§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library the research which he has conducted into medical conditions that particularly affect members of ethnic minorities. [37023]
§ Mr. MaloneThe Department attaches great importance to ensuring that the health needs of ethnic minority populations are recognised and met.
The Department's policy research programme is open and research findings are normally published. The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council. The MRC is an independent body receiving its grant in aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on how the "The Health of the Nation" targets relate to members of ethnic minorities. [37036]
§ Mr. HoramThe targets for improvement in health within "The Health of the Nation" White Paper relate to the whole of the population. The White Paper recognises that there will be a need for local decisions about developing local strategies and action to take account of the particular needs of different population groups such as those from black and ethnic minority groups.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what have been the rates of incidence of(a)sickle cell anaemia, (b) thalassaemia, (c) glaucoma, (d) diabetes and (e) hypertension in each of the last five years in (i) ethnic minority and (ii) other patients. [37097]
§ Mr. HoramInformation is not available centrally on rates of incidence of these conditions which differentiates between members of ethnic minorities and others.
Information is available centrally in the hospital episode system both of operations and diagnosis using specific codes. The available information is contained in "Hospital episode statistics", volume 1, copies of which are available in the Library.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of the membership of the NHS executive board are from ethnic minorities. [37136]
§ Mr. HoramNone of the current members of the national health service executive board are from ethnic minorities. Members of the board are senior civil servants and are appointed in line with civil service commissioners' guidelines for ensuring fair and open competition regardless of race or ethnic origin.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current percentage of ethnic minority consultants with(a)A+, (b) A, (c) B and (d) C merit awards; and what is the total percentage of consultants with a merit award. [37145]
§ Mr. MaloneInformation on the ethnic origin of distinction award holders is not currently held centrally. As at 30 September 1995, the proportion of consultants in Great Britain holding an A+, A, or B distinction award was 13 per cent. With effect from 1 April 1996 the C award element of the distinction award scheme was replaced by a system of discretionary points, decided locally.
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§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a breakdown of ethnic minority representation on the boards of(a)health authorities and (b) NHS trusts for the past five years. [37031]
§ Mr. MaloneThis information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a breakdown of ethnic minority membership of community health councils. [37029]
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the current percentage of consultants who are from an ethnic minority, by speciality and in total. [37144]
§ Mr. MaloneThe proportion of consultants in post from an ethnic minority is 16 per cent. However, this figure is based on information which is voluntarily provided to trusts by the doctors concerned. As not all doctors provide it, this data must therefore be subject to some uncertainty.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will publish a breakdown of general practitioners by ethnic minority for each of the past five years(a)nationally and (b) by region; [37035]
(2) if he will list the total number of(a)general practitioners and (b) ethnic minority general practitioners by region. [37146]
§ Mr. MaloneInformation on the number of general practitioners was published in "Statistics for General Medical Practitioners in England: 1985–1995", copies of which are available in the Library. Information on the total number of ethnic minority general practitioners by region is not available centrally.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the current percentage of black and ethnic minority chairs and non-executive members of NHS authorities, trusts and community health councils,(a)nationally and (b) individually by (i) community health council, (ii) trust and (iii) district health authority; [37039]
(2) how many and what percentage of regional health authority chairmen are from ethnic minorities. [37137]
§ Mr. MaloneThe current breakdown of ethnic minority chairmen and non-executive members is 4.8 per cent. of people appointed to national health service trusts and 5.9 per cent. of those appointed to health authorities. The figure for community health councils is not available centrally.
Specific details relating to each NHS trust and health authority will be in the annual report which is to be published later this summer.
None of the eight regional chairmen is from a minority ethnic background.
§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a)ethnic minority and (b) other patients have been sectioned under the provisions of Mental Health Acts in each of the last five years. [37098]
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§ Mr. BowisThe number of total formal admissions of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 is shown in the table. Information on ethnic minority patients admitted under the Act is not available centrally.
Total formal admissions to national health service facilities, private mental nursing homes registered to detain patients and special hospitals under the Mental Health Act 1983, 1990–91 to 1994–95, England Numbers Total formal admissions 1990–91 18,982 1991–92 21,564 1992–93 22,581 1993–94 24,616 1994–95 27,073 Source:
KH15, K037 and Special Hospitals Services Authority.