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27 Jan 2010 : Column 946W—continued


Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid in non-consolidated performance pay awards to officials in his Department in (a) each year between 1997 and 2004 and (b) 2008-09. [301022]

Phil Hope: A close and effective link between pay and performance and increased use of variable pay is a key element of the Department's reward strategy for all its staff.

The Department changed its payroll provider in 2003-04. Information on performance bonus payments prior to 2004-05 is available only from individual payslips. To retrieve information for years prior to 2004-05 would therefore involve disproportionate cost. Information for the years 2004-05 and 2008-09 was given in the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 25 January 2010, Official Report, columns 544-546W.

Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid in bonuses to civil servants in his Department in each year since 2006. [306427]

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 25 January 2010, Official Report, columns 544-546W.

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) year-end and (b) in-year bonuses were paid to officials in his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in such bonuses in each such year. [307103]

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 25 January 2010, Official Report, columns 544-546W.

Eyesight: Testing

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pensioners in Salford constituency have received a free eye test in each of the last five years. [313562]

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested.

The number of national health service sight tests for persons aged 60 and over, in England in 2008-09 is available in Table C1 of Annex C of the "General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales, Year Ending 31 March 2009" report.

Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and by strategic health authority (SHA), but is not available by parliamentary constituency. Information on the number of NHS sight tests by patient eligibility is available at a local level from 2007-08. At a national level, the number of NHS sight tests by patient eligibility is provided from 1996-97 to 2008-09. This is available in Table A1 of Annex C in the same report.

This report, published on 19 August 2009, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the website of the information centre for health and social care:

Health Services: Houghton-le-Spring

Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has allocated for (a) the treatment of heart disease and (b) cancer care in Houghton and Washington East constituency in the last five years. [313067]

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally. Information on programme budgeting estimated expenditure of cancer and tumours and problems of circulation in the Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) is shown in the following tables:

Sunderland Teaching PCT-programme budgeting estimated expenditure on own population on cancer and tumours
Financial year Estimated expenditure on own population on cancer care (£000)

2004-05

19,730

2005-06

20,000

2006-07

23,126

2007-08

27,665

2008-09

34,886


27 Jan 2010 : Column 947W

27 Jan 2010 : Column 948W

Sunderland Teaching PCT-programme budgeting estimated expenditure on own population on problems of circulation category and subcategories
(£000)
Financial year Problems of circulation Coronary heart disease Cerebrovascular disease Problems of rhythm Problems of circulation (other)

2004-05

37,608

-

-

-

-

2005-06

38,782

-

-

-

-

2006-07

37,614

12,884

5,462

2,438

16,830

2007-08

43,542

19,965

2,482

3,749

17,346

2008-09

43,224

16,352

5,796

2,577

18,499

Notes:
1. The programme budgeting data collection is complex, therefore expenditure figures are best estimates rather than precise measurements. Year on year comparisons are not straightforward due to annual refinements to the data collection methodology and changes to underlying data sources.
2. Subcategory level data were collected for the first time in 2006-07 and tend to be less robust than main category data as they are smaller categories and are therefore subject to greater variation.
3. Figures include expenditure across all sectors. Disease specific expenditure do not include expenditure on prevention or general practitioner expenditure.
Source:
Annual PCT programme budgeting financial returns

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he had with the Isle of Man government before he made his decision to terminate the reciprocal health agreement with the Isle of Man; whether he proposed any alternative financial terms for a continuing health agreement; what the reasons were for his decision; and if he will make a statement. [312835]

Gillian Merron: Ministers took the decision to end the current bilateral health care agreement with the Isle of Man on the basis that it did not represent value for money for the UK taxpayer and the wide availability of travel insurance. Discussions prior to the decision being made were at official level and the UK Government proposed no alternative financial mechanism.

Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date the reciprocal agreement for medical cover with (a) the Channel Islands and (b) the Isle of Man was terminated; and if he will make a statement. [313527]

Gillian Merron: The Government ended its agreement with the Channel Islands on 31 March 2009, and is ending its agreement with the Isle of Man on 1 April 2010, as they do not represent value for money for the United Kingdom taxpayer and travel insurance is widely available. Tourists will continue to receive free accident and emergency treatment. However, they will now be expected to have insurance to cover the cost of other treatment.

Health Services: Salford

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time was for which a resident of Salford waited for (a) cancer treatment to start, (b) a heart by-pass operation, (c) a hip replacement and (d) a cataract removal from the time of first presenting to a GP in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available. [313326]

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. Table 1 shows the average (median) referral to treatment waiting times in weeks for admitted patients' resident within the Salford Primary Care Trust (PCT) area for the specialities listed.

Statistics on average waiting times between urgent referral and treatment for cancer are not collected centrally. The cancer waiting time standard of a maximum wait of 62 days from urgent referral for suspected cancer to first cancer treatment was introduced for all patients from December 2005. Statistics showing overall performance are published on a quarterly basis on the Department of Health website at:

Table 2 shows the performance against this standard for the first and latest available period on this standard(1) (January - March 2006 and July - September 2009) for Salford residents and England overall.

Table 1
Cardiothoracic Surgery Trauma and Orthopaedics Opthalmology

March 2008 November 2009 March 2008 November 2009 March 2008 November 2009

Salford PCT

5.9

5.5

8.2

10.0

10.6

10.9

Notes:
1. Figures on Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times for admitted patients are presented on an adjusted basis (i.e. excluding periods for which the RTT waiting time clock was paused).
2. RTT admitted data were first collected on an adjusted basis in March 2008.
3. RTT waiting times have only been collected since March 2007, only down to treatment function (specialty) level, and only on an adjusted basis (i.e. excluding periods for which the RTT waiting time clock was paused) since March 2008.
Source:
Department of Health

Table 2
Percentage
Organisation 2005-06 Quarter 3 2009-10 Quarter 2

Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

96.5

90.9

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

93.2

80.5

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

90.5

91.2

England(1)

91.1

85.7

(1) Note that due to a change in reporting methodology from 1 January 2009, figures for the two periods are not directly comparable.

27 Jan 2010 : Column 949W

Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) nurses, (b) doctors and (c) dentists there were in Salford in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest date for which information is available; and what assessment he has made of the standard of healthcare provided in Salford in each of those periods. [313327]

Ann Keen: The following table shows the number of nurses, doctors and dentists in national health service organisations in Salford in 1997 and 2008.

Regarding the assessment made of the standard of healthcare provided in Salford in each of these periods,
27 Jan 2010 : Column 950W
the role of the Department is to secure adequate resources for funding the NHS and to set out a strategic framework for the NHS to work within. This allows decisions about local NHS services to be taken at a local level. Local NHS organisations are best placed to decide what staff they require to deliver services that best meet the needs of the local population.

NHS Hospital and Community Health services (HCHS) qualified nurses, medical and dental doctors and general practitioners (GP) and GP practice nurses.

As at 30 September each year
Numbers (headcount)
1997 2008

HCHS qualified nurses HCHS medical and dental doctors GPs Practice nurses HCHS qualified nurses HCHS medical and dental doctors GPs Practice nurses

Salford Primary Care Trust (PCT)(3,4)

(1)-

(1)-

(1)-

(1)-

370

26

163

98

Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

1,112

308

(2)-

(2)-

1,727

558

(2)-

(2)-

Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust(5)

2,288

762

(2)-

(2)-

3,274

994

(2)-

(2)-

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust(6)

(1)-

(1)-

(2)-

(2)-

3,264

1,242

(2)-

(2)-

(1) Denotes not available
(2) Denotes not applicable
(3) The PCT figure excludes data for medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants, most of whom are GPs working part time in hospitals and have been excluded to avoid double counting.
(4) PCTs first came into existence in 2001, therefore data for 1997 is not available.
(5) Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2001 from a complete merger of Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust and Manchester Children's Hospital NHS Trust. Figures for 1997 are an aggregate of these two predecessor organisations.
(6 )Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2002 by merging acute services from four other NHS Trusts. It is not possible to accurately map figures from the workforce census for part mergers, therefore 1997 data has not been provided.
Data quality:
Workforce statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data. Processing methods and procedures are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where this happens any impact on figures already published will be assessed but unless this is significant at national level they will not be changed. Where there is impact only at detailed or local level this will be footnoted in relevant analyses.
Source:
The Information Centre for health and social care

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