| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
16 Jun 2009 : Column 217W—continued
Customer Experience Information in Health and Social Care Review
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library a copy of the outcomes of his Department's Review of Customer Experience Information in Health and Social Care. [279214]
Ann Keen: The report relating to the Department's' review of customer experience information in health and social care was published on the Department's website on 29 April 2009. A copy of this report has been placed in the Library.
Demos
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) private meetings and (b) public engagements Ministers in his Department have attended at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [279502]
Phil Hope: In the last 12 months, I attended a meeting with Demos on 4 February 2009.
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos. [279503]
Phil Hope: The Department has had no contracts with the think-tank Demos since it assisted with the partial funding of “Making It Personal” published in January 2008.
Dentistry: Easington
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are in Easington constituency; and how many patients received NHS services from those dentists in the last 24 month period for which information is available. [279851]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
The numbers of dentists with national health service activity during the year ending 31 March 2008 are available in table G1 of annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007/08” report. Information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT) but is not available by constituency. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes previously published work force figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counted the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March.
The published figures relate to headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
Information on the number of patients seen in the most recent 24 month period is available in table D3 of annex 3 of the “NHS Dental Statistics for England, Quarter 3, 31 December 2008” report. Information is provided at quarterly intervals from 31 March 2006 to 31 December 2008. Information is provided by PCT and SHA but is not available by constituency. It is based on the PCT boundaries which came into effect on 1 October 2006. This report, published on 21 May 2009, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
Departmental Billing
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [278826]
Phil Hope: The quantity and proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt to commercial suppliers are shown in the following tables. The Department's figures are shown in Table 1 and its executive agencies; NHS Purchasing and Supply Authority (NHS PASA) and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are shown in Table 2.
| Table 1: Department of Health | ||
| Month | Quantity of invoices paid within 10 working days to commercial suppliers | Proportion (percentage) of invoices paid within 10 working days to commercial suppliers |
Departmental Training
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training courses have been attended by special advisers in his Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [279398]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The special advisers have attended no training courses in the last 12 months.
Diabetes: Orthopaedics
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to increase awareness of the risk of amputations for people diagnosed with diabetes. [279731]
Ann Keen: Reducing the number of amputations resulting from diabetes relies on good management of and services for people with diabetes. The Diabetes National Service Framework sets out the overall strategy for preventing long-term complications of the condition. This has also been supplemented by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance, which recommends that people with diabetes should be offered foot examinations by trained personnel as part of their annual review. It also recommends that local national health service organisations have systems in place to identify people who may be at risk of developing foot complications and to offer them preventative foot care.
However, it is for local NHS organisations to commission a comprehensive service for people with diabetes that includes podiatry services.
Disability Aids
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to improve the design of (a) wheelchairs and (b) other care aids and equipment. [279934]
Phil Hope: It is for local decision what wheelchairs or other care aids or equipment to purchase and supply. For example, it is the responsibility of each primary care trust (PCT) to provide services, such as the provision of wheelchairs. The decision about which type of wheelchair is to be allocated to an individual is one taken at local level, after detailed clinical consultations and patient evaluation, by the PCT concerned.
Doctors: Working Hours
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he expects the review of the effect of the European Working Time Directive on junior doctor training to report findings by August 2009. [279212]
Ann Keen: This was discussed at the recent meeting of the Board of Medical Education England and the Chairman, Sir Christopher Edwards, is writing to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State with proposals for taking forward the review.
Fluoride: Drinking Water
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the incidence of primary bone cancer in populations receiving fluoridated water. [279886]
Ann Keen: The Department commissioned research into the effects of fluoridation on health. “A Systematic Review of Public Water Fluoridation” published by the University of York in 2000 found no clear association between, water fluoridation and cancer, but called for further research to strengthen the evidence base.
A subsequent research study commissioned from the Medical Research Council, Water fluoridation and health (2002) stated that:
“although available evidence suggests no link between water fluoridation and either cancer in general or any specific cancer type (including osteosarcoma, primary bone cancer), an updated analysis of UK data on fluoridation and cancer rates is recommended.”
Both documents have been placed in the Library. Accordingly, section 58 of the Water Act 2003 placed a duty on strategic health authorities (SHAs) to monitor the effects of fluoridation schemes on the health of persons living in the fluoridated area and publish reports containing an analysis of the effects on health at four-yearly intervals.
We have commissioned the West Midland Public Health Observatory to propose a set of standard indicators, which can be used by SHAs to discharge this duty. We understand that, in compiling its proposals, the Observatory is considering whether data on the incidence of bone cancer held in cancer registries could be included among the indicators.
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of adding fluoride to public drinking water in the North West. [279887]
Ann Keen: The capital costs will depend upon the extent of the area it is proposed to fluoridate. North West Strategic Health Authority is still considering the options in the light of a feasibility study it commissioned from the water company. Evidence from existing fluoridation schemes suggests that the recurring costs of fluoridation are about 80 pence per head of population per year. This compares to an average of £40 per person spent each year on national health service dental services.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |