| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Feb 2010 : Column 917W—continued
Health Visitors: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have been employed in (a) the London borough of Bexley and (b) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency in each year since 1997. [315902]
Ann Keen: Information is not held in the format required. The NHS Information Centre collects workforce data for national health service organisations and not for geographical areas. The following table shows the number of health visitors in the Bexley care trust as at 30 September each year since 2001. Bexley primary care trust was formed in 2001 and became Bexley care trust in 2004. It is not possible to accurately map workforce figures for this organisation prior to 2001.
Health Visitors: East Sussex
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors have been employed in the Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997. [315764]
Ann Keen: The information is shown in the following table:
| National health service hospital and community health services: Health visitors in the East Sussex Downs and Weald primary care trust (PCT), as at 30 September each year | |
| Headcount | |
| Notes: 1. East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT was formed in October 2006 from a complete merger of Eastbourne Downs PCT and Sussex Downs and Weald PCT. Figures for 2002-06 are an aggregate of these predecessor organisations. 2. It is impossible to map PCT staff figures prior to the formation of the PCTs. 3. Data for 2009 will be released in March 2010. 4. It appears that figures supplied by Eastbourne Downs PCT failed to include around 30 health visitors for 2006. 5. Data Quality Work force statistics are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England. The 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 Non-Medical Workforce census. | |
Health: Screening
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to monitor the (a) implementation of NHS health checks and (b) expenditure of funds allocated for that purpose. [315784]
Ann Keen: The NHS Health Check programme is a Tier 3 Vital Sign in the NHS Operating Framework 2010-11. Consequently, strategic health authorities play a significant role in monitoring the roll-out of the programme locally. To support national understanding of the pace of implementation of the programme, data will be collected by the Department from 1 April 2010 on the number of people between the ages of 40 and 74 who have received an NHS Health Check. An NHS Health Check data set is also being developed which will enable the national health service to observe the progress of the programme in more detail.
Funding for the programme is not ring-fenced and is provided as part of general primary care trust (PCT) allocations. Data on spend by PCTs on implementing the programme are not collected centrally.
Herbal Medicine: Regulation
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's policy is on the statutory regulation of herbal practitioners. [316642]
Ann Keen: The Department's policy on statutory regulation of any new profession takes into account balancing public safety with the risk involved; and the Government's principles of Better Regulation-that it should be transparent, accountable, proportionate, consistent and targeted only where action is needed.
The Department has recently consulted on whether, and if so how, to regulate practitioners of acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. The results of the consultation are currently being analysed and we expect a report to be submitted to Ministers in March 2010.
Influenza: Telephone Services
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people have had their symptoms assessed online by the National Pandemic Flu Service; and what proportion of such persons were allocated Tamiflu; [316009]
(2) what training is given to telephone operators at the National Pandemic Flu Service Hotline. [316011]
Gillian Merron: The National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) was launched on 23 July 2009.
The technology to distinguish assessments by telephone from those online did not become available until 16 August 2009, so we only have access to data setting out the number of online assessments from this date.
Cumulatively, from 16 August 2009 up to 2 February 2010, around 727,000 assessments were completed on-line using the NPFS and of these, around 476,000 were allocated (authorised) Tamiflu.
Experienced call operators are trained for a minimum of three hours. Less experienced call operators receive a days training. This training is designed and provided by NHS Direct or by accredited trainers of the call centre providers. This is in addition to any training that call centre providers routinely provide for their agents.
Mesothelioma: South Yorkshire
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster have been diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma in each of the last 10 years. [314624]
Angela E. Smith: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 5 February 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many patients in (a) Barnsley and (b) Doncaster have been diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma in each of the last 10 years. [314624]
The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of mesothelioma (incidence) are for the year 2007. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
The table attached provides the numbers of newly diagnosed cases of mesothelioma for (a) Barnsley metropolitan district and (b) Doncaster metropolitan district, for each year from 1998 to 2007.
According to the Health & Safety Executive, nearly all mesothelioma cases are caused by exposure to asbestos. However, each year a small number of cases occur in people with no history of exposure. There is evidence to suggest that these 'spontaneous mesotheliomas' comprise up to 5 per cent of total cases. Further information can be found at:
It is not possible to exclude spontaneous mesotheliomas from the figures provided.
| Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of mesothelioma( 1) , persons, (a) Barnsley metropolitan district and (b) Doncaster metropolitan district( 2) , 1998 to 2007( 3,4) | ||
| Persons | ||
| Barnsley | Doncaster | |
| (1) Mesothelioma is coded as C45 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Based on boundaries as of 2009' (3) Newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. (4) Small numbers have been suppressed, so that potentially identifiable information is not revealed. Suppressed numbers are indicated by the symbol '*'. | ||
Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether there has been any dismissals of clinical staff from Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, for negligence in the last five years; [315985]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of scheduled appointments in outpatient departments at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton which did not start on time in the last 12 months; [315991]
(3) how many deaths resulting from complications during surgery there have been at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton in the last five years; [316023]
(4) how many cleaning staff are employed at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton; and what the average number of cleaning staff employed at NHS hospitals is; [316024]
(5) how many staff working at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton have responsibility for the enforcement of parking restrictions; and what the average number of such staff is at NHS hospitals; [316026]
(6) how many people have contracted Norovirus at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton in the last 12 months. [316080]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is a matter for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Rosalinde Wyke, Chair of Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, informing her of the hon. Member's inquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for a restorative dentistry procedure is at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton. [315988]
Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested. Data do not exist specifically for restorative dentistry procedures as this term does not exist in the coding system used to record the operations, procedures and interventions carried out on patients. Reliable data at hospital level are not available. As such the following table shows the mean and median waiting time for first out-patient attendance for the restorative dentistry treatment speciality by Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, 2008-09.
| Number/days | |
| Notes: 1. Time waited statistics from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. Waiting times are usually only calculated for first attendances of patients referred by general practitioners and dentists. It is unclear whether the data collected have any relevance to subsequent attenders. Analysis of the data has revealed high (up to 100 per cent.) percentages of zero day waits for some providers suggesting poor data recording. For this reason '0' days waits have been excluded from the analysis. 2. First attendance: whether a patient is making a first attendance or a follow-up attendance and whether the consultation was face-to-face or via telephone/telemedicine consultation. The first attendance includes the first out-patient appointment and the first tele-consultation appointment. 3. Hospital provider: a provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (for example, national health service trust or primary care trust (PCT)). Hospital providers can also include treatment centres (TCs). Normally, if data are tabulated by healthcare provider, the figure for an NHS trust gives the activity of all the sites as one aggregated figure. However, in the case of those with embedded treatment centres, these data are quoted separately. In these cases, '-X' is appended to the code for the rest of the trust, to remind users that the figures are for all sites of the trust excluding the treatment centres. The quality of TC returns are such that data may not be complete. Some NHS trusts have not registered their TC as a separate site, and it is therefore not possible to identify their activity separately. Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of data flows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using these data as the counts may be lower than true figures. 4. Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and PCTs in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. 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. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: HES, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care. | |
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for bariatric surgery is at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton. [316020]
Gillian Merron: The information is not available.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget is for the Somerset Research and Development Support Unit, based at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton for 2009-10. [316022]
Gillian Merron: The National Institute for Health Research, Research Design Service in the South West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) region has a budget of £1,042,282 in 2009-10. This new service started on 1 October 2008 and superseded the Somerset Research and Development Support Unit (RDSU) and other RDSUs in the South West SHA region.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |