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20 Jan 2009 : Column 1368W—continued
Dental Services
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2008, Official Report, column 946, what the evidential basis is for the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health’s statement that access to NHS dentistry has improved since the new contract was introduced. [248330]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of patients seen in the 24 months ending March 2006, and the number of patients seen in the 24 months ending June 2008, is available in annex 3, table D1 of “NHS Dental Statistics, Q1 2008-09”. Information is available at primary care trust (PCT) level. This publication has already been placed in the Library, and is available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
These data show that there are many areas across the country where access has improved. In around 30 per cent. of PCTs the number of patients accessing national health service dental services has increased since the reforms were introduced in April 2006.
However, we recognise that more remains to be done. This is why we have appointed the independent review team chaired by Professor Jimmy Steele to help us look at what steps we can take to ensure that every person, wherever he or she lives, who actively seeks to access an NHS dentist can do so.
Dental Services: Gloucestershire
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists in (a) Stroud constituency and (b) Gloucestershire offer NHS treatment to (i) children and (ii) adults; how many patients are covered; and what percentage this is of the relevant population in each case. [247937]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
The numbers of dentists with national health service activity during the years ending 31 March, 2007 and 2008 are available in Table G1 of Annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08” report. Information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT). This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006.
Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes previously published workforce figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counted the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March. This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
These figures relate to 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, or between treatments for adults and children.
Under the new dental contractual arrangements, patients do not have to be registered with an NHS dentist to receive NHS care. The closest equivalent measure to ‘registration’ is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services (‘patients seen’) over a 24-month period. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
The number of patients seen in the previous 24 months in England, as at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 30 June 2008 is available in Table Dl of Annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics, Q1 2008-09” report. Table D2 contains information on the numbers of patients seen as a percentage of the population. Information is provided by PCT and SHA and is available by adult and child patients seen.
This report, published on 27 November 2008, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
Departmental Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of his Department's staff who left under (a) an involuntary and (b) a voluntary exit scheme in each year since 2005-06 received a severance package of (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement. [242254]
Mr. Bradshaw: Information on the size of severance packages given to staff leaving the Department under involuntary and voluntary exit schemes in each year since 2005-06 are presented in the following table:
| 2005-06 | 2006- 07 | 200 - 08 | ||||
| £ | Involuntary | Voluntary | Involuntary | Voluntary | Involuntary | Voluntary |
General Practitioners: Finance
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which GP surgeries will be upgraded using the £100 million of capital spending being brought forward; and to what standards such surgeries will be upgraded. [247836]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) on 10 December 2008, Official Report, column 156W. As stated in the pre-Budget report, the key focus of investment will be to improve and extend training facilities in those areas that have historically had a lower provision of general practitioners (GPs).
It is too early to say which GP surgeries will be upgraded.
Hospitals: Cleaning Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much hospital trusts in England have spent on cleaning in each financial year since 1997-98. [248442]
Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.
The Department began the collection of cleaning spend data in 2000-01 from national health service trusts, through its Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC). The information available is shown in the following table.
| Total expenditure on cleaning services (£ million) | |
These data have not been amended centrally and therefore its accuracy is the responsibility of the contributing NHS organisations.
The Department has a comprehensive programme of work in place to improve hospital cleanliness. Every hospital in England has already undertaken a deep clean, and the latest Healthcare Commission in-patient survey shows the NHS achieving its highest ever cleanliness rating with 93 per cent. of adults saying their ward was fairly clean or very clean. In the 2008 PEAT (Patient Environment Action Team) scores, over 98 per cent. of hospitals were rated Acceptable, Good or Excellent compared to 2000 when a third were rated as red.
A new national standard for monitoring cleanliness in health care environments is currently being developed with leading experts in the field of health care cleaning, and will be carried out under the auspices of the British Standards Institute.
Hospitals: Disinfectants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will investigate the effectiveness of disinfectant wipes using chlorine-based formulae against clostridium difficile; [246246]
(2) if he will commission research into the sporicidal effectiveness of (a) chlorine-based formulae and (b) quaternary ammonium-based formulae. [246253]
Ann Keen: The Department is currently commissioning research into the effectiveness of a number of commercial formulations that claim to be sporicidal which may include both chlorine and quaternary ammonium-based formulae.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to encourage NHS trusts to use chlorine-based wipes as disinfectants in hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [246254]
Ann Keen: Existing guidance recommends chlorine based disinfectants that have proven sporicidal activity. The Department will continue to stress the need to use appropriate disinfectant materials.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria are used in the NHS to decide whether a disinfectant product is sporicidal; and if he will make a statement. [246255]
Ann Keen: Data demonstrating a pass for the British Standard BS EN13704:2002 test “Quantitative suspension test for the evaluation of sporicidal activity of chemical disinfectants used in food, industrial, domestic and institutional areas” are generally used to establish whether a chemical disinfectant has or does not have sporicidal activity. Purchase of disinfectant products is a matter for local national health service bodies.
Hospitals: Pigmeat
Mr. Swire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of pork served in hospitals in (a) East
Devon constituency, (b) the South West and (c) England was locally sourced in the last five years. [247562]
Mr. Bradshaw: The recently published Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative report by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for 2007-08 estimated that 99 per cent. of the pork sourced from the national health service Supply Chain's contracts was British and, within this, 47 per cent. of bacon sourced by NHS Supply Chain, was British. NHS Supply Chain calculate that approximately 75 per cent. of trusts purchase from their meat and poultry contract.
NHS trusts do not have to purchase from this central contract. They are able to award their own contracts and information about these contracts is not held centrally. To get accurate, up to date information from particular NHS regions or trusts, the hon. Member may wish to contact them direct.
Injuries: Firearms
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished admission episodes there were for gunshot wounds in each NHS trust in each of the last 10 years. [246823]
Mr. Bradshaw: 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 healthcare provider. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
The following table provides data on finished admission episodes for gunshot wounds by each strategic health authority area of residence. It is not possible to provide a response to this question for each national health service trust as the numbers involved are mostly very small and many of them would need to be suppressed in order to preserve confidentiality. The ICD-10 codes used to identify a gunshot wound are included in the background notes to the table.
It is important that the footnotes and clinical codes are consulted when interpreting the data in the table.
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