§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mandate of the Advisory Committee on Medical Devices is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [55357]
§ Ms BlearsThe terms of reference of the committee on the safety of devices (CSD) is
To give advice on a wide range of device-related initiatives in order to support the work of Ministers and the Medical Devices Agency (MDA) and in particular the agency's objectives in helping health care professionals deliver high standards of care to patients in relation to medical devices".The committee has met three times since it was established in April 2001, consisting of:
Mr. John Williams OBE, Chairman, Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, St Richard's Hospital, Chichester
Professor Peter Bell, Professor of Surgery, University of Leicester
Dr. Anna-Maria Belli, Consultant Radiologist, St George's Hospital, Tooting
Mr. Peter Burdett-Smith, Consultant Emergency Physician, Royal Liverpool University Hospital
Dr. Thomas Clutton-Brock, Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
Mrs. Gurdashan Gill, Lay Member, Wolverhamptom
Dr. Helen Grant, University Lecturer, Bioengineering Unit, Strathclyde University, Glasgow
Ms Karen Harper, Nurse Manager, Hospital
Dr. Julie Kent, Lay Member, Bath
Dr. Imad Al-Khawaja, Consultant in Rehabilitationn Medicine, Sussex Rehabilitation Centre
Mrs. Maxine Kinder, Practice Nurse Manager, Queensway Surgery, Southend-on-Sea
Dr. Julian Minns, Consultant Clinical Scientist, Dryburn Hospital, Durham
Professor James Nixon, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Queen's University, Belfast
875WMr. Peter O'Donovan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Bradford Royal Infirmary
Dr. John Perrins, Consultant Cardiologist, Leeds General Infirmary
Dr. Geoffrey Ridgway, Consultant Microbiologist, University College London Hospitals
Professor Elizabeth Russell CBE, Emeritus Professor of Social Medicine, University of Aberdeen
Dr. Charles Sears, General Practitioner, Grove House Surgery, Wiltshire
Professor David Sharpe, Professor of Plastic Surgery, University of Bradford
Mr. Arvind Singh, Consultant Eye Surgeon and Clinical Director, Ayr Hospital
Miss Carol Stopp, Senior Nurse, Great Ormond Street, London
Dr. Gary Thorpe, Biochemistry Director, Wolfson Applied Technology Laboratory, University of Birmingham
Dr. John Turney, Consultant Physician, Leeds General Infirmary Mr. David Watkins, Dental Practitioner, Norfolk
Professor David Whitney, Chief Executive of Central Sheffield University Hospital Trust.
876WObservers from the devolved administrations also attend the meetings.
Items which have been considered are included in the minutes of the CSD meetings which are held on the Medical Devices Agency's website www.medicaldevices.gov.uk.
Two sub-committees have been established. One to consider the format and content of MDA's advisory notices. The other to audit MDA's clinical investigation system. There is also a series of liaison meetings with the Association for British Health Care Industries.
Members are paid travel and subsistence expenses only. The total cost of these since the Committee's establishment is £10,208.35
An annual report of the committee's work will be included in the annual report and accounts of the MDA, which will be presented to Parliament. To comply with the Freedom of Information Act a CSD publication scheme will be in place by November 2002. This will be available on MDA's web-site.