Health Services: Coventry

Mr. Jim Cunningham
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps have been taken to improve (a) heart healthcare, (b) cancer healthcare, (c) influenza prevention and (d) mental healthcare for pensioners in Coventry.

Ann Keen
It is for primary care trusts (PCTs), in partnership with strategic health authorities and other stakeholders to commission health services for their local population, including vascular, cancer, influenza prevention, and mental health services.

The Department recommends that all people aged 65 and over, and those under 65 years who are in specific clinical at-risk groups, receive the seasonal influenza vaccine. Carers who are in receipt of a carer's allowance or are the main carer for an elderly person are also recommended influenza vaccine. The uptake information for Coventry is shown in the following table.

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|                                                        |Percentage uptake|
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|Influenza vaccine uptake in people aged 65 and over     |69.1             |
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|Influenza vaccine uptake in people aged under 65 at-risk|46.9             |
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Information for each PCT is contained in ‘Influenza vaccine uptake among the 65 years and over and under 65 years at risk in England, Winter season 2008-09’ which has been placed in the Library. This information covers those who received the vaccine as part of the national health service influenza programme.