |||||
| Year of settlement | Number of claims | Damages paid | Defence costs paid | Claimant costs paid | Total paid |
| Closed, nil damages payments | |||||
| Year of settlement | Number of claims | Damages paid | Defence costs paid | Claimant costs paid | Total paid |
| Total | |||||
| Year of settlement | Number of claims | Damages paid | Defence costs paid | Claimant costs paid | Total paid |
| (1) These are the claims settled in the last five years; they are not the claims received in any one year—claims can take several financial years to settle. In addition, the money was not likely to have been spent solely in the year the claim was settled (the NHSLA’s defence costs, for example, are paid quarterly through the life of the claim). | |||||
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