§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the level of co-ordination and co-operation between the Province's health boards and trusts in relation to differences in waiting times for particular specialties at different hospitals. [176847]
§ Angela SmithHealth and Social Services boards and trusts are working closely together, and with the Department, to reduce hospital waiting times across Northern Ireland. A number of initiatives are being taken forward to ensure that available hospital capacity is being used as fully as possible. These initiatives include the transfer of patients between hospitals to facilitate earlier treatment, and the use of hospital facilities by visiting specialists from other hospitals to provide elective care for the local population.
The level of collaboration between boards, trusts and the Department has been to important factor in reducing waiting times. Recognising this, my Department has recently established a Regional Waiting Lists and Emergency Pressures Steering Group
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§ Angela SmithInformation requested in parts(a)— (c)is not collected centrally.
Information on patients awaiting a first outpatient appointment is collected at Trust and specialty level. The latest available waiting list statistics show the position at 31 December 2003.
comprising representatives from the Department, boards and trusts which will ensure that our efforts to reduce waiting times continue to be properly directed and co-ordinated across Northern Ireland.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the waiting times are for(a)initial outpatient assessment deemed (i) emergency, (ii) urgent and (iii) routine, (b)cataract surgery and (c)operations in general, within the ophthalmology specialty, at each hospital in the Province where such surgery is performed. [176848]
§ Angela SmithInformation requested at parts(a)(i)-(iii) and (b)is not collected centrally. Information on patients awaiting a first out-patient appointment or inpatient admission is collected at Trust and specialty level. The latest available waiting list statistics show the position at 31 December 2003.
(a) At 31 December 2003 there were 16,985 patients in Northern Ireland awaiting a first out-patient appointment with an Ophthalmology consultant (Table 1).
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Table 1: Patients awaiting a first out-patient appointment in the Ophthalmology specialty Time waiting (months) Provider trust 0–2 3–11 12–17 18–23 24+ Total The Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 1,950 2,433 305 64 29 4,781 Belfast City Hospital HSS Trust 115 78 7 2 0 202 Ulster Community and Hospital HSS Trust 841 1,006 265 55 90 2,257 Down and Lisburn HSS Trust 244 373 114 6 1 738 Mater Infirmorum HSS Trust 660 410 2 2 1 1,075 Craigavon Area Hospital Group HSS Trust 463 1,043 227 98 40 1,871 Newry and Mourne HSS Trust 251 451 156 97 180 1,135 Armagh and Dungannon HSS Trust 135 210 80 74 33 532 Altnagelvin Area Hospitals HSS Trust 1,251 2,139 583 254 167 4,394 Northern Ireland 5,910 8,143 1,739 652 541 16,985 Source; Regional Information Breanch (DHSSPS) (c)At 31 December 2003 6,346 patients were awaiting admission to hospital in the Ophthalmology specialty (Table 2)
Table 2: Patients awaiting admission to hospital in the Ophthalmology specialty Time waiting (months) Provider trust 0–2 3–11 12–17 18–23 24+ Total The Royal Group of Hospitals HSS Trust 1,516 2,036 306 148 41 4,047 Mater Infirmorum HSS Trust 359 367 10 3 0 739 Down and Lisburn HSS Trust 78 138 3 0 0 219 Craigavon Area Hospitals Group HSS Trust 133 254 55 4 0 446 Altnagelvin Area Hospitals HSS Trust 406 436 18 5 0 895 Northern Ireland 2,492 3,231 422 160 41 6,346 Source: Regional Information Branch (DHSSPS)
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of patients were admitted to hospital within nine months of referral for admission in the last year for which figures are available. [176855]
§ Angela Smith149,916 patients were admitted to hospital in Northern Ireland as elective admissions during 2003. 91 per cent. of these patients were admitted within nine months of referral.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce waiting time targets for hospital admissions. [176857]
§ Angela SmithReducing the length of time that patients wait for hospital admission is a key priority. I have already set targets this year in relation to the length of time patients wait for elective treatment which require Health and Social Services Boards and Trusts to ensure that, by 31 March 2005, 95 per cent. of patients requiring hospital inpatient or day case treatment are admitted within 12 months of being placed on a list; and that, other than in exceptional circumstances, no patient should be waiting for inpatient or day case treatment for more than 18 months by 31 March 2005, or more than 15 months by 31 March 2006.
In relation to emergency admissions I have set a target by 31 March 2005 to reduce by one third the number of patients waiting more than two hours in an accident and emergency department between the decision to admit and admission to a ward compared to 2003–04 levels.
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§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of patients were assessed by a specialist within two weeks of emergency referral in the last year for which figures are available. [176863]
§ Angela SmithThe information requested is not available.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of patients diagnosed with breast cancer were tested for HER2 in each health board area in the last year for which figures are available. [176869]
§ Angela SmithAll women diagnosed with breast cancer in Northern Ireland are automatically tested for HER2.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps are being taken to improve technology used to detect sexually transmitted infections. [176870]
§ Angela SmithFrom 1 September 2004 the Nucleic Acid Amplification Technique (NAAT) will be used across Northern Ireland to test for Chlamydia, the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection within the UK.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many consultant dermatologists there are in each health board area; and what plans there are to increase the number. [176871]
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§ Angela SmithInformation in response to the first part of this question is as follows:
Number of consultant dermatologists in each health board area as at 31 March 2004 Health board area Headcount Whole-time equivalent
Eastern 10 7.83 Southern 2 1.90 Western 2 1.91 Northern 2 2.00 Total 16 13.64 Staffing is the responsibility of Health and Social Services Trusts, taking into account factors such as service needs and available resources. However, the Department has a role in ensuring that sufficient suitably qualified staff are available to meet the needs of the service and to monitor workforce levels in Trusts. This will be done through workforce planning mechanisms, which provide an analysis of the current workforce and of current and future recruitment and retention issues and encompasses issues such as the number of staff required to meet service demands. As at September 2003 there were seven specialist trainees in dermatology, which, allowing for retirements, is sufficient to increase consultant numbers to a projected level of 17 by 2010. The position as with all hospital-based specialties, is reviewed annually and this informs decisions on investment in the future numbers in training.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many breast cancer patients were diagnosed in the last 12 months in the Province; and how many received treatment with Trastuzumab. [176880]
§ Angela SmithInformation on the number of breast cancer patients diagnosed in the last 12 months is not available. Information on the number who received treatment with Trastuzumab is not available centrally and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many(a)consultations, (b)operations and (c)other procedures took place within the private sector in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by specialty [176850]
§ Angela SmithThe information requested is not available.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the availability of(a)telemetry and (b)other cardiac monitoring equipment during periods of high workload at local hospitals in Northern Ireland. [176851]
§ Angela SmithThe current level of cardiac monitoring and telemetry equipment at hospitals is adequate to cope with current demands, even during periods of high workload.