§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the variations, adjusted by age and sex, in the number of cardiological procedures by purchaser; and what are the causes of these variations.
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 4 July 1994]: Information about variations in the numbers of cardiological procedures by purchaser is not available centrally. The table shows the number of finished consultant episodes involving a heart operation in 1991–92 by region of residence of patient, expressed relative to the national total, England-100, adjusted for the age and sex distribution within each region.
The Government asked the Clinical Services Advisory Group to advise on access to and the availability of coronary bypass grafting. Its report, which also covers coronary angioplasty, published in March 1993, sets out the possible causes of variations in the services provided; a copy has been placed in the Library.
1991–92 index of finished consultant episodes involving a heart operation (England-100) Number Northern 74 Yorkshire 133 Trent 89 East Anglian 79 North West Thames 156 North East Thames 149 South East Thames 124 South West Thames 89 Wessex 84 Oxford 83 South Western 59 West Midlands 83 Mersey 98 North Western 90 England 100 These figures are based on preliminary, unpublished, data from Hospital Episodes Statistics.