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27 Feb 2009 : Column 1168W—continued
| Diagnosis of vCJD in the UK: 1999-2008 and 2009 to date | ||||||||||
| Age at diagnosis (yrs ) | ||||||||||
| 10-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | 60-69 | 70-79 | 80-89 | 90+ | Total | |
Doctors: Qualifications
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place for periodic assessment of the (a) qualifications and (b) competence of doctors; and what checks are carried out to assess whether medical qualifications obtained overseas by persons seeking to practise medicine in the UK are comparable with those obtained in the UK. [258491]
Ann Keen: In the White Paper ‘Trust Assurance and Safety—The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century’ the Government endorsed the Chief Medical Officer's recommendation that there should be a system of revalidation to ensure that registered doctors remain up to date and fit to practise. Work to implement revalidation is being undertaken by the General Medical Council (GMC), the Department, devolved administrations, medical royal colleges and others under the leadership of the UK Revalidation Programme Board established by the GMC.
The GMC carry out checks on overseas medical qualifications to ensure they are of an acceptable standard.
The law states that an ‘acceptable overseas qualification’ means any qualification granted outside the United Kingdom, where that qualification is for the time being accepted by the GMC as qualifying a person to practise as a medical practitioner in the United Kingdom.
Epilepsy
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will appoint a National Clinical Director for Epilepsy; [258976]
(2) if his Department will take steps to encourage primary care trusts to appoint epilepsy specialist nurses; [258977]
(3) what assessment he has made of the implementation by healthcare providers of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy; [258978]
Ann Keen: From April 2009, the Care Quality Commission will take over from the Healthcare Commission and will consider, in discussion with stakeholders including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), how to take account of NICE guidance as it develops its compliance criteria.
Local trusts are responsible for the skill mix of their workforce including the provision of specialist nurses for patients with epilepsy. They are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and must have the freedom to deploy staff in ways appropriate for local conditions.
There are no plans to appoint a national clinical director for epilepsy.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what procedures his Department has put in place to ensure continuity in care for people with epilepsy in their transition from childhood to adulthood. [258979]
Ann Keen: It is the responsibility of strategic health authorities to ensure appropriate services are in place to meet the transition needs of people with childhood-onset conditions, such as epilepsy, moving from children's to adult services. The “National Service Framework for Long-term (neurological) Conditions” includes guidance for commissioners and service providers on providing these person-centred services. A copy of the framework has already been placed in the Library.
Fabry Disease
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with (a) Fabry disease and (b) general lysosomal storage disorders in the last 12 months; and what (i) therapy and (ii) treatment is available for such conditions in the NHS. [258418]
Ann Keen: In the calendar year 2008, there were 76 people diagnosed with Fabry disease and 186 people were diagnosed with general lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs).
The National Commissioning Group has nationally designated and commissioned a service for LSDs since April 2005. There are seven designated centres. The service provided by these centres includes diagnosis, patient assessment and treatment including enzyme replacement therapies and substrate reduction therapies.
Hearing Aids
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hearing aids have been fitted by private sector contractors in each of the last three calendar years; and what guidance his Department provides to primary care trusts on competition for adult hearing aid service contracts. [259565]
Phil Hope: Information on the number of national health service hearing aids fitted by independent sector contractors across the English NHS is not collected centrally.
The Department has not issued any specific guidance to primary care trusts (PCTs) on competition specifically for adult hearing aid service contracts. However, the
Department published a ‘PCT Procurement Guide for Health Services’ in May 2008. The guide supports NHS commissioners in deciding whether and how to procure health services through formal tendering and market-testing exercises. A copy of the guide has been placed in the Library.
Heart Diseases: Health Services
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the merits of an integrated strategy for the prevention, treatment and care of (a) heart disease, (b) stroke, (c) diabetes and (d) kidney disease; and if he will make a statement. [258443]
Ann Keen: There already exist well-established national service frameworks for diabetes, kidney disease and coronary heart disease and a national stroke strategy was launched in December 2007. All four of these strategies include a focus on prevention. A vascular risk assessment and management programme is under development at present. This will target the group of modifiable risk factors shared by these four conditions. The analytical modelling and evidence base underpinning this programme indicate that there are significant health gains to be made in this area. No recent assessment has been made of the potential benefits of integrating treatment and care in respect of diagnosed cases of these conditions. However there is considerable opportunity for sharing examples in generic areas, such as support for people living with a chronic condition, across these four disease groups.
Hemel Hempstead Hospital
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps were taken by his Department to consult staff about the recent scaling down of resources at Hemel Hempstead hospital. [259169]
Phil Hope: This is a matter for the local national health service to take forward, it is their responsibility to ensure that any major service changes are consulted on not only with staff but also key stakeholders and the communities that they serve.
Hospitals
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of (a) hospital beds and (b) hospitals required in England in (i) 2010, (ii) 2015, (iii) 2020 and (iv) 2025; what account this estimate takes of population forecasts; what estimate he has made of the additional costs of such provision; and if he will make a statement. [255728]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 10 February 2009]: The organisation of national health services is a matter for the local NHS. Decisions are taken locally, for the benefit of patients, working with doctors and other health care professionals and involving key stakeholders such as carers, the public and other partners.
In Vitro Fertilisation: EU Countries
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on the transportation of sperm from an NHS clinic to an unlicensed EU clinic; and if he will make a statement. [258829]
Dawn Primarolo: Subsection 24(3A) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 prohibits the export of sperm from any clinic within the United Kingdom to an establishment within the European Union, unless that establishment has been accredited, designated, authorised or licensed by the competent authority in that country in compliance with Article 6 of Directive 2004/23/EC setting standards of quality and safety for the donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissue and cells intended for human application.
The Department has not issued guidance on export. However, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which is the United Kingdom
competent authority for reproductive cells, first issued guidance to licensed establishments on the import and export of reproductive cells within the European economic area in July 2007. That guidance was revised in March 2008. Copies of the guidance have been placed in the Library.
Infectious Diseases: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of (a) syphilis, (b) HIV infection and (c) gonorrhoea have been diagnosed in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years. [258321]
Dawn Primarolo: Data on diagnoses of syphilis, HIV and gonorrhoea in genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics are only collected by strategic health authority (SHA). Data for syphilis, HIV and gonorrhoea for England and the East of England SHA since 1998 to 2007, the latest year for which figures are available, are given in the following table.
| Infection | Area of diagnoses | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Notes: 1. HIV: Numbers will rise as further reports are received. Diagnoses are from reports received to end June 2008. Data include individuals who have an existing infection as well as those who have a newly acquired infection and therefore the data do not present incidence of infection. Areas when presented are area of diagnoses and not of residence, there is evidence that a large proportion of individuals are diagnosed outside of their PCT of residence 2. Syphilis and Gonorrhoea: The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are for diagnoses made in GUM clinics only. Diagnoses made in other clinical settings, such as General Practice, are not recorded in the KC60 dataset. The data available from the KC60 statutory returns are the number of diagnoses made, not the number of patients diagnosed. The information provided has been adjusted for missing clinic data. Data are unavailable for 2008. Syphilis figures include diagnoses of primary and secondary infection only. Source: Health Protection Agency, HIV and AIDS new diagnoses and KC60 Returns | |||||||||||
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