§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what improvements in the physical and mental health of residents in Birmingham have taken place since she become Secretary of State.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe 1993 public health common data set figures will not be available until March 1995. "The Health of the Nation" White Paper identified a number of areas nationally that needed improving. In common with other parts of the country, Birmingham has been developing and implementing initiatives with these improvements in mind. Just some of these initiatives include an audit of response times for coronary heart disease; £5 million recently invested in cancer research based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, South Birmingham; £100,000 committed to the smoke-free Birmingham project; development of a joint accident prevention strategy across Birmingham; an audit of all suicides to identify suicide prevention strategies and a large needle exchange scheme which is also collecting data on the profile of drug users within Birmingham.