| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
8 July 2008 : Column 1508W—continued
Ann Keen: The number of national health service dentists on primary care trust (PCT) lists in England, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 is available in Annex E of the “NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006” report. The information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by PCT. Annex G of the report provides this information by constituency. This information is based on the old contractual arrangements which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006.
This report was published by the Information Centre for health and social care (IC), on 23 August 2006, copies have already been placed in the Library and are also available on the Information Centre for health and social care's website at:
The number of dentists on open NHS contracts in England as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07” report. This information is based on the new contractual arrangements introduced on 1 April 2006. The information is provided by SHA and by PCT. Information by constituency is not available under the new contractual arrangements.
This report was published by the IC, on 23 August 2007, and copies have already been placed in the Library and are also available on the IC's website at:
The numbers quoted are headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
The methodology for counting and reporting the NHS dental workforce is currently under review. The review, led by analysts at the IC and the statistical directorate of the Welsh Assembly Government, working in liaison with the Dental Services Division of the NHS Business Services Authority, aims to ensure that following the first year of the new dental contractual arrangements, the figures provide an appropriate measure of the workforce.
The workforce data provided in the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07” report will therefore remain the latest available until this review is complete. The review is currently at consultation stage which is due to end on 11 July 2008.
The IC intends to publish workforce data in the “NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2007-08” report. This is due to be published on 21 August 2008.
The IC also intends to publish the “Dental Working Hours: England & Wales, 2006-07 & 2007-08” report on the same day.
Diabetes
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of emotional and psychological support to people diagnosed with diabetes. [216572]
Ann Keen:
We recognise the important role emotional and psychological support has in enabling people with diabetes to self-manage their condition on a day-to-day
basis. The Department is working in collaboration with Diabetes UK to identify what needs to be done to enable the national health service and local care services to meet the psychological and emotional needs of all people with diabetes.
Doctors: Housing
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on charging junior doctors for their accommodation. [216574]
Ann Keen: The policy is as set out in the “Terms and Conditions of Service of Hospital Medical and Dental Staff and doctors in Public Health Medicine and the Community Health Service in England and Wales (September 2003 as amended)”, which reflect the contractual arrangements negotiated with the British Medical Association; copies of this publication are available in the Library. The provisions vary depending on circumstances. Where a junior doctor is required to be resident, no charge will be made. Where a non-resident junior doctor is required to stay overnight in hospital as part of an on-call rota or partial shift system they are required to pay a proportion of the lodging charge depending on their length of stay. Where there is no requirement to be resident, junior doctors may be charged for accommodation in the same way as other national health service staff. Full details can be found in paragraphs 173-183 of the terms and conditions.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have had with NHS acute trusts in London on the provision of NHS accommodation for junior doctors; and if he will make a statement. [216720]
Ann Keen: No discussions have been had with London national health service acute trusts in London about junior doctor accommodation. The provision of accommodation is dependent on the type of contract a junior doctor has. National terms and conditions provide that, where a doctor is required to be resident, no charge will be made for accommodation. We are not aware of any trusts in London who are failing to comply with these terms.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was to each NHS acute trust in the London strategic health authority area of housing junior doctors in NHS-provided accommodation in each of the last five years. [216721]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of junior doctors were housed in NHS-provided accommodation in each NHS acute trust in the London strategic health authority area in each of the last five years. [216722]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance will be provided by the NHS to Foundation House Officer 1s requiring help in finding accommodation for their four month placements. [216930]
Ann Keen: Junior doctors can use the same facilities available to other national health service staff to find accommodation. Arrangements vary locally, but the majority of trusts are likely to have either an accommodation office or an officer available to help staff find accommodation. There is also a national NHS housing website for staff to use to search accommodation, which trusts and local agencies access. This can be found at:
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the likely effect of the removal of free hospital accommodation for junior doctors on the recruitment of medical students from lower socio-economic backgrounds; and what steps he plans to take to prevent any negative effects. [216931]
Ann Keen: We have not removed free accommodation for junior doctors. We have removed the statutory requirement for all first year junior doctors to be resident. Where individual junior doctors are contractually required to be resident, they will continue to receive free accommodation. Where they are not, it is entirely appropriate that they are treated in exactly the same way as other national health service staff. Medical student recruitment remains strong. The “Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration” (DDRB) stated in their 37(th) report (2008), that they were
“pleased to note that there continues to be a more than adequate number of good quality applicants to study medicine, which as we have previously commented, is strong evidence that medicine is seen as an attractive career”
Copies of the DDRB’s 37(th) report have already been placed in the Library.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2008, Official Report, column 56W, on doctors: housing, what (a) data and (b) methodology his Department and NHS employers used to determine the estimate of the number of junior doctors not provided with NHS-funded accommodation included in his Department’s evidence to the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body in 2007. [216971]
Ann Keen: The Department made no estimate of the number of junior doctors not provided with national health service-funded accommodation for its 2007 Evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration. Until August 2007, all first year junior doctors were statutorily required to be resident and therefore had free accommodation provided. Free accommodation continues to be provided for those who are contractually required to be resident. The Department’s evidence did include reference to reports that a third of those junior doctors who were eligible for free accommodation did not use it. This was based on an estimate from NHS Employers, who stated in its evidence that
“some third of all FYl trainees provided with free residence chose not to occupy it in 2006-07”
We understand that final numbers suggest that this figure was nearer to a quarter.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the right to free hospital accommodation for junior doctors has not been incorporated into their terms and conditions of service; and if he will make a statement. [217271]
Ann Keen: The terms and conditions of service for junior doctors do incorporate the right to free accommodation for those who are contractually required to be resident. These terms and conditions have been in place since December 2000.
Doctors: Working Hours
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2008, Official Report, column 506W, on doctors: working hours, which members states (a) supported and (b) did not support the proposed amendment of the Working Time Directive. [215858]
Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following list.
Austria
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden;
United Kingdom.
Opposed amendments or abstained
Belgium
Cyprus
Greece
Spain
Hungary
Portugal
Malta.
Notes:
1. The voting in the European Council was complex, covering both the EWTD and agency workers directives, and it was not absolutely clear which member states were abstaining or voting against the proposals. This was not significant because there was a clear qualified majority in favour of the proposals.
2. If the voting issue in note one is clarified by the European Council Secretariat or the presidency, this information will be forwarded to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O’Brien)
General Practitioners: Staffordshire
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average remuneration per full-time equivalent NHS general dental practitioner is in (a) Tamworth and (b) Staffordshire; and what it was in (i) cash and (ii) real terms in each of the last 10 years. [215849]
Ann Keen: Average remuneration per full-time equivalent national health service general dental practitioner in the South Staffordshire primary care trust area alone, is not identifiable from the data held centrally.
Hospitals: Waiting Lists
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for hospital treatment was in (a) Milton Keynes, (b) Buckinghamshire and (c) England in each year since 1997. [214933]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information is shown in the following table.
| Average in-patient waiting time for organisations covering Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and England; 1997 to present | |||
| Median wait (weeks) | |||
| Organisations covering: | |||
| Period ending March: | Milton Keynes | Buckinghamshire | England |
| n/a = Not applicable. Notes: 1. Organisations covering Milton Keynes: N/A, 1997-2002 (part of Buckinghamshire Health Authority (HA)); Milton Keynes PCT, 2003-08; 2. Organisations covering Buckinghamshire: Buckinghamshire HA; 1997-2002 Chilton and South Buckinghamshire PCT, Milton Keynes PCT, Vale of Aylesbury PCT, Wycombe PCT; 2003-06 Buckinghamshire PCT, Milton Keynes PCT, 2007-08 3. Figures show the median waiting times for patients still waiting at the end of the period. 4. Inpatient waiting times are measured from decision to admit by the consultant to admission to hospital. 5. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. Source: QFO1 and Monthly Monitoring (Commissioner based) | |||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |