§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons last year who were seeking a private medical consultation entered hospital through National Health Service outpatients departments.
§ Mr. AlisonThe income from charges to all private non-resident patients for the year 1970–71 was about £¼ million. Information is not however available about the total number of private out-patients; statistical returns are made of the number of attendances for general consultation and for day patient treatment as private patients. The figures for England for the year ended December, 1970, were 78,371 and 11,698, respectively.