§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations were cancelled in hospitals in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire in the last quarter for which figures are available; what percentage of the cancelled operations were subsequently carried out in four weeks; and if he will make a statement. [130595]
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§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Department collects quarterly data on last minute cancelled operations for non-clinical reasons at trust level (that is, patients cancelled on the day of admission, after admission, or on the day of surgery). Figures for the first quarter of 2003–04 were published on 11 September 2003. Data by individual hospital sites are not collected.
The percentage of cancelled operations that were consequently carried out within four weeks can not be calculated from the data available. However, data are available for the number of patients who were not treated within four weeks of a last minute cancellation as part of the central data collection arrangements for the NHS Plan cancelled operations guarantee. These data are shown in the table for Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust, and Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust.
Quarter 1, 2003–04 Number of last minute cancellations for non-acute clinical reasons Number of patients not admitted within 28 days of a last minute cancellation Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust 129 13 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust 73 0 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust 47 0 Note:
The NHS Plan stated: "From 2002, when a patient's operation is cancelled by the hospital on the day of surgery for non clinical reasons, the hospital will have to offer another binding date within a maximum of the next 28 days or fund the patient's treatment at the time and hospital of the patient's choice". From April 2003, the cancelled operations guarantee was extended to apply to cancellations that occur on or after the day of admission.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been waiting to be registered by NHS dentists in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire in each year since 1 January 1996. [130597]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe information requested is not held centrally.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he is taking to increase the number of dental practices taking NHS patients in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire. [130599]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonSubject to the will of Parliament, the Health & Social Care (Community Health & Standards) Bill would enable primary care trusts (PCTs) to provide assistance and support to dental practices with which they contract. To enable PCTs to provide such assistance in advance of 2005, the general dental services incentive schemes directions 2003 have been published, together with guidance to PCTs.
To support the change programme, a £10 million package of investment was announced on 12 August. A National Health Service team, backed by £9 million, will support PCTs where access is most challenging, providing advice and guidance on best practice in increasing access and modernising dentistry locally to tackle longstanding bottlenecks where it is hard to find a 1300W NHS dentist. The remaining £1 million will assist PCTs, local dental committees and dentists in preparing for the change.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) general practitioners and (b) vacancies for general practitioners there are in (i) Chesham and Amersham and (ii) Buckinghamshire. [130600]
§ Dr. LadymanThe number of general practitioners for the Buckinghamshire area is shown in the table.
Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs)1 for Primary Care Trusts in the Buckinghamshire area, June 2003 Numbers (headcount) All practitioners UPEs1 June 2003 of which: Milton Keynes PCT 123 117 Vale of Aylesbury PCT 136 112 Chiltern and South Bucks PCT 109 96 Wycombe PCT 93 81 1UPEs include General Medical Services Unrestricted Principals, Personal Medical Services, Contracted GPs and PMS Salaried GPs.
Data as at 3Q June 2003
Source:
Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.
With regard to the number of general practitioner vacancies, the Department carries out an annual survey of GP recruitment and retention of which the latest published data are for 2001–02. The information available for Buckinghamshire covers all vacancies outstanding at any time in the 12 month period between the 1 March 2001 and 28 February 2002. This information relates to Buckinghamshire health authority (HA), which had 27 GP vacancies, which were outstanding at some time in the 12 month period. For this survey, it is not possible to break the information down below HA level.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the funding he announced to support the hospice movement has been allocated to(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire; and if he will make a statement. [130601]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe additional £50 million per annum has been made available to support specialist care, including hospices, for three years beginning 2003–04. This extra £50 million is to help tackle inequalities in access to specialist palliative care in a range of settings, including hospices and to enable the national health service to increase their contribution to the cost hospices incur in providing agreed levels of service. The level of funding agreed for hospices, both from the additional £50 million and from local resources, is a matter for local discussion and decision.
Networks were asked to submit their proposed investment plan for the use of their allocation from the £50 million to the National Partnership Group (a joint NHS/voluntary sector group). Their plans have been approved and funding allocated for specialist palliative care services.
The Thames Valley Cancer Network, in which Chesham, Amersham and Buckinghamshire sit, received £1.844 million from the central allocation. The use of the funds will be monitored against plans.
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§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with health organisations in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire during the last 12 months. [130602]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThere have been no recent discussions with health organisations in Buckinghamshire.
Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority, which, since 'Shifting the Balance of Power', now performance manages National Health Service health services in the Buckinghamshire area, regularly meets with the management of the trusts in Buckinghamshire. The Department and Ministers will continue to work with the local NHS to review the progress of the local economy.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding Buckinghamshire Health Authority received from the Government in(a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; and how much it is expected that it will receive in 2004–05. [130604]
§ Ms Rosie Winterton2003–04 was the first year of direct allocations to primary care trusts. Prior to that, allocations were made to health authorities.
Revenue allocations to Buckinghamshire Health Authority and its successor primary care trusts for the time periods requested are shown in the table.
£ thousands Allocation Health authority/Primary care trust 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 Buckinghamshire HA 493,959 N/A N/A Chiltern and South Bucks PCT N/A 117,675 128,126 Milton Keynes PCT N/A 167,638 183,498 Vale of Aylesbury PCT N/A 143,593 157,179 Wycombe PCT N/A 107,852 117,956
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to assess the(a) capital and (b) revenue requirements of hospitals within (i) Chesham and Amersham and (ii) Buckinghamshire; and if he will make a statement; [130605]
2003–04 cash increase 2004–05 cash increase 2005–06 cash increase Three year cash increase Primary Care Trust £000 % £000 % £000 % £000 % Chiltern and South Bucks 9,850 9.14 10,451 8.88 11,183 8.73 31,484 29.20 Milton Keynes 14,803 9.69 15,860 9.46 17,181 9.36 47,844 31.30 Vale of Aylesbury 12,684 9.69 13,586 9.46 14,720 9.37 40,990 31.31 Wycombe 9,433 9.58 10,104 9.37 10,969 9.30 30,506 31.00
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of residential care homes in(a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire have been inspected by the National Care Standards Commission since 1 April 2002. [130608]
§ Dr. LadymanAll of the residential care homes in Chesham and Amersham, and in Buckinghamshire have been inspected by the National Care Standards Commission since 1 April 2002.
1302W(2) what decisions have been taken within the last 12 months to make extra (a) capital and (b) revenue money available to hospitals within (i) Chesham and Amersham and (ii) Buckinghamshire; if he will list the (A) projects, (B) sums of money involved and (C) start dates; and if he will make a statement. [130606]
§ Dr. LadymanIt is for primary care trusts in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders to determine how best to use their revenue funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services.
Revenue funding is allocated to primary care trusts on the basis of the relative needs of their populations. A weighted capitation formula is used to determine each primary care trust's target share of available resources. National health service trusts as providers of services receive the bulk of their revenue funding from commissioning by primary care trusts.
Operational capital is allocated to all NHS trusts and PCTs primarily for minor capital investments and equipment replacement, and is distributed using a formula based on the size of the current asset base. Strategic capital is allocated directly to strategic health authorities to fund larger capital developments to facilitate strategic change, and is distributed using a population based formula. Strategic health authorities then prioritise allocations from the strategic capital to NHS trusts and PCTs in their patch.
It is for the local health economy to decide the most appropriate use of this capital funding in order to meet national and local priorities.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Oxford. West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) of 13 May 2003,Official Report, column 234W, on target funding allocations, how much of the additional allocation became available to (a) Chesham and Amersham and (b) Buckinghamshire. [130607]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonCash increases to Buckinghamshire primary care trusts are shown in the table.