§ Mr. Gerald Bowdenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on progress by regional health authorities in response to the Government's initiative to improve primary health care in inner cities.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeRegional health authorities have put forward some excellent innovative schemes to use last year's money, some at very low cost, that all go to improving medical services for people in inner cities. We approved 212 projects costing in total over £1 million last year. These schemes helped a very wide range of services, from help for the terminally ill to district nursing, health education, incontinence and laundry services. The extra360W money has given health authorities a chance to try out new ideas and new technology so that they can be used to best effect.
We can now announce a further £1.2 million this year and £0.9 million next year for further new developments and innovation projects in primary care in inner cities. This is part of the £9 million announced last year.
The new money is being given to health authorities so that they can continue to look for new ideas. No idea is too radical to be considered because we must continue to look for new ways to tackle the problems of the inner city's health services. But the money can also be used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of existing services for example providing evening or night nursing services, improving health services to ethnic minority groups as well as developing new information technology and computing.
So far the Health Service has used this extra money for inner city services in a variety of imaginative ways. But the new Government money is not just funding innovative ideas. It is also being used to improve health visitor and nurse training, giving incentives to encourage doctors to form group practices and improve premises. All these improvements can only lead to better health services and better health care for people living in inner cities.