Lord Lucasasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the number of new attendances at accident and emergency each year since 1970.
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonThe information is shown in the following table.
Table: Number of New Attendances at Accident and Emergency in NHS hospitals (000's) Year England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Yearly Total 1970 7,772 688 438 — 8,898 1971 7,873 716 446 — 9,035 1972 8,008 814 457 — 9,279 1973 8,372 867 477 — 9,716 1974 8,258 842 467 — 9,567 1975 8,370 845 474 — 9,689 1976 8,779 849 508 — 10,136 1977 8,904 912 512 — 10,328 1978 9,170 917 533 — 10,620 1979 9,197 932 533 — 10,662 1980 9,222 949 534 — 10,705 1981 9,464 990 550 358 11,362 1982 9,667 976 570 — 11,213 1983 9,950 1,013 599 395 11,957 1984 10,213 1,059 617 417 12,306 1985 10,403 1,074 612 423 12,512 1986 10,532 1,088 624 437 12,681 1987–88 10,880 1,106 653 455 13,094 1988–89 10,984 1,141 665 455 13,245 1989–90 11,207 1,185 708 467 13,567 1990–91 11,204 1,193 693 465 13,555 1991–92 11,035 1,193 699 470 13,397 1992–93 10,993 1,221 716 480 13,410 1993–94 11,365 1,264 727 485 13,841 1994–95 11,943 1,340 763 512 14,558 1995–96 12,404 1,362 804 551 15,121 Notes:
England:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1987–88.
Scotland:
Figures for 1971 are estimates based on data for 8 months ending 31 March 1971. Due to the changes in coding classifications, certain year-on-year comparisons may not be strictly comparable.
Wales:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1983–84.
Northern Ireland:
Moved to counting over the financial year rather than calendar year from 1988–89. Complete information is not available for 1982 due to an industrial dispute. Information before 1981, if available, can only be provided at disproportionate cost.