§ 1. Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Wales what are the numbers of inpatients and outpatients being treated in National Health Service hospitals in Wales; in (a) 1979 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Mark Robinson)In 1979, 349,695 inpatients were treated in Welsh hospitals. The latest year for which figures are available is 1984, when the number of inpatients treated was 412,866. Outpatient attendances in 1979 totalled 1,803,313 and, in 1984, 2,130,709. In both cases that was an increase of over 18 per cent.
§ Mr. BestDoes my hon. Friend agree that that enormous increase represents an extra strain on the National Health Service, which the Government have been able to fund? Is he aware that a Lloyd's Bank survey recently showed that public identifiable expenditure in Wales had quadrupled in the past 10 years and that a higher proportion of people living in Wales own their own television sets, refrigerators and telephones—[Interruption.]—than do people living in Scotland or Northern Ireland? How does he—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. That goes very wide of the question.
§ Mr. RobinsonI note the welcome support that my hon. Friend gives to our policies in this respect. Perhaps I should point out that between 1979 and 1984 Welsh hospitals treated 60,000 more inpatients and 333,000 more outpatients.
§ Dr. Roger ThomasWill the Minister comment on a statement by Dr. Whitaker of leukaemia fame that, two and a half years after the first transplant in Cardiff, we still do not have our own bone marrow transplant unit?
§ Mr. RobinsonI have knowledge of the statement to which the hon. Gentleman refers, which is not true. We are hoping to undertake 12 bone marrow transplant operations in this financial year and we have announced the setting up of a special unit for this purpose.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesAs an inevitable consequence of the expansion of the NHS since 1979, there are now six hospitals in south Glamorgan experiencing difficulty in recruiting an ample supply of nurses. Is my hon. Friend confident that the training provision meets the extra demand for nurses?
§ Mr. RobinsonWe are constantly looking at training provision, as are the health authorities, which have responsibility for managing the staffing resources within their areas.
§ Mr. Ron DaviesHow can the Minister justify the situation in Mid-Glamorgan, which has the third highest waiting list in England and Wales, where more than 60 per cent. of patients have been waiting for more than 12 months for surgery and where the area health authority is being forced by the Government to cut expenditure by £5.5 million, resulting in the closure of hospitals and wards and the sacking of 240 Health Service staff? Is that the sort of service the hon. Gentleman wants to see?
§ Mr. RobinsonFunding for Mid-Glamorgan since 1979 has increased, in line with funding for other health authorities, to the tune of 19 per cent. As Deloitte's report points out, Mid-Glamorgan's problems are connected with its own management, and the health authority concerned is now having to look at ways to tackle those problems. It is receiving additional resources, in line with every other health authority.
§ Mr. HarveyI congratulate my hon. Friend on his new post. Is he aware that there has been a 16 per cent. real increase in Health Service spending throughout Wales since 1979?
§ Mr. RobinsonI am aware of that. In fact, the figure in terms of the GDP deflater is 2125 per cent.
§ Mr. Barry JonesThe Minister has made a foolish and unwarranted attack on management in the Mid-Glamorgan area health authority. Will he consider withdrawing it? Will he bear in mind that Mid-Glamorgan is arguably one of the most deprived areas in Europe and that the deprivation levels are the result of the Government's economic policies?
§ Mr. RobinsonI cannot accept what the hon. Gentleman has said. We are making additional resources available to Mid-Glamorgan to help it out of its current difficulties.