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Territorial Army

Lord Redesdale asked Her Majesty's Government:

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): Individual members of the Territorial Army (TA) are considered fit for role, which is defined as the minimum level of training required for mobilisation, when they have completed two phases of training. Phase 1 is recruit training, which is either delivered in a two-week package or over a series of weekends. Phase 2 is to prepare them to a

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standard at which they can train with their unit. This phase will vary in length depending on an individual's role and trade. As at 1 June, the number of TA personnel, considered fit for role, and by definition to have achieved the minimum level of training, by regional brigade area, is shown in the table below:

Regional BrigadeNumber Fit for Role
15 (North East) Brigade3,676
49 (East) Brigade3,426
43 (Wessex) Brigade1,396
145 (Home Counties) Brigade522
42 (North West) Brigade2,374
143 (West Midlands) Brigade1,695
160 (West) Brigade1,585
51 (Scottish) Brigade2,372
London District2,941
107 (Ulster) Brigade1,014
Specialist TA (national)2,200
Total23,201

Service Personnel: Immunisation

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

    What arrangements have been made to immunise service men and women against the threats of biological and chemical attack, if the Armed Forces should become involved in a major redeployment to the Gulf.[HL5675]

Lord Bach: The immunisation currently available to protect United Kingdom service personnel against exposure to biological warfare agents is a programme of voluntary immunisation against anthrax. I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave to the noble Lord, Lord Christopher, on 13 June 2002 (WA 47). Immunisation is one part of the package of capabilities which protects our troops and enables them to respond effectively to biological threats. This package includes detection capabilities, protective clothing and equipment, decontamination procedures, other medical countermeasures and training. Measures are in place to ensure that all personnel are up to date with all routine immunisations.

It is not possible to immunise against chemical warfare agents.

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

    What action has so far been taken to ensure that all members of the Armed Forces, particularly reservists, are up date with all the immunisation protection their service could necessitate.[HL5676]

Lord Bach: Vaccination status is an important aspect of the operational readiness of Armed Forces personnel, and it is the responsibility of commanding officers to ensure that personnel are up to date with the appropriate immunisations. Routine immunisations against hepatitis A, typhoid, meningococus C, rubella (for females and medical personnel), tetanus,

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diphtheria, polio and yellow fever are offered to members of the Armed Forces. Members of the regular forces, and reservists at high readiness for deployment, have their immunity maintained by routine booster immunisations. For other members of the reserve forces, immunisations should be brought up to date upon mobilisation. Units should also carry out pre-deployment checks of vaccination states.

Any individuals who on entry to the services lack a BCG scar and test as having low immunity will also be immunised against tuberculosis. Personnel operating in areas with a specific health hazard, and those in special occupational risk groups (such as medical personnel), may also be given additional vaccinations before deployment. All three services have routine administrative procedures in place to check the vaccination status of both regular and reserve personnel.

Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:

    What protocols relating to immunisation are in place to monitor British forces if they should redeploy to the Gulf region.[HL5678]

Lord Bach: It is Ministry of Defence policy that all vaccinations administered to personnel are to be recorded on their personal medical records. Any vaccination, administered to personnel while they are deployed are to be recorded on their operational medical record and the information transferred to their personal medical records on return to their home base.

Mental Health Bill: Treatability Test

Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:

    In the context of the draft mental health Bill, what diagnoses they envisage will be applied to people who, under current legislation, would fail the "treatability test" but who might be detained under the terms of the draft Bill.[HL5310]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Mental Health Act 1983 requires that in the case of psychopathic disorder or mental impairment it is likely that treatment will alleviate or prevent a deterioration of the patient's conditions in order to justify his detention for treatment. This has led to a significant number of people with a primary diagnosis of personality disorder, and who pose a risk to themselves or to others, being excluded from treatment because of uncertainty about whether their personality disorder can be "treated".

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The draft mental health Bill does not rely on particular categories of mental disorder, and does not require that treatment alleviate or prevent a deterioration of the patient's condition. Instead, it requires that appropriate treatment be available. The same conditions for compulsion will apply to all patients with a mental disorder. We envisage that this will mean that some pople with a diagnosis of personality disorder may meet the conditions for compulsion in the draft Bill where they would not come within the scope of the 1983 Act.

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Abortion Statistics

Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:

    How many abortions have been performed after 30 weeks gestation for each of the past five years; and at what specific point of gestation each of these abortions has been performed.[HL5354]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The information requested is given in the following table:

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Legal Abortions—numbers by gestation weeks and year, England and Wales

Gestation Weeks
Year303132333435363738Total
England and Wales Residents only
2001*45630301123
200073353220025
199943263122023
199845513220022
199722137230020
199661423021019
Non-Residents
2001*2112020008
200044421100016
19990122110018
19982101000004
19973010000004
19961300010106

* 2001 data is provisional.

Source:

Department of Health Statistics Division 3G.

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Blood Plasma

Lord Clement-Jones asked Her Majesty's Government:

    When the public can expect an announcement of the ministerial decision regarding the funding for the provision of non-United Kingdom plasma anticipated by the National Blood Service on 8 February.[HL5703]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government announced on 15 August 2002 that fresh frozen plasma will be obtained from the United States for new-born babies and young children born after 1 January 1996 as an added precaution against the theoretical risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease transmission. This announcement is in line with advice from the United Kingdom expert advisory committee on Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation.

Electro-convulsive Therapy

Lord Chan asked Her Majesty's Government:

    How many patients have been given electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) in 2000 and 2001; what were the medical indications for using ECT in

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    patients; and what controls and safeguards are in place for the use of ECT.[HL5683]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The most recent information available concerning trends in the administration of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is contained in the Department of Health statistical bulletin Electro Convulsive Therapy; Survey covering the period from January 1999 to March 1999, England. It looked at information gathered from a one-off survey of National Health Service and independent sector care settings, including nursing homes, and was undertaken to provide data on ECT that are not currently available elsewhere.

The survey collected data on total number of administrations of ECT in NHS and independent sector care settings; sex, age, ethnicity, legal status and method of consent.

In the three-month period surveyed it was found that:


    there were about 16,500 administrations of electro-convulsive therapy;


    2,800 patients received ECT treatment;


    there were 900 male patients receiving treatment, compared with 1,900 female patients;


    44 per cent of female patients and 36 per cent of male patients receiving ECT treatment were aged 65 and over;

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    75 per cent of ECT patients were not formally detained under the Mental Health Act 1983;


    of the 700 ECT patients formally detained while receiving ECT treatment, 59 per cent did not consent to treatment.

The survey did not reveal anything surprising or untoward about the use of ECT but it did confirm a downward trend in its use.

In the past ECT was believed to be effective with a wide range of mental health conditions but is now recognised to be of most benefit in the treatment of a narrower band of conditions. Evidence and research tend to support the use of ECT to help people with very severe, generally psychotic, depression and puerpural psychosis, either of which can be life-threatening if left untreated. People who are this severely depressed may refuse or be unable to eat and drink, with a consequent high mortality, as well as being at very high risk of suicide. For these people ECT can produce a faster onset of therapeutic action than is the case with drug-based treatments and can be a life-saving treatment.

Health professionals and mental health services managers are expected to ensure that ECT is administered to patients in accordance with the detailed guidance published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT entitled The ECT Handbook—The Second Report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Special Committee on ECT.

ECT is administered if consent is given, but where the patient does not consent, or a doctor certifies that

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the patient is mentally incapable of consenting or refusing, the responsible medical officer must seek a second opinion from a second opinion appointed doctor, who will be asked to confirm the clinical need for ECT as a treatment of choice.


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