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Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 7 March 1995
HEALTH
Termination Payments
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what termination payments have been made to (a) chairs and (b) non-executive directors of NHS authorities and trusts; and in what circumstances such payments are made.
Mr. Malone: No such payments have been made since the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Dr. Mawhinney) to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-West (Mr. Stern) on 16 February 1993, column 164. Such payments may be made to the chairman of a national health service authority in exceptional circumstances by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. No such provision exists for non-executive members of authorities or for chairmen or non-executive members of NHS trusts.
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the procedures adopted in relation to in-contract settlements for former NHS trust chief executives.
Mr. Malone: The Department has issued guidance--TEL(94)3--which sets out what is expected of national health service trusts in providing for contractual termination settlements in respect of chief executives and senior managers.
NHS Treatment of Prisoners
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health(1) what different arrangements exist for the billing and funding of the outside treatment of prisoners with (a) mental illness and (b) physical illness;
(2) what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the purchaser- provider split between health authorities in respect of patients who are imprisoned; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. Bowis: Responsibility for meeting the costs of treatment provided to prisoners in national health service accident and emergency units is met by the district in which the hospital is located. Otherwise responsibility for outside treatment falls to the health authority in the prisoner's usual district of residence, determined by the address at which they were resident immediately before detention. Where that cannot be determined satisfactorily, responsibility falls to the district in which the offence, or alleged offence, in respect of which the prisoner is detained was committed. There is no difference between the arrangements for funding treatment of mental and physical illness.
Purchasing authorities are required in their strategic and development plans to take account of the health care needs of all those who are normally resident in their
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district. This will include the needs of people who are in prison and who may require care and treatment in the NHS. These arrangements are subject to the normal monitoring process undertaken by the NHS Executive.Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision the NHS provides for those prisoners suffering from mental illness too severe to be dealt with in prison but not severe enough to warrant incarceration in a Rampton-level unit.
Mr. Bowis: Prisoners who are transferred to national health service hospitals under provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 may be admitted to general psychiatric hospitals, specialist medium-secure units, or one of the three special hospitals. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary will name the hospital on a transfer direction following recommendations made to him by two medical practitioners who will have assessed the prisoner and advised on the level of security required.
Health Care, Burton on Trent
Sir Ivan Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the improvements to health care provision in Burton on Trent and district since the introduction of the health reforms in 1991.
Mr. Sackville: I am aware of the excellent performance by national health service hospitals within the Burton on Trent area and I am sure that my hon. and learned Friend will wish to join me in congratulating them on their successes since the reforms were introduced in 1991. These include:
Burton Hospitals NHS Trust being awarded the charter mark in October 1994 by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.
12 new consultants employed at Burton Hospital NHS Trust, an increase of over 25 per cent., all funded from internally generated savings.
In 1992 Premier Health NHS Trust opened a 10 place day unit for the mentally ill, the Horace Pritchard Home, in a joint project with social services.
Burton Fundholding Group set up: fourth wave consortium of 13 practices in nine funds representing 85,000 patients in the Burton area. Total budget £14.5 million.
Burton Hospitals NHS Trust continues to reduce waiting list. At the end of January 56 patients were waiting over nine months. This is expected to be nil by March.
In April Premier Health NHS Trust are expecting to open the £700, 000 Margaret Stanhope Centre on the Burton district hospital site to replace the old Harry Jones in-patient psychiatric unit and Belvedere resource centre.
AIDS
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the item concerned with fostering a climate of understanding and compassion, discouraging discrimination and safeguarding confidentiality, as set out in section D.14 of "The Health of the Nation", 1992, has been dropped from the review of "The Health of the Nation"--"One Year On", 1993; and what policy changes underlie this change.
Mr. Sackville: When the AIDS epidemic began in the United Kingdom, the Government dedicated considerable efforts to combating discrimination, not least through the general anti-discrimination legislation. The UK's record is well respected internationally on this. From the London declaration of 1988 to the Paris summit of 1994, the Government have re- emphasised their continuing commitment to discouraging discrimination on this front.
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That still underlies each element of the strategy which covers prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, monitoring surveillance and research, and international action.Health and Inequality
Mr. Frank Cook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation she has made of the report published by the department of social policy at the university of Newcastle on "Health and Inequality: the Northern Region 1981 to 1991".
Mr. Sackville: The issues raised in the report are under consideration by the Chief Medical Officer's sub-group looking at variations in health. The group is due to report in spring 1995 on how the Department of Health and the national health service can effectively tackle ethnic, geographical, socio-economic and gender variations in health in the five "Health of the Nation" key areas. Work is progressing in line with that timetable.
Family Networks
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what non- governmental agencies supporting family networks are funded by the Government; and what initiatives they are undertaking.
Mr. Bowis: The Government grant-aid the following voluntary organisations who support family networks:
Barnardos';
The Childrens Society;
Contact a Family;
Exploring Parenthood;
Family Centre Network;
Family Rights Group;
Family Support Network;
Family Services Units;
Family Welfare Association;
Gingerbread;
Grandparents Federation;
National Children's Homes Action For Children;
National Council for One Parent Families;
Parent Line;
Parent Link;
Parent Network;
Parents At Work;
Pre-school Learning Alliance
Save the Children Fund;
The National Stepfamily Association.
These organisations support self-help networks of families or parents, networks of family centres providing services to families and networks of research into family support. The Department of Health spends about £5 million annually supporting these and other family organisations which are not explicitly networks.
Take Our Daughters to Work"
Mr. Janner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what support (a) she and (b) the NHS is giving to "Take our Daughters to Work" campaign on 27 April.
Mr. Sackville: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is participating in the "Take our Daughters to Work" campaign. She will be accompanied by a schoolgirl from her constituency on 27 April. As the largest employer of women in Europe, with good examples of women working successfully at all levels of the organisation, this initiative offers an opportunity positively to promote
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careers in the national health service to potential future employees and a number of NHS authorities and trust have indicated their support for the campaign.Solvent Abuse
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died from solvent and volatile substance abuse in each year since 1985.
Mr. Bowis: The information is shown in the table: