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26 Oct 2009 : Column 104W—continued
Mental Health: Prisoners
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners in each strategic health authority region have been transferred to a secure mental health unit in each of the last five years. [295326]
Phil Hope: The quarterly regional Prison Health Performance and Quality Indicators introduced in 2007-08, provide information about transfers of prisoners requiring inpatient treatment for mental disorder. Prior to this period, information is available on a quarterly basis but is not broken down by health authority regions.
Total numbers of transfers under all sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 per quarter
Q uarter 1 Q uarter 2 Q uarter 3 Q uarter 4 Total
Data covering the year 2007-08 are incomplete. Complete information broken down by strategic health authority regions and Wales for the year 2008-09 is in the following table.
Transfers under all sections of the Mental Health Act by strategic health authority 2008-09
Region Q uarter 1 Q uarter 2 Q uarter 3 Q uarter 4 Total
Yorks and Humber
26 Oct 2009 : Column 105W
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken since the publication of Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system to improve the identification of mental health problems or learning disabilities among prisoners on their reception into prison. [295327]
Phil Hope: Lord Bradley made 82 recommendations, many of which Lord Bradley himself recognised needed further work to ensure that all implications are considered for children, young people and adults. The Government have accepted the direction set out in the report and has committed to report to Parliament on the progress made by the end of October.
A Health and Criminal Justice National Programme Board has been fully operational since June 2009 bringing together senior officials in the key Departments (Department of Health, Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Department for Children, Schools and Families). The Programme Board has been meeting monthly to pull together a national delivery plan and ensure appropriate cross-government representation and engagement as actions are being developed.
The first objective of the Programme Board has been to develop a national delivery plan that will set out our shared vision for improving health and social care services for all those in touch with the criminal justice system including reviewing arrangements for reception for those entering prison. The newly established Health and Criminal Justice Programme Board have been working hard to ensure that all the Bradley recommendations are fully incorporated into this cross-government plan.
Ministers are due to report to parliament by the end of this month on progress in this regard.
Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Health Services
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from (a) hon. Members, (b) Members of the House of Lords, (c) patient groups and (d) clinicians on treatment and care for people diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS); what his policy on such care and treatment is; and if he will make a statement. [295038]
Ann Keen: Since the beginning of the 2008-09 parliamentary year, the Department has received four parliamentary questions and at least 25 items of correspondence relating to myelodysplastic syndromes. Of these, 15 were from hon. Members, one from a Member of the House of Lords and nine from members of the public.
The 2003 "Improving Outcomes in Haematological Cancers" guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) sets out recommendations about the care and treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), with the emphasis on symptom control and supportive treatment.
It is for the national health service locally to implement this guidance. Good progress has been made and the National Cancer Action Team continue to work with the NHS at a local level to ensure full implementation.
NICE is currently appraising azacitidine for the treatment of MDS, and currently expects to publish final guidance on this drug in May 2010.
NHS: Finance
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2009, Official Report, columns 1169-72W, on NHS: finance, how much each loan was for; when each loan was taken out; and how much is expected to be repaid in respect of each loan. [294923]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department makes loans to national health services trusts and national health service foundation trusts. The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Patient Choice Schemes
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take for implementing a patient's right to make choices about their health-care through statutory directions to primary care trusts; and whether those directions will be published. [295502]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The primary care trusts 'Choice of Secondary Care Provider Directions 2009' were published alongside the NHS Constitution on 21 January 2009 and came into effect on 1 April 2009. The directions place a number of new duties on primary care trusts, including a duty to make arrangements to ensure that patients who need an elective referral are offered a choice of any clinically appropriate provider. The directions have been placed in the Library.
Prescription Drugs: Licensing
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to primary care trusts on making decisions about the post-licence use of new medicines; and if he will make a statement. [295037]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government have issued a statutory funding direction which, unless it has been amended or waived for a specific treatment, requires national health service organisations to make funding available for treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) within three months of publication of final technology appraisal guidance.
New statutory directions were issued to primary care trusts and NHS trusts concerning decisions about medicines and other treatments where there is no positive NICE recommendation. These came into force on 1 April 2009 and are supported by guiding principles and good practice guidance.
Prescription Drugs: North Yorkshire
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost of (a) all medicines dispensed and (b) medicines dispensed to patients aged 60 years and over by the NHS in North Yorkshire and York was in each year since 1996-97. [295228]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the format requested. Information showing the net ingredient cost of medicines dispensed via an FP10 prescription in primary care within the North Yorkshire and York primary care trust for the period September 2004 to August 2009 is shown in the following table.
The cost of medicines dispensed for patients aged 60 years and over is not available.
Information showing the net ingredient cost of medicines dispensed via an FPI0 prescription in primary care within the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust for the period September 2004 to August 2009
Number of items ( Thousand ) Net ingredient cost (£000) Average net ingredient cost per item (£)
September 2004 to March 2005
January-2006
Total for year 2005-06
April 2009 to August 2009
Total September 2004 to August 2009
1. Data have been supplied by financial year 2005-06 to 2008-09. Only the last 60 months data are available; therefore data prior to September 2004 are not available. September to December data are available for 2004. March to August data are available for 2009-10.
2. NHS Prescription Services (RxS) is responsible for the reimbursement and remuneration of dispensing contractors in England on behalf of the Department of Health. NHS RxS captures prescription items submitted by dispensing contractors for reimbursement and remuneration purposes.
3. North Yorkshire and York has been defined as the North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT).
4. On 1 October 2006 four PCTs, Hambelton and Richmondshire PCT, Craven Harrogate and Rural District PCT, Scarborough, Whitby and Rydale PCT and Selby and York PCT merged to form North Yorkshire and York PCT. The data provided prior to October 2006 have been collated from these PCTs and have been structured in line with current PCT arrangements.
5. The data are based on England community dispensing (not prescribing) data only. These may include items prescribed in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man which have been dispensed in England. The data exclude items prescribed in England but dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.
6. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in prisons, hospitals, including mental health trusts, walk-in centres or private prescriptions but do include prison and hospital prescriptions which are dispensed in the community.
7. Prescriptions are written/printed on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.
8. The net ingredient cost is the basic price of a drug prior to discount being deducted (where applicable) as stated in Part II Clause 8 of the Drug Tariff for England and Wales (www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/edt_intro.htm). It excludes dispensing fees, container allowances and other fees paid to contractors.
9. The average net ingredient cost per item for North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust has fallen significantly between September 2004 and August 2009. This follows the downward trend in the national average net ingredient cost over the same period. Prescription exemption data.
10. When determining payment to contractors, it is only necessary for NHS RxS to determine whether:
a prescription charge has been collected; or
a patient has completed a declaration of exemption, when a declaration is required.
Up until November 2007, NHS RxS determined and recorded the exemption category on every 20th form that is exempt from the prescription charge. The data were recorded from the tick-box shown on the reverse of FP10 prescription forms, and where appropriate from the age or date of birth printed on the front of the form. This relied on the form to be clear and completed correctly which may not have always been the case.
11. The information from the sample of prescription forms informed the Department of Health of the frequency of claims for exemption from prescription charges in each exemption category.
12. Due to the method applied when sampling exemption data, this information can only be viewed as an estimate of the number of products issued for patients within an exemption category and is not statistically valid when applied to individual PCT's.
13. From December 2007 NHS RxS changed the processes for pricing prescriptions and for capturing prescription charge exemption status. Therefore NHS RxS cannot reliably estimate the data for each exemption category relating to the age of the patient from this date.
14. The processes for capturing information during the reimbursement and remuneration processes undertaken formerly by the Prescription Pricing Authority, and latterly by NHS RxS, were designed to allow an analysis of trends in prescribing and dispensing patterns. However, tighter statistical governance requirements and greater scrutiny of the level of accuracy and precision of data within the NHS suggest that it would be inappropriate to provide exemption category data in detail.
National Health Service RxS Information System.
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