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1 Sep 2008 : Column 1715W—continued
The Healthcare Commission also uses A and E performance as part of its annual health check.
It is a local matter for NHS trusts to ensure that they meet the A and E four hour operational standard. In cases of underperforming trusts, the Department seeks assurances via the strategic health authority that NHS trusts have plans in place for improvement in A and E performance, in providing high quality, timely care to patients.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) emergency and (b) elective admissions to NHS hospitals there were in each of the last three years. [220568]
Mr. Bradshaw: The following table shows the number of emergency and elective admissions to hospital in England during the last three years for which figures are available.
| Emergency admissions | Elective admissions | |
| Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 2. Data Quality: HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 national health service trusts and primary care trusts in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. Whilst this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 3. Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected by the NHS, there have been on-going improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be counted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 4. Ungrossed Data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. | ||
Human Embryo Experiments
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent consideration he has given to the development of a policy on single embryo transfer. [221732]
Dawn Primarolo: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has launched a strategy to reduce the number of multiple births following fertility treatment from 24 per cent. nationally to 10 per cent. over three years. The basis of the strategy is that the transfer of one embryo at a time, where this is clinically appropriate, will reduce the health risks of multiple births for mother and babies. The strategy is being implemented in partnership with professional bodies, patient groups and clinics. We have established an expert group on commissioning national health service infertility provision, which will take account of the HFEA’s programme of work in this area.
Industrial Health and Safety: Nuclear Power Stations
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has (a) conducted and (b) commissioned an analysis of estimated radiation doses to members of critical groups living near nuclear power plants from (i) nuclide emissions averaged over one year and (ii) nuclide emissions over a few days resulting from reactor re-fuelling. [221035]
Dawn Primarolo:
We have been advised that the Food Standards Agency conducts assessments of doses to
members of the public, including critical groups, living in the vicinity of licensed nuclear sites. These are based on both authorised annual and short term discharge limits to ensure they are within the dose limit of 1 millisievert. Actual doses to the critical groups are estimated from the findings of annual food and environmental monitoring surveys, published in the Radioactivity in Food Environment reports annually. The Environment Agency is responsible for the authorisation of radioactive discharges from nuclear power plants.
Infectious Diseases
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the trend in cryptosporidium infections has been in the last five years; and what steps are being taken to combat the sources of this infection. [220881]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of cases of Cryptosporidium infections reported in England in each of the last five years is shown in the following table:
| Total | |
| Source: Health Protection Agency | |
The Water Supply (Water Quality) 2000 (amendment) Regulations 2007 as amended require all water companies to assess their water supplies for the risk of Cryptosporidium and to take appropriate measures to ensure water is safe to drink.
Infertility: Medical Treatments
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to extend the NHS co-payment scheme to infertility treatment. [221733]
Mr. Bradshaw:
It is up to individual primary care trusts (PCTs) to commission infertility services, taking into account local health care commissioning priorities. We are working with the patient support organisation Infertility Network UK to help PCTs share best practice in the provision of these services and we have established an expert group on commissioning national health service
infertility provision to provide advice to the Department and to PCT commissioners.
This is separate from the review that the Secretary of State announced on 17 June 2008, where he asked Professor Mike Richards, National Clinical Director for cancer, to review policy relating to patients who choose to pay privately for drugs not funded on the NHS and who, as a result, are required to pay for the NHS care that they would otherwise have received free. The review will report to the Secretary of State in October.
Injuries: Offensive Weapons
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2008, Official Report, columns 361-62W, on injuries: offensive weapons, how many people were admitted to hospital with (a) stab wounds and (b) gunshot wounds aged (i) under 16, (ii) between 16 and 18 and (iii) over 18 years (A) in each year from 1996-97 to 2001-02 and (B) in 2007-08, broken down by strategic health authority. [218256]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 16 July 2008]: Information is collected on the number of finished admission episodes to hospital. A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission as part of an episode of care within the year.
Part (i) of this parliamentary question refers to “stab wounds” therefore the clinical code “X99—Assault by sharp object”, has been used. This code includes cases where someone has been attacked using a sharp object of some kind (including but not exclusive to knives).
There is another code “W26”—contact with a knife, sword or dagger. This code is used for such diagnoses as accidental knife injuries and excludes assault. Therefore code W26 has not been used in this answer.
Information is not available for 2007-08 until December 2008. For this reason, 2006-07 data has been provided instead. The following three tables provide numbers by strategic health authority and age category; provides rates (number of admissions per 100,000 of the population) per strategic health authority; and summarises national data. When interpreting the data, reference should be made to the notes and clinical codes.
| Stab wound s** | |||||
| SHA of residence | Under 16 admissions | 16-18 admissions | Over 18 admissions | Unknown Age | |
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