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24 Mar 2009 : Column 241W—continued
Leukaemia: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on (a) treatment of and (b) support for people diagnosed with leukaemia in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years. [265795]
Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. West Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and East and North Hertfordshire PCT expenditure on haematological cancer which includes leukaemia, for 2006-07, the first year that these data were collected at sub-category level is as follows:
| £ million | |
Mental Health Services: Prisons
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric beds for the treatment of prisoners with mental health disorders there are in each prison institution; and if he will make a statement. [264952]
Phil Hope: There are no dedicated national health service psychiatric beds within the prison service. However, as part of the Government’s commitment to improving the mental health of high risk offenders with personality disorder, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) currently provides 168 beds which provide specialist psychological interventions in three prison pilot sites.
The responsibility for prison mental health care transferred fully to primary care trusts (PCTs) in 2006. All prison mental health services are now mainstreamed within the NHS, where the Offender Assessment System reception-screening tool can assess quickly all prisoners with health concerns, including mental illness, and, where appropriate, refer them to mental health inreach teams.
NHS prison mental health services are provided through 102 inreach teams, to which all prisons have access. Not everyone with a severe mental illness needs care in a psychiatric bed, even in an emergency. Most mental
health treatment and care is delivered in prison primary care settings, as is other NHS treatment (e.g. for prisoners with diabetes or heart disease) unless urgent treatment is needed, when prisoners can be transferred to the NHS outside of the prison service.
A person whose mental illness is too severe to justify their remaining in prison is transferred to NHS secure services. In 2007, 934 prisoners with severe mental illness were transferred to hospital, compared to 723 in 2002, an increase of 29 per cent.
The Government asked Lord Bradley in December 2007 to carry out a review into diversion away from prison of offenders with mental health or learning disability problems. We expect to publish Lord Bradley’s report by the end of April 2009, and to issue the Government’s response at the same time. The Department, Ministry of Justice and Home Office will publish “Improving Health, Supporting Justice” an offender health strategy later this year, which will take account of the recommendations that Lord Bradley will make.
Mentally Ill
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009, Official Report, column 145W, on mentally ill: young people, what the rate of admissions for mental health conditions per 1,000 admissions for 18 to 21 year-olds was for (a) university hospitals, (b) other hospitals and (c) all hospitals in each of the last 10 years. [264153]
Phil Hope: The exact data requested are not held centrally. However, the data available on the rate of admissions for mental health conditions per 1,000 admissions have been placed in the Library.
Note:
The Information Centre cannot provide breakdown by hospital so we have produced the analysis using Provider.
Mentally Ill: Prisoners
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of prisoners have been diagnosed with mental health problems relating to time served in the armed forces in each of the last 10 years. [265826]
Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is currently undertaking research on ex-service personnel in prisons. The MOJ aims to have initial findings on the proportion of veterans among the prison population and their spread across establishments in England and Wales later this year. Research would follow this on the nature of veterans offending and the factors that might have contributed.
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Mr. Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will establish a public inquiry into the performance of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust; [266076]
(2) what the remit is of each of the inquiries established by the Government and announced in his oral Statement of 18 March 2009, Official Report,
columns 909-24, on Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, to examine matters arising out of the Healthcare Commission’s findings on Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust; and when he expects each of those inquiries to (a) commence and (b) complete their work. [266077]
Mr. Bradshaw: No. The Healthcare Commission is an independent regulator. In view of their thorough investigation and report, together with the resulting recommendations, we do not consider it necessary to hold a public inquiry into events at the Mid Staffordshire National Health Service Foundation Trust. We are satisfied that the Healthcare Commission’s report covered all the key issues and is the result of a robust investigation.
Professor Sir George Alberti, one of the country’s most respected experts in emergency care, has been asked to independently review the Trust’s procedures for emergency admissions and treatment and its progress against the recommendations in the report. In addition, Dr. David Colin-Thomé, National Director for Primary Care, will in parallel review the circumstances that occurred at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust prior to the Healthcare Commission’s investigation in order to learn lessons nationally about how the commissioning system failed to expose and prevent the failings which have been identified.
Both of these reviews are not intended to duplicate the work already undertaken by the Healthcare Commission and the findings are expected to be published following the Easter recess. The letters to both Professor Alberti and Dr Colin-Thomé have been placed in the Library.
The National Quality Board has also been asked to look at the alignment of the national systems and processes in place for detecting and responding to potential serious failings in patient care in light of the Healthcare Commission’s report. The detailed terms of reference are in development and will be finalised shortly when they will be made public. This work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The new leadership team at the Trust is also committed to carrying out an independent review of the case notes where this is requested by relatives of patients in order to determine if the care provided was appropriate.
Multiple Sclerosis
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis there are in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency; [264370]
(2) how much his Department has spent on (a) treatment of and (b) support for people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in (i) England, (ii) the North East, (iii) Tees Valley district and (iv) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last 10 years. [264404]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of people diagnosed with specific medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, and the cost of their treatment and support, is not collected.
Multiple Sclerosis: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much his Department has spent on (a) treatment of and (b) support for people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each of the last 10 years; [265796]
(2) how many people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis there are in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire. [265798]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of people diagnosed with specific medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, and the cost of their treatment and support, is not collected.
Neonatal Mortality: Research
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how much and what proportion of its budget the Medical Research Council plans to spend on researching neonatal mortality in 2008-09; [265414]
(2) how much and what proportion of its budget the National Institute for Health Research plans to spend on researching neonatal mortality in 2008-09; [265415]
(3) how much and what proportion of its budget his Department’s Policy Research Programme plans to spend on researching neonatal mortality in 2008-09; [265416]
(4) how much is being spent by the Government on researching the causes of neonatal and stillbirth deaths in 2008-09. [265419]
Dawn Primarolo: The available information in respect of research concerned with neonatal death is shown in the following table.
| Estimated expenditure on neonatal mortality research 2008-09 | £000 | Proportion of total expenditure (percentage) |
| (1) This figure does not include the cost of projects undertaken in the NHS and supported by NIHR transitional support funding. That information is not available. (2) Includes the total financial allocation made in 2008-09 to the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit and the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit. (3 )Not yet available | ||
The NIHR clinical research network is additionally supporting a number of potentially relevant studies. Details are available on the network’s portfolio database at:
The estimated total NIHR and PRP expenditure on neonatal mortality and stillbirth research in 2008-09 is £4.6 million. Again, information in respect of MRC spend in these areas is not yet available.
NHS Foundation Trusts
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications for Foundation Trust status were under assessment by the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts on the latest date for which figures are available; and what criteria are used in the authorisation of such applications. [265781]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are informed by the chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts) that as at 20 March 2009 there are 20 applicants for NHS foundation trust (NHS FT) status in Monitor’s assessment process. The list of applicants is updated on Monitor’s website:
A detailed description of the assessment process for NHS FT applicants is set out in the document “Applying for NHS Foundation Trust Status—Guide for Applicants” (Monitor and the Department of Health, November 2008). A copy of this document has been placed in the Library and is also available from Monitor’s website:
Monitor has three main criteria which it applies to all applicants for NHS FT status. The applicant trust must be:
Legally constituted;
Well governed; and
Financially viable.
Monitor’s intensive assessment process takes approximately three months. Trusts must submit a wide range of information as evidence to support each category. Monitor reviews all the evidence submitted triangulating
with key trust stakeholders including primary care trusts, strategic health authorities and the Healthcare Commission, and probes the boards of each applicant trust to examine their capability to operate autonomously by questioning different aspects of their application, examples of which include:
Does the board have arrangements in place for monitoring and continually improving the quality of health care provided to its patients?
How is the board assured that it has action plans in place to meet existing targets and national core standards?
Are there clear structures and comprehensive procedures in place for the effective working of the NHS foundation trust board?
Is the board confident that the senior management has the capability to and experience necessary to deliver the strategy set out in its business plan?
NHS: Administration
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many administrators were employed by the NHS in England in (a) each of the last three years, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98 and (d) 1998-99. [265598]
Ann Keen: The number of administrative and clerical staff employed by the national health service in England in the years requested is given in the following table.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Administrative and clerical staff in England by area of work as at 30 September each specified year | ||||||
| Headcount | ||||||
| 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| (1)This group includes areas such as personnel, finance, IT, legal services, library services, health education and general management support services. (2)This group includes clerical and administrative staff working in areas such as laundry, catering, domestic services and gardens. (3)Scientific, therapeutic and technical support staff. (4) Clinical support includes clerical and administrative staff and maintenance and works staff working specifically in clinical areas, for example medical secretaries and medical records officers. (5)Staff in direct support of patient care, such as control assistants. Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care | ||||||
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