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895W<br />
Written Answers<br />
1 DECEMBER 2010<br />
Written Answers<br />
896W<br />
Mr Simon Burns: For those staff transferring from<br />
primary care trusts to general practitioner (GP)<br />
commissioning consortiums, transfers will be covered<br />
by either the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of<br />
Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) and/or the Cabinet<br />
Office Staff Transfers in the Public Sector Statement of<br />
Practice which provides terms that are overall no less<br />
favourable than if TUPE was applied.<br />
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
(1) which reserve powers will be retained by his Department<br />
following the transfer of commissioning from primary<br />
care trusts to GP consortia; [26525]<br />
(2) what powers his Department will have to take<br />
action in respect of a GP consortium becoming<br />
financially unsustainable after the implementation of<br />
his proposals for practice-based commissioning. [26532]<br />
Mr Simon Burns: General practitioner (GP)<br />
commissioning consortia will be authorised and held to<br />
account by the NHS Commissioning Board. The NHS<br />
Commissioning Board will have powers to intervene in<br />
the event that a consortium is failing to manage their<br />
finances effectively or deliver acceptable outcomes for<br />
their patients.<br />
The Secretary of State for Health will remain accountable<br />
for the health service with powers to set the legislative<br />
framework within which the NHS Commissioning Board<br />
and GP consortia will operate but will not have powers<br />
to intervene in relation to individual consortia. Further<br />
details will be set out in the Government’s forthcoming<br />
response to the consultation on the White Paper “Equity<br />
and Excellence: Liberating the NHS”.<br />
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for<br />
Health what estimate he has made of the likely average<br />
amount of time per week GPs will allocate to running<br />
GP consortia as a result of his proposals to transfer<br />
commissioning from primary care trusts to GPs.<br />
[26531]<br />
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has not made an<br />
estimate of the likely average amount of time per week<br />
general practitioners (GPs) will allocate to running GP<br />
consortia.<br />
A fundamental principle of the new commissioning<br />
arrangements will be that every GP practice will be a<br />
member of a consortium and contribute to its goals.<br />
However, our proposed model will mean that not all<br />
GPs have to be actively involved in every aspect of<br />
commissioning. Their predominant focus will continue<br />
to be on providing high quality primary care to their<br />
patients. It is likely to be a smaller group of primary<br />
care practitioners who will lead the consortium and<br />
play an active role in the clinical design of local services.<br />
Consortia are likely to carry out a number of<br />
commissioning activities themselves. In other cases,<br />
consortia may choose to act collectively, adopting a<br />
lead commissioner arrangement. They may also choose<br />
to buy in support from external organisations, including<br />
local authorities and private and voluntary sector bodies,<br />
which might include analytical activity to profile and<br />
stratify healthcare needs, support for procurement of<br />
services, and contract monitoring.<br />
Haemophilia<br />
Mr Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
(1) whether the NHS took steps to advise haemophiliacs<br />
that plasma pool samples from factor VIII and IX<br />
products produced by the NHS for their use had been<br />
tested for pathogens; and if he will make a statement;<br />
[26354]<br />
(2) whether he plans to release further information<br />
held by his Department on the potential pathogenic<br />
side effects on haemophiliacs of factor VIII and IX<br />
products produced by the NHS for their use; and if he<br />
will make a statement. [26411]<br />
Anne Milton: It was and still is the responsibility of<br />
individual clinicians to advise their patients of the risks<br />
associated with their treatment. In addition, knowledge<br />
of both HIV and hepatitis C emerged gradually, over a<br />
period of time in the late 1970s and early 1980s.<br />
All of the relevant Government papers that are available<br />
from the period before 1985, when heat treatment for<br />
such products was introduced, are on the Department’s<br />
website at:<br />
www.dh.gov.uk/en/FreedomOfInformation/<br />
Freedomofinformationpublicationschemefeedback/<br />
FOIreleases/DH_076693<br />
Given the level of public interest in this matter, the<br />
Government are ready to release any more relevant<br />
documents should any come to light.<br />
Help is at Hand<br />
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
(1) what estimate he has made of the number of copies<br />
of his Department’s leaflet entitled Help is at Hand<br />
distributed by (a) primary care trusts, (b) police forces<br />
and (c) local authorities in each of the last four years;<br />
and if he will make a statement; [26842]<br />
(2) what steps he has taken to ensure that his<br />
Department’s publication Help is at Hand is received<br />
by those whom it is intended to assist; and if he will<br />
make a statement. [26850]<br />
Paul Burstow: Help is at Hand is a resource pack to<br />
support people bereaved by suicide or other sudden or<br />
traumatic deaths, which was launched in 2006. We have<br />
not collected data in the format requested by the hon.<br />
Member. However, data provided by the Department’s<br />
publications orderline, PROLOG, were analysed to show<br />
the number of copies of each edition of the resource<br />
pack supplied to public institutions and private individuals<br />
between 12 September 2006 and 31 December 2009.<br />
The total number of packs distributed over this time<br />
period was 44,765.<br />
To ensure effective promotion and dissemination of<br />
this bereavement pack we undertook a full and<br />
comprehensive evaluation of this resource. This evaluation<br />
is now complete and will be published before the end of<br />
December. Once we have published this evaluation we<br />
will consider how best to ensure it is available to all of<br />
those who need it.<br />
Support for those bereaved by suicide is a priority for<br />
the new suicide prevention strategy currently being<br />
developed and due for publication in the new year.