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23 Jun 2009 : Column 858W—continued
NHS: Crimes of Violence
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many reported assaults on (a) doctors and (b) nurses there were in each strategic health authority area in each year since 1997. [280781]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested. Since 2004-05, information on the number of physical assaults reported against national health service staff in England has been collected by the NHS Security Management Service. This information is shown in the following table:
| Number of assaults | |
Tables showing the number of physical assaults reported by each health body have been placed in the Library.
NHS: Finance
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average management charge was levied by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency for contracts issued by it in the latest period for which figures are available. [281874]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency makes no charges to national health service trusts for management costs in respect of contracts arranged by it. The agency works to a fixed resource budget which is agreed with the Department annually, details of which are published in the annual report and accounts.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average change in prices under the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency contracts was in each of the last two years. [281875]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not collected in the format requested, to do so would attract disproportionate cost.
The agency reported £499.8 million in savings during 2007-08 on 360 contracts to the value of £3,321 million. Savings of £599 million were reported in 2008-09 on 313 contracts to the value of £3,229 million.
Nursing and Midwifery Council
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps have been taken by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the last 12 months to ensure that registrants have indemnity insurance. [281603]
Ann Keen: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), within their guidance, recommends that a registered nurse, midwife or specialist community public health nurse in advising, treating and caring for patients/clients, has professional indemnity insurance. This is in the interests of clients, patients and registrants in the event of claims and professional negligence.
While employers have vicarious liability for the negligent acts and/or omissions of their employees, such cover does not normally extend to activities undertaken outside the registrant's employment. Independent practice would not be covered by vicarious liability. It is the individual registrant's responsibility to establish their insurance status and take appropriate action.
In situations where an employer does not have vicarious liability, the NMC recommends that registrants obtain adequate professional indemnity insurance. If unable to secure professional indemnity insurance, a registrant will need to demonstrate that all their clients/patients are fully informed of this fact and the implications this might have in the event of a claim for professional negligence.
Although such standards are not binding, registrants breaching them risk being sanctioned under their regulator's fitness to practise procedures.
The NMC have also been working closely with the Department, Devolved Administrations, employers, Trades Unions and patient representatives on draft proposals, which would require compulsory indemnity as a condition of registration. However, following concerns expressed by nursing and midwifery unions, the former Secretary of State has recently announced a review of policy on indemnity insurance. The NMC have been advised the proposals have been put on hold pending the outcome of the review.
Nutrition: Health Services
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will include incentives for conducting nutritional screening in the community pharmacy contractual framework. [280487]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to him by the then Minister of State for Public Health (Dawn Primarolo) on 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 703W. There are no plans to include incentives for pharmacists to undertake nutritional screening as part of the community pharmacy contractual framework.
Patients: Safety
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of each type of patient safety incident occurred in each NHS trust between April and September 2008; and what percentage of such incidents in each such trust fell within each degree of harm. [281107]
Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in a table provided by the National Patient Safety Agency that has been placed in the Library.
Poultry Meat: Import Controls
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to prevent the importation of chicken injected with pork and beef waste; and if he will make a statement. [281406]
Gillian Merron: Hydrolysed animal proteins, such as from beef or pork, can legally be used as ingredients to retain added water in meat products and preparations. The use of such protein ingredients in injected chicken preparations has no safety implications but as with all ingredients they have to be properly labelled so that consumers are accurately informed.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently carried out a small study on some of the injection powders that are used to retain added water in chicken preparations, evaluating the use of a novel method to identify the animal origin of the proteins used. Initial findings from this study indicated the presence of beef and pork collagen proteins in the powders tested. The issue is that these proteins were not declared.
The FSA has already raised these findings with the European Commission and enforcement authorities in the relevant member states and ongoing discussions are taking place to resolve the issue. The FSA is also working with researchers to establish what further work is needed to enable the new methodology to be used for routine analysis.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts made bids for funding from the Community Hospitals Fund in each of the last three years; how many such bids were successful; how much was allocated in respect of each such bid; and if he will make a statement. [279933]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
In total 51 primary care trusts (PCTs) made bids for funding, of which 28 were successful.
The successful bids are listed as follows, along with their respective total departmental allocations.
Sheltered Housing: Elderly
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of older people living in (a) extra care and (b) extra sheltered accommodation. [281485]
Phil Hope: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Social Services: Elderly
Dr. Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many older people receive social care. [281483]
Phil Hope: Data on the number of people receiving social services funded either fully or partially by councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) in England are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care as part of the referrals, assessments and packages of care return.
We are informed by the Information Centre that, during the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, the latest for which data are available, 1,221,000 adults aged 65 and over in England received a social care service funded either partly or wholly by their CASSR following a community care assessment.
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