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3 Mar 2009 : Column 1474W—continued
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have been employed in the NHS in each year since 1997; and how many have been employed under what organisational code in each NHS organisation in each of the last three years. [259387]
Ann Keen: The number of health visitors employed by the NHS from 1997 to 2007 is shown in the following table.
| Headcount | Full-time equivalent | |
| (1) More accurate validation in 2006 has resulted in 232 headcount duplicate records being identified and removed from the non-medical census. Source: NHS Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census. | ||
A table showing the number of health visitors employed under each organisational code from 2005 to 2007 has been placed in the Library.
HIV Infection
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people infected with HIV there were in (a) England and (b) Sefton in each year since 1996. [259562]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table:
| Number of diagnosed, HIV-infected individuals accessing NHS care by area of residence | ||
| Area of residence | ||
| England | Sefton primary care trust | |
| Notes: 1. Data are available from 1997 to 2007. Primary care trusts (PCT) did not exist until 2002 but data have been mapped retrospectively. 2. Data do not include HIV-infected individuals who have not yet been diagnosed. 3. Estimates of undiagnosed HIV infection, and therefore the total number of HIV-infected individuals, are not available by PCT. Source: Health Protection Agency. | ||
Hospital Beds
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2009, Official Report, column 2079W, on hospital beds, if he will make it his policy to collect and hold information from each NHS hospital trust on how many days each trust has been placed on its highest level of alert because of a shortage of beds; and if he will make a statement. [259289]
Ann Keen: It is not the Department’s policy to collect and hold information from each national health service hospital trust on how many days each trust has been placed on its highest level of alert because of a shortage of beds. It is for individual trusts to ensure they have the necessary bed capacity to treat patients.
Hospitals: Cleaning Services
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department and NHS organisations took to improve levels of hospital cleanliness in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and how much was spent on such activities in each year. [259995]
Ann Keen: Patients have a right to clean safe care and the national health service is working hard to ensure that hospitals are clean and safe for patients. The results of the most recent Healthcare Commission in-patient survey reflect this hard work with the NHS achieving its highest ever cleanliness rating.
During the two years in question, the Department took a number of key steps to improve hospital cleanliness including:
the provision of £62.6 million funding for a deep clean of all hospitals in 2007-08;
the requirement that trusts' strategic and operational cleaning plans make provision for on-going deep clean activity;
all NHS bodies being subject to Health Act 2006 Code of Practice on the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, which came into force on 1 October 2006;
Healthcare Commission inspections against the duties set out in the code which require NHS bodies to have appropriate management and clinical governance systems in place to deliver effective infection control;
a national cleanliness summit held in February 2008, hosted by the NHS Chief Executive to discuss key national issues related to hospital cleaning;
an increase in the number of matrons, to 5,000 in May 2008, with more powers over cleaning and matrons and clinical directors reporting to Trust boards on a quarterly basis on infection control and cleanliness;
publication of 'Board to Ward' guidance highlighting the commitment needed to ensure that all staff understand the role they play in preventing infections and providing a clean environment. A copy has been placed in the Library;
the revision of the national specifications for cleanliness in the NHS setting the standard of cleanliness expected across a range of elements that need cleaning, together with suggested cleaning frequencies;
enhancement of patient environment action teams (PEAT) assessment of hospital cleanliness to contain an element relating to year round cleanliness; and
the publication of the strategy document , Clean Safe Care Reducing Infections and saving lives drawing together key initiatives to tackle healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) and cleanliness. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
During the period in question, the NHS spent a total of £1.383 billion on cleaning and cleaning services with expenditure of £663 million in 2006-07 rising to £720 million in 2007-08.
Hospitals: ICT
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many hospitals are connected to the national NHS IT system; [259942]
(2) what timetable has been set for hospital trusts to introduce the national NHS IT system. [259943]
Mr. Bradshaw: The NHS IT programme is delivering front-line systems and services that are providing major benefits for national health service organisations in England, staff and patients, enabling significant changes in the way the NHS operates, and delivering major system reform. All acute trusts have at least one system which has been delivered through the programme.
As at the end of February 2009, a total of 146 patient administration systems had been deployed as part of the programme to 45 acute, 24 mental health and 77 primary care trusts. Information on which of the organisations concerned include a hospital site, and which may have more than one hospital site, is not held centrally.
It is not possible to provide comprehensive details of the future number, location and sequencing of future deployments. This is because meeting the needs and priorities of individual trusts that are maintaining normal
business operations requires flexibility in deployment planning, and inevitably means that plans will always be subject to potential change. Detailed implementation planning became the responsibility of individual trusts and the chief executives of strategic health authorities from April 2007. Taking the country as a whole, however, as reported in the National Audit Office 16 May 2008 report on the programme, it is likely to be 2014-15 before all trusts have fully-deployed care records systems, though some should receive the final releases of the software in late 2009.
Learning Disability
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis the sum to be transferred from his Department to local authorities when they take responsibility for support for learning disabled people will be calculated. [259566]
Phil Hope: From April 2011 the intention is that allocations of social care resources will be made directly from the Department to local authorities. We will consider the best way of achieving the allocation beyond 2011 once primary care trusts and local authorities have reported the outcome of their local agreements and the results have been analysed at a national level. The Department will consult on the determination of these allocations before its intention to allocate directly to local authorities is implemented.
Lung Cancer: North West
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1497-8W, on cancer, what steps his Department is taking (a) to reduce the incidence of lung cancer and (b) to reduce the incidence of smoking by young people under the age of 16 years in the North West. [259469]
Ann Keen: The cancer reform strategy, published in December 2007, sets out guidance to the local national health service on how to improve cancer prevention, speed up the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, reduce inequalities, improve the experience of people living with and beyond cancer, ensure care is delivered in the most appropriate settings and ensure patients can access effective new treatments quickly. It is for primary care trusts (PCTs) to use the funds made available to them and work in partnership with strategic health authorities, local services, cancer networks and other local stakeholders to deliver these aims. Information on the work being done in the north-west can be obtained from the individual PCTs directly.
Through the cancer reform strategy’s national awareness and early diagnosis initiative, the Department, in partnership with Cancer Research UK, is co-ordinating a programme to support local interventions to increase cancer symptom awareness, and encourage people to seek help early.
‘High Quality Care for All’, the final report of the NHS next stage review, said that every PCT will commission comprehensive wellbeing and prevention services, in partnership with local authorities, with personalised services offered to meet the specific needs of their local populations. It stated that efforts must be focused on a number of key goals, including reducing smoking rates.
Reducing smoking among young people is a priority for the Government. Much has already been achieved in this area, including raising the age of sale of tobacco products and legislation to strengthen sanctions available against retailers who persistently sell tobacco to children and young people. Smoking is also addressed in the national curriculum and through the healthy schools programme.
Protecting children and young people from smoking was one of four key aspects of the Department’s consultation on the future of tobacco control published on 31 May 2008. Responses to the consultation are informing the development of a new strategy on tobacco control, which will include action to continue to tackle the uptake of smoking by young people.
The Government this year are taking forward tobacco control legislation intended to protect and support young people in the Health Bill. The Health Bill includes a prohibition on the display of tobacco products, which will help to eliminate the marketing of tobacco products, to which young people are susceptible. The Bill will also provide powers to restrict or ban the sale of tobacco from vending machines, removing a major source of tobacco for young people.
Local stop smoking services are able to provide a range of support options to anyone wanting to quit smoking, including young people. Resources are also available that can be accessed by smokers direct on smoking cessation, these include the national health service ‘gosmokefree’ website and from the general NHS smoking helpline (0800 169 0169).
Maternity Services
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what proportion of pregnancies where a home birth had been requested resulted in a hospital delivery in 2007-08; [259991]
(2) what proportion of births were home deliveries in (a) 2000-01 and (b) 2007-08; [259992]
(3) how many maternity beds there were in England in (a) 2000 and (b) 2008. [259993]
Ann Keen: The Office for National Statistics publishes home birth statistics. The latest available data are for the calendar year 2007 and can be found in Birth Statistics, Series FM1, table 8.1.
The information in the table is summarised as follows.
| Number and percentage of women giving birth at home( 1) , England and Wales, 2000-07 | |||
| Number of women giving birth at home | Total number of women giving birth | Percentage of women giving birth at home | |
| (1) The figures provided show the number and percentage of women who gave birth at home i.e. home maternities, rather than the number of babies born at home. A maternity is a pregnancy resulting in the birth of one or more live-born or stillborn babies. Source: Office for National Statistics | |||
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