§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were admitted to wards from accident and emergency departments within(a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) more than four hours, after being seen by a doctor or consultant in (i) March 1997 and (ii) the latest month for which figures are available. [46707]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 10 April 2002]: Figures for March 1997 were not collected.
The latest published figures are for the third quarter of 2001–02. These are in the table.
Admission from Accident and Emergency Departments, England, 2001–02, quarter 3 Number Percentage Patients admitted through Accident and Emergency 573,266 — Patients placed in bed in a ward within two hours of a decision to admit 396.016 69.1 Patients placed in bed in a ward within two to four hours of a decision to admit 111.493 19.4 Patients not placed in bed in a ward within four hours of a decision to admit 65,757 11.5 Source:
Department of Health form OMNG