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7 Dec 2009 : Column 160W—continued
Hospitals: Milton Keynes
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were issued with parking fines following parking in hospital car parks in Milton Keynes in each of the last five years. [304344]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: These data are not collected centrally.
The management of national health service car parking is the responsibility of the NHS organisations locally. This includes the use of parking fines if the NHS consider it appropriate to reduce congestion and deter misuse of the facilities provided.
Hospitals: Standards
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Monitor in assessing clinical performance at NHS hospitals. [303857]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The National Health Service Act 2006 requires Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) to be accountable to Parliament and to exercise its functions effectively, efficiently and economically.
Influenza: Stockport
Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doses of seasonal influenza vaccine had been distributed to health centres in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area in the 12 months to 1 December 2009. [304125]
Gillian Merron: Seasonal influenza vaccine is ordered by general practitioner (GP) practices direct from the manufacturers. The Department is not involved in the ordering process and does not have information about amounts ordered or distributed. Seasonal influenza vaccine is distributed from mid-September onwards, with most GP practices starting vaccination from early October.
Members: Correspondence
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidance he has issued to strategic health authorities on the length of time within which they should aim to reply to correspondence from hon. Members; [303173]
(2) if his Department will issue guidance to NHS trusts on the length of time within which they should aim to reply to correspondence from hon. Members; [303174]
(3) what directions the NHS issues to staff of (a) NHS trusts and (b) strategic health authorities on the (i) provision and (ii) timeliness of replies to correspondence from hon. Members. [304152]
Ann Keen: In March 2009, the following guidance was issued to NHS chief executives via the NHS chief executive's monthly bulletin of "key messages":
Handling correspondence from MPs
"NHS organisations are reminded of the importance of handling correspondence from MPs in the appropriate manner. NHS organisations will receive letters from MPs on a variety of topics and these should receive the personal consideration and response of the Chief Executive or, in some situations, it may be appropriate for the Chair to respond in behalf of their organisations. Some of these letters will be written on behalf of patients and carers and these may need to be handled as part of the complaints system but this does not mean that they should not be given the same priority as letters from MPs on any topic."
NHS: East of England
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the East of England strategic health authority on the performance of NHS trusts in its area. [303814]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department holds strategic health authorities to account for the performance of the national health service in its area using the results of the Care Quality Commission Annual health check, the NHS performance framework and other relevant information as a guide in that process.
NHS: Essex
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust and (b) Colchester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust received visits from (i) the East of England strategic health authority, (ii) the Health Protection Agency, (iii) the NHS Patient Safety Agency, (iv) the Care Quality Commission, (v) Monitor, (vi) the Health and Safety Executive and (vii) the NHS Litigation Authority in the last 12 months. [303855]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The chairman of Monitor (the statutory name of which is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) will write to the hon. Member with the information he requested, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library.
Nurses: Graduates
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of new entrants to registered nursing in the NHS were graduates in each of the last 10 years. [303579]
Ann Keen: The information is not collected centrally.
Work force planning, including training, in the national health service is managed and led at a local level by the strategic health authorities taking into account the national policy direction.
Local NHS organisations are best placed to determine the levels of service and resource required to meet the health needs of the local population.
Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board
Mr. Stephen O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the letter sent by the Minister of State for Care Services to the hon. Member
for Eddisbury of 4 November 2009, ref MS(CS)500124, if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board to date. [304246]
Phil Hope: All the meeting minutes of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board have been placed in the Library.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the letter sent by the Minister of State for Care Services to the hon. Member for Eddisbury of 4 November 2009, ref MS(CS)500124, for what reasons Ministers need to consider the recommendations contained in the final report of the Nutrition Action Plan Delivery Board before the final report is published. [304247]
Phil Hope: The report makes recommendations addressed to Government and other organisations. Ministers are considering how to respond to those recommendations.
Palliative Care
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of (a) palliative and (b) end-of-life-care. [304942]
Phil Hope: The Department uses the following definitions, based on those used by the World Health Organisation and the National Council for Palliative Care:
Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness, focusing on the management of pain and other symptoms and the provision of psychological, social and spiritual care; and
End-of-life care is care that helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well as possible until they die. It enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both patients and family to be identified and met throughout the last phase of life and into bereavement. It includes management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social, spiritual and practical support.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) maximum lifespan of those receiving palliative care. [304945]
Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.
Patient Choice Schemes
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines his Department has issued on patient access to treatment by extended choice network providers; and what recent assessment he has made of the range of conditions for which patients are being treated by extended choice network providers. [304108]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: All approved extended choice networks (ECN) providers must agree to the ECN rules and sign up to a membership agreement prior to service commencement.
ECN providers undertake adult elective procedures. The range of procedures is listed in the ECN rules.
As at 30 September 2009, more than 105,000 patients have been treated under the extended choice and free choice networks.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were refused a referral to an extended choice network provider by such a provider in each of the last three years. [304109]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department does not hold this information as extended choice network providers are not required to submit data on refused patient referrals to the Department. Patient referral issues will be monitored locally by the appropriate primary care trust.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which psychiatric disorders are included in the list of conditions in relation to which providers in the extended choice network may refuse a patient referral. [304111]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: To help safeguard patient safety, Extended Choice Network rules state that a facility providing elective care should not treat a patient who has a current and significantly unstable psychiatric disorder where it cannot reasonably be expected to accommodate the patient's needs.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what criteria providers in the extended choice network are permitted to refuse referrals relating to (a) patients with psychiatric disorders and (b) other patients. [304112]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: National health service patients are assessed to ensure that they are treated in a clinically appropriate setting.
The Extended Choice Network rules list the patient and procedure exclusions.
any person under the age of 18-years-old;
any patient with an American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) score of three (who is unstable), unless the appropriate critical care facilities that meet the "Levels of Critical Care for Adult Patients" Standards and Guidelines (Intensive Care Society 2002) are available;
any patient with an ASA score higher than three (whether stable or unstable), unless the appropriate critical care facilities that meet the "Levels of Critical Care for Adult Patients" Standards and Guidelines (Intensive Care Society 2002) are available; and
a patient who has a current and significantly unstable psychiatric disorder where the approved facility cannot reasonably be expected to accommodate the patient's needs.
clinically urgent procedures (being patients that require surgery within 10 days for a clinical reason);
procedures related to maternity services;
termination of pregnancy;
surgery indicated to be for cosmetic reasons;
any procedure that is likely to require critical care, unless the appropriate critical care facilities that meet the "Levels of Critical Care for Adult Patients" Standards and Guidelines (Intensive Care Society 2002) are available; and
in vitro fertilisation treatment for a patient that exceeds the number of procedures that would in the same circumstances be offered to that patient in his/her local NHS area or which is not in compliance with the licensing regulations laid down by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Scientists
Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions he has met (a) the Government Chief Scientific Adviser and (b) his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the course of his official duties in the last 12 months. [303969]
Phil Hope: In the course of the last 12 months and in their capacity as Secretary of State for Health my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West and Hessle (Alan Johnson) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) have met the Government Chief Scientific Adviser on three occasions and the Department's Chief Scientific Adviser on four occasions.
Selly Oak Hospital
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) patients and (b) military personnel have been treated for noise-induced hearing loss at Selly Oak Hospital in the last five years. [304009]
Phil Hope: No patients or military personnel have been admitted to Selly Oak Hospital with noise effects on the inner ear, which includes but is not limited to noise-induced hearing loss, as a primary or secondary diagnosis in the last five years (2004-05 to 2008-09). Data for the number of outpatients treated for noise effects on the inner ear are not collected centrally.
Sickle Cell Diseases
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has visited any sickle cell disorder support groups in the last 12 months. [302905]
Ann Keen: Ministers have not visited any sickle cell disorder support groups in the last 12 months.
However I met with representatives from the Wolverhampton Sickle Cell Care and Social Activity Centre on 29 October 2008 and the UK Thalassaemia Society on 21 April 2009 to discuss respectively, care of sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia patients. I also provided a statement of support in July 2009 for the All Party Parliamentary Group publication 'Sickle Cell Disease and Thalassaemia: A Health Check to raise awareness of these conditions'.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps his Department has taken to improve the standard of services for those diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia. [302909]
Ann Keen: The planning, delivery and improvements in services for people diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia are the responsibility of local commissioners, providers and their relevant stakeholders.
We are working with a range of commissioners and stakeholders to improve the integration of health and social care services for people with sickle cell anaemia and to ensure that they receive the information and support that they need to manage their condition effectively.
Siemens
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries since February 2009. [303761]
Phil Hope: Since February 2009, the Department has entered into one contract with Siemens.
Social Services
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) with reference to the answer of 12 October 2009, Official Report, column 702W, on departmental publications, if he will publish each detailed model for the proposals outlined in the Green Paper, "Shaping the Future of Care Together", apart from that relating to the provision of free personal homecare to certain users; [304212]
(2) for what reason he did not publish the economic modelling for the "Shaping the Future of Care Together" consultation before the consultation was concluded. [304241]
Phil Hope: The Department is working towards publishing a White Paper on care and support in early 2010. We have been working with the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) to provide the modelling and analysis to underpin our policy development. We were provided with an interim report from PSSRU in November but that was based on a view of the system when the Green Paper was published. Our core modelling assumptions have changed quite significantly since then as a result of our stakeholder engagement, responses to our consultation and developments such as the Prime Minister's announcement on free personal care. The report is therefore only part of the story and we have come to the conclusion that to publish it now could be unhelpful to the wider debate on the future of care and support.
The whole methodology of the interim report was published in July on the PSSRU's website at:
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