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17 Dec 2008 : Column 919W—continued
Organophosphates: Sheep Dipping
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the Zuckerman report, with particular reference to its analysis of the potential links between organophosphate sheep dips and long-term health problems. [244153]
Dawn Primarolo:
The Zuckerman Report, released in 1951, pointed out the high acute toxicity of some organophosphates. This has long been recognised. There are vastly different potencies of compounds that have been used as pesticides, with less potent compounds
replacing the early organophosphates. During the two decades after the release of the Zuckerman report, organophosphates with selective toxicity to insects and relatively low toxicity to mammals were developed and their use increased rapidly in the 1970s.
In 2007, the Government asked the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) for advice on the significance of Government-funded and other published research, which has investigated the link between the use of organophosphate sheep dips and chronic ill-health. The COT advice should be available in 2010.
Palliative Care
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the development of a national end-of-life care strategy; and if he will make a statement. [240901]
Phil Hope: The End of Life Care Strategy was published on 16 July 2008. A copy of the strategy has already been placed in the Library.
Palliative Care: Training
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent to which the National Advanced Communication Skills Training Programme meets the needs of NHS staff working in end-of-life care; and if he will make a statement. [240904]
Phil Hope: As part of the implementation of the End of Life Care Strategy, the national advanced communication skills training programme, developed initially for cancer services, will be piloted to determine whether it meets the work force development needs of staff working in end of life care services. We expect the pilot to have taken place by the end of 2009.
Primary Care Trusts: Population
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued to primary care trusts on the use of workforce modelling as a means of reviewing and improving their approach to population models. [242725]
Ann Keen: The Department has not issued any guidance to primary care trusts on the use of work force modelling as a means of reviewing and improving their approach to population models.
Local organisations are responsible for work force planning in the national health service, as they are best placed to assess what is required to deliver the health care services that their local population require.
Through the NHS Next Stage Review, the Department has committed to establishing professional advisory boards and a Centre of Excellence to strengthen work force planning and strategy across the NHS. The professional advisory boards will provide advice and guidance to strengthen clinical input to work force planning at regional and national level. The Centre of Excellence will provide high quality intelligence and develop models and resources to support work force planning at all levels.
Primary Care Trusts: Working Hours
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what (a) modelling of and (b) pilots for integrated out-of-hours care his Department has recently studied to inform the development of guidance to be issued to primary care trusts; [242724]
(2) what guidance his Department has issued to primary care trusts on the integration of out-of-hours care and wider primary care. [242726]
Mr. Bradshaw: The configuration of services is a matter for the national health service locally, working in conjunction with clinicians, patients, local communities and other stakeholders.
We recognise that the NHS needs to improve integration between local services. The Primary and Community Care Strategy included a vision of integrated urgent care services available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We are supporting the NHS to help them produce commissioning intentions that reflect this vision.
The National Quality Requirements in the Delivery of Out-of-Hours services state that out-of-hours providers must send details of all consultations (including appropriate clinical information) to the practice where the patient is registered by 8 am the next working day.
Public Consultation: Staffordshire
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated by his Department to each local authority in Staffordshire for the hosting of local involvement networks in the last 12 months. [244061]
Ann Keen: The allocations for 2008-09 for local authorities in Staffordshire are: £0.301 million for Staffordshire and £0.163 million for Stoke-on-Trent.
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of each sexually transmitted infection were confirmed in each month of the last four years. [243629]
Dawn Primarolo: Data for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) diagnosed in a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic are not currently available on a monthly basis. The latest annual data are published in “All new STI episodes seen at GUM clinics in the UK: 1998 to 2007”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
In addition to STIs diagnosed in a GUM clinic, the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) provides screening to asymptomatic people aged under 25 years of age in England. The NCSP was launched in 2003 when a phased implementation programme started. The following table shows the number of young people between the ages of 13 to 24 screened and diagnosed with Chlamydia each month between 1 April 2004 and 30 September 2008.
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