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10 Dec 2008 : Column 155W—continued
East Riding of Yorkshire PCT
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on changing the name of the East Riding of Yorkshire Primary Care Trust to NHS East Riding of Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement. [240553]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested is not held centrally.
General Practitioners
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices in each of the regions had at least 50 per cent. of their patients living three or more miles away in the last year. [240540]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of GP practices in each of the regions was single-handed in each of the last two years. [240541]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average practice list size was for (a) GPs and (b) dentists in each region in each of the last two years. [240542]
Mr. Bradshaw: The average general practice list size, by strategic health authority (SHA), as at 30 September 2007 is shown in the following table.
The Department does not collect these data for the Northern Ireland regions.
List size data for dental practices are not held centrally.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to page 113 of the 2008 Pre-Budget Report, Cm 7484, what the location is of each GP surgery to be upgraded into a training practice; [241106]
(2) with reference to page 113 of the 2008 Pre-Budget Report, Cm 7484, how the £100 million for upgrading GP surgeries to training practices will be allocated. [241107]
Mr. Bradshaw: These are early days and quite rightly no full and final decisions have been made yet. The decisions need to be made with the full involvement of all parties concerned, and we will ensure that this happens, so that we achieve the maximum benefits and direct investment to address health inequalities.
Genetics
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 17 new trials approved by the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee were in 2007-08. [241349]
Dawn Primarolo: The Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) approved 17 new trials over its last annual reporting period of January to December 2007. Four of these trials were in cancer research, nine were addressing infectious diseases, two were potential treatments for cardiovascular diseases and two were studies of inherited disorders. Further details on these trials are in the “Fourteenth Annual Report” of GTAC, which has been placed in the Library. Details of trials approved by GTAC in 2008 will be included in its next annual report, due for publication in 2009.
Headaches
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of the working population who suffer from migraine or other headache disorders; [241418]
(2) if he will estimate the number of people in employment who experience migraine or other headache disorders. [241421]
Ann Keen: We have no estimates, or plans to make such estimates, of the proportion of the working population living with migraine or headache disorders.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist headache disorder nurses there are in England; and in which hospitals or health centres they are based. [241544]
Ann Keen: Nursing staff working for the national health service who specialise in treating or diagnosing headaches are not identified in the NHS Workforce Census. There are a variety of causes of headache and if a cause can be identified then the care of the patient will follow the appropriate clinical pathway.
In April 2003 the College of General Practitioners and the Department of Health issued joint guidance “Guidelines for the Appointment of General Practitioners With Special Interests in the Delivery of Clinical Service—Headaches”. This guidance has already been placed in the Library.
Health Centres
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2008, Official Report, column 1046W, on health centres, what steps are being taken against primary care trusts whose plans for (a) a new GP-led health centre and (b) new GP practices do not meet core criteria; [240668]
(2) for each primary care trust whose plans for a new (a) GP-led health centre and (b) GP practice do not meet core criteria, what the reasons are for this being the case. [240669]
Mr. Bradshaw: Strategic health authorities have provided assurances via performance management discussions with the Department that none of the General Practitioner (GP)-led health centres or GP practices will not meet the core national criteria aimed at improving patient care and access to services.
Health Professions: Vetting
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether care providers are informed when Criminal Records Bureau checks on their prospective employees are discovered not to have been correctly carried out; what estimate he has made of the number of such checks; and if he will provide compensation to care providers for such cases. [241685]
Meg Hillier: I have been asked to reply.
All the quality control procedures at the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) are geared to achieving the highest levels of accuracy. In addition, the CRB carries out a post disclosure accuracy check that analyses all aspects of the disclosure application and its issue. This check was introduced in 2007 and is based on a statistical sample of disclosure applications and from that sample it can be ascertained that the accuracy rate for 2006-07 is 99.94 per cent. and for 2007-08 is 99.98 per cent. No comparative data are available before these dates and the CRB does not collate information by specific employment sectors, such as the care sector or providers.
If, as a result of this additional check, the CRB needs to correct a disclosure, it does so free of charge to the employer and the applicant.
As with any public sector organisation, the CRB operates a Redress Scheme where there has been evidence of maladministration on its part.
Health Services: Ethnic Groups
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made in responding to the recommendations contained in the report of the group chaired by Professor Mayur Lakhani on primary care for black and minority ethnic people; and if he will make a statement. [241347]
Mr. Bradshaw: As part of the GP Access Programme, the Department has sought to engage primary care trusts and general practitioner (GP) practices in improving access for people with the poorest experience such as patients from black and minority ethnic groups. In 2008, the national GP Patient survey showed that patients from a black and minority ethnic group had seen the biggest improvement in their experience of accessing GPs with whom they are registered. Nevertheless, more needs, and can be, done to improve access for such patients. We are continuing to work with strategic health authorities to collate and share the best practice that exists within the national health service in order to support implementation of Professor Mayur Lakhani’s recommendations. We expect to see continued improvements in patient experience and satisfaction with the access they receive to general practices as reported through the national GP Patient Survey.
Health: Disadvantaged
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of progress towards the public service agreement target to reduce health inequalities by 10 per cent. by 2010. [240376]
Dawn Primarolo: The national health inequalities Public Service Agreement target aims to reduce inequalities in health by 10 per cent. by 2010, as measured by infant mortality (by socio-economic group) and life expectancy at birth (by geographical area).
The latest assessment, based on 2005 to 2007 data, shows that:
For infant mortality, there has been a slight narrowing in the gap between the “routine and manual” group and the population as a whole, compared with last year. The target to narrow this gap by at least 10 per cent. by 2010 is still a challenging one, but if the gap continues to narrow at the rate observed since 2002 to 2004, the infant mortality element of the target will be met.
For life expectancy, the relative gap in life expectancy between Spearhead areas (the areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators) and the England average has increased for both males and females since the 1995 to 1997 baseline. The target therefore remains challenging.
A detailed assessment of progress towards the target is contained in “Tackling Health Inequalities: 2005 to 2007 Policy and Data Update for the 2010 National Target” which has been placed in the Library. This document was published on the Department's website on 4 December 2008 at:
Health: Screening
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS mid-life life check scheme has commenced. [241351]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has been working with partners including health and social care professionals, academic researchers and experts and end-users to develop national health service LifeCheck for three key stages in people’s lives:
Early Years LifeCheck—for people with babies under one-year-old;
Teen LifeCheck—for young people about 11 to 15-years-old; and
Mid-life LifeCheck—for the 45-60 age group.
The NHS Mid-life LifeCheck is expected to commence piloting in early 2009. The pilots will be independently evaluated and subject to the findings, the tool will be revised and rolled out nationally later in 2009.
Heart Diseases: Health Services
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the multi-site project undertaken by his Department in collaboration with the British Heart Foundation and the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation to consider costs and reimbursement through the payment by results system for cardiac rehabilitation; and if he will make a statement. [240723]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Payment by Results development site project being led by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (BACR) is making good progress in examining the basis on which cardiac rehabilitation services should be funded.
Progress to date includes helping to define what constitutes ‘best practice’ cardiac rehabilitation services, identifying options for the coding of cardiac rehabilitation activity, and collecting cost and activity data from a number of sites over a four-month period.
Further data collection and evaluation is needed before a decision can be made on a timescale for implementing any currency or tariff for cardiac rehabilitation services. In taking that decision, the Department will be guided by the expert opinion of those involved in the development site project.
Helmets: Children
Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received in respect of Bolton Primary Care Trust’s policy on the prescribing of cranial helmets for children; and if he will make a statement. [240687]
Ann Keen: The Department has received one item of correspondence regarding Bolton primary care trust’s (PCT) policy on prescribing cranial helmets from the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen in October 2008.
HIV Infection
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which voluntary organisations have received funding from his Department for work to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS. [240373]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has funded the following voluntary organisations for work to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination: the National AIDS Trust, the Medical Foundation for AIDS and Sexual Health and NAM Publications (formerly the National AIDS Manual). Additionally, the Department has provided additional funding to the Terrence Higgins Trust and the African HIV Policy Network to include work on HIV-related stigma in the Department's programme of HIV health promotion for gay men and African communities.
Hospital Wards
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of closed hospital wards which have been re-opened in the last three months. [241548]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information is not held centrally.
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