§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish details of the number of sterilisations carried out (a) on a one-off basis and (b) with other procedures, for each region;
(2) how many sterilisations have been carried out within each National Health Service region for each year since 1972, giving separate figures for each sex;
(3) what is the cost to the National Health Service of male and female sterilisation, giving separate figures for each region;
(4) what is the average time spent in hospital by women having sterilisation 267W operations, giving separate figures for each region.
§ Mr. Moyle, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 183–4], gave the following information:
The numbers of male sterilisation (vacestomies) carried out in National Health Service family planning clinics in the last nine months of 1974 and in 1975 are as follows:
Regional Health Authority *1st April 1974 to 31st December 1974 1975 Northern 1,005 1,229 Yorkshire 78 305 Trent 1,592 2,362 East Anglia — — North West Thames 671 1,334 North East Thames 433 779 South East Thames 873 711 South Wast Thames 755 2,063 Wessex 866 1,468 Oxford 547 1,083 South Western 657 755 West Midland 1,759 2,622 Mersey 262 426 North Western 1,383 1,935 Total 10,881 17,142 * The date the National Health Service Regions in England were established. No information is available centrally on male and female sterilisations carried out in England as secondary procedures, on sterilisations carried out in private hospitals, on female sterilisations carried out on a day case or out-patient basis, nor on the cost of operations.
In due course information will be available centrally on the number of male and female sterilisations which were main sterilisation operations during hospital in-patient spells in England in 1974 onwards. Before the reorganisation of the National Health Service in 1974 this information was available only as a combined figure for England and Wales and I give below the figures for 1973:
Estimated number of sterilisations of women which were main operations 38,700 Estimated number of male sterilisations which were main operations 4,400 Estimated length of stay in hospitals for women on whom were performed the main operations "Division and Ligation of Oviducts" which accounted for 75 per cent. of female main sterilisations 9 days As a result of differences in recording methods between the two countries this information is not directly comparable with the figure for Wales for 1973 provided by my right hon and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Wales yesterday.—[Vol. 928 c. 239–42.]
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§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement outlining fees received by surgeons and others, for carrying out sterilisations.
§ Mr. Moyle, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 16th March 1977; Vol. 928, c. 183–4], gave the following information:
The following is the scale of fees, effective from July 1975, for sterilisations and associated procedures undertaken in hospitals by consultants and other hospital doctors under arrangements agreed with their Area Health Authorities which include a limit on the total number of remunerable cases:
SCALE OF FEES £ i. a fee per case of male sterilisation performed performed (a) as a separate procedure, and 16.25 (b) during the course of another procedure 11.00 ii. a fee per case of female sterilisation performed (a) as a separate procedure, and 22.00 (b) during the course of another procedure 14.70 iii. fees per case for anaesthetists' services, corresponding to those above as follows: For i. (a) 8.00 (b) 5.30 ii. (a) 10.75 (b) 7.20 iv. a fee per case for examination and report on pathological specimens referred in connection with NHS family planning cases 3.00 v. a fee per case for radiological services provided in connection with NHS family planning cases 3.00