§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many pharmacists the National Care Standards Commission employs; and when the full complement of pharmacists will be in post. [32670]
§ Jacqui SmithThe National Care Standards Commission has a complement of 66 pharmacist inspectors and one national pharmacist professional adviser. None are currently employed by the NCSC, as the responsibility for regulation will not be passed until 1 April 200. The national post is due to be advertised in 1049W mid-February. The full complement of pharmacist inspectors is unlikely to be in post for some time, as there are insufficient pharmacist inspectors eligible to transfer to the NCSC from 1 April 2002. Pharmacy inspection services will therefore be obtained by various local arrangements to fulfil the complement from 1 April.
§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what new outcome measures for residents in care homes will be collected by the National Care Standards Commission. [32889]
§ Jacqui SmithThe National Minimum Standards for care homes focus on achievable outcomes for service users constructed around separate topics, for example, choice of home, health and personal care, daily life and social activities and environment. The standards will form the basis for judgments made by the National Care Standards Commission concerning registration. The standards are not only qualitative, providing a tool for judging the quality of life of service users, but also measurable.