§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his Department's plans for dealing with those cases whereby national health service patients registered with budget-holding general practitioners are denied access to clinical treatment which is still available to those registered with non budget-holding practitioners; if he will take steps to prevent further such occurrences; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyFundholding practices are responsible for purchasing a defined range of hospital treatment for their patients. For treatment not included in this range, their patients are covered by the relevant district health authority's contract. Fundholding practices are allocated budgets which have as their starting point previous hospital usage and prescribing patterns. They are neither preferentially funded nor disadvantaged compared with district health authorities.