§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether all teenagers in England and Wales are being offered BCG vaccinations; and if he will make a statement. [81774]
§ Ms BlearsBCG is recommended and available for children between the ages of 10 to 14 years as part of the school immunisation programme.
§ Dr. Evan HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of breast cancer patients have been waiting less than two months between urgent referral and the start of treatment in(a) England and (b) each NHS region. [85301]
§ Ms BlearsData is not yet collected centrally on performance of this target. The standard of a maximum wait of two months from urgent referral to first definitive treatment for breast cancer comes into effect at the end of December 2002. Central monitoring will begin in 2003 and data will be published on a quarterly basis next year. Data on current cancer waiting times targets is published on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/cancerwaits.
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list Health Authorities/PCTs that have received funding from the Cancer Care Plan for specialist palliative care, announced in May 2000, together with the amounts received. [84996]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 3 December 2002]: The NHS Cancer Plan pledged that the national health service contribution to the costs of specialist palliative care, including hospices, would increase by £50 million by 2004. Funding for specialist palliative care is included in the overall increased NHS investment for implementing the Cancer Plan and is, therefore, included in baseline allocations to health authorities (HAs) and primary care trusts (PCT). Each HA and PCT has received increased funding.
As mentioned in my earlier reply to the hon. Member on 3 December 2002,we have made available an extra £10 million for specialist palliative care in 2002–03 to support the work the National Cancer Director is undertaking with the NHS and the voluntary sector to develop proposals for a new approach to specialist palliative care funding and planning. A list of the allocations made to each PCT from that extra funding has been placed in the Library.
§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many extra(a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) managers have been employed by NHS trusts using the extra money allocated for the improvement of cancer services. [83701]
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§ Mr. HuttonInformation specifically on the number of staff employed by national health service trusts using the money allocated for the improvement of cancer services is not available.
A table showing the increase in hospital and community health services (HCHS) medical staff employed in the cancer specialties in NHS trusts, primary care trusts (PCTs) and the National Blood Authority, excluding staff who work elsewhere in the NHS, between 2000 and 2001 follows. Information on staff groups other than HCHS medical staff working in cancer services is not collected centrally.
NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Medical staff working in the cancer specialties1 employed in NHS trusts, PCTs and the National Blood Authority in England as at 30 September each year 2000 2001 Difference Medical staff employed in the cancer specialties 5,650 6,090 440 1 Excludes hospital practitioners and clinical assistants most of whom are GPs Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
Source:
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census.
By 2003–04 we will be making an additional £570 million available to support the implementation of the NHS Cancer Plan. These increased resources will enable PCTs to decide where NHS resources are best spent in line with local priorities in providing high clinical standards and good value for money.
The Government are implementing a range of measures to improve recruitment and retention of all staff, including nurses. Since 1997, the nursing work force has grown by 39,520. Between September 1999 and March 2002 there was an approximated net increase in nurses working in the NHS of 28,740—the NHS Plan
Staffing trends in registration and inspection units England: all inspection units Number Whole time equivalent (WTE) Posts vacant (WTE) 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 1998–1999 1999–2000 2000–2001 Professional staff 2,120 2,035 1,580 1,880 1,790 1,410 80 95 45 of which: registration/inspection officers 1— 1,220 895 1— 1,100 820 1— 70 30 Support staff 795 790 680 695 670 560 40 45 40 Note: 1 not available
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 28 November, Official Report, column 408W, on care home inspectors, what types of premises the inspectors are required to inspect; and how many of each type of establishment there are, by region. [86259]
§ Jacqui SmithThe National Care Standards Commission (NCSC) inspects children's homes, care homes, independent hospitals, independent clinics, independent medical agencies and fostering agencies. It also carries out welfare inspections of boarding schools and further education colleges accommodating under-18 year olds. The NCSC is also responsible for the
152Wtarget and Manifesto commitment have been reached two years early. The increase in nurse numbers will enable the recruitment of additional cancer-site specific nurse specialists, chemotherapy nurses, district nurses, palliative care nurse specialists and additional nurses on wards caring for cancer patients.