§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the letter of 23 July from the Minister for Social Security and Disabled Persons and other Ministers to Hon. Members, if he will make a statement on the campaign to increase public and professional awareness of pressure sores; and if he will collate statistics in respect of the incidence of pressure sores among NHS hospital patients. [1414]
§ Mr. BurnsI refer the right hon. Member to the reply given to him on 22 May 1996, column217 about the collating of statistics on the incidence of pressure sores among national health service patients.
The Department has undertaken a number of recent initiatives on pressure sores. I refer the right hon. Member to the letter my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to him on 29 October 1996 on this subject.
§ Mr. MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what sums his Department has devoted to the prevention of pressure sores in constant prices for each of the last 10 years; and what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated in this area in this period. [1409]
§ Mr. BurnsComplete information about expenditure on the prevention of pressure sores by the Department of Health is not available.
To help clarify the cost of pressure sores, the Department commissioned a report in 1993 from Touche Ross. The report found that there may be some small opportunity cost savings to be made for the high-risk patient groups but pressure sore prevention should be seen as a quality of care issue rather than a means of cost savings.
The Department of Health commissioned work to produce clinical guidelines for pressure sores in 1994. The 44W Royal College of Nursing has been asked to redevelop the work so far.
The health technology assessment programme has commissioned a systematic review into wound care management, including pressure sore prevention. The project is on-going, with further expenditure expected this year and next.
§ Mr. MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health is he will make a statement on the cases investigated by the Health Commissioner in(a) 1994–95 and (b) 1995–96 relating to bed sores; and what impact the commissioner's findings have had on the work of his Department. [1408]
§ Mr. BurnsA number of cases investigated by the Health Service Commissioner in 1994–95 and 1995–96 involved, among other things, issues relating to pressure sores. Where the commissioner made recommendations as part of his investigation reports, the national health service bodies concerned have acted on these.