NHS (Surveys) (Hansard, 3 July 2002)

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he plans to introduce surveys similar to the NHS inpatients' surveys conducted this year for(a) outpatients and (b) other NHS organisations; and if he will make a statement. [64482]

§ Mr. Lammy
The first inpatient survey, as announced in the NHS Plan, has been completed. It is anticipated that the roll-out programme presently being established, will be extended to cover outpatients. The programme will also provide information about the patient experience across primary care and within areas covered by national service frameworks.

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital trusts have conducted NHS in-patients' surveys this year as part of the national programme outlined in the NHS Plan; what the total cost of this exercise has been; and if he will make a statement. [64483]

§ Mr. Lammy
176 hospital trusts undertook the first national health service in-patients' survey earlier this year to directly inform local service development and improvement. In line with the policy on devolution, individual trusts were responsible for running and funding their own surveys and cost of the survey will vary from trust to trust. This was a local exercise and we do not have information on the total cost of the surveys nationally.

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the results of the NHS in-patients' surveys conducted this year will be made available to the public; in what format they will be available; if patients will be able to compare ratings for their local hospital with other hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [64484]

§ Mr. Lammy
The in-patient survey results will be made available to the public over the summer. The Department is also publishing the next set of hospital performance ratings in the summer and this will enable patients to compare the performance of national health service trusts.
The in-patient survey results will be published locally by trusts and will be one of the features covered within the new patient prospectus, which will be published by primary care trusts in the autumn and delivered to every household.