§ Miss Boothroydasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the figures showing coronary bypass operations per 100,000 of the population, in the west midlands, the national average, and the national target figure for this form of surgery for the latest available date.
§ Mr. John PattenDuring 1984 West Midlands regional health authority carried out coronary artery bypass graft operations at an approximate rate of 10 per 100,000 population. It plans to double the number of operations by the end of the decade. The national average figure for 1983, the latest available date, was 16.86 operations per 100,000 population. We do not set a national target figure, but health authorities have been asked to develop coronary artery surgery as a priority.