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16 Mar 2010 : Column 772W—continued
Home Care Services: Finance
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Eddisbury (Mr. O'Brien) of 25 February 2010, Official Report, column 751W, on home care services, how much he estimates the cost of providing free personal home care will be, including costs for those who already get this care for free, in 2010-11. [320788]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The projected costs of implementing the Personal Care at Home Bill are set out in the impact assessment, which has already been placed in the Library. These do not include costs for those who already receive free home care; this will not represent an additional expense to councils with adult social services responsibilities, as they are already funding such care.
Hypertension
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of operations in NHS hospitals which were postponed consequent on the detection of high blood pressure in the patient in each of the last five years. [322231]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not collected centrally.
Influenza: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has made an estimate of the number of pensioners from York who have received influenza injections in the last 12 months. [322130]
Gillian Merron: Data on the number of people who have received influenza vaccine during the influenza season (winter) 2009-10 are available nationally and at the strategic health authority and the primary care trust (PCT) levels. No data are available for individual towns or cities.
It is estimated that in the North Yorkshire and York PCT up to the end of January 2010, 75,717 people aged 65 years and older have received the seasonal influenza vaccine and about 36,000 people aged 65 years and older have received swine influenza vaccine. Only those 65 and over in a risk group were eligible for the swine flu vaccine.
Injuries: Dangerous Dogs
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were treated at (a) an accident and emergency department and (b) an urgent care centre following an attack by a dangerous dog in the last 12 months. [321882]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information is not collected centrally in the format requested. For such information as is available, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling) on 8 February 2010, Official Report, columns 702-03W.
Medical Records: Publicity
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department had spent on leafleting campaigns relating to the Summary Care Record in (a) London and (b) England on the latest date for which figures are available. [322230]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Between 1 January and 28 February 2010, 6,754,089 information packs were produced and sent to patients as part of the summary care record (SCR) public information programme, at a total cost of £1,734,450. Of these, 1,113,228 information packs were sent to people in London, at a cost of £285,877, and 5,640,861 were sent to patients in other parts of England, at a cost of £1,448,573.
In the period from the start of the early adopter phase of the SCR programme, in March 2007 to 31 December 2009, information packs were produced and sent to 2,336,774 patients in England. During this time mailing and postage costs were met by local national health service organisations and information is not held centrally on the costs involved. The unit cost of producing these information packs was £13.59 per pack.
A key reason for moving to regional public information programmes from 1 January 2010 was the improved value for money achieved by producing and distributing materials on a larger scale.
Medical Treatments: Waiting Lists
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for all treatments was in each year since 1997. [321943]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is shown in the following table:
| In - patient waiting times - commissioner based | |
| As at March each year | Median wait (weeks) |
| Notes: 1. Figures shown relate to March each year, and are a snapshot of the median wait of patients waiting at the end of each period. The latest data available are for January 2010, and this figure shows the median wait of those still waiting at the end of that month of 5.0 weeks. March 2010 data will be published on 30 April 2010 2. It should be noted that median waits in the winter months historically tend to be higher than other months. We would therefore expect the median at March 2010 to be lower than five weeks as shown in January 2010. Source: Department, of Health, QF01, MMRCOM | |
Medicine: Overseas Students
Hilary Armstrong: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to review its restrictions on access to post-graduate medical education by non-EEA graduates. [322003]
Ann Keen: The Department undertook a consultation exercise about managing medical migration last year and there was strong support for the restrictions on access to post-graduate medical education by non-European economic area graduates and there has been no change in circumstance since then that indicates a review is required.
NHS: Foreign Workers
Hilary Armstrong: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) by what mechanisms adherence to the NHS Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Healthcare Workers is (a) monitored and (b) enforced; [322004]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effects on (a) the number of African health workers employed in the NHS and (b) the number of British private recruitment agencies recruiting health workers from Africa of the NHS Code of Practice on International Recruitment since 2001. [322050]
Ann Keen: There is no centrally held information on the country of origin of health-workers, this is not captured in the national health service census.
The total number of British private recruitment agencies registered with the NHS Code of Practice on International Recruitment at January 2010 was 531. It is not known how many agencies have recruited specifically from Africa since 2001.
NHS Employers is responsible for promotion, advice and guidance on international recruitment.
NHS: ICT
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what contractual negotiations his Department is engaged in with (a) Computer Sciences Corporation and (b) BT in relation to the National Programme for IT; what timetable has been set for the completion of these negotiations; and what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the monetary value of the current contracts held by these companies of those negotiations; [322232]
(2) on what dates his Department has met (a) BT and (b) Computer Sciences Corporation to discuss the National Programme for IT since the beginning of January 2010; what timetable he has set for future meetings with those companies; what items were in the agenda of each of those meetings; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each of those meetings. [322233]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Department routinely engages with both the Computer Sciences Corporation and BT about a range of operational and commercial matters in relation to the national information technology programme contracts, and has continued to do so on numerous occasions since the beginning of January 2010. One
objective of current discussions is to explore how to achieve a part of the national programme's £600 million contribution to the Government-wide plans to find efficiency savings and better value for money on major projects. These particular discussions are expected to be concluded by the end of March 2010.
There is no fixed timetable for future meetings, which will continue to occur as required.
Formal minutes of meetings since the beginning of January have not been taken.
Ovarian Cancer
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of women whose symptoms were initially misdiagnosed by their GP and who went on to develop terminal ovarian cancer since 2005. [322223]
Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. The Office for National Statistics is responsible for compiling and publishing mortality data, but the information concerning misdiagnosis does not form part of that work.
From a recent independent study on the awareness of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, we know that awareness of ovarian cancer is low. Through the work of the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative, we are making the public and health professionals more aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer, including ovarian cancer.
On 29 September 2009, the Prime Minister announced plans to offer all patients in England access to tests which can confirm or exclude cancer within one week. Under the new plans, where the general practitioner (GP) thinks that the risk of cancer does not justify a two-week urgent referral to see a specialist, but there are symptoms which require investigation, the GP will be able to refer for the appropriate tests to be carried out within one week.
Our aim is to start rolling this out from 2011-12 over a five-year period, starting in the first two years with ovarian, lung and colorectal cancer, where people will be able to expect access to the relevant diagnostics and test results within two weeks.
Palliative Care
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people with (a) terminal cancer and (b) another terminal condition who receive care through (i) the healthcare system, (ii) the social care system and (iii) the social care and healthcare systems; [322161]
(2) whether patients with (a) terminal cancer and (b) another terminal condition are automatically eligible for assistance through the social care system. [322162]
Ann Keen: Information concerning the number and proportion of people with terminal cancer or another terminal condition who receive care through the healthcare system, the social care system, or the social care and healthcare systems, is not collected centrally.
Patients with terminal cancer or another terminal condition are not automatically eligible for social care assistance on the basis of their diagnosis. Entitlement to assistance is based on an individual's care needs assessment.
Councils have a duty under section 47(1) of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990, to carry out a community care assessment on anyone who appears to be in need of community care services.
Pregnant Women: Drugs
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births to women addicted to (a) prescription, (b) non-prescription and (c) illegal drugs there were in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [322017]
Gillian Merron: The data requested are not in the format requested.
Psychiatry: Young People
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) which primary care trusts do not employ any child and adolescent psychotherapists; [321885]
(2) which primary care trusts employ child and adolescent psychotherapists; and how many each employs. [321886]
Ann Keen: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Smoking: Health Services
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many free Quit Kits the NHS has distributed since the start of the Smokefree scheme; and if he will make a statement. [322014]
Gillian Merron: As at 7 March 2010, the national health service had distributed 421,420(1) Quit Kits. In addition, 95,000 Quit Kits were distributed through a part-funded arrangement with Asda pharmacies(2). The campaign launched on 26 December 2009.
(1) These figures refer to Quit Kits ordered as a result of national advertising activity (web, phone, text, banner ads, F2F and coupons from direct mail, door drop and inserts) and sent out via our call centre Callcredit. Please note that these will not be the final audited figures.
(2) Asda part funded this activity splitting the cost of the production of the quit kits and taking on the full costs of distribution of the kits to all the Asda stores.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Religious Freedom
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports his Department has received on the treatment of religious minorities in Afghanistan. [321657]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
Promoting human rights is integral to building a stable democracy in Afghanistan. We condemn all instances where individuals are persecuted
because of their faith or belief and take every opportunity to urge Afghanistan to implement laws and practices which foster tolerance and mutual respect. This includes full implementation of those norms laid out in the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. We receive regular updates on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, including on the treatment of religious minorities, from organisations such as the UN and non-governmental organisations. We have not received any confirmed reports of mistreatment of religious minorities in Afghanistan. Our embassy in Kabul continues to follow the human rights situation on the ground closely and raise matters of concern with the Afghan Government.
Bangladesh: Internally Displaced Persons
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he has had discussions with the Government of Bangladesh on recent reports of arrests and forced displacements of Rohingya refugees; if he will request that the Government of Bangladesh recognises as refugees those of Rohingya origin who do not have documents; and if he will make a statement; [322602]
(2) what recent reports he has received on action against Rohingya refugees by Bangladesh law enforcement authorities; and if he will make a statement. [322605]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are concerned by the recent reports by Medecins Sans Frontieres and Physicians for Human Rights on the situation facing displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh. We have raised the plight of the Rohingyas and their status with the Government of Bangladesh, both bilaterally and in concert with EU partners.
Officials from our High Commission in Dhaka, including the High Commissioner, have visited the camps for displaced Rohingyas, which are run by UN agencies. We are also supporting the European Commission and UN programmes for Rohingyas through the UK's core funding to the EU and the UN. In 2009, the UK Government also funded a British Council project to train English teachers within the camps.
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