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11 Feb 2009 : Column 2072W—continued
Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions of (a) males and (b) females in each age group via accident and emergency to NHS hospitals in each region for alcohol-related conditions there were in 2007-08. [255201]
Dawn Primarolo: Data for admitted patients for 2007-08 have not yet been released but should be available next month. The Department will arrange for the information to be made available to the House at that time.
Alcoholism: Health Services
Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time was for (a) adults and (b) young people in each strategic health authority area to obtain (i) community-based and (ii) in-patient services to reduce severe alcohol dependency in the latest period for which information is available. [255314]
Dawn Primarolo: Since 1 April 2008 the National Treatment Agency has collected data on individuals who receive specialist alcohol treatment through the National Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System. The first year’s data is expected to be reported in October 2009, and will include information on waiting times.
Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many in-patient beds there are in each strategic health authority area for patients who require medical support and intervention to reduce severe alcohol dependency. [255315]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) and their partner agencies to make local commissioning decisions for alcohol treatment programmes based on their assessment of local need.
Ambulance Services: Yorkshire and the Humber
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the additional cost the Yorkshire Ambulance Service of the transfer of acute medical services and the cardiac monitoring unit from Bridlington to Scarborough hospital is estimated to be in the first year of operation at Scarborough. [256028]
Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.
The transfer of cardiac and acute medical admissions from the Bridlington and District hospital to the Scarborough hospital, which formed part of the proposals in the public consultation on the future of services at Bridlington hospital in 2006-07 has now been implemented in full.
Costs incurred through the reconfiguration of services are the responsibility of the local national health service. It is for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust to ensure it provides appropriate services to patients in response to the agreed changes to services.
Benzodiazepines
Dr. Naysmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy not to amend guidelines to doctors on the prescribing of benzodiazepines. [253453]
Phil Hope: In 1994, the Department issued copies of ‘Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Benzodiazepine Dependence’, published by the Mental Health Foundation, to all health authorities and recommended their use by general practitioners. The Department issued another publication in 1999 entitled, ‘Drug misuse and dependence—guidelines on clinical management (1999)’, which reiterates these messages. A copy of this publication has been placed in the Library. The British National Formulary is also an important source of guidance on the management of benzodiazepine dependence.
The CMO Update 37, sent by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Department of Health to all doctors in England, issued in January 2004, issued advice reminding doctors that benzodiazepines should only be prescribed for short-term treatment. A copy has been placed in the Library.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence develops and publishes clinical guidelines and they may amend this advice in future in light of new evidence, but there are no current plans to do so.
Carers: Devon
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many adult social carers there were in Devon in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [253944]
Phil Hope: The total number of adult social workers in Devon over the last 10 years has increased by 11 per cent. and the number in each year is shown in the following table.
| Devon | |
| Source: SSDS001 | |
Dementia: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government has taken to improve the provision of healthcare for people with dementia in Coventry. [255356]
Phil Hope:
Dementia is one of the most important issues we face as the population ages. Around 570,000 people already have the condition in England and this number is set to double in the next 30 years, with the costs of dementia tripling. That is why the Department
published the first National Dementia Strategy on 3 February 2009. A copy of the strategy has already been placed in the Library.
The Department will be providing a nationwide regional support programme to work closely with the national health service and local authorities in implementing the strategy. This is set out in an implementation plan, which accompanied the strategy. We have recently appointed a team of deputy regional directors with backgrounds in both health and social care to provide the local support needed for implementation. We will also be working closely with regional partners, including strategic health authorities, Government offices and regional improvement and efficiency partners to ensure delivery of the strategy.
Dementia: Devon
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many respite beds for people diagnosed with dementia there were in Devon in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [255361]
Phil Hope: This information is not held centrally.
Better care for dementia sufferers and their carers is a key part of the National Dementia Strategy, which was published on 3 February 2009. A copy of the strategy has already been placed in the Library.
Dental Services
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the efficacy of allowing clinical dental technicians to provide dentures directly to members of the public; [255960]
(2) what guidance he has issued on the role of clinical dental technicians in the NHS; [255961]
(3) what assessment he has made of the role of clinical dental technicians in improving oral health in England; and if he will make a statement. [255962]
Ann Keen: Evidence from overseas countries like Canada, where clinical dental technicians (CDTs) have been able to work legally for much longer than in the United Kingdom, indicate that they can make a very worthwhile contribution to the treatment needs of patients with dentures.
The General Dental Council (GDC) provided for the registration of CDTs with effect from July 2006 and so far, some 80 CDTs are registered with the GDC. It is too early to make a detailed assessment of their impact, but we are examining the role of CDTs in relation to national health service primary care dental services. Currently a primary care trust may contract with a registered CDT to provide NHS primary care dental services under the personal dental services regulations or with a CDT, working in partnership with a dentist, under the general dental services regulations.
Dental Services: Fees and Charges
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the methodology his Department used to calculate the
amount dentists were paid per unit of dental activity at the point at which the new contract for NHS dentistry was introduced in 2006. [255576]
Ann Keen: This information is contained in the Department's paper ‘NHS Primary Dental Care Services, England: Methodology for Determining Contract Values and Units of Dental Activity Requirements at the Introduction of the New Dental Service Contract on 1 April 2006’ which has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes his Department has made to the amount dentists are paid per unit of dental activity since the new contract for NHS dentistry was introduced in 2006. [255577]
Ann Keen: The Department does not determine the value of units of dental activity (UDAs). The Department determines the level of the annual uprating to be applied to all annual contract values for contracts in place on 1 April each year between primary care trusts (PCTs) and dental providers for the provision of primary dental care services, based on the recommendations of the independent Doctors' and Dentists' Review Body.
Any changes in the level of services expected under the terms of those contracts, whether measured by a specified number of UDAs or other service measures, are a matter for local agreement between the individual PCT and dental provider. The overall value of new contracts for primary dental services awarded in-year, and the associated service levels, are determined locally by the individual PCT which commissions the services.
Dental Services: Prescriptions
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the net ingredient cost of prescriptions dispensed by dentists in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire was in each year since 1997; [255642]
(2) how many prescription items were dispensed by dentists in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire in each year since 1997. [255643]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested. However, information on prescribing by dentists is available from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system. It is available only for England as a whole. It is available by calendar year from 2003.
The number and net ingredient cost of prescriptions dispensed by dentists in each year is shown in the following table.
Departmental Plants
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on (a) pot plants in 2008-09 to date and (b) flowers in each of the last three years. [254878]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department is unable to provide the detailed breakdown of costs as requested.
The Department has a contract with Resource FM to provide a cleaning, and landscaping service to the Department’s buildings which includes provision of pot plants, flower displays and landscaping. This is a fixed annual cost.
During the period April 2008 to February 2009 the cost of this service has been £15,269.64.
Drugs: Rehabilitation
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were dispensed for subutex to persons held in prison in the most recent period for which figures are available. [253971]
Phil Hope: Specific information on the use of buprenorphine is not collected centrally.
Health Services: Elderly
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps the Government has taken to improve standards of geriatric medicine in Coventry. [255358]
Phil Hope: The Department’s National Service Framework (NFS) for Older People in 2001 set out a 10 year strategy to improve services for older people, in all settings including in hospital.
One of the key aims of the NSF is to ensure that older people are never unfairly discriminated against in accessing national health service or social care. The NHS makes it clear that NHS services should be provided, regardless of age, on the basis of clinical need alone.
In addition, the NHS Constitution makes it clear that people will have the right not to be unlawfully discriminated against on the grounds of age once the Equality Bill comes into force.
Health Services: Males
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the merits of developing a national men's health policy. [254539]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government's key priorities are improving the health and well-being of the population and tackling health inequalities. The Gender Equality Duty, effective from 1 April 2007, necessitates the assessment of all new and existing policies to show they meet the differing needs of both men and women. Government are therefore constantly assessing the health needs of men when developing national health policies. The Department is considering whether there needs to be an additional focus on specific areas.
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