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15 Oct 2009 : Column 1079W—continued
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which country received the largest allocation of funding support from his Department in 2009; which country is expected to receive the largest such allocation in 2010; and for what specific purposes in each case. [292776]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development allocated the largest share of bilateral funding to the India country programme in the 2009-10 financial year (£275 million). We estimate that India will also receive the largest allocation of funding in 2010-11.
DFID's support is focused on assisting the Government of India to improve the impact its public policies and services have on reducing poverty. It works in the following main areas: education; health and nutrition; inclusive growth; governance reform; rural and urban development; the management of natural resources; and the empowerment of the poor, especially women and other marginalised groups in Indian society. More detailed information on our programme in India is available on the DFID website:
Security
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what expenditure his Department has incurred on engaging private security companies and private military companies for work undertaken in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan in each of the last three years. [291781]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) uses the services of private security companies managed and administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. DFID's share of these is as follows. We do not contract with private military companies.
| £ million | ||
| Iraq | Afghanistan | |
Health
Arthritis: General Practitioners
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GPs have greater awareness of rheumatoid arthritis to enable earlier identification of the disease. [292772]
Ann Keen: The Department has published a good practice commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis which supports clinicians in identifying cases of rheumatoid arthritis and ensuring that they are set on the right pathway of care. This describes key symptoms, for example where patients should be referred for urgent treatment.
General practitioners can also use the Map of Medicine to determine the best possible treatment options for their patients, including information on the various patterns of onset, diagnostic tests and medical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(1).
The Department has not made any specific assessment of access to or quality of care services for people with rheumatoid arthritis.
It is the responsibility of primary care trusts as commissioners of healthcare services to ensure that their populations have access to the services that they require.
The Department has published a good practice commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis. All 18 weeks commissioning pathways provide information to illustrate what services should be commissioned and provided in different levels of care. The guidance recommends that information is given to patients to help them understand and self-manage their condition at different stages of the treatment pathway.
"Your health, your way-a guide to long term conditions and self care" provides people living with long-term conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, with information about the choices that should be available to them locally to enable them to self care in partnership with health and social care professionals.
NHS Choices also provides a wealth of information to assist patients in recognising the symptoms of a variety of conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. The national health service guide to rheumatoid arthritis features information on the warning signs and symptoms of the condition and streaming of a rheumatologist outlining symptoms, treatment and aspects of living with the rheumatoid arthritis.
(1 )The Map of Medicine is a map of best available research evidence and a best evidence clinical guideline. It displays this knowledge in an easy-to-use pathways format, reflecting the patient journey and provides a framework for creating local pathways.
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that GPs make information on rheumatoid arthritis available to the public. [292724]
Ann Keen: The central focus of Your health, your way-a guide to long term conditions and self care is to promote discussion between health and social care professionals and individuals with long term conditions about what options there are for self care and what support and information is available to help improve the way they manage their own health and well-being.
The Department is also developing the Information Prescriptions programme which aims to empower people with long-term conditions and their carers by giving them information to help them better manage their condition and care.
Information Prescriptions can be created through NHS Choices for a number of long-term conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. Individuals can access this information directly, or alternatively, health professionals may provide the information during a consultation. Local versions of Information Prescriptions are being developed across the country and we are encouraging primary care trusts and general practitioner
practices to develop directories of information and processes for providing personalised information to patients and their carers.
E.coli
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements there are to ensure that, when a case of E.coli infection is diagnosed, information regarding the diagnosis is passed to the Health Protection Agency. [293274]
Gillian Merron: When a local national health service laboratory makes a presumptive diagnosis of E. coli 0157, the laboratory should send the sample to the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) Gastrointestinal Infections Reference Unit at the Centre for Infections for confirmation of the diagnosis. The NHS laboratory is also encouraged to report suspect E coli 0157 cases by telephone to the HPA's local Health Protection Unit for rapid investigation and appropriate public health action. Where E. coli 0157 infection is suspected to be a food borne infection, notification is statutorily required.
The HPA is currently putting in place an additional reporting mechanism for Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS), a severe consequence of some E. coli 0157 infections so that when clinicians identify a case of HUS, they will alert the HPA.
The Department has recently consulted on new statutory proposals to make all E. coli 0157 infections, "Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS)" and "infectious bloody diarrhoea" notifiable to facilitate more rapid detection of clusters of cases.
E.coli: Godstone Farm
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the Health Protection Agency's performance in containing the spread of E.coli from Godstone Farm; and if he will make a statement. [293273]
Gillian Merron: The role of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in containing the spread of E. coli 0157 infection from Godstone Farm has been to provide health advice to the local authority, as the enforcing authority for Godstone Farm, and to the local primary care trust and the national health service, all of whom have responsibility for taking action. The advice the HPA has given has been acted upon and there has been successful prevention of the spread of infection from the farm. The farm closed on 12 September. With regard to the HPA's wider role in diagnosis, detection and surveillance of E. coli 0157 infection in respect of this particular outbreak, the HPA has already apologised for its lack of timely advice at the commencement of the outbreak and an independent investigation of the outbreak, has been announced by the HPA.
Health Visitors
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent health visitors were in post in (a) the NHS and (b) each primary care trust in each of the last five years. [292685]
Ann Keen: A table showing the number of full time equivalent health visitors employed by the national health service in each primary care trust in the years requested, has been placed in the Library.
Hospitals: Parking
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2009, Official Report, column 2159W, on hospitals: parking, for what reasons income from charges on NHS staff for car parking at (a) Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford and (b) St John's Hospital, Chelmsford rose from 2006-07 to 2007-08. [292182]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Car Park charges are not set or controlled by Ministers so the Department does not hold this information. The hon. Member may wish to contact Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust, for the information requested, who are responsible for the charges on car parks.
Maternity Services
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) maternity wards and (b) maternity ward beds there were in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust in each of the last three years. [292670]
Ann Keen: Information on the number of maternity wards is not collected. A table showing the average daily number of available beds on maternity wards by both strategic health authority and national health service trust in England for each of the last three years has been placed in the Library.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of women preparing for birth in the NHS who received support from the same midwife throughout pregnancy in the latest period for which figures are available; [292674]
(2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of women giving birth in the NHS who were offered a choice of (a) location of birth, (b) birth method and (c) method of pain relief during birth in the latest period for which figures are available. [292675]
Ann Keen: The commitments made in Maternity Matters that women will be cared for by a named midwife throughout pregnancy and have choice of location of birth, birth method and pain relief during birth are for delivery by December 2009. We have made it clear through the NHS Operating Framework that delivering the Maternity Matters commitments is a high priority for action.
The Department is working with strategic heath authorities (SHAs) to ensure the choice commitments are available. Every SHA now has plans in place to ensure high quality, personal care with greater choice over place of birth and care provided by a named midwife.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the midwife to birth ratio was in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority area and (c) each primary care trust area in the latest period for which figures are available. [292678]
Ann Keen: The midwife to birth ratio for each strategic health (SHA) authority in England is included in the following table. The data by PCT is not available.
| SHA | Current full time equivalent midwife: births ratio |
| Source: Census and Office for National Statistics, September 2008 | |
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent maternity support workers were in post in (a) the NHS, (b) each primary care trust and (c) each acute trust in each of the last five years. [292682]
Ann Keen: A table showing the number of maternity support workers within the national health service, by primary care trust and acute trust has been placed in the Library.
Maternity Services: Finance
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on maternity services in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each NHS trust in each of the last three years. [292671]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows maternity expenditure by primary care trusts mapped to strategic health authorities (SHA).
| £000 | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Source: NHS Summarised Accounts 2006-07 to 2007-08 | |||
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