HC Deb 21 May 2002 vol 386 cc310-1W
Mr. Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued about the circumstances in which patients should receive NHS chiropody services. [58290]

Jacqui Smith

The Department has not issued any guidance on access specifically to national health service chiropody services. However, chiropody/podiatry services are essential parts of the national service frameworks for older people and diabetes.

Mr. Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the NHS to develop a partnership with private sector state registered chiropodists. [58285]

Jacqui Smith

We have no specific plans to develop a partnership with the private sector state registered chiropodists. However, the NHS Plan document "Delivering the NHS Plan" states that primary care trusts will be free to purchase care from public, private or voluntary providers as appropriate.

Mr. Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list(a) the initial contacts and (b) the first contacts in respect of chiropody by region in each year since 1997. [58289]

Jacqui Smith

Information about initial contacts and first contacts by region with the chiropody service are contained in the statistical report "Chiropody Services, Summary Information for 2000–01, England". A copy of the report is in the Library and it is also available on the Department's website www.doh.gov.uk/public/kt230001.

Mr. Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about(a) the reasons for substantial regional variations in the episodes of care in chiropody and (b) what steps he is taking in respect of such variations. [58286]

Jacqui Smith

We acknowledge that there are regional variations in national health service chiropody/podiatry services. These variations may result from NHS organisations prioritising the services they provide to meet local demand for chiropody/podiatry services. The criteria used to clinically prioritise will be determined locally.

We are committed to recruiting more allied health professionals (AHPs) which include chiropodists/podiatrists through the NHS Plan targets and will build on the over 6,500 extra AHPs as announced in the 2002 Budget.

Mr. Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the trend in foot health of persons aged over 75 years. [58287]

Jacqui Smith

The national service framework for older people sets a performance measure to collect numbers/rates of people aged 75+ who access chiropody/podiatry services. Information from that may be used to inform future planning of services.