§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will give a breakdown by unit of NHS funding allocated to the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, Brighton; [81920]
(2) if he will make a statement on dedicated cancer funding for the paediatric oncology unit at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, Brighton. [81921]
§ Ms BlearsI am advised by Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals National Health Service Trust that the budget for the Royal Alexandra Hospital for 2002–03 is £9.69 million. The breakdown of funding is as follows:
- £3.77 million, paediatric medicine,
- £3.42 million, paediatric surgery,
- £1 million to neonatology at the hospital, plus a further £1.8 million allocated to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit at the Royal Sussex County Hospital,
- £0.64 million, paediatric intensive care,
- £0.4 million, dentistry,
- £0.36 million, clinical support.
These are rounded figures so the combined total will not match the total budget.
The total budget for paediatric oncology for 2002–03 is £664,000. This represents an increase of 8.85 per cent., on the budget for 2001–02.
§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on nursing and medical staff vacancies at The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, Brighton; and what measures are being taken by his Department to fill them; [81922]
(2) if he will make a statement on vacancies within the paediatric oncology unit at The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital, Brighton; and what measures are being taken by the Department to fill them. [81923]
§ Ms BlearsI am advised by Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority that Royal Alexandra hospital, part of Brighton and Sussex University Hospital's National Health Service Trust, currently has a vacancy rate of 11 per cent. Of staff working specifically in oncology, the vacancy rate is currently 17 per cent.
Recruitment to staff vacancies is undertaken locally, building on the Government's national recruitment campaign and other initiatives to improve recruitment and retention. Local recruitment measures include advertisements in the professional nursing press targeted at paediatric specialist staff. Furthermore, extra places in the staff creche are soon to come on stream, increased rates of pay for bank nurses are being examined and more flexible working patterns are being introduced. Additionally, the Royal Alexandra hospital is due to run a recruitment fair on 5 December.