| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
23 Apr 2009 : Column 834W—continued
Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into the circumstances in which people gain access to health care outside the UK through the European Health Insurance Care card; and if he will make a statement. [270353]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department has commissioned a number of surveys and pieces of research on use of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Most recently, this informed departmental press and media communications to make the British population aware that a new EHIC is only valid for five years. All British citizens should make sure they have a valid EHIC so they can access state-provided health care that becomes necessary while travelling in Europe. Travel insurance is also needed as the EHIC does not cover all eventualities (like repatriation).
Heart Diseases
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects the planned external review of the implementation of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease to be completed; and if he will make a statement. [270043]
Ann Keen: The Department is commissioning an external review of the implementation and delivery of the National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease. In addition to this, the Department will also undertake an analysis to look at how patient expectation and need, technology and working practices are likely to affect future demand and patterns of service provision. We will then feed our findings into the discussions of the National Quality Board, which has been set up to oversee the priorities for the service in the future.
A completion date has not yet been set.
Hospitals: Infectious Diseases
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of healthcare-associated infections of the development of patient-centred technologies; and if he will make a statement. [269269]
Ann Keen: The Department has not undertaken any work on the effect of patient-provided products in preventing healthcare associated infections and is not aware of any evidence that these products offer advantages over materials supplied to patients by the national health service.
Hygiene: Dairy Farming
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will allow exemptions from dairy hygiene inspection in cases where hygiene standards at a farm are guaranteed by farm assurance. [270073]
Dawn Primarolo: Milk production holdings are required by Regulation (EC) 854/2004 to undergo official controls to verify that hygiene requirements are being complied with. Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 on official feed and food controls recognises the use of relevant private quality assurance programmes for the risk prioritisation of official controls. The Food Standards Agency is currently undertaking a project, in co-operation with stakeholders, to assess the feasibility and extent to which results of farm assurance audits could be taken into account when deciding the frequency of official controls on dairy farms in England and Wales.
Influenza: Vaccination
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pensioners have received free influenza inoculations in each year since the introduction of the policy. [270153]
Dawn Primarolo: The seasonal influenza programme is a targeted vaccination campaign. The Department has recommended since the 2000-01 season that all people aged 65 and over and those under 65 years who are in specific clinical at-risk groups receive the annual influenza vaccine. Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake data for England are published annually in NHS Immunisation Statistics, England, copies of which have already been placed in the Library for years up to 2007-08.
Vaccination uptake by those aged 65 years and over for 2008-09 was 74.1 per cent.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether personal anti-microbial products are supplied by the NHS to patients identified through screening to be carrying MRSA; [269985]
(2) what steps he expects NHS hospitals to take to decolonise patients found through screening to be carrying MRSA; and if he will make a statement; [269986]
(3) how many pre-operative patients he expects to be screened by the NHS for MRSA in the next 12 months; what estimate he has made of the cost per patient of such screening; and if he will make a statement. [269987]
Ann Keen:
As soon as a patient is identified as an MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) carrier, a decolonisation regimen should be started. This is normally the use of an antibacterial shampoo and body
wash daily, and the application of an antibacterial nasal cream three times a day for five days supplied by the national health service.
It is for clinicians to decide on the most appropriate products for decolonisation and we do not collect information on the products used. However, the Department will be issuing guidance on products for decontamination later this year.
The current policy is to screen all elective patients, except for those in certain groups for whom the risk of MRSA infection is very low. We estimated that this would require around 6.3 million tests in 2009-10. Elective patients found to be positive for MRSA will receive decolonisation treatment. The total cost of screening those patients, and decolonising those with a positive screen, is estimated at £44 million, an average of £7.02 per patient.
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to provide counselling services for (a) patients and (b) relatives of deceased patients of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust who have been affected by the findings of the Healthcare Commission report on that Trust. [269770]
Mr. Bradshaw: The new leadership team of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust established a helpline on 17 March 2009 in response to the Healthcare Commission report. This helpline (currently administered by the Patient Advisory and Liaison Service and hosted by South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust) is the main point of contact for relatives of patients who died after receiving emergency care at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust to request a review of their clinical records by a panel of independent clinicians.
A separate counselling service has not been set up but the Trust has assured the Department that it will ensure that both patients and the relatives of the deceased needing counselling services will be appropriately referred. The availability of counselling services will also be signposted following the conclusion of each independent review of clinical records.
NHS: Telephone Services
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how long Estates Return Information Collection data indicate each NHS trust took on average to answer a call made to its main telephone number in the most recent month for which figures are available. [269099]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information available relates to the average time to pick up new incoming calls to the national health service organisation’s main telephone number across a representative period of not less than one month within the reporting year. The information for the latest period, 2007-08, has been placed in the Library.
The information is collected on a compulsory basis from NHS trusts, except foundation trusts who can provide the data on a non-compulsory basis if they wish. The information has been supplied by the NHS
and has not been amended centrally. The accuracy and completeness of the information is the responsibility of the provider organisation.
Thyroid Gland: Diseases
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the treatment of people with hypothyroidism; what definition his Department uses of hypothyroidism; and if he will make a statement. [270094]
Ann Keen: The Department has not developed a policy for the treatment of people with hypothyroidism. The Clinical Knowledge Summaries website
http://cks.library.nhs.uk/search?&;page=1&q= hypothyroidism&site=0
offers advice on the diagnosis and management of a range of conditions and symptoms, including hypothyroidism, that are commonly seen in primary care. The guidance is advisory and has been developed to assist health care professionals, together with patients, make decisions about the management of the patient's health.
Hypothyroidism describes the general effects of a severely under active thyroid gland, where not enough hormones are produced to keep the body functioning properly.
Tuberculosis
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of tuberculosis per 100,000 people was in each primary care trust area in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [270013]
Dawn Primarolo: Data for rates of tuberculosis (TB) by primary care trust (PCT) for 2005 are provided in the following table. Data for 2006 will be available by August 2009. Data for 2007 are not yet available.
The highest rates of TB are concentrated in London, Leicester, Birmingham and Manchester, reflecting the diverse demography of those populations.
Hertfordshire PCT, which includes Hemel Hempstead, is in the lowest band rate.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |