To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many needlestick injuries there were in the NHS involving the risk of transmission of a blood borne virus in (a) England, (b) each NHS region and (c) each strategic health authority in each of the last six years. [102852]

The Department does not collect these data centrally but relies on data that are already reportable under current legislation and departmental guidance. Data collected on a voluntary basis from national health service trusts between July 1997 and June 2002 identified 1,550 incidents that involved the risk of transmission of blood borne viruses.Ministers have agreed that new guidance to be published in autumn 2003 will advise NHS employers that they should collect comprehensive and validated data on the incidence of needlestick injuries, via a standardised surveillance programme.