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1 May 2003 : Column 503W—continued
HEALTH
Accident and Emergency Services
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on accident and
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emergency services at (a) Harold Wood Hospital in the London Borough of Havering and (b) Oldchurch Hospital Romford. [108663]
Mr. Hutton: Improving patients' experience of emergency care is essential. In light of this, Reforming Emergency Care was launched in October 2001 supported by £118 million investment. It sets a long-term programme of reform supported by extra investment and new capacity to address one of the public's key concerns about the national health service—waiting in accident and emergency.
Harold Wood hospital does not have an A&E service but a minor injuries unit.
Barking Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust have invested £102,000 in the following initiatives at Oldchurch hospital:
- Improvement of the medical assessment unit and an additional emergency physician at Oldchurch hospital to increase throughput in A&E.
Improving primary care working at Oldchurch with the aim of re-directing primary care presentations in A&E.
A sector wide project manager based at the Oldchurch site.
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Asthma
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment has been made of numbers of people suffering from asthma in each year since 1997; what the average age of diagnosis was; and if he will make a statement; [110030]
- (2) what assessment has been made of the causes of asthma; and what proposals he has to address them and raise awareness; [110031]
(3) what measures are in place to ensure that asthma sufferers have access to a local health professional with specific asthma training; [110032]
(4) what specialist services are available for those suffering from severe asthma; and what charges are placed on medication and treatment; [110034]
(5) what proposals he has to (a) speed up diagnosis and treatment of asthma and (b) have an asthma plan in place. [110033]
Jacqui Smith: Patients with asthma are able to access the full range of National Health Service support services in both primary and secondary care settings. Inhalers contain drugs to relieve the symptoms, though people who suffer particularly severe attacks may also use 'preventers' to reduce reactions in advance.
People including those suffering from asthma are entitled to free prescriptions if they are aged under 16, or under 19 and in full time education, or aged 60 or over, or they (or their partner) are receiving income support, income based jobseeker's allowance or are named on a NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate. They may also claim help under the NHS low income scheme.
Information is not centrally available concerning numbers of asthma sufferers since 1997, however hospital episode statistics data shows that there were the following admissions to hospital between 1997–2002.
| Year | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admissions | 71,434 | 69,824 | 66,054 | 60,376 | 60,134 |
People with asthma will benefit from the emerging expert patients programme which will via the NHS—provide training in self-management skills for people with long term chronic conditions. We have now commenced on a fourth wave pilot phase for the remaining selected primary care trusts (PCTs), with activity taking place on a generic basis. The previous pilots have been well received by the course participants.It is the role of health authorities, in partnership with PCTs, to decide what services to provide for their populations including those with asthma. They are best placed to understand local health needs and commission services to meet them. We have welcomed guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) on inhalers for children under five in September 2000 and for older children, aged five to 15, on April 11 2002. The NICE recommendations provide clear evidence based on guidance on the most suitable inhalers for children.
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The Government considers the provision of first class health services for asthma sufferers as very important and is involved in a broad spectrum of research and development work into the disease. The principal body providing Government funding in the scientific area is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC receives its grant-in-aid from the Department of Trade and Industry and it spends around 2 million a year on asthma research. In addition to this, a major joint initiative is being funded by the Department of Health, the Department for the Environment, Transport and Regions and the MRC into air pollution and respiratory disease.
A new general medical services contract agreement was launched on Friday 21 February 2003, which, if accepted by the profession, will lead to an unprecedented level of new investment in general practice to deliver a wider range of high quality services with better clinical outcomes for all patients.
The Department of Health and the Royal College of General Practitioners, under the supervision of a national development group of key stakeholders, have produced a framework for implementing a scheme for GPs with special interests and clinical guidelines for GPs with special interests in specific specialities, including respiratory medicine. Whilst this document focuses on GPs with special interests, it is recognised that specialist nurses already play a major role in the management of respiratory conditions, and much of the GP role could equally apply to an appropriately qualified specialist nurse. It is likely that the core activities of a GP with special interests will vary according to local need and resources, but are likely to focus on asthma and chronic obstructive airways disease.
The national service framework (NSF) for children is being developed to set standards for the care of children and young people to ensure all children and young people have access to good quality care. Whilst it is not the intention to look at specific conditions in the NSF, it has been agreed that asthma, as one of the most common childhood conditions, should be used as one of the exemplars which will accompany the main NSF report. These will illustrate how the standards should be applied to ensure that services delivered to children are effective and meet their needs.
The NSF for older people has made a commitment to develop a service model on respiratory diseases in older people within the ten-year framework. The development of this service model under the NSF for older people will apply for all those who need these services, regardless of their age, much as the current NSF service models on stroke and dementia.
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Cardiovascular Disease
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of how much money would be saved by the NHS through earlier detection of cardiovascular disease if all men with erectile dysfunction sought treatment from their GP; [108163]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the number of men estimated to have been deterred from seeking medical help for erectile dysfunction by the restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe treatments; and if he will make a statement; [108165]
(3) what assessment he has made of the number of new cases of cardiovascular disease he would expect to be detected if the current restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe treatments for erectile dysfunction were removed; [108164]
(4) what assessment he has made of the number of men estimated to have erectile dysfunction but unable to obtain treatments from GPs on the NHS because of the restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe those treatments; [108167]
(5) what assessment he has made of the cost to the NHS of removing current restrictions on GPs' ability to prescribe treatments on the NHS to men with erectile dysfunction; [108168]
(6) what assessment he has made of the number of men with cardiovascular disease who are unable to obtain NHS treatments from GPs because of the restrictions on the GPs' ability to prescribe relevant treatments; and if he will make a statement. [108166]
Ms Blears: We have made no such assessments, but the decision was taken to restrict the availability of treatments for erectile dysfunction on the national health service because of the high potential costs of providing these treatments and the consequent risk that resources might be diverted from other services such as cancer. Following a public consultation exercise undertaken in 2001 we estimated that the cost of removing the restrictions might be in the order of an additional £100 million a year.
Chiropody Services (Buckinghamshire)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of chiropody services in Buckinghamshire. [109430]
Ms Blears: Primary care trusts now have the responsibility of improving the health of the community, securing the provision of high quality services and integrating health and social care locally. They have the resources to commission services and to identify the number of professional staff that they need to deliver those services. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community, including the provision of chiropody services.
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