§ Dan NorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what plans he has to improve access for ex-miners in Somerset to the Medical Assessment Process from a centre nearer to the area; [136459]
(2) what provision has been made to enable ex-miners in Somerset to access the Medical Assessment Process from a test centre in Bristol. [136460]
§ Mrs. LiddellThere are currently 321 registered claims in the Somerset area. To date, Healthcall has received 79 completed sets of claims documentation—including claims questionnaires; financial and other losses questionnaires; and the Mandates required to access claimants medical records. Of these, 11 have been tested, and Healthcall is searching for the medical records of the remaining 68 cases.
Healthcall currently has premises in Bristol that originally accommodated a set of COPD testing equipment. Due to the current lack of claimants ready to test in the Somerset area with completed claims documentation, this set of equipment was moved to meet demand in the South Wales area. The Bristol centre will be re-opened shortly to accommodate the claimants in the surrounding area.
Healthcall is currently considering establishing a centre nearer to the bulk of the claimants in the Somerset areas.