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18 Jun 2007 : Column 1570W—continued
| Picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) | ||||
| £ million | ||||
| LSP area | Total advance payments | Earned to date | Repaid | Total advance payments outstanding |
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2006, Official Report, column 490W, on NHS IT systems, when the results of the review will be published. [139019]
Caroline Flint: We expect to publish the results of the review shortly.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff funded by the public purse in NHS Connecting for Health are classified as people without posts. [141642]
NHS: Negligence
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on lawyers' fees in respect of negligence claims in each of the last five years; and how much compensation was paid in respect of negligence claims by the NHS in each year. [141688]
Andy Burnham: The Department does not collect information on the total amounts spent by the national health service on either lawyer's fees or compensation in respect of negligence claims. The NHS Litigation Authority collects details of the amounts spent by the NHS on lawyer's fees and compensation for claims made under clinical and non-clinical NHS schemes. Data for these schemes for the last five years are in the following tables.
| Legal fees( 1) | |||
| £000 | |||
| Financial year | Clinical | Non-clinical | Total |
| (1) Legal fees are compensated quarterly (during the progress of a claim) for defence costs, but only at settlement of a claim for claimant costs. (2) Includes clinical negligence scheme for trusts call-in reimbursement to trusts. | |||
| Compensation | |||
| £000 | |||
| Financial year | Clinical | Non-clinical | Total |
| (1) Includes clinical negligence scheme for trusts call-in reimbursement to trusts. | |||
NHS: Standards
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she has met the Chairman of the Labour Party to discuss NHS service provision since 3 July 2006. [131857]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Secretary of State meets her Cabinet colleagues regularly to discuss a range of issues, but has not met the chair of the Labour party to discuss national health service provision since 3 July 2006.
Osteoporosis: Drugs
Christine Russell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps are being taken to ensure that the recent National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence guidance on drugs to treat osteoporosis is being fully implemented; [143113]
(2) what steps are being taken to (a) encourage osteoporosis patients to comply with their medication and (b) inform patients of alternative products which allow for less frequent treatments; [143114]
(3) what education and treatment programmes are being introduced to stem the anticipated future rise in osteoporosis; [143115]
(4) what (a) (i) guidance and (ii) training she is providing to medical practitioners and (b) guidance she is providing to the public to mitigate the effects of the expected rise in the incidence of osteoporosis. [143116]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: There is a statutory duty for health bodies to provide funding for drug treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) within three months of the guidance being issued.
Osteoporosis can often be prevented by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and, through a range of initiatives, the Department is raising awareness of the importance of regular exercise, a balanced diet, smoking prevention/cessation and a responsible attitude to alcohol consumption in the prevention of a range of conditions, including osteoporosis.
The Department has also asked NICE to produce a clinical guideline on the assessment of risk fracture and prevention of osteoporotic fractures in individuals at high risk.
The training of medical practitioners is the responsibility of the royal colleges. The National Library for Health clinical knowledge summaries website at www.cks.library.nhs.uk offers advice on the management of a range of conditions and symptoms, including osteoporosis, that are commonly seen in primary care. The guidance is advisory and has been developed to assist healthcare professionals, together with patients, make decisions about the management of the patient’s health.
It is the responsibility of health professionals to provide patients with information on the most appropriate treatment regime based on a clinical assessment of their individual situation. This information should also include the importance of compliance with medication and any recommended lifestyle changes.
Patient Choice Schemes
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 May 2007, Official Report, column 621W, on patient choice schemes, for what reasons the total number of bookings made through both direct and indirect bookings in the period since July 2004 are different in table two and in table one. [139583]
Caroline Flint: The information in table one was accurate to 31 March 2007. Due to an administrative error the figures in table two included some information relating to April 2007. Arrangements have been made for amended tables to be placed in the Library.
Patients: Surveys
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to whom the breakdown by practice of the GP patients’ survey is made available. [142721]
Andy Burnham: Results of the general practitioner patient survey will be available on the Department’s website shortly.
Pharmacy
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which dispensing appliance contractors hold a market share of more than 5 per cent.; and what percentage market share each holds. [140410]
Andy Burnham: There are two distinct sectors in the dispensing appliance contractor market: incontinence and stoma. Given this, the number of contractors in each sector that have more than a 5 per cent. share of the dispensing appliance contracting market is as follows:
| Number of companies with > 5 per cent. share of market | |
| (1) These figures are based on the net ingredient value for the period January 2005 to June 2006. | |
The names of these companies—and their specific market share—are not publicly available, as the information is commercially confidential.
Pharmacy: North East Region
Mrs. Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacists were making independent prescriptions in (a) Gateshead East and Washington West, (b) the North East and (c) England in the latest period for which figures are available. [140644]
Caroline Flint: The Department obtains information from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), which shows the number of pharmacists who have qualified and registered as pharmacist independent prescribers in Great Britain. The figures for May 2007 show that 68 pharmacists had registered their qualification with the RPSGB.
The Department does not have information at a local level.
Smoking
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines have been issued to local authorities on ensuring enclosed public spaces have no smoking signs at all entrances. [142168]
Caroline Flint:
In March 2006, guidance on the implementation of smokefree legislation was published by Local Authority Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services. The purpose of the guidance, which includes specific sections on no-smoking signs, is to support local council regulatory officers in successfully
implementing smokefree legislation which will be enforced in England from 6 am on Sunday, 1 July 2007.
The Department has also provided a two-phase training programme for local authorities on smokefree legislation and will shortly launch an e-learning facility so local authority officers can complete training at their workplace. Training also includes references to no-smoking sign requirements and has been provided to develop a standardised approach to the enforcement of the new smokefree law across England, and has been provided free of charge to local authorities.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many council officers have been trained to enforce the forthcoming smoking ban, broken down by local authorities; and what the cost has been to both central and local government of implementing this training. [142333]
Caroline Flint: The Department has provided a two-phase training programme for local authorities on smokefree legislation and will shortly launch an e-learning facility for local authority officers to complete training at their work place. Training has been provided to develop a standardised approach to the enforcement of the new smokefree law across England, and has been provided free of charge to local authorities.
The first phase of training was conducted between October to December 2006 for service planners within local authorities to assist the development of local smokefree implementation strategies. Some 450 officers attended this training. The second phase of training is currently being delivered for local authority regulatory officers to provide knowledge, practical skills and competencies so they can build compliance with the new law in their local areas. Some 1,150 places have been made available for local council officers for this training. The two-phase programme of training has been delivered to local councils free of charge by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) on a regional basis.
An e-learning facility has also been developed to provide training on the new smokefree law for local council officers. This facility has been developed by the Trading Standards Institute, will be freely available to any local council officer across England who requires training on the new law and will be launched shortly.
The total cost of developing and providing training on smokefree legislation for the Department is £445,600. An estimate of the costs to local authorities could only be made at disproportionate cost. The Department cannot precisely determine the number of local authority officers who have received training on the new smokefree law— some local authorities have made additional arrangements directly with the CIEH for the delivery of training programmes, many local councils have undertaken in-house training and the smokefree e-learning system is expected to be popular.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures have been taken by (a) central Government, (b) local authorities and (c) NHS trusts to inform the public of the forthcoming smoking ban; and what the (i) planned and (ii) eventual cost was of these measures. [142334]
Caroline Flint: Through the Smokefree England campaign, the Department is delivering a major communications campaign to support businesses to be prepared for the implementation of smokefree legislation on 1 July 2007. Recent surveys by the Department show levels of awareness amongst businesses and the general public have improved significantly.
Information on the new law is available from the freephone Smokefree England information line on 0800 169 169 7 and on the Smokefree England website at:
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