HC Deb 23 January 1987 vol 108 cc786-7W
Mr. Kirkwood

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he plans to discuss smoke-free environments in long-stay hospitals at regional review meetings.

Mrs. Currie

Policies regarding smoking on National Health Service premises may be discussed during consideration of disease prevention and health promotion which can be raised as an agenda item at regional review meetings.

Mr. Pike

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the total number of beds in each regional health authority area in England for each year since 1979.

Mrs. Currie

The available information is given in the table. The total number of in-patient cases rose by 953,692 (17.7 per cent.) from 5,400,120 in 1979 to 6,353,812 in 1985 and the number of in-patient cases treated per bed increased by 31 per cent. from 14.9 to 19.5.

Regional Health Authority/ Special Health Authority 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
South East Thames 28,408 27,719 27,217 26,816 26,356 25,260 24,297
South West Thames 26,242 25,416 24,799 24,021 23,719 22,994 22,210
Wessex 19,021 18,844 18,662 18,546 18,310 18,074 17,654
Oxford 13,664 13,422 13,247 13,113 12,817 12,722 12,555
South Western 24,456 24,245 24,143 23,861 23,459 22,676 21,932
West Midlands 36,263 35,782 35,437 35,228 34,544 33,761 33,108
Mersey 21,981 21,331 21,025 20,519 19,848 19,028 18,464
North Western 30,811 30,839 30,662 30,677 30,384 29,756 29,021
Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 3,419 3,376 3,407 3,346 3,327 3,236 3,086
TOTAL 361,670 355,979 351,669 348,104 343,091 334,513 325,487

Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to the answer of 19 January, Official Report, columns 427–28, to the hon. Member for Oldham, West on the hospital beds breakdown for 1985, what were the figures for the same regions and specialties in 1979, and what has been the percentage change in each case from 1979 to 1985.

Average daily number of available beds in National Health Service hospitals England
Acute1 Geriatric Mental illness2 Mental handicap Maternity3 All specialties
Regional Health Authority/Special Health Authority Number in 1979 Percentage change 1979 to 1985 Number in 1979 Percentage change 1979 to 1985 Number in 1979 Percentage change 1979 to 1985 Number in 1979 Percentage change 1979 to 1985 Number in 1979 Percentage change 1979 to 1985 Number in 1979 Percentage change 1979 to 1985
Northern 10,509 -7.7 3,733 5.5 6,144 -7.3 3,336 -10.4 1,321 -8.6 25,305 -6.1
Yorkshire 11,855 5.8 5,307 -6.5 7,587 -18.3 3,482 -15.4 1,536 - 10.5 29,946 -10.5
Trent 12,197 -4.4 5,055 3.6 7,582 -11.6 4,878 -19.3 1,798 -10.1 31,712 -7.3
East Anglian 5,276 -1.4 2,318 6.4 3,092 -12.6 1,626 -10.8 749 -10.5 13,094 -4.3
North West Thames 11,288 -19.8 3,234 5.7 8,021 -18.4 3,962 -8.5 1,335 -18.2 27,904 -14.7
North East Thames 13,501 -9.2 4,444 4.3 6,931 -12.7 2,818 -17.9 1,601 -9.7 29,443 -8.8
South East Thames 12,083 -13.0 4,284 -7.0 7,115 -17.3 3,415 -25.4 1,347 -9.1 28,408 -14.5
South West Thames 8,347 -14.6 3,087 -5.8 7,619 -18.7 6,095 -15.3 1,033 -24.0 26,242 -15.4
Wessex 7,600 -2.5 3,528 -1.7 4,344 -15,1 2,451 -15.4 1,077 -9.0 19,021 -7.2
Oxford 5,976 -1.9 2,085 -10.5 2,608 -12.5 2,009 -18.3 869 -8.7 13,664 -8.1
South Western 8,872 -2.3 3,745 1.0 5,734 -18.3 4,855 -24.9 1,116 -8.6 24,456 -10.3
West Midlands 14,491 -3.6 6,216 -0.6 8,753 -18.9 4,600 -15.4 2,025 -9.9 36,263 -8.7
Mersey 8,722 -18.7 3,211 -2.8 6,519 -18.1 2,504 -19.0 982 -14.5 21,981 -16.0
North Western 13,467 -7.4 4,890 7.0 6,592 -3.9 4,072 -18.8 1,712 -7.2 30,811 -5.8
Special Health Authorities and Boards of Governors 2,861 -19.5 — — 402 14.2 17 -15.9 138 35.5 3,419 -9.7
TOTAL4 147,044 -8.6 55,139 0.3 89,045 -14.8 50,122 -17.1 18,640 - 10.7 361,670 -10.0
1Acute is defined as all specialties except geriatrics, younger disabled, GP maternity, obstetrics, mental handicap and mental illness.
2Includes all mental illness specialties.
3Includes GP maternity and obstetrics.
4Regional figures may not sum to national totals due to rounding.

Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many hospitals in each region are now refusing all but emergency admissions; and what percentage of hospitals this is in each region.

Mrs. Currie

[pursuant to her reply, 21 January 1987]: During the recent bad weather the vast majority of hospitals all over the country have been able to continue to admit patients from their waiting lists, although problems of transport for patients and staff, and in some cases supplies, meant that less non-urgent work was done than normal. The prime exception was Kent where the intensity of the snowfall led to five out of six districts having to restrict their work to emergencies and urgent cases such as rediotherapy.