HC Deb 12 January 1988 vol 125 c132
6. Mr. Carttiss

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many in-patient cases were treated in East Anglia in 1986 and 1978.

Mr. Newton

There were 195,628 in-patient cases treated in 1978 and 253,124 cases in 1986. This is an increase of 29–4 per cent. over the period.

Mr. Carttiss

Will my right hon. Friend congratulate the RHA and the districts, in particular the Great Yarmouth and Waveney district, on achieving that impressive improvement? Will he confirm that the same success could be recorded for out-patients and day case treatment?

Mr. Newton

Yes, indeed. The increase in out-patients was just under one quarter and in day cases no less than one half. That is a striking achievement and I am happy to pay tribute to the RHA and my hon. Friend's district health authority.

Sir Anthony Grant

Is not the result in East Anglia even more commendable when one reflects that the figures on which its funding is based are some five years old, whereas Huntingdonshire and, to some extent, Cambridgeshire are the fastest growing areas in the country? If that rather ludicrous state of affairs is the case, are not some areas that are not so fast-growing doing very well indeed?

Mr. Newton

My hon. Friend will be aware that the increase that I announced just before Christmas for next year for the East Anglian regional health authority is among the highest in the country and reflects the rise in population. We are always anxious to ensure that our method for distributing money reflects such factors in as up-to-date a way as possible.