NHS Hospitals (Private Patients)

HC Deb 20 November 1985 vol 87 cc221-2W

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many beds in National Health Service hospitals were paid for by private patients; what was the total revenue collected each year since 1979; and what proportion of the patients were admitted for (a) urgent operations and (b) non-urgent operations.

Mr. Hayhoe

The available information is given in the table. A classification of hospital patients by degree of urgency of operation is not available centrally.

Private patients in NHS Hospitals		England
	Average number of beds occupied daily	In-patient cases	Total income in £ millions*
1979	1,508	91,128	33.3
1980	1,514	98,565	42.6
1981	1,469	97,739	49.3
1982	1,259	80,686	46.2
1983	1,253	82,938	49.5
1984†	1,156	77,489	48.7

^* Income figures relate to financial years.

† Provisional figures.