§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give for each year since 1970 the number of places in specifically designated National Health Service convalescent facilities.
§ Mr. John PattenThe information requested is given in the table:
72W
§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give for each year since 1970 and for each region, as well as for England as a whole, the expenditure on contractual arrangements for patient care; and if he will give these figues in absolute terms and also as percentages of the total spending in the relevant year by the relevant region and for England as a whole.
§ Mr. John PattenFor the years since NHS reorganisation, the information requested is shown in the following table: comparable information for earlier years is not available centrally.
Year Average daily number of available beds in convalescent departments in NHS hospitals in England 1970 1,548 1971 1,519 1972 1,316 1973 1,325 1974 1,273 1975 1,246 1976 1,080 1977 843 1978 796 1979 721 1980 534 1981 432 1982 302 These figures reflect the diminishing demand for convalescence in its traditional form brought about by a change in modern rehabilitation practice.