§ Mr. Greenwayasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were treated under the National Health Service in the year to May 1979 and in the latest year for which statistics are available; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe requested information is not available in full centrally for the year ending May 1979, as most NHS activity statistics are collected on a quarterly or calendar year basis only. Instead figures are given for 1978 for the main hospital and community health and family practitioner services, together with corresponding levels in 1982, the latest year for which this information is available in full.
278W
NHS Activities (England) thousands 1978 1982 Hospital and community health services In-patient and day cases 5,932 6,426 Out-patient attendances (including accident and emergency) 47,310 49,133 Regular day attendances 4,987 5,329 Health visiting—persons visited 3,597 3,811 Home nursing—persons treated 3,157 3,408 Family practitioner services: Courses of dental treatment 27,105 29,926 Prescriptions dispensed* 307,097 311,269 Number of sight tests 7,850 8,693 * Excludes prescriptions dispensed by dispensing doctors (18.2 million in 1982)