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29 Jan 2004 : Column 472W—continued
Community Health Councils
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health have spent to date in establishing new arrangements following the abolition of community health councils. [149764]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The amount spent by the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health within the financial year 2003–04, up to 31 December 2003, was £19.9 million.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health has spent on (a) headquarters and (b) regional offices in the current financial year. [149766]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The amount spent by the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health within the financial year 2003–04, up to 31 December 2003, was £4.5 million on the national centre and £2.97 million on the regional centres.
Correspondence
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the letter of 28 August from the hon. Member for Northavon (his reference PO1035359) regarding vitamin B17. [147956]
Miss Melanie Johnson: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 27 January 2004.
Drug-related Deaths
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in reducing the number of drug-related deaths since 1999. [151462]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The figures on drug related deaths since 1999 are shown in the table. The drop in 2001 was the first reduction in drug related deaths (DRDs) since 1993.
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of DRDs | 1,567 | 1,662 | 1,623 |
| Percentage change | — | +6 | -2 |
Dual Diagnosis
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his plans to propose the introduction of a new definition of dual diagnosis into statute. [151788]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Government have no plans to introduce a new definition of dual diagnosis into statute. Under the draft Mental Health Bill it is
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proposed that there will be a single definition of mental disorder with no exceptions or exclusions, so that people can be treated according to their individual needs.
Under the current Mental Health Act 1983 a person cannot be treated as being mentally disordered (for the purposes of the Act) solely on the ground that he is dependent on alcohol or drugs, there must be dual diagnosis of a mental illness. We believe that, in practice, these exemptions have been misunderstood and misapplied. This has meant that some people have not received the compulsory treatment which they need to prevent them from harming themselves or others.
The intention of proposals in the draft Mental Health Bill is that strict conditions will ensure the powers are only used where the nature or degree of mental disorder requires treatment under the care of a mental health consultant; appropriate treatment is available for the individual patient and there is a risk to self or others that warrants such treatment. This will mean that there is no artificial barrier to people being treated under compulsory powers when this is necessary because the conditions in the Bill are satisfied.
In May 2002 the Department of Health published Dual Diagnosis Good Practice Guide. The guide reaffirms dual diagnosis as a priority for mainstream mental health services and emphasises the need for them to work in partnership with other agencies, such as substance misuse services and drug action teams.
General Practitioners (Chorley)
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners surgeries there are in Chorley. [151282]
Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is not held centrally in the format required.
The primary care trust reports that in Chorley town centre there are seven general practitioner practices, of which four own the premises and three are in one health centre.
In the Borough Council of Chorley there are 17 practices, of which 13 own their premises and four are in two health centres.
Health Forums
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patient and public involvement forums have started monitoring the NHS. [149772]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Of the 572 patients' forums in England, 549 are operational. During December and the early part of January the majority of forums met together for the first time to begin planning their work. During January and February, most of the patients' forums will have their first meeting in public. All forums, even those not operational due to vacancies, are gathering information about their local health services, making contact with the National Health Service, and talking to their communities.
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Mental Health
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the use of criminal guardianship powers in the Mental Health Act 1983. [149799]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I am not aware of any research that has been commissioned on the use of the guardianship powers given to courts under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the use of triage in mental health provision. [151790]
Ms Rosie Winterton: A number of initiatives are being put in place to improve emergency assessment and treatment of people with mental health problems.
In line with the commitments outlined in the NHS Plan, crisis resolution services are being developed to provide intensive support for people in mental health crisis in their own home. Crisis resolution services are designed to provide prompt and effective home treatment, including medication, in order to prevent hospital admissions and give support to informal carers.
In addition, almost 500 Gateway workers will be in place by the end of the year to help people in mental health crises access appropriate services in the community.
People with mental health problems are also able to use the NHS Direct to get first-level advice and referral on to specialised helplines or to local services.
National Treatment Agency
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the current budgetary situation facing the National Treatment Agency, with particular reference to the South-West Region. [151789]
Miss Melanie Johnson: From an overall pooled drug treatment budget of £236.1 million in 2003–04, the South West received a total of £18.19 million. This was an average increase of 17.40 per cent., on the previous year. The National Treatment Agency (NTA) has responsibility for monitoring the spend of this resource.
In addition the NTA employ a team of four staff within the Government Office for the South West to support the development of drug treatment at local level. Nationally the NTA were allocated £5.5 million running costs in 2003–04 for their central and regional structure. The proportion of this allocated to the South West has not been disaggregated.
NHS Dentists
Mrs. Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS dentists are required to issue a warning to patients before their names are removed from the national database of NHS patients; and what guidance he gives on the removal of names. [150068]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 22 January 2004]: National health service patients are registered with a dentist under a continuing care (adults) or capitation (children) arrangement with a dentist for the provision of general dental services, which lapses after
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15 months. The arrangement can be extended at any time during the 15 months, usually at the regular check up.
If the dentist does not agree to the extension of the arrangement, he/she must give notice in writing to the patient not later than three months before the date the arrangement is due to elapse and use his/her best endeavours to complete treatment before that date.
Where a dentist wishes to terminate an arrangement, he/she must give three months' notice to the patient. The relevant primary care trust can give permission for the arrangement to be terminated with less than three months notice, having given the patient an opportunity to make representations.
NHS Direct (Lancashire)
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many calls have been made to NHS Direct from (a) the constituency of Blackpool North and Fleetwood and (b) Lancashire. [150660]
Miss Melanie Johnson: NHS Direct North West Coast covers the constituencies of Blackpool North and Fleetwood, and Lancashire. The statistics collated by NHS Direct North West Coast for the last six months—1 July to 31 December 2003—broken down by constituency, are shown in the table.
| Constituency | Number of calls |
|---|---|
| Blackburn | 31,632 |
| Blackpool | 6,343 |
| Burnley | 4,473 |
| Chorley | 1,151 |
| Darwen | 4,096 |
| Hyndburn | 7,487 |
| Lancaster and Wyre | 4,181 |
| Morecambe and Lunesdale | 1,321 |
| Preston | 18,289 |
| Ribble Valley | 1,120 |
| Total | 80,093 |
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