§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) intensive care, (b) acute, (c) recuperative, and (d) intermediate beds are maintained by Harrogate District Hospital. [128085]
§ Mr. HuttonThe number of intensive care beds for Harrogate Health Care National Health Service Trust as at 15 January 2000 was three intensive care and five high dependency beds in a combined unit.
The average daily number of available acute beds during 1998–99 was 310. Data on recuperative and intermediate beds are not collected as a separate ward classification.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) nursing and (b) residential beds are paid for by North Yorkshire Health Authority. [128084]
§ Mr. HuttonCentral information on bed numbers is only available on a National Health Service trust basis. The total number of available beds in trusts bounded by the North Yorkshire Health Authority is 2,641. General and acute beds make up 1,937 of this total. Data on nursing beds are not collected as a separate ward classification.
Data on residential beds are not available centrally.
47W
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent consultation has taken place on reorganisation of the health services in North Yorkshire. [128079]
§ Mr. HuttonThe North Yorkshire Health Authority has recently consulted on proposals by York Health Services National Health Service Trust for the development of services for older people with mental health problems in Easingwold. The consultation ended in January 2000.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacancies for(a) junior doctors, (b) consultants, (c) nurses, and (d) locum staff there are at Harrogate District Hospital. [128086]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information is given in the table.
Staffing description Whole-time equivalents Junior Doctors 12.0 Consultants 11.0 Nurses 218 1Locum staff and agency staff are currently employed by the trust to cover these posts. There is also one locum employed covering annual leave and one locum covering sickness. 2Where nursing vacancies exist, bank and agency staff are used. Source:
Harrogate Health Care National Health Service Trust
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will hold a public consultation on the future configuration of health services in North Yorkshire. [128077]
§ Mr. HuttonThe development of primary care trusts requires all local health communities to consider the implications for the configuration of National Health Service organisations. The North Yorkshire health authority has been working with a wide range of local stakeholders, including National Health Service trusts, primary care groups and local authorities, on future organisational configuration issues. Local Members of Parliament have been kept informed about these discussions.
Should these discussions result in formal proposals for the reconfiguration of National Health Service trusts, these would be subject to a full public consultation.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures his Department has taken to help ensure people in North Yorkshire health authority have access to drugs and other treatment for Alzheimer's disease. [128088]
§ Mr. HuttonIt is the responsibility of individual health authorities to have policies in place for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Drugs for Alzheimer's disease will be reviewed by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and guidance should be issued to the National Health Service by December 2000.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the(a) accident and emergency, (b) cardiac, (c) orthopaedic and (d) cancer care at the (i) Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and (ii) York and Scarborough NHS Health Trust. [128080]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department has made no formal assessment of these services. Such work would normally be undertaken by the relevant National Health Service trusts and health authorities.
48W
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) junior doctors, (b) consultants, (c) nurses, and (d) locum staff are contracted (i) full-time and (ii) part-time to Harrogate District Hospital. [128087]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information is shown in the table.
Data on hospital and community health services medical and dental staff holding either directly employed or agency locum appointments have not been collected centrally since 1996.
NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff by Nature of Contract, in Harrogate Health Care NHS Trust, as at 30 September 1999 Whole-tune equivalents Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff Consultant1 Junior doctors Total 780 40 50 Full-time 470 40 50 Part-time 280 2— 2— Bank 40 3— 3— 1Consultants with maximum part-time contracts are included with full-time staff to reflect their substantially full-time commitment to the NHS 2Five or less and greater than zero 3Not applicable Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest ten
2. Figures exclude learners and agency staff
3. Due to rounding totals may not equal the sum of component parts
Sources:
Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of Harrogate District Hospital. [128078]
§ Mr. DenhamHarrogate District Hospital will remain a general hospital serving the local community. Achieving this will require development of clinical partnerships with neighbouring general hospitals, and work to achieve this is under way across North Yorkshire. It has benefited from a major capital development of £37 million. The main phases have been completed and final construction work will be completed in November 2000.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many instances of MRSA have been reported in the past five years in(a) Harrogate District Hospital and (b) North Yorkshire Health Authority; and what measures his Department has taken to eliminate instances of MRSA. [128089]
§ Mr. DenhamThe data requested are not held centrally. Tackling hospital acquired infection, including MRSA, has been set as a "must do" for the NHS. We have developed and issued national standards for infection control that places responsibility on chief executives of NHS trusts to deliver locally. Progress on compliance with these standards will be independently reviewed and monitored by both the Audit Commission and the Commission for Health Improvement.