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30 Mar 2009 : Column 894W—continued
Dental Services
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether (a) complete upper and lower dentures, (b) complete upper dentures only, (c) complete lower dentures only, (d) partial upper and lower acrylic dentures, (e) partial upper acrylic dentures only, (f) partial lower acrylic dentures only, (g) partial upper and lower cobalt chrome dentures, (h) partial upper cobalt chrome dentures only and (i) partial lower cobalt chrome dentures only have been provided under the NHS since the introduction of the new dental contract in April 2006. [266741]
Ann Keen: The contractual obligation is for the contractor to provide all proper and necessary dental care and treatment that the patient is willing to undergo. Where appropriate this will include provision of full (complete) or partial dentures, overdentures and obturators in synthetic resin or metal or both synthetic resin and metal, including any cast or wrought metal components or aids to retention.
Dentistry: Education
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the cost of the first five years of training for a dental student. [266914]
Ann Keen: We estimate that the current average cost of training a dentist over the five year course leading to a Bachelor of Dental Science degree is £170,000 net of tuition fees.
Departmental Public Appointments
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which former (a) Members of the House of Lords and (b) hon. Members who left Parliament since 1997 have been appointed to public bodies for which his Department is responsible; and who made each such appointment. [267854]
Mr. Bradshaw: This information is not held centrally. Information on board membership and remuneration is published in individual bodies’ annual reports and accounts.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) production and printing and (b) other costs to his Department of producing its most recent (i) departmental annual report and (ii) autumn performance report. [266693]
Mr. Bradshaw: Costs for production, printing and other items of the most recent published departmental report 2008 (Cm 7393) and autumn performance report 2008 (Cm 7519) are shown in the following table.
| Cost (£) | |
Health Services: Greater London
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of recent changes in the funding formula for primary care on primary care trust budgets in (a) London and (b) Enfield. [265961]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA) has recently reviewed the formula used to determine revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) for 2009-10 and 2010-11. ACRA did not review the primary care component of the formula.
Once the allocations have been made it is for PCTs to commission the services they require to meet the health care needs of the local populations and patients they serve taking into account both local and national priorities.
Health Services: Waiting Lists
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account the 18-week target for time from GP referral to start of hospital treatment takes of a patient’s request for a second opinion following referral. [267706]
Mr. Bradshaw: The 18-week commitment covers all consultant-led elective services. From 1 January 2009, the minimum expectation of consultant-led elective services will be that no one should wait more than 18 weeks from the time they are referred to the start of their hospital treatment, unless it is clinically appropriate to do so or they choose to wait longer. It includes all appointments including those for diagnostic tests between referral and first definitive treatment.
Nationally, the national health service overall has met the minimum operational standards for 18 weeks—in each month since August 2008.
Referral to treatment data for January 2009 show that:
92.9 per cent. of patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks. The median time waited for admitted patients was 8.6 weeks; and
97.3 per cent. of non-admitted patients waited 18 weeks or less. The median time waited for non-admitted patients was 4.6 weeks.
However, there will be occasions when treatment in 18 weeks may prove not to be possible for good clinical
reasons. This may include where a patient and consultant agree that a patient should receive a second expert opinion and it is not in the patient’s best clinical interests to be treated in under 18 weeks. A maximum of 18 weeks should remain the clear goal for every patient.
A key principle for 18 weeks is that any decision that a patient will not receive their treatment in 18 weeks, however legitimate this is, should be explicitly communicated to both the patient and their general practitioner.
National Burn Care Review Group
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when the National Burn Care Review Group last met; [266806]
(2) who represents the providers of burn services in Merseyside on the National Burn Care Review Group; [266835]
(3) when he last met the National Burn Care Review Group; [266837]
(4) whether the National Burn Care Review Group is active; and if he will make a statement; [266838]
(5) what communications the National Burn Care Review Group had with providers of burn services in the North West since November 2006. [266839]
Ann Keen: The National Burn Care Group (NBCG) is a sub-group of the National Specialised Commissioning Group (NSCG), a body established on 1 April 2007. The NSCG, the successor to the National Burn Care Review Group, was established to oversee the national commissioning of highly specialised services and facilitate collaborative working at a pan-Specialised Commissioning Group level. The NBCG last met on 24 February 2009. Ministers have not attended any meetings of the NBCG.
There are no provider organisations represented directly on the NBCG. Providers are represented on each of the four networks set up to commission services in their area. In the north-west providers of burn care services are represented on the Strategy Board, the Operational Service Group and the Lead Clinician Forum of the Northern Burn Care Network. The Network Manager and the Clinical Director of the Northern Network reflect their views to the NBCG.
The Department does not hold information on communications between the NBCG and north-west Burn Care providers. Since the Northern Burn Care Network was established in May 2008, communications with providers in the north-west have taken place via the Network's Strategy Board and Operational Services Group.
NHS: Bank Services
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which hospitals have lost money in the Icelandic banking collapse. [267435]
Mr. Bradshaw: There were no strategic health authorities, primary care trusts or national health service trusts with any Exchequer funds (i.e. taxpayers’ money) residing in Icelandic banks.
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Charities had £1.65 million of charitable funds deposited in the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.
The Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust released a statement on 10 October confirming that they had a deposit of £7.5 million with the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander. £1 million of this was NHS money and £6.5 million was charitable funds.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust also have a deposit of £1 million with the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander, all of this deposit was NHS money.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provided to NHS organisations on investing in Icelandic banks. [267518]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department has provided no specific advice to national health service organisations in respect of investment in Icelandic banks.
There were no strategic health authorities (SHAs), primary care trusts (PCT) or NHS trusts with any Exchequer funds (i.e. taxpayers money) residing in Icelandic banks, although Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Charities had £1.65 million of charitable funds deposited in the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander.
In general, the large majority of cash balances held by NHS organisations will be in Government bank accounts with HM Office of the Paymaster General, which all NHS organisations must hold.
PCTs/SHAs may hold commercial bank accounts but in practice the large majority of cash balances of all SHAs and PCTs will be in Government bank accounts. In addition, SHAs and PCTs are discouraged from holding commercial bank accounts by applying a charge to any average cleared balance over £25,000.
NHS trusts are able to hold commercial bank accounts but in practice the large majority of balances for each NHS trust will be held in Government bank accounts. The Department does not hold any information on the individual commercial bank accounts held by NHS trusts.
NHS foundation trusts are autonomous organisations free from central Government control and NHS foundation trust boards of directors are ultimately and collectively responsible for the financial performance of their trust, including decisions on how and where to invest surplus cash. Monitor, the independent regulator of NHS foundation trusts, regulates NHS foundation trusts, making sure they are well managed and financially strong. Monitor has issued best practice advice to NHS foundation trusts on the investment of cash.
The Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust released a statement on 10 October confirming that they had a deposit of £7.5 million with the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander. £1 million of this was NHS money and £6.5 million was charitable funds.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust also have a deposit of £1 million with the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander, all of this deposit was NHS money.
NHS: Death Rate
Mr. Lansley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to page 3 of the Healthcare Commission’s report on the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, how many alerts regarding mortality the Healthcare Commission has received in respect of each NHS
organisation in each of the last five years; which alerts it followed up with the relevant trust in each year; in which such cases it decided that no further action was needed; and for what reason no further action was taken in each such case. [267703]
Mr. Bradshaw: We understand from the chairman of the Healthcare Commission that its system for identifying and following up ‘alerts’ about apparently high mortality rates has been in operation for less than two years. Details of the methodology used and number of alerts followed up in the first year of operation (August 2007 to July 2008), but not of the trusts concerned, are set out in the commission’s report “Following up mortality outliers”, which is published on the commission’s website at:
www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/publicationslibrary.cfm ?fde_id=10285
85 ‘alerts’ were considered in the first year. After statistical analysis, 43 were not pursued with the trusts concerned. The commission pursued the remaining 42 with the trusts until it confirmed it was satisfied with the explanation for the apparently high rates and with actions being taken. When pursuing alerts with trusts the commission looks for:
evidence that the trust has given serious consideration to the commission’s questions and has addressed all of the matters raised;
robust evidence in support of the trust’s arguments;
an indication of whether the trust was already aware of the issue and was already taking some form of action;
evidence that the trust is making reasonable clinical judgments; and
assurance that the trust is monitoring its own rates of mortality and is undertaking reviews where necessary.
The chairman of the Healthcare Commission has commented that each ‘alert’ relates to mortality rates for a specific diagnosis or condition rather than to an overall trust-wide or hospital-wide mortality rate.
Out of Area Treatment: Wales
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to conclude the negotiations for the renewal of the protocol between his Department and the Welsh Assembly Government on commissioning for cross-border patients. [267528]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Government intend to renew the protocol for commissioning cross-border health services with the Welsh Assembly Government by 1 April 2009.
Quarry House
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what visits Ministers in his Department have made to Quarry House in Leeds since July 2007; and what the date of each visit was. [265541]
Mr. Bradshaw:
Ministers of this Department have had a number of meetings with Leeds departmental staff in Leeds and by videoconference. The Department makes as much use as possible of technology in holding meetings between Ministers and staff based in Leeds to help reduce both travel costs and carbon emissions. In 2007, Alan Johnson MP, Ben Bradshaw MP, Ivan Lewis MP and Dawn Primarolo MP met staff at an all-staff event at a conference venue in Leeds. In 2008, Alan
Johnson MP, Ann Keen MP, Dawn Primarolo MP and Ivan Lewis MP met staff at the next all-staff event in Leeds, which was also based at a conference venue. In 2009, all Ministers attended the Leeds all-staff event by videoconference. The dates on which Ministers have had meetings within Quarry House itself are in the following table:
| Date of visit | Ministerial position |
|
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Services (Ann Keen) | |
Regional Ministers: Travel
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the permanent secretary of his Department has authorised expenditure on travel costs for the parliamentary assistant to the Minister for the South West in accordance with the circumstances envisaged in the Cabinet Secretary's letter to Permanent Secretaries of 2 December 2008. [267157]
Mr. Bradshaw: The permanent secretary has on one occasion (for travel on 26 January 2009) authorised expenditure on travel costs for the parliamentary assistant to the Minister for the South West in accordance with the circumstances envisaged in the Cabinet Secretary's letter to permanent secretaries of 2 December 2008. However, the journey did not take place and no cost was therefore incurred.
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