HC Deb 17 November 1997 vol 301 cc26-7W
Angela Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list those health authorities which have notified her Department of(a) reductions or increases in chiropody services in 1996–97 relative to 1995–96 and (b) planned reductions or increases in chiropody services in 1998–99. [15377]

Mr. Worthington

Health and Social Services Boards and Trusts are not required to notify the Department of reductions or increases in particular services. It is for Boards and Trusts to assess the needs of their populations in respect of health and personal social services, including chiropody services, and to provide services accordingly in the light of available resources and local priorities.

Angela Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the total numbers of(a) face to face contacts and (b) initial contacts, with chiropody and podiatry staff for (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1995–96 and (iii) 1994–95. [15366]

Mr. Worthington

The total number of contacts with Chiropody/Podiatry staff in Northern Ireland is shown in the following table. Information on initial contacts is not separately available.

Year Total contacts
1994–95 262,350
1995–96 297,612
1996–97 312,684

Angela Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will make a statement on the guidelines that are issued and health needs assessments that health authorities undertake to ensure the availability of chiropody and podiatry services to meet the needs of their local populations. [15367]

Mr. Worthington

It is a matter for Health and Social Services Boards and Trusts to carry out appropriate needs assessments of their local populations, including their need for chiropody services. In seeking to meet that need they have to take into account the total resources available to them, but Boards and Trusts have been asked to give priority to elderly people, those with disabilities, expectant mothers, schoolchildren and people with diabetes.

Angela Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the NHS expenditure on NHS chiropody and podiatry in(a) 1996–97, (b) 1995–96 and (c) 1994–95. [15376]

Mr. Worthington

This information is not available in the exact form requested. The following table discloses expenditure on chiropody and podiatry by the Northern Ireland Health and Personal Social Services Boards for 1994–95 and 1995–96. The expenditure on chiropody and podiatry for 1996–97 is not yet available.

This information has been extracted from supplementary statements produced by HPSS Boards and HSS Trusts to provide further analysis of the expenditure

Chiropody staff in Northern Ireland at September
1994 1995 1996
Headcount WTE Headcount WTE Headcount WTE
Unit Senior Manager 11 1 1.00 1 1.00 0 0.00
Technical Instructor 3 0 0.00 1 1.00 1 1.00
Area Chiropodist Chf 2 2 2.00 1 1.00 1 1.00
Chief Chiropodist 2 3 3.00 3 3.00 2 2.00
Chief Chiropodist 3 10 10.000 12 12.00 8 7.93
Chief Chiropodist 4 3 3.00 6 6.00 5 5.00
Senior Chiropodist 1 32 30.06 29 26.08 28 24.61
Senior Chiropodist 2 87 76.69 95 84.23 98 86.41
Chiropodist 2 2.00 3 3.00 7 7.00
Foot Care Assistant 2 2.00 6 5.01 5 5.00
Total 142 129.75 157 142.32 155 139.95