§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring arrangements are being put in place by his Department to ensure that the advice provided by general practices which sign up to providing contraceptive services under the new general medical services contract(a) covers all methods of contraception and (b) is of a high standard. [154447]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonRegulations for the new general medical services contract set out a new contractual requirement that practices providing additional contraceptive services must give "advice about the full range of contraceptive methods" and "the referral as necessary for specialist sexual health services". This includes referral for the fitting of intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants where these are not provided by the practice. In addition, practices will be rewarded through a quality and outcomes framework for having policies on emergency contraception and pre-conceptual (all other) contraception. Primary care trusts will be responsible for performance managing the contract.
§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps the Government is taking to meet the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare's recommendation that there should be one full-time clinician in family planning and sexual and reproductive healthcare per 125,000 population; [154448]
(2) how many (a) doctors and (b) nurses are employed in family planning community clinics; and what steps the Government is taking to (i) recruit and (ii) retain (A) doctors and (B) nurses in such clinics. [154449]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonIt is for individual primary care trusts and National Health Service trusts to determine how their services are configured and delivered in order to provide quality services. The NHS will continue to plan its future workforce requirements to address identified need. We are also ensuring through the Department's performance management measures that the creation of clinical posts is seen as a high priority. Also, the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare is represented on the contraceptive services group that has been established by the Department. Workforce is a key issue being addressed by this group. In 2003–04, central funding was provided to support the implementation of four additional specialist registrar posts in family planning and reproductive health.
The Department does not collect data on the numbers of doctors and nurses specifically employed in family planning community clinics (the medical and non-medical workforce census collects information annually on the number of doctors and nurses employed in the NHS, but cannot distinguish those working in family planning).
§ Mrs. CaltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to prioritise contraceptive services within strategic health authorities' local delivery plans; [154429]
280Wwhat steps his Department (a) has taken over the last 12 months and (b) plans to take over the next 12 months to prioritise contraceptive services within the NHS; and what impact such measures have had to date; [154430]
if he will make a statement on the role of the group of key experts on contraception referred to by the Under-Secretary for State of Health on 15 January 2004, Official Report, column 371WH. [154433]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonIt is a key aim of both the Government's Sexual Health and HIV Strategy and Teenage Pregnancy Strategy to reduce unintended pregnancy rates. Provision of good quality contraceptive services is key in achieving this aim. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) to ensure that comprehensive services are provided and the Department has issued them with guidance on how to commission these services.
The Department has also convened a group of key experts, including representatives from the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Family Planning Association, to develop and implement an action plan to support the improvement of contraceptive services at local level.
We are working with strategic health authorities to help raise the priority level of sexual health, including contraceptive services, within local delivery plans.