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10 Feb 2009 : Column 1919W—continued
NHS Constitution
17. Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways the NHS Constitution will provide rapid access to high-quality healthcare services. [255411]
Ann Keen: The NHS Constitution reaffirms people’s rights to be treated with a professional standard of care, by appropriately qualified and experienced staff, and to expect NHS organisations to make efforts to improve the quality of health care they provide. It also contains a pledge to provide access to services within published waiting times.
NHS Dentistry
18. Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of levels of access to NHS dentistry. [255412]
Ann Keen: 26.9 million people saw an national health service dentist in the 24 months ending June 2008.
We have increased dental funding to over £2 billion and made providing access to anyone who seeks help in finding services a national priority. The NHS is planning that all areas will deliver this by March 2011.
Financial Incentives: Secondary Care Referrals
19. Dr. Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance he provides to primary care trusts and GPs on the use of financial incentives to reduce numbers of referrals to secondary care. [255413]
Mr. Bradshaw: General Practitioners have a duty to provide the best care for each patient. Where primary care trusts (PCTs) agree local incentive schemes these should not cut across this duty or restrict patient care. Any incentive scheme must help patients get the right treatment in the most appropriate setting.
The Department’s “Care and Resource Utilisation” guidance (published in December 2006) set out how PCTs and clinicians can work together to improve the appropriateness of care that patients receive.
Epilepsy Care
20. Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of levels of adherence by primary care trusts and acute trusts to guidance on epilepsy care issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. [255414]
Ann Keen: We have made no assessment. The Healthcare Commission investigates whether national health service organisations have systems in place for the implementation and monitoring of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s guidance, including clinical guidelines, and will assess each organisation’s performance against core standards.
Funding Formula: North Yorkshire/York
21. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what effect the new NHS funding formula has had on North Yorkshire and York primary care trusts’ cash allocation for 2009-10. [255415]
Mr. Bradshaw: The new formula recognises that the needs of the primary care trust (PCT) population have increased due to the combined effects of age, health status and deprivation. This is reflected in the additional funding the PCT will receive, which places North Yorkshire and York PCT in the top 30 per cent. in terms of increased funding. The PCT will receive an increase of £118.6 million or 11.6 per cent. over the next two years.
Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services
22. Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the arrangements for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services. [255416]
Dawn Primarolo: The recent National Audit Office report on alcohol services and the joint Healthcare Commission/National Treatment Agency annual reviews of drug services, show that there is room for improvement in the commissioning of these services. We have introduced the World Class Commissioning programme to improve commissioning of all services by the national health service.
Stroke Awareness
23. Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to raise public awareness of stroke and stroke symptoms. [255417]
Ann Keen:
On 9 February we launched a national stroke awareness campaign. Through television advertisements, radio and press we are raising awareness
of stroke symptoms and educating people to become stroke savers—to be able to spot the signs of stroke and know when to call 999 for an ambulance.
This will contribute to significantly reducing the number of deaths and the disability caused by stroke as part of the implementation of the Stroke Strategy as well as reducing long-term disability for stroke survivors.
Asthma: Hospital Admissions
24. Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing the number of hospital admissions for patients with asthma. [255418]
Ann Keen: From 2004-05 to 2006-07 asthma hospital admissions ranged between 66,055 and 70,907, with 70,136 in 2006-07. We have made significant progress in reducing bed days by more than 27,000 over the same period. We support and encourage the national health service to improve the care offered to people with asthma.
Acute Sector Staff: Assaults
25. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in reducing the number of assaults on NHS staff in the acute sector. [255419]
Ann Keen: The national health service security management service (SMS) was created in 2003, with responsibility for leading on security management work within the NHS. A network of local security management specialists, supported nationally by the SMS, addresses proactive and reactive security needs.
In April 2004, conflict resolution training was introduced for frontline NHS staff. This enables staff to recognise and defuse potential violence. By 31 March 2008 428,000 frontline staff had received this training.
In 2007-08, 10,983 physical assaults against NHS staff and 472 criminal sanctions following assaults were reported in the acute sector.
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 creates an offence of causing nuisance or disturbance in NHS hospitals and gives trusts the power to remove people suspected of committing the offence from the premises, preventing incidents from escalating into violence. Those convicted of the new offence could face prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. Guidance on the use of these powers is being prepared and, following a public consultation, the legislation will be commenced and trusts will be able to use these powers.
Venous Thromboembolism
John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to include risk assessment for venous thromboembolism in hospitalised patients as an indicator in the NHS Operating Framework. [255409]
Ann Keen:
The national priorities for the national health service are set out in the Operating Framework which reflects the three-year settlement determined by the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007. The Operating
Framework includes the need to reduce mortality rates; and it is for primary care trusts to determine how to do so locally.
We expect thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment policy to be adopted throughout the NHS. Currently, at the request of the Chief Medical Officer, the chair of the national implementation group is visiting throughout the NHS to discuss with senior managers and doctors their strategies for implementing VTE risk assessment in their hospitals. We will be monitoring the position closely and formally reviewing the policy before the end of this year.
If there is inconsistency in or lack of commitment to implementation, we will consider making it mandatory to perform risk assessment.
Accident and Emergency Departments
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attendances there were at (a) major accident and emergency departments, (b) single speciality accident and emergency departments, (c) other types of accident and emergency departments, including minor injury units and (d) walk-in centres in each year since 2002. [255605]
Mr. Bradshaw: The following table shows the number of attendances at major accident and emergency departments, single speciality accident and emergency (A and E) departments, other types of accident and emergency departments including minor injury and walk-in centres in each year since 2002.
| Attendances at accident and emergency departments, minor injury units and walk-in centres, England, 2002-03 to 2007-08 | |||||
| Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 | Walk-in centres | Total | |
| Notes: 1. In the table, type 3 excludes walk-in centres. 2. From Q1 2002-03, A and E attendances by type were first collected. 3. From Q1 2003-04, attendances at A and E walk-in centres were included. 4. From Q1 2007-08, attendances at independent sector provided type 3 (and walk-in centre) services were included. Source: Department of Health dataset QMAE. | |||||
Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the table showing the number of accident and emergency departments by type from his Department's Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency for (a) 1997, (b) 2002, (c) 2008 and (d) in the earliest year for which his Department holds records. [254022]
Mr. Bradshaw: A table showing the number of accident and emergency (A and E) departments by type from the Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency for (a) 1997, (b) 2002, (c) 2008 and (d) in the earliest year for which data are held is set out as follows:
| A and E departments, 1996-97 to Q2 2008-09 | |||
| Year | Type 1 (Major) | Type 2 (Single speciality) | Type 3 (Other type of A and E minor injury unit) |
| Notes: 1. Prior to 2002-03, Trusts submitted information on whether or not they provided A and E services by type. They did not submit a count of the number of services provided. The guidance also stated: “Where there is more than one A and E Department, indicate the A and E Department type that provides the most comprehensive service.” 2. From Q1 2003-04, Walk in Centres are included as a Type 3 department. Source: Department of Health datasets KH03 and QMAE | |||
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been admitted to hospital with an alcohol-related disease in each of the last 10 years. [254611]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England is only available from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and is presented in the following table.
| Number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England | |
| Notes: The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) “Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions”. Includes activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Secondary diagnoses: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of, care. Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis: These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a HES record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. | |
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