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10 Jun 2009 : Column 930W—continued
NHS: Conditions of Employment
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Co-operation and Competition Panel in promoting co-operation between healthcare providers. [277663]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: No recent assessment has been made on the effectiveness of the Co-operation and Competition Panel (the Panel) in promoting co-operation between health care providers as the Panel only opened for referrals on 30 January 2009 and has started just started to receive cases. A review of the Panel will be carried out after its first year of operation. This summer, however, the Department will review its principles and rules for co-operation and competition, which set the framework within which the national health service and the Panel operate. Promoting co-operation between providers will be a key focus for the review.
NHS: Pay
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the mean salary of an NHS (a) health visitor, (b) Family Nurse Partnership nurse, (c) midwife and (d) paediatrician in the latest period for which figures are available. [278478]
Ann Keen: The mean salary for a national health service health visitor, family nurse partnership nurse, midwife and paediatrician are presented in the following table. These figures are for 2009-10.
| Mean salary for nursing staff (2009-10) | |
| Staff group( 1) | Mean annual basic salary( 2,3,4) (£) |
| (1) These staff groups are all types of qualified nurses. (2) Average (mean) basic salary for these staff groups in April-June 2008 sourced from NHS IC Quarterly Earnings Survey. (3) Average (mean) basic salary then adjusted for 2009-10 pay settlement of 2.4 per cent. (4) Figures presented are rounded to the nearest £100 following NHS IC convention. | |
These figures are based on average (mean) basic salary in the NHS Information Centre’s (IC) Quarterly Earnings Survey (April-June 2008), adjusted for 2009-10 pay settlement of 2.4 per cent.
Prescriptions: Fees and Charges
Dr. Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has established a timescale for phasing in exemptions from prescription charges for those with long-term conditions. [278087]
Gillian Merron: The Government have asked Professor Ian Gilmore, President of the Royal College of Physicians, to undertake a review of prescription charges. The review is seeking the views of the public, clinicians and patient representative bodies on how to implement the proposed exemption for people with long-term conditions, including how it could be phased in. Decisions about the timescale for phasing in changes will not be made until after the review reports.
The review was due to report to departmental Ministers in the summer. However, following discussions between Ministers and Professor Gilmore, he will undertake further work in order to ensure that proposals can be implemented smoothly and efficiently. Professor Gilmore is now due to report to departmental Ministers in the autumn.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Prisoners
Anne Milton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2009, Official Report, column 112W, on chlamydia: prisoners, how many positive results for sexually transmitted infections of tests taken
by prisoners were reported by the Health Protection Agency in each of the last five years. [278276]
Gillian Merron: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) does not currently report on positive results for sexually transmitted infections in tests taken by prisoners.
Sexual health services in prisons are provided by local national health service acute trusts through commissioning arrangements with the local primary care trust in England or Health Board in Wales.
Such services provide data on tests performed and positive results to the Centre for Infections of the HPA through KC60 returns (now phased out) or, more recently, through a system of reporting called GUMCAD (genito-urinary medicine clinical activity data). However, prison-specific data are not disaggregated and the HPA is currently exploring such disaggregation.
Tranquillisers
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which of the expert advisory groups of the Commission on Human Medicines provide advice to his Department in respect of its policy on tranquillisers. [278058]
Gillian Merron: There are a number of Commission on Human Medicine Expert Advisory Groups (EAGs) which may provide evidence on tranquilliser issues. These include the EAGs on:
Chemistry, Pharmacy and Standards;
Clinical Trials;
Medicines for Women's Health;
Neurology and Pain Management;
Patient Information;
Pharmacovigilance;
Psychiatry and Old Age Psychiatry.
Other EAGs may also be consulted depending on the issues concerned and currently established EAGs and their members are listed on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency website through the following link:
Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2009, Official Report, column 1229W, on tranquillisers, what targets his Department has set for the local provision of tranquilliser withdrawal services; and what funding has been made available for the achievement of those targets in each of the next three years. [278059]
Gillian Merron: The Department has set no targets for the local provision of tranquilliser withdrawal services. The provision of treatments and services that reflect local needs and priorities is a matter for local decision, within the overall funding provided by the Government for health care. The Government have trebled investment in the national health service since 1997, from £34.7 billion in 1997-98 to over £98 billion in 2009-10.
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