§ Ms. HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in each of the last five years have been refused referral to a hospital on the grounds that they do not live in the district in which the hospital is situated.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe do not collect this information centrally. GPs are free to refer patients to the consultant they consider most appropriate; equally, the consultant is free to accept or refuse the referral. Under the arrangements set out in "Working for Patients", where money will follow patients across district boundaries, hospitals and their consultants should increasingly be willing to accept patients from other districts if they consider that the patient will benefit from their particular skills and services.