Radiotherapy: West Sussex
Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what radiotherapy services are located within West Sussex. [202211]
Jane Ellison: We understand that Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust is the cancer centre in Sussex.
We are informed by NHS England that there are plans to replace existing equipment at Brighton and increase radiotherapy capacity in line with the population’s needs. New linear accelerator machines (linacs) are planned on new sites in Eastbourne and West Sussex and will increase total capacity to 10 linacs by the end of 2015.
Mr Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate the number of cancer patients from (a) West Sussex and (b) Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency who received radiotherapy at hospitals in (i) Portsmouth, (ii) Brighton, (iii) Guildford and (iv) elsewhere outside West Sussex since May 2007; [202252]
(2) how many cancer patients from (a) the coastal West Sussex area and (b) Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency received radiotherapy at hospitals in (i) Portsmouth, (ii) Brighton, (iii) Guildford and (iv) elsewhere outside West Sussex in 2013-14. [202223]
Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.
| Finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of cancer and a primary or secondary procedure of radiotherapy | ||||
| Residents in West Sussex PCT Area | ||||
| Treatment in: | ||||
| Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust | Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust | Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Elsewhere | |
| Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre | ||||
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| Finished admission episodes (FAEs) with a primary diagnosis of cancer and a primary or secondary procedure of radiotherapy | ||||
| Residents in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton parliamentary constituency | ||||
| Treatment in: | ||||
| Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust | Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust | Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust | Elsewhere | |
| 1 Small numbers This is for figures between 1 and 5 to protect patient confidentiality. Notes: 1. Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. It should be noticed that the data have been limited to inpatient activity as the recording of diagnoses and procedures in the outpatient dataset is not mandatory. These treatments have taken place in English NHS Hospitals and as English NHS commissioned activity in the private sector. 2. Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 3. Number of episodes with a main or secondary procedure The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in an HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients under-going a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures—removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one—counted in a single episode. 4. PCT of residence The primary care trust (PCT) containing the patient’s normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another area for treatment. A change in methodology in 2011-12 resulted in an increase in the number of records where the PCT of residence was unknown. From 2006-07 to 2010-11 the current PCT of residence fields were populated from the recorded patient postcode. In order to improve data completeness, if the postcode was unknown the PCT, strategic health authority (SHA) and country of residence were populated from the PCT/SHA value supplied by the provider. From April 2011-12 onwards if the patient postcode is unknown the PCT, SHA and country of residence are listed as unknown. 5. Parliamentary constituency of residence The parliamentary constituency containing the patient’s normal home address. This does not necessarily reflect where the patient was treated as they may have travelled to another parliamentary constituency for treatment. This field is only available from 2008-09 onwards. 6. Assessing growth through time (Admitted patient care) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre | ||||
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to tackle sexually transmitted infections in men who have sex with men. [202215]
Jane Ellison:
Last year the Department published a Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England which highlights the importance of reducing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in men who have
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sex with men (MSM). The Department also funds the Terrence Higgins Trust for the HIV Prevention England programme which targets MSM and African communities and includes action to support sustained condom use and other behaviours that prevent HIV and other STIs in both communities. Public Health England will launch the initial findings on the work to develop its MSM framework on 27 June and it will finalise and publish the framework in the next couple of months.
Tobacco: Packaging
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to publish draft regulations associated with the standardised packaging of tobacco products and smoking in cars with children present in time for the measures to be made law before the end of March 2015. [202257]
Jane Ellison: The Department published draft regulations for standardised packaging of tobacco products on 26 June. I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement given on 26 June 2014, Official Report, columns 29-30WS.
Regulations for making it an offence to smoke in private vehicles carrying children are being drafted at present.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease
Richard Harrington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contingency plans he has in place to deal with an outbreak of Ebola virus in the UK. [202299]
Jane Ellison: The national health service has plans in place to deal with patients with infectious diseases as part of its core business. This includes plans to manage patients in line with infection control procedures, and where necessary in highly specialist infectious diseases facilities. A patient with Ebola virus infection would be cared for in the national high level isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in London. In the unlikely event of an outbreak involving more than two people, specialist staff at this unit are trained and prepared to look after patients safely in an isolation ward, which would be dedicated for this purpose.
In the UK, the procedures outlined in the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens guidelines, “The Management of Hazard Group 4 viral haemorrhagic fevers and similar human infectious diseases of nigh consequence”, are followed for any suspected case.
Public Health England has assessed the risk of importation of Ebola in the UK as very low. It is extremely unlikely that an outbreak of Ebola would occur in the UK even if there was to be an imported case, as there are factors operating in west Africa which would not be seen in the UK.
Voluntary Organisations
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the total value of public service contracts that were awarded by (a) his Department and (b) NHS bodies to voluntary sector organisations in the last year for which figures are available. [202408]
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Dr Poulter: The total value of public service contracts awarded by the Department on voluntary sector organisations’ contracts in 2012-13 was £39.77 million and for NHS bodies, which is taken to mean primary care trusts (PCTs), the equivalent was £542.76 million.
Prior to their abolition in 2013, the vast majority of health care commissioned by the NHS was directly
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through PCTs, which were responsible for commissioning health care from providers based on the needs of their local population.
2013-14 information for both the Department and NHS bodies will not be available until the Department’s annual report and accounts 2013-14 are published later in the year.