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1 Sep 2008 : Column 1798W

(6) what his estimate is of the number of hospitals in England that do not have a formal trauma team but which admit severely injured patients. [221324]

Mr. Bradshaw: No such assessment has been made centrally. These are matters for the national health service to determine. Over the last year, as part of the Next Stage Review, each strategic health authority has set out its vision for improving health and healthcare based on the recommendations of clinically-led pathway groups including acute care. These visions identify the need for high quality trauma services and a common theme was the need for specialised centres for major trauma.

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what measures he has put in place to improve the treatment and survival rates of patients who have suffered head trauma; [221320]

(2) what steps have been taken by his Department to ensure the provision of adequate trauma teams in NHS health care settings where severely injured patients may be received. [221323]

Mr. Bradshaw: These are matters for the national health service to determine. Over the last year, as part of the Next Stage Review, each strategic health authority has set out its vision for improving health and health care based on the recommendations of clinically-led pathway groups including acute care. These visions identify the need for high quality trauma services and a common theme was the need for specialised centres for major trauma. It is now for primary care trusts to commission appropriate services, in consultation with their local populations, on the basis of the recommendations of the pathway groups.

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what evaluation he has made of the 2007 report of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, Trauma: Who cares; [221325]

(2) what progress has been made by his Department in taking forward the recommendations of the 2007 report of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death. [221326]

Mr. Bradshaw: We welcomed the report of the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death, “Trauma: who cares”, on its publication in 2007. The clinical pathway groups who developed proposals for the best models of acute care as part of the “Next Stage Review: High quality care for all” (2008) will have considered the Enquiry’s recommendations in their deliberations.

Vaccination

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure the NHS implements the recommendations for screening and vaccination programmes (a) the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and (b) the National Screening Committee, as referred to on page 34 of his Department's document High Quality Care for All, Cm. 7432; for what reasons he does not plan to include people's access to screening and immunisation
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services as a legal right in the NHS Constitution; for what reasons he does not plan the NHS to establish screening programmes as recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence; and if he will make a statement. [219368]

Dawn Primarolo: The draft NHS Constitution contains a pledge that the national health service will strive always to implement screening and vaccination programmes as recommended by the appropriate national advisory bodies, Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the UK National Screening Committee (NSC). The draft NHS Constitution and the Government’s proposals are open for public consultation until 17 October 2008. The details, including how to feed in views, may be found at www.dh.gov.uk/consultations.

The Department will continue to use a variety of tools to ensure that the NHS implements recommendations from the JCVI and the UK NSC.

When the Department introduces a new immunisation programme following a JCVI recommendation it is normally announced to the NHS through a letter from the Chief Medical Officer. Where appropriate, the Department provides guidance and additional funding to the NHS to implement the programme. In some cases, the requirement to offer a vaccine is imposed by or under legislation. ‘Vital Signs’, a key component of the NHS Operational Framework, prioritises immunisation. Strategic health authorities performance manage primary care trusts against their local plans. Vaccine uptake is monitored across the country to assist in this process.

When the Department introduces a new screening programme, following a UK NSC recommendation, the steps taken to ensure the NHS implements the recommendations vary depending on the individual screening programme. In the past, the Department has
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supported implementation by establishing UK NSC led national programme teams. The UK NSC will provide advice on implementation.

Clinical guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are developmental standards for the NHS and the Government expect them to be fully implemented over time.

Xansa

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments have been made by his Department to Xansa plc in each of the last five years. [215128]

Mr. Bradshaw: The following payments were made to Steria (formerly Xansa plc) in each of the last five years:

£

2003-04

49,928.68

2004-05

81,057.39

2005-06

3,124,448.11

2006-07

620,878.54

2007-08

1,285,768.92


Young People: Social Services

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the peer review of the work undertaken by TRIBAL/Secta to develop the Young Adults’ Personal Social Services formula. [220682]

Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 21 July 2008]: No. The release of this information would breach the duty of confidence the Department has to the peer reviewer and to the authors of the relative needs formulae study for younger adults.


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