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21 May 2009 : Column 1600W—continued
It is not possible to say how much, if any, of the Department's monies councils use to fund meals on wheels services, as this funding is part of a larger sum of money received by councils.
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for the Forest of Dean of 23 March and 11 May 2009, on bowel cancer screening, reference FD5531. [276770]
Mr. Bradshaw: I apologise for the delay in responding to this correspondence. A response will be sent to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
NHS: Information and Communications Technology
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria the local service providers for the National Programme for IT will be required to meet by November 2009; and what circumstances will trigger the launch of his Department's new plan for delivering health informatics to healthcare. [276051]
Mr. Bradshaw: The role of national programme local service providers (LSPs) is to deliver information technology (IT) systems and services across the national health service within defined groups of strategic health authorities. LSPs ensure the integration of existing local systems and, where necessary, implement new systems so that the national applications can be delivered locally, while maintaining common standards. All LSPs have contracted to develop and deliver a fully integrated NHS care record solution, and are in the process of doing so. This role was established at the outset of the programme, and will not change between now and end November 2009.
The Department's Chief Information Officer has recently made clear our commitment to opening up the health care IT market to new suppliers and new technological developments, to inject more pace into the programme. Our aim is to help trusts configure systems to best meet their local needs, as well as taking advantage of market developments to make more use of the information they hold. Officials will be working closely with the NHS and current suppliers to improve the pace of delivery. We will be prepared to consider alternative arrangements in the event that significant progress has not been demonstrated before the end of 2009.
NHS: Pay
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS employees have a salary exceeding that of the Prime Minister. [269717]
Ann Keen: The salary of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister is £194,250 a year from 1 April 2009. Direct comparisons between this figure and the salaries of national health service employees for 2009-10 are not yet possible. However, using data from the Electronic Staff Record, the NHS Information Centre's analysis of monthly salary payments suggests that there were 56 medical and non-medical NHS staff with estimated annual earnings of over £194,250, as at December 2008.
Details of NHS pay rates under the national frameworks are available as follows:
The rates for doctors and dentists, and for staff employed under Agenda for Change, are set out in Pay Circulars which are published on the NHS Employers' website at:
The rates for very senior NHS managers employed in strategic health authorities, primary care trusts, special health authorities and ambulance trusts are set out in the relevant pay framework issued by the Department. This is updated annually, and a copy of the document for 2009-10 has been placed in the Library. It is also available at:
NHS: Standards
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Quality Outcomes Framework targets will next be reviewed. [276836]
Mr. Bradshaw: Following a public consultation, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is now responsible for overseeing an independent process for developing and reviewing clinical and health improvement indicators in the Quality Outcomes Framework in general practice for England. NICE is expected to provide initial recommendations on indicators in the summer.
Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust pays invoices within 10 days. [276761]
Mr. Bradshaw: David Nicholson, NHS chief executive, wrote to all NHS trust chief executives on 21 October 2008 asking them to examine and review existing payment practices and payment performance, and to move as closely as possible to the 10-day payment commitment that has been set for Government Departments wherever practical.
National health service prompt payment performance against the 30-day payment target is reported in annual accounts. We are advised that the 2008-09 accounts for the Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Healthcare NHS Trust recorded a 95 per cent. achievement against the 30-day payment target for non-NHS payments.
Strokes
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) were admitted to and (b) died in hospital following a stroke in each hospital in England in each of the last three years. [276415]
Ann Keen: A table and footnotes which shows how many people were admitted to hospital following a stroke and subsequently died at the hospital in each hospital in England in each of the last three years has been placed in the Library.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent assessment is of the progress of the national stroke strategy for England in facilitating the rapid diagnosis of strokes; what estimate he has made of the number of stroke patients who receive a specialist assessment including a brain scan within (a) 24 and (b) 48 hours in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [276723]
Ann Keen: Data on the provision of brain imaging for suspected stroke within 24 hours and electrocardiography (ECG) within 48 hours for transient ischaemic attack (TIA) are not collected centrally. However, the National Sentinel Stroke Audit, prepared by the Royal College of Physicians, which is based on clinical data collected directly from national health service trusts, details the latest evidence on the provision of stroke services including specialist assessment and scanning. The most recent audit is available at the college’s website at:
The Department will commission an independent evaluation of the implementation of the stroke strategy later this year which will cover the whole stroke pathway from awareness to long-term care and support. Our intention is to publish the evaluation report.
Surgery
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to enable an individual to elect to postpone an operation beyond the 18-week target waiting time. [276017]
Mr. Bradshaw: From 1 January 2009, no one should wait more than 18 weeks from the time they are referred by their general practitioner to the start of their consultant-led treatment unless it is clinically appropriate to do so or they choose to wait longer. Key to this is clear communication between the patient and the hospital at all stages of treatment.
As set out in the published 18 weeks rules, a patient's 18-week waiting time clock can only be paused when a patient, who will be admitted for treatment, decides in discussion with their clinician to delay when they have their treatment. This might be for personal or social reasons, for example, to fit around work commitments or school holidays, or perhaps attend an important family event such as a wedding.
National health service performance against the 18 weeks waiting time standard is measured against the published minimum operational standards of 90 per cent. for admitted patients and 95 per cent. for non-admitted patients. The tolerances of 10 per cent. and 5 per cent. respectively allow for patients who choose to wait longer than 18 weeks or where this is clinically appropriate.
Swine Flu
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans his Department has for (a) the distribution of and (b) inoculation by the T1N1 vaccination to ensure herd immunity against swine influenza by the autumn; [274618]
(2) whether (a) illegal migrants and (b) visitors normally resident overseas will be eligible for inoculation with the T1N1 influenza vaccine, should vaccination become necessary. [274619]
Dawn Primarolo: On 14 May the Government announced the signing of agreements with vaccine manufacturers for up to 90 million doses of a pre-pandemic vaccine based on the current H1N1 strain. The agreements could provide enough vaccine to protect the most vulnerable groups in our population before a pandemic is likely to arrive. In the event of a pandemic, the Advanced Purchase Agreements (APAs) previously signed with Baxter and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will be activated; these will enable the United Kingdom to purchase enough vaccine to cover 100 per cent. of the UK population.
The plans for the implementation of a mass vaccination strategy are set out in guidance published by the Department for primary care trusts (PCTs) in December 2008. A copy has been placed in the Library. It sets out the key national responsibilities of the Department and the arrangements needed to be put in place to administer vaccinations through local national health service organisations.
The guidance referred to above assumes that the vaccination will be delivered at PCT level through general practitioner surgeries or mass vaccination centres. The currently identified groups for pandemic influenza vaccination include: frontline health and social care workers, children under 16, older people and those clinically at risk. Persons eligible within those groups may include overseas visitors and illegal migrants. However, the priority groups will be reviewed in light of emerging evidence on the virulence and severity of the new virus in different groups.
Tranquillisers
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received on the outcome of litigation in the Scottish courts against the manufacturers of nitrazepam. [276003]
Dawn Primarolo: We have received no such reports.
Vaccination: Side Effects
Mr. Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many reports of adverse reaction to the bacillus calmette guérin vaccination there were in each year since 1985; [276220]
(2) how many reports of adverse reaction to vaccinations against (a) measles, (b) rubella, (c) polio, (d) whooping cough, (e) tetanus, (f) diphtheria and (g) mumps there were in each year since 1985; [276221]
(3) how many reports of adverse reaction to the Haemophilus Influenza Type B vaccination there were in each year since 1985. [276222]
Dawn Primarolo:
The numbers of reports of suspected adverse reactions (ADRs) submitted via the Yellow Card Scheme between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 2008 associated with the following vaccines: Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG), measles, mumps, rubella, polio, whooping cough (bordetella pertussis), tetanus, diphtheria and Haemophilus Influenza Type B (HIB) are shown in
the following tables. This includes combinations of the above vaccines. As a single Yellow Card report may contain more than one suspect vaccine, the total number of reports differs from the sum of the number of suspected adverse reactions to individual vaccines.
Data from the Yellow Card Scheme are continually reviewed to identify new safety issues with medicines and vaccines, and where safety issues are identified appropriate action is taken to protect public health. It is very important to note that the report of a suspected
ADR via the Yellow Card Scheme and inclusion in the tables does not necessarily mean that a reaction was caused by the vaccine. Yellow Card reports are suspicions that a vaccine or medicine may have caused a reaction and are not proof of a causal association.
During this time period, tens of millions of children and adults have been immunised with these vaccines. The balance of benefits and risks of these vaccines is overwhelmingly favourable.
| Total number of suspected ADR reports reported with the vaccines; bacillus calmette guérin (BCG) to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 2008 associated, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, whooping cough and Haemophilus Influenza Type B (HIB) | |||||||||||
| BCG | DT | DT IPV | DTP | DTP HIB | DTP IPV | DTP IPV HIB | HIB | HIB and HepB | Measles and Rubella | MenC HIB | |
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