HC Deb 04 February 2002 vol 379 cc782-5W
Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average age was of an individual sustaining a head injury in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [30797]

Jacqui Smith

The table shows the information requested for the year 2000–01.

An FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year. The main diagnosis is the first of seven diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics data set, and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. Figures in this table have not yet been adjusted for shortfalls in data.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the classifications for determining the severity of a head injury are. [30787]

Jacqui Smith

The Glasgow Coma Scale is the most widely used system for classifying the severity of head injuries. This scale assigns points to each patient based upon three categories: verbal function, eye opening, and best motor (movement) response. Additional information on severity is provided by X-ray and from CT and MR scans.

Finished consultant episodes (FCEs) by main diagnosis NHS hospitals, England 1995–96 to 2000–01
S00-S09 Injuries to the head 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01
S00 Superficial injury of head 9,731 10,829 11,000 10,875 12,293 11,379
S01 Open wound of head 20,180 23,186 23,824 23,668 27,184 25,883
S02 Fracture of skull and facial bones 29,839 31,419 30,265 27,837 30,825 28,318
S03 Dislocation sprain and strain of joints and ligaments of head 317 381 367 410 349 314
S04 Injury of cranial nerves 78 63 94 96 106 68
S05 Injury of eye and orbit 3,655 3,503 3,320 3,255 3,591 3,230
S06 Intracranial injury 23,226 20,036 16,529 11,942 12,790 11,892
S07 Crushing injury of head 30 16 11 19 16 5
S08 Traumatic amputation of part of head 127 116 102 111 123 123
S09 Other and unspecified injuries of head 40,912 42,193 41,102 40,163 43,271 39,175
Total 128,096 131,742 126,615 118,376 130,548 120,387

Notes:

1. A FCE is defined as a period of patient care under one consultant in one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as one person may have several episodes within the year.

2. Data for 1995–96 to 1997–98 are adjusted for both coverage and unknown/invalid clinical data.

3. 1998–99 to 2000–01 data are not yet adjusted for shortfalls.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the National Service Framework for long-term conditions will cover vocational rehabilitation for people with acquired brain injury. [30837]

Jacqui Smith

The Department has said that the National Service Framework (NSF) for long-term conditions will have a particular focus on the needs of people with neurological disease and brain and spinal injury.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will change the Government's response to the Health Committee's Third report of Session 2000–01 into Rehabilitation Following Head Injury, to take account of criticism from(a) Headway, (b) Rehab UK and (c) other organisations. [30839]

Jacqui Smith

We are aware of the concerns expressed by Headway, Rehab UK and others about our response to the Health Committee's report. We do not, however, intend to change our response as there are a number of initiatives under way that will help improve services for people with head injury. These include the National Service Framework on long term conditions and the clinical guideline for the initial assessment, management

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will reclassify brain injury rehabilitation as a specialist service within the NHS. [30786]

Jacqui Smith

Rehabilitation for brain injuries is already defined as a specialised service, ie it has a planning population larger than the total population of several primary care teams and sometimes larger than the population of a strategic health authority. It was included in the National Specialised Services Definitions Set published by the Department on its website in December 2001.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals have sustained a head injury in each of the past five years. [30796]

Jacqui Smith

Around one million people a year receive a head injury in the UK, and over 100,000 of those attend hospital. We have hospital activity data on the number and type of injuries as shown in the table:

and first referral of patients with head injury that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has been asked to produce.

We think that it is better to invest time to appraise the existing service configuration of head injury services across the national health service, so that we can get it right for the future.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the percentage of individuals who survived a head injury who(a) returned to work within a year, (b) return to work within five years and (c) never returned to work in the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [30798]

Jacqui Smith

No assessment has been made of the percentage of head injured individuals who return to work.

We are keen to help ensure that disabled people, including those with head injury, are able to return to work whenever possible. Currently local authorities are taking the lead on joint investment plans on the Welfare to Work for disabled people initiative. The idea of these plans is to provide effective and joined up services for disabled people who want to work, to stay in work, or to move closer to the world of work.

Mr. Berry

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to introduce further measures to simplify the funding streams available to organisations offering vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with acquired brain injury. [30785]

Jacqui Smith

The final stages of the process of rehabilitation for people who have acquired brain injury may be an individualised programme of employment rehabilitation delivered through the employment service's work preparation programme. The employment service has worked with the organisations delivering work preparation for people with brain injuries to produce a national framework. This will result in greater coherence within regions and countries in terms of the scope and duration of its individualised programmes.