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1 Jun 2009 : Column 114W—continued
Departmental Work Experience
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many work placements his Department offered to (a) school pupils, (b) university students and (c) graduates in each of the last five years. [274484]
Mr. Bradshaw: The Department does not hold any central records of student placements or persons on work experience, and national health service trainees. These are arranged by local sections and directorates. It would incur disproportionate costs to collect the information requested.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of answers to parliamentary questions provided by his Department have been the subject of a subsequent correction in each of the last five years; how many such corrections have been made by (a) Written Ministerial Correction, (b) a letter to the hon. Member tabling the Question and (c) other means; and what criteria his Department uses to determine by which method to issue a correction. [277237]
Mr. Bradshaw: The procedure for making corrections to answers to parliamentary questions was introduced from November 2007 and information is not available from an earlier date.
Since November 2007, we have made 22 written ministerial corrections and issued six written ministerial statements to correct written answers. This represents 0.2 per cent. of the 12,310 written Commons questions received during that period. For the criteria used to judge whether a correction or a statement should be issued, I refer the hon. Member to the 2(nd) Report from the Procedure Committee “Corrections to the Official Report” (HC541) on 19 June 2007 and the written ministerial statement issued by my right hon. and learned Friend the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal (Harriet Harman) on 18 October 2007, Official Report, column 55WS. On each case, we seek advice from the Table Office.
Derriford Hospital: Waiting Lists
Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients waited less than 13 weeks for an outpatient appointment at Derriford Hospital in the latest period for which figures are available. [276359]
Mr. Bradshaw: The information on the number of patients who waited less than 13 weeks for an out-patient appointment at Derriford Hospital is not available in the format requested. Information is only available by trust and on the number of patients still waiting under 13 weeks at the end of each month. Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust had 6,636 out-patients waiting under 13 weeks at the end of March 2009. The trust had one patient waiting over 13 weeks.
Disability Aids
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the Transforming Community Equipment and Wheelchair Services programme; and if he will make a statement. [277670]
Phil Hope: The Transforming Community Equipment team has designed a radical new model for delivery of community equipment, which will give state-supported users the choice not previously available. This has been adopted by seven local authorities and we are currently working with a further 10 partnerships.
The Department is considering the future model for wheelchair services.
Drugs: Durham
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the treatment of drug misuse in the Durham Primary Care Trust area in each of the last three years. [276997]
Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows expenditure on substance misuse by the County Durham Primary Care Trust for the last three years in which data are available.
| Expenditure on own population (£000) | |
| Note: Figures do not include prevention or general medical services expenditure. Source: Department of Health Programme Budgeting | |
Drugs: Easington
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people in Easington constituency who received treatment for drug misuse in each of the last three years. [276998]
Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the estimated number of people in treatment in Easington for the last three years in which data are available.
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Estimated figures are provided for the three year period 2006-07 to 2008-09 2. Estimated figures have been provided by County Durham Drug and Alcohol Action Team and adults are defined as 18 or over, young people are under 18. | |
Health Services: Young People
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people under the age of 18 years (a) in each strategic health authority and (b) treated by each healthcare provider had diagnosis codes of (i) W26, (ii) W32, (iii) W33, (iv) W34, (v) W50, (vi) X93, (vii) X94, (viii) X95, (ix) X99, (x) Y00, (xi) Y04, (xii) Y08, (xiii) Y09, (xiv) Y22, (xv), Y23 and (xvi) Y24 in each of the last six years. [276424]
Dawn Primarolo: A response to the question has been provided by strategic health authority (SHA) of residence for each year (2002-03 to 2007-08) and a copy has been placed in the Library. It is not possible to include the requested information by healthcare provider/trust because the numbers would be so small that the vast majority would need to be suppressed in order to preserve anonymity.
Due to the SHA reconfiguration in 2006-07, 28 SHAs merged to form 10 larger SHAs. The number of admissions do not represent the number of patients as a patient may have been admitted more than once within the year.
Herbal Medicine: EU Action
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many applications have been received by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for the registration of products under the provisions of the EU Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive; how many such applications have been (a) accepted and (b) rejected; how many such applications remain under consideration; and what guidance is available to small and medium-sized companies on making such applications. [276547]
Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has so far received 68 applications to register products under the traditional herbal registration scheme implemented in line with the requirements of Directive 2004/24/EC. 31 registrations have been granted and the remaining 37 applications are under assessment. To date no applications have been refused.
A wide range of European guidelines is available for industry, for example on meeting the relevant quality and manufacturing standards. We recognise that moving from a largely unregulated environment into systematic medicines regulation represents a significant challenge for parts of the over-the-counter herbal medicines sector. Accordingly, the MHRA has been running a programme to manage the regulatory impact of the directive. This includes the opportunity for individual companies seeking to progress applications to register products under the scheme to be given regulatory and scientific advice. Our expectation is that, as with any such new scheme, with growing experience an increasing range of companies will become confident in operating under these regulatory arrangements.
Hospital Beds
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the NHS bed availability and occupancy statistics for 2008-09. [277040]
Mr. Bradshaw: As set out in the Department’s statistics publication plan available at:
NHS bed availability and occupancy statistics for 2008-09 will be published on 30 September 2009. A copy of the plan has been placed in the Library.
Measles: Vaccination
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children aged six years old and under have been inoculated against measles in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Teesside and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency. [276625]
Dawn Primarolo: Information of the percentage of children immunised against measles, mumps and rubella by their fifth birthday is contained in ‘NHS Immunisation Statistics, England 2007-08’, which has already been placed in the Library.
Mental Health Services
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS counsellors required to deal with the increase in mental health problems resulting from the economic downturn in 2009. [276618]
Phil Hope: No estimate has been made at national level, as the provision of mental health staff is decided by the national health service locally. However, we know that demand for psychological help rises in economic downturns, so the Secretary of State for Health and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced in March a £13 million package of measures to support people with distress. The package involves accelerating the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme and ensuring that all the programme’s services recruit employment support co-ordinators to join up health and job centre services in ways that are tailor-made for individuals’ different situations. As a result of these measures, every primary care trust in the country will be beginning to offer these services next year.
Mentally Ill: Prisoners
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what response he has made to the recommendation made in the Bradley Report on people with mental health problems in the criminal justice system for a minimum target for the NHS of 14 days to transfer a prisoner with acute, severe mental illness to an appropriate healthcare setting. [276616]
Phil Hope: The Department is currently exploring ways to make progress towards a 14-day standard waiting time for transfers, through the provision of guidance and support to the national health service and criminal justice system to work in closer partnership and reduce delays for this vulnerable group.
The Government recognise that there is a need to improve the timeliness of access to secure mental health care by prisoners with acute, severe mental illness. In his report on people with mental health problems or learning
disabilities in the criminal justice system (published 30 April 2009), Lord Bradley has recommended that a target of 14 days should be set. The Government’s Health and Criminal Justice Board, which is just being established, will consider the feasibility of such a target. It will also ensure that where further guidance to the NHS and criminal justice agencies is necessary, this is issued by 2010, so that along with improved commissioning of services and availability of secure health services, the goals of improved security and timely access to secure health services by prisoners can be achieved.
Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for transfer from prison to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 was in (a) each primary care trust area, (b) each prison and (c) England in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006, (iii) 2007 and (iv) 2008. [276617]
Phil Hope: Information is not available in the requested format. Each prison records the waiting time for mental health transfers, starting from acceptance as suitable for transfer under the Mental Health Act 2007 to actual transfer date. Data on individual prisons are reported by each primary care trust but are not collected centrally.
The indicator which is traditionally reported nationally is the number awaiting transfer for 12 weeks or longer. These data are collected quarterly and data for the four most recent years are shown in the following table.
| Number of prisoners with a severe mental illness, and who had been waiting longer than 12 weeks for transfer from prison to hospital, in England 2005-08 | |
| Reporting period | Number of individuals waiting longer than 12 weeks for a transfer to hospital |
| Source: Offender Mental Health—Department of Health/Ministry of Justice | |
NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to wind up the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA); what effect he expects the winding up of NHS PASA to have on (a) the NHS business services contract with DHL and (b) cost savings achieved on the contract with DHL in the 12 month period following the wind up. [277201]
Mr. Bradshaw: The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) will be closed before April 2010 as a consequence of the information of the new Commercial Operating Model, published on 7 May 2009 and copies have been placed in the Library. However, in order to support planned efficiencies it is anticipated that much of the transition of functions will be concluded by September 2009.
The closure of NHS PASA will not affect the Department’s contract with DHL or the cost savings achievable on the contract.
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