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12 May 2009 : Column 704W—continued
Solicitor-General
Council Tax: Second Homes
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Solicitor-General how many people have been prosecuted for a false claim for a council tax discount on a second home in the last year for which figures are available. [274084]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The administration of council tax is a matter for individual local authorities and data on prosecutions are not collected centrally.
Health
Out-of-hours GP Care
8. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the performance of private healthcare companies contracted to provide out-of-hours GP care. [274105]
Mr. Bradshaw: We have had no recent correspondence on the general issue of private healthcare companies contracted to provide out of hours general practitioner care. However, we have had correspondence on the Dr. Daniel Ubani case.
Neither the National Audit Office report on out of hours services from May 2006 nor the Healthcare Commission review of Urgent and Emergency care from September 2008 reported any evidence that independent sector providers delivered a lower quality of out of hours care.
GP Access
12. Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that patients resident in border areas of England have access to a GP registered in England. [274109]
Mr. Bradshaw: We are aware of a small number of cases where patients resident in England, registered with a general practitioner (GP) in Wales, have had difficulty switching to an English GP because they do not live within any English GP practice's boundaries.
This was discussed with Gloucestershire NHS during a visit to the Forest of Dean last week and they will seek to resolve the case of the particular couple the hon. Gentleman has raised. They also intend surveying all Gloucestershire residents registered with GPs in Wales to measure how many might wish to change and will consider providing new GP services in the area covered.
Specialist Hospitals
13. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the future of specialist hospitals within the NHS. [274110]
Mr. Bradshaw: The organisation of services to deliver high quality care is the responsibility of the local and regional NHS. There can be a strong future for specialist hospitals but this will depend on their providing services that the NHS wishes to commission and which are sustainable.
Maternity Services
14. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of provision of maternity services in (a) Upminster and (b) England. [274111]
Phil Hope: In 2008, the Healthcare Commission published ‘Towards better births, a review of maternity services in England’ which assessed the quality, capability and efficiency of maternity services in England.
There has been no local assessment of maternity services in Upminster specifically, but a general assessment of midwifery services in the area highlighted the need for more resources in midwifery and support services. Investment and recruitment plans are already in place to address this issue.
22. Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest assessment is of the adequacy of maternity services in (a) Peterborough constituency and (b) England. [274120]
Phil Hope: In 2008, the Healthcare Commission published “Towards better births, a review of maternity services in England” which assessed the quality, capability and efficiency of maternity services in England.
Peterborough Primary Care Trust commissions most of its maternity services from Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This includes the births at home, within the midwifery led unit and in the obstetric unit. The caesarean section rate is one of the lowest in the country.
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest assessment is of the adequacy of maternity services in (a) Gravesham and (b) England. [274113]
Phil Hope: In 2008, the Healthcare Commission published ‘Towards better births, a review of maternity services in England’ which assessed the quality, capability and efficiency of maternity services in England.
The South East Coast Strategic Health Authority undertook a needs-assessment of maternity services across west Kent in 2008.
Cervarix Vaccine
15. Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to investigate recent reports of partial paralysis and severe chronic fatigue syndrome experienced by a number of girls shortly after receiving the Cervarix vaccine. [274112]
Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) considers the safety of vaccines to be of paramount importance and has in place a proactive strategy to monitor the safety of Cervarix vaccine as girls are immunised in the United Kingdom.
To date almost one million doses of Cervarix have been given in the UK and there is no evidence to suggest that Cervarix vaccine has caused chronic fatigue syndrome, paralytic disorders or any other serious or long-term side effects.
NHS Dentistry
16. Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people not registered with an NHS dentist. [274114]
Dawn Primarolo: 52.9 per cent. of the population of England saw a national health service dentist in the 24 months ending September 2008.
We have increased dental funding to over £2 billion and made it a national priority in the NHS operating framework that primary care trusts commission services to ensure access to anyone who seeks help in finding an NHS dentist. The NHS is planning that all PCTs will deliver this by March 2011.
19. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the ratio of NHS dentists to residents in (a) Kettering, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England; and if he will make a statement. [274117]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is only available to primary care trust (PCT) level. As of 31 March 2008 there were 41 national health service dentists per 100,000 patients in England. In Northamptonshire PCT there were 38.
The dental work force is growing. The same data show that there were 655 more dentists working in the NHS in 2007-08 than there were in the previous year.
Allergy Services
17. Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the outcome of the specialist allergy services hub pilot in the north-west; and if he will make a statement. [274115]
Mr. Bradshaw: NHS North West have spent the last nine months developing a model for networked allergy services, to be launched in October 2009.
Means of assessing the effectiveness of this model are being integrated into service planning. The strategic health authority (SHA) will liaise regularly with fellow SHAs to share early learning.
Thalidomide
18. Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provides specifically to support those people affected by thalidomide. [274116]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral answer I gave earlier today.
Hospital Acquired Infection
20. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his latest estimate is of the number of people who (a) acquired infections and (b) died from infections acquired in hospital in the last 12 months. [274118]
Mr. Bradshaw: Best available surveillance data show 3,208 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 40,704 Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) reports in 2008 and 910 Glycopeptide resistant Enterococci reports in October 2006 to September 2007 and 418 surgical site infections in orthopaedic surgery in April 2007 to March 2008.
In 2007, the Office for National Statistics recorded 460 deaths where MRSA and 4,056 deaths where Clostridium difficile was mentioned on the death certificate as the underlying cause.
Latest figures show MRSA infections are down 38 per cent. on the same quarter in 2007, and C. difficile infections in patients over two years old are down 35 per cent. on the same quarter in 2007.
NHS Hospitals: Bexley
21. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the performance of NHS hospital services in Bexley. [274119]
Mr. Bradshaw: Annual assessment of performance is undertaken by the Care Quality Commission, formerly Healthcare Commission. Their last report was published in October 2008.
The details for the hon. Gentleman’s local hospital and primary care trust are available on the new regulator the CQC’s website
Social Enterprises
23. Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in developing the role of social enterprises in the provision of NHS healthcare. [274121]
Phil Hope: In support of the “Right to Request” commitment, we have produced guidance and templates and we are working with NHS Pensions, commissioners and our pathfinders to further increase understanding and capacity.
Through the Social Enterprise Investment Fund, the Department has so far invested £20 million in 200 start-up and existing social enterprises.
Prescription Costs
24. Mr. Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the pricing of pharmaceutical specials on NHS prescriptions for the purpose of identifying savings in prescription costs. [274122]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer given to him earlier today.
Tuberculosis
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing a national target for reducing the incidence of tuberculosis. [274104]
Dawn Primarolo: The national health service next stage review considered all aspects of healthcare including tuberculosis and the need to set new targets. It introduced no new national targets, to ensure that the NHS continues to focus on the small number of targets in the NHS operating framework. Where the incidence of tuberculosis is a local issue, primary care trusts are empowered to deal with it.
Alcoholic Drinks: Children
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged under 10 years attended hospital accident and emergency departments where the primary or secondary diagnosis was alcohol-related in each health trust area in each of the last three years. [273862]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested on alcohol-related attendances in accident and emergency departments is not collected centrally.
Cancer: Health Services
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans (a) his Department and (b) the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has to provide (i) cancer and (ii) cancer-related lymphoedema patients equal access to specialist NHS treatment in each region. [273671]
Dawn Primarolo:
It is the responsibility of primary care trusts to make decisions on the commissioning of lymphoedema services based on guidance already issued by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
(NICE) on treatment for lymphoedema. In 2002, NICE updated its “Improving outcomes in breast cancer” guidance, which makes recommendations on the identification and management of lymphoedema and on the provision of lymphoedema services. In 2004, NICE made further recommendations for commissioners of health services on the provision of the range and volume of rehabilitation services, including lymphoedema therapists, in its “Improving Supportive and Palliative care for Adults with Cancer” guidance. Recommendations on lymphoedema management were also made in NICE'S clinical guidelines on breast cancer published in February 2009. This guidance can be found on NICE’s website at:
Through the Department’s National Cancer Survivorship Initiative, formally launched in September 2008, we are looking at the late effects and long-term consequences of cancer and its treatment, including effects such as lymphoedema.
Drugs: Children
James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of prescribing anti-psychotic drugs to persons under the age of 16 years was in each health trust area in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [273861]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held in the format requested.
Health Services
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS facilities have been (a) closed and (b) had a reduction in the number of services provided since May 1997. [274638]
Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally.
Deciding where and how to provide national health service services is a matter for the local NHS, in conjunction with clinicians, patients and other stakeholders. The Department's 2008 publication—“Leading Local Change”—makes clear that any changes should be locally led, clinically driven and built upon a sound clinical case for change. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
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