HC Deb 26 January 2004 vol 417 cc180-2W
Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much is being spent in supporting patient and public involvement at local level. [149765]

Ms Rosie Winterton

It is not possible to provide this information, as individual NHS trusts and primary care trusts decide how much to invest in patient and public involvement. The Government, however, have made available £35.4 million to the Commission for Patient and Public involvement in Health for 2003–04

Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what changes will be required to patient and public involvement in health forums established in NHS trusts which gain foundation status. [149769]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The Health and Social Care (Community Standards) Act 2003 requires a patients' forum to be established for national health service foundation trusts. When a NHS trust becomes a NHS foundation trust, it is intended that the membership of the patients' forum will remain the same and the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health will notify members that they are now members of a NHS foundation trust patients' forum

Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health renamed the local network providers as forum support organisations; and for what reasons the change was made. [149770]

Ms Rosie Winterton

Since 1 December 2003, local network providers have been known as forum support organisations because the new name more accurately reflects their purpose of providing practical support to patients' forums.

Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the Commission for Patient and Public

NHS doctors by Government Office Region
England2 Number (headcount)
Change
1997 2001 2002 1997–2002 2001–02
England 89,619 99,169 103,350 13,731 4,181
North East 5,033 5,656 5,823 790 167
Of which:
County Durham and Tees Valley 2,015 2,228 2,252 237 24
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 3018 3,428 3,571 553 143
North West 12,870 14,082 14,497 1,627 415
Yorkshire and the Number 9,057 10,075 10,601 1,544 526
East Midlands 6,691 7,162 7,343 652 181
West Midlands 8,916 9,963 10,387 1,471 424
East of England 8,329 9,125 9,590 1,261 465
London 17,107 19,048 19,872 2,765 824
South East 13,056 14,313 15,028 1,972 715
South West 8,277 9,545 10,042 1,765 497
Special Health Authorities and Other Statutory Bodies 283 200 167 -116 -33
1 Excludes GP Retainers and medical hospital practitioners and medical clinical assistants most of whom are also GPs working part-time in hospitals.
2 1997 GPs data as at 1 October 1997, all other data as at 30 September.

Sources:

Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

General and Personal Medical Services Statistics

NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, and Practice Nurses employed by UPEs1 by Government Office Region
England2 Number (headcount)
Change
1997 2001 2002 1997–2002 2001–02
England 318,856 350,381 367,520 48,664 17,139
North East 18,390 20,727 21,504 3,114 777
Of which
County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 7,524 8,350 8,647 1,123 297
Northumberland Tyne and Wear SHA 10,866 12,377 12,857 1,991 480
Northwest 48,903 52,507 55,989 7,086 3,482
Yorkshire and the Number 33,606 36,064 37,803 4,197 1,739
East Midlands 24,275 26,251 27,597 3,322 1,346
West Midlands 33,132 37,143 38,949 5,817 1,806
East of England 28,481 33,028 34,651 6,170 1,623
London 52,993 58,000 60,638 7,645 2,638
South East 46,702 51,202 53,397 6,695 2,195
South West 31,867 34,868 36,461 4,594 1,593
Special Health Authorities and Other Statutory Bodies 506 591 531 25 -60

Involvement Forums monitors and assesses the performance of forum support organisations. [149771]

Ms Rosie Winterton

The regional centres of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health are responsible for managing the contracts placed with the forum support organisations—this includes performance management of those contracts.