§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the number of National Health Service beds available in the Wirral area per 1,000 population for the following: (a) all patients, (b) geriatric patients, (c) paediatric patients, (d) general medical patients, and (e) acute surgical patients; and how these compare with the national average;
(2) how many hospital beds are available for geriatrics per 1,000 population in the Wirral Area Health Authority; and how this compares with the national average.
§ Mr. MoyleThe average daily numbers of available beds per 1,000 population for the year ending 31st December 1976 are as follows:
Wirral AHA England (a) All specialties 7.67 8.25 (b) Geriatrics 1.15 1.20 (c) Paediatrics 0.44 0.16 (d) General medicine 1.00 0.64 (e) All surgical specialties 2.39 1.51
§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the aver 528W age number of patients on a gynaecological waiting list in the Wirral Area Health Authority; and how this compares with the national average.
§ Mr. MoyleOn 31st March 1977, the number of patients awaiting in-patient admission for gynaecology to hospitals in the Wirral area was 398. The rate per 10,000 female population was 20.9 compared with a rate of 32.1 per 10,000 for England as a whole.
§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the average waiting period for a patient needing a hernia operation in the Wirral Area Health Authority; and if he will compare this with the national average.
§ Mr. MoyleThe following information for the Wirral area relates to 30th September 1977.
Patients needing operations urgently are admitted immediately. At most hospitals patients are admitted for non-urgent treatment within an average of five weeks, but this figure varies between individual hospitals and consultants, and in one instance the average waiting time is as long as one year.
Comparable information for England as a whole is not available. The most recent information relates to 1974, when the average waiting times for non-urgent cases were 16.8 weeks for patients with inguinal hernias and 15.2 weeks for patients with abdominal hernias.
§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many private beds have been removed in the Wirral Area Health Authority as a result of the Health Services Act; how many additional National Health Service beds have subsequently been provided; what revenue private beds contributed to the National Health Service in the Wirral Area Health Authority in 1973, 1974 and 1975; and what is his estimate of lost revenue in 1976 and to date in 1977.
§ Mr. MoyleSeven; the Health Services Board has proposed the withdrawal of a further 13 authorisations by 31st December 1977. As the authorisations so far withdrawn were not fully utilised by paying patients, the reductions are unlikely to have yielded significant additional resources for National Health Service patients. I understand, however, 529W that two beds at Birkenhead General Hospital formerly used exclusively for paying patients are now available for NHS patients. Hospital elsewhere in the area have not made a practice of reserving particular beds exclusively for private use.
Income from private resident patients in 1973–74 for the hospital management committees which now comprise the Wirral Area Health Authority was £95,202. That authority's income from the same source in 1974–75 and 1975–76 was £86,359 and £84,836 respectively. There was no loss of income as a result of phasing out in 1976–77 and no significant loss is anticipated in 1977–78.