here - United Kingdom Parliament

891W
Written Answers
1 DECEMBER 2010
Written Answers
892W
Mr Simon Burns: The consultation on a strategy for
services for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
published earlier this year, included publication of an
impact assessment which included estimates of the impact
of the strategy as a whole on the numbers and costs of
emergency hospital admissions. No explicit estimates
were made relating to in-patient bed days, or to the
specific impact of improving the rate of early diagnosis
of the disease. The consultation documents have already
been placed in the Library, and can be found on the
Department’s website at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/
en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_112977
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
what recent assessment he has made of the stage of
disease at which chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
is most frequently diagnosed; and whether his Department
holds information for benchmarking purposes on the
diagnosis of that disease in other EU member states.
[26128]
Mr Simon Burns: The information the Department
holds on the stage at which chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease is diagnosed was published as part of the
Department’s consultation on a strategy for services for
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in England and
is included in the consultation impact assessment. The
consultation documents have already been placed in the
Library and can be found on the Department’s website
at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/
en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_112977
The Department does not hold information for
benchmarking purposes on the stage of diagnosis in
other European Union member states.
Clostridium Difficile
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
what penalties may be imposed on NHS hospital trusts
which fail to meet his Department’s targets for reducing
the incidence of clostridium difficile. [26395]
Mr Simon Burns: Poor performance in relation to
Clostridium difficile is covered within the NHS Standard
Contracts that commissioners are expected to use for
NHS funded services as a basis for setting out their
expectations in terms of performance by their providers.
It falls into the Nationally Specified Events aspect of
the contract, which introduces a sliding scale of deductions
of up to 2% of the annual contract value if the provider
breaches the number of cases of Clostridium difficile
infections in a contract year compared with the previous
year’s performance. The primary care trust is required
to make the year-end deduction under the provisions of
the relevant clause within the contract.
Clostridium Difficile: Screening
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of
patients screened for the early detection of clostridium
difficile. [26394]
Mr Simon Burns: For patients who develop diarrhoea,
existing guidance, ‘Clostridium difficile infection: How
to deal with the problem’, published by the Department
and the Health Protection Agency, makes clear prompt
testing is crucial. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Expert advice is that screening of patients without
symptoms for Clostridium difficile infection is unnecessary,
as current evidence indicates that it is not clinically
effective.
Day Care: Greater London
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
whether he has made an estimate of the likely change in
the number of (a) daycare centres and (b) residential
homes in (i) West Ham constituency and (ii) Newham
in the next 12 months. [26485]
Mr Simon Burns: Care homes are operated by local
councils or independent—private and charitable/
voluntary—organisations. Day care is not a regulated
service; councils are free to take their own decisions on
its provision.
It is for local councils to ensure, through their planning
and commissioning of all social care services, that there
is sufficient capacity to meet local need. Therefore no
such estimate has been made by the Department.
In recognition of the pressures on the social care
system in a challenging fiscal climate, the Government
have allocated an additional £2 billion by 2014-15 to
support the delivery of social care.
This means, with an ambitious programme of efficiency,
that there is enough funding available both to protect
people’s access to services and deliver new approaches
to improve quality and outcomes.
Dental Services: Yorkshire and Humber
Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for
Health what steps his Department is taking to increase
the number of NHS dental service centres available in
Yorkshire and the Humber; and what steps he is taking
to improve provision for emergency treatment. [26547]
Mr Simon Burns: It is for primary care trusts to
decide how local services, including dental access centres
and urgent care, should develop to meet local needs and
service priorities.
Departmental Grants
Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health
(1) what the monetary value of grants awarded by his
Department was in 2009-10; and how much he expects
to award in grants in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12;
[27261]
(2) what grants have been awarded by his
Department in 2010-11 to date; what grants he plans to
award in each of the next two years; what the monetary
value is of each such grant; and to which organisations
such grants are made. [27264]
Paul Burstow: Information about grants awarded to
voluntary organisations is routinely published on the
Department’s website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/
PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_118373