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Northamptonshire CHCs
Lord Freeman asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Why the two community health councils for Northamptonshire now have to be line managed and employed by the West Sussex and Surrey Health Authority [HL2943]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: In order to maintain a level of continuity for community health councils (CHCs) affected by the changes in National Health Service region boundaries, it was agreed nationally that they would remain, for pay and other personnel matters, within their current groups. In the case of the Northamptonshire CHCs, from 1 April this will be the South Region.
Personnel and paymaster services would continue to be provided by the health authority incorporating the current service level agreement provider. On 1 April that responsibility moves to the new Surrey and Sussex Health Authority for all CHCs included in the South Region.
In recognition of the fact that, from April, Northamptonshire CHCs will cover activities within the Midlands Region, both CHCs will be establishing links within the new Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Health Authority area in respect of their role in monitoring the NHS.
Sickle Cell Disease
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many people in Lambeth, other London boroughs and elsewhere in the United Kingdom suffer from sickle cell disease; what budget has been
- set aside for them; and how many health and social workers are trained to cope with the resulting demand. [HL2990]
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: Information on the number of people in the United Kingdom who suffer from sickle cell disease is not held centrally. It is for local health authorities to assess the need for services for patients suffering from sickle cell disease.
Information is available for health authorities in England of the number of hospital consultant episodes for sickle cell disease for 2000–01:
| NHS hospitals in England, 2000–01 | Number |
| Hillingdon HA | 24 |
| Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster | 223 |
| Enfield and Haringey HA | 828 |
| Redbridge and Waltham Forest HA | 353 |
| Bedfordshire HA | 58 |
| Berkshire HA | 30 |
| Buckinghamshire HA | 47 |
| Bexley and Greenwich HA | 97 |
| Bromley HA | 38 |
| Croydon HA | 209 |
| East Kent HA | 5 |
| West Kent HA | 22 |
| Kingston and Richmond HA | 11 |
| Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham | 2,377 |
| Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth HA | 442 |
| East Surrey HA | 15 |
| West Surrey HA | 4 |
| East Sussex, Brighton and Hove HA | 11 |
| West Sussex HA | 7 |
| Barking and Havering HA | 90 |
| Barnet HA | 151 |
| Brent and Harrow HA | 197 |
| Camden and Islington HA | 636 |
| Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow | 369 |
| East London and The City HA | 1,172 |
| North Essex HA | 44 |
| South Essex HA | 32 |
| South Lancashire HA | 2 |
| Liverpool HA | 1 |
| Manchester HA | 163 |
| Morecambe Bay HA | 2 |
| St Helens and Knowsley HA | 1 |
| Salford and Trafford HA | 64 |
| Stockport HA | 4 |
| Northamptonshire HA | 83 |
| Oxfordshire HA | 32 |
| Suffolk HA | 41 |
| North Derbyshire HA | 1 |
| Southern Derbyshire HA | 15 |
| Doncaster HA | 1 |
| Leicestershire HA | 81 |
| Lincolnshire HA | 8 |
| North Nottinghamshire HA | 5 |
| Nottingham HA | 41 |
| Rotherham HA | 1 |
| Sheffield HA | 38 |
| Bury and Rochdale HA | 14 |
| North Cheshire HA | 1 |
| East Lancashire HA | 83 |
| North West Lancashire HA | 1 |
| North and Mid Hampshire HA | 7 |
| Portsmouth and South East Hampshire | 7 |
| Southampton and South West Hampshire | 8 |
| South and West Devon HA | 16 |
| Wiltshire HA | 6 |
| Avon HA | 1,325 |
| Birmingham HA | 408 |
| Wigan and Bolton HA | 12 |
| Wirral HA | 2 |
| Bradford HA | 25 |
| County Durham HA | 2 |
| East Riding HA | 5 |
| Gateshead and South Tyneside HA | 2 |
| Leeds HA | 6 |
| Newcastle and North Tyneside HA | 4 |
| South Humber HA | 2 |
| Sunderland HA | 5 |
| Tees HA | 6 |
| Wakefield HA | 3 |
| Calderdale and Kirklees HA | 41 |
| Gloucestershire HA | 38 |
| Coventry HA | 40 |
| Dudley HA | 10 |
| Sandwell HA | 42 |
| Shropshire HA | 6 |
| North Staffordshire HA | 3 |
| South Staffordshire HA | 8 |
| Walsall HA | 26 |
| Warwickshire HA | 3 |
| Wolverhampton HA | 76 |
| Worcestershire HA | 2 |
| East and North Hertfordshire HA | 29 |
| West Hertfordshire HA | 38 |
| Cambridge HA | 42 |
| Norfolk HA | 1 |
| Total | 10,431 |
*A finished consultant episode is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health authority. The figures do not represent the number of patients as one person may have several episodes within the year.
The primary diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.
Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) Department of Health.
Lord Clement-Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: HM Treasury commissioned a report by Derek Wanless, Securing our Future Health: Taking a Long-Term View, to review the technological, demographic and medical trends over the next two decades that will affect the National Health Service. An interim report has been issued for consultation. A final report is expected later this year.
The Government are committed to making more medicines more widely available where it is safe to do so and the training and information needs of healthcare professionals and patients is an integral part in this process.
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: There are four National Health Service cord blood banks in the United Kingdom.
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: In the course of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment it is likely that more embryos will be created than the maximum of two which are allowed to be transferred to a woman at any one time. With the specific consent of the people who provided the gametes, embryos that are not initally transferred may be stored for future use by the patient, donated to another couple, donated for research or allowed to perish.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of embryos may be used in conjuction with IVF. The use of the PGD technique in itself should not involve the destruction of any embryos. However, it is possible that as a result of PGD fewer embryos will be found to be suitable for transfer.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has decided in principle to allow PGD for serious genetic disease to be used in conjunction with tissue typing, considering each case on an individual basis. To date only one licence has been granted.
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The key assumption is that pregnancy-related factors are the main causes of the increasing incidence of breast cancer and these are the only variables considered in the analysis. While reproductive history is important, it is not the only influence; for example, genetic predisposition, the development of the breast screening programme and obesity will also affect incidence.
The main analysis in the report compared cumulative abortion rates and incidence of breast cancer and found a close correlation. However, correlation does not prove causation and the hypothesis linking abortion and breast cancer is still only a theory. Other factors that have increased over the same time period such as divorce rate could also show a correlation that would turn out to be spurious.
Bill
Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: A considerable amount of research has been carried out into the control of diabetes in children and young people, including the avoidance of hypoglycaemia. This has informed the Diabetes National Service Framework standards for children and young people. We published the standards in December 2001. The guidance on Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs, issued jointly by
Whether the recent publication of the Wanless Interim Report, its recommendations for future healthcare and the medicine reclassification initiatives will impact upon plans for the future training of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. [HL2999]
How many national cord blood banks there are in the United Kingdom. [HL3007]
What are the average number of human embryos destroyed as a result of the use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to select a genetic match for ultimate use as an organ, bone marrow, cells or tissue donor upon the subsequent live birth of the designed baby. [HL3069]
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 16 January (WA 159), what are the assumptions made in Patrick Carroll's study entitled Abortion And Other Pregnancy-Related Risk Factors In Female Breast Cancer. [HL3071]
What studies have been made of the impact of hypoglycaemia on the peformance and behaviour of school children and university students. [HL3154]
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