here - United Kingdom Parliament
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899W<br />
Written Answers<br />
1 DECEMBER 2010<br />
Written Answers<br />
900W<br />
Medical Schools: Public Expenditure<br />
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
what estimate he has made of the number of medical<br />
school places that will be available in each year of the<br />
Comprehensive Spending Review period. [26543]<br />
Anne Milton: T<strong>here</strong> are no current plans to change<br />
numbers but they will be kept under review based on<br />
forecast future demand with the advice of the Centre<br />
for Workforce Intelligence.<br />
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus: Screening<br />
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
what progress has been made towards meeting his<br />
Department’s 2011 deadline for the screening of<br />
non-elective patients for MRSA. [26390]<br />
Mr Simon Burns: As outlined in the “NHS Operating<br />
Framework 2010/11”, t<strong>here</strong> is a requirement to introduce<br />
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus screening.<br />
Good progress is being made by organisations to implement<br />
screening for this cohort of patients, with some organisations<br />
already having declared full implementation of the policy<br />
and all organisations planning to implement emergency<br />
screening for relevant emergency admissions within the<br />
expected time scale. Strategic health authorities will<br />
continue to monitor delivery towards the requirement<br />
by 31 December 2010.<br />
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus<br />
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
what steps his Department is taking to reduce the<br />
incidence of MRSA. [26392]<br />
Mr Simon Burns: This Government are determined<br />
to do all they can to support the health and adult social<br />
care providers reduce Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus<br />
aureus (MRSA). From the outset, through the Coalition<br />
Agreement, this Government made clear that they expected<br />
the national health service to adopt a zero tolerance<br />
approach to all health care associated infections (HCAIs),<br />
including MRSA.<br />
In the revision of the 2010-11 Operating Framework<br />
published in June, it was made clear that the NHS<br />
should continue prioritising the achievement of the<br />
MRSA objective. The successful implementation of this<br />
objective will deliver both an overall reduction nationally<br />
and, importantly, will reduce variation by moving all<br />
organisations towards the performance of the best.<br />
At the same time, the revision of the Operating<br />
Framework confirmed that it expected and required the<br />
NHS to implement MRSA screening of all relevant<br />
emergency admissions by the end of this year.<br />
[n terms of using the availability of data as a driver to<br />
supporting further reductions in MRSA, we have introduced<br />
weekly data publication of both MRSA blood stream<br />
infections and Clostridium difficile infections at hospital<br />
site level.<br />
We are also committed to ensuring that the NHS<br />
continue to have access to evidence based guidance in<br />
order that they can reduce the number of all HCAIs,<br />
including MRSA, through the implementation of effective<br />
infection prevention and control practices. This guidance<br />
is available on the Department of Health’s “Clean, Safe<br />
Care” website.<br />
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 “Code of<br />
Practice for health and adult social care on the Prevention<br />
and Control of Infections and related guidance”, which<br />
the Care Quality Commission use as a basis for assessing<br />
compliance with the registration requirement on cleanliness<br />
and infection control has been a driver for improvement<br />
in the hospital setting. The scope of the Code has<br />
already been extended to adult social care settings and<br />
will include primary care in due course so that we can<br />
ensure that all settings w<strong>here</strong> patients receive care and<br />
treatment operate comparable infection prevention and<br />
control practices.<br />
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Screening<br />
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
what information his Department collates for the<br />
purpose of monitoring rates of MRSA. [26391]<br />
Mr Simon Burns: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus<br />
aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia are subject to mandatory<br />
reporting to the Health Protection Agency. The Department<br />
uses the outputs from this system to assess and monitor<br />
rates of MRSA bacteraemia at both national and local<br />
levels.<br />
Multiple Sclerosis: Health Services<br />
Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health<br />
(1) what the membership is of the independent scientific<br />
advisory group of the multiple sclerosis risk-sharing<br />
scheme; [26893]<br />
(2) how many patients have taken part in the multiple<br />
sclerosis risk-sharing scheme; and what estimate he has<br />
made of the cost to the public purse of administering<br />
drug treatments under the scheme; [26894]<br />
(3) which organisation is responsible for monitoring<br />
outcomes for patients involved in the multiple sclerosis<br />
risk-sharing scheme; and when the results of the<br />
scheme will be published. [26895]<br />
Mr Simon Burns: The scientific advisory group of the<br />
multiple sclerosis risk sharing scheme (MS RSS) comprises<br />
individuals with expertise in clinical research, epidemiology<br />
and trials and health economics. The group is chaired<br />
by Richard Lilford, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology<br />
at Birmingham university and receives specialist advice<br />
from neurologists who specialise in the treatment of<br />
multiple sclerosis.<br />
The MS RSS collects data from a cohort of over<br />
5,000 patients. T<strong>here</strong> are an estimated 12,000 people<br />
receiving drug therapy in the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Kingdom</strong> through<br />
the scheme. Total national health service spend in England<br />
on the four drugs covered by the scheme is estimated at<br />
£50 million a year. The Department contributes £200,000<br />
per year to running the scheme.<br />
Parexel Ltd, a specialist clinical research organisation,<br />
is responsible for data collection, management and<br />
analysis for the MS RSS. Analysis of four year data<br />
from the scheme is due to be completed in 2011.