HC Deb 01 May 1967 vol 746 cc75-6
26. Mr. Fisher

asked the Minister of Health how long the average patient remains in hospital in Great Britain; whether he has any plans to reduce this period; and how it compares with the average length of hospitalisation in comparable countries about which he has information.

Mr. K. Robinson

In the acute specialties the average length of stay in England and Wales has already been reduced from 16.8 days in 1957 to 12.3 days in 1966. The hospital service is working to reduce the period still more, to the extent com- patible with the highest standards of medical care. Valid comparisons with other countries are difficult, but comparative studies are in progress.

Mr. Fisher

Is there not still a considerable discrepancy between different regions, and, if the hospitalisation time in the worst areas were reduced to that in the best, would not this release many beds and clear the waiting lists in many areas?

Mr. Robinson

Yes, Sir, I do not dissent from what the hon. Gentleman says; but he will know that length of stay in hospital reflects, to a considerable extent, the pattern of medical practice and is largely decided on the basis of clinical judgment. My Department's guidance to hospitals is aimed at the more economical use of hospital beds, and the trend is one of decreasing length of stay.

Mr. Pavitt

Has there not been a tremendous increase in the number of cases which we have been able to deal with in our hospitals over the past ten years, and is this not due in no small measure to the fact that, since the inception of the Service, we have doubled the number of nurses employed in it?

Mr. Robinson

Yes, Sir; both points which my hon. Friend makes are broadly correct.

Sir J. Vaughan-Morgan

But has not the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Surbiton (Mr. Fisher) great validity? One accepts the need for total clinical freedom, but, in the Minister's view, are enough steps taken to draw the attention of the different regions and different specialties to improvements effected in other areas?

Mr. Robinson

Yes, Sir; this is done periodically. It has been done in the past, but perhaps the time has come to do it again.