§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what pricing policy he expects independent National Health Service hospitals to follow under his proposals in the case of operations for which there are long waiting lists everywhere; and how this will effect the budgets of family doctors.
§ Mr. MellorWe expect all hospitals, whether they are self-governing or directly managed by the district health authority, to follow pricing policies which enable them to compete with other hospitals while covering their costs. Length of waiting lists should not have any particular effect on prices, save that for elective treatments district health authorities and GPs with practice budgets will be able to choose from a far wider range of providers than in other cases. Far more significant will be the effect that waiting lists themselves will have on competition between hospitals, since district health authorities and GPs will be seeking to place contracts with those hospitals that offer the best service to patients.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many different standard formats of computerised letters his Department has in response to those raising their concerns about Her Majesty's Government's proposals for the future of the Health Service; and how many in total have been sent out to date.
§ Mr. MellorMany correspondents have raised similar concerns about the proposals and have received similar replies.
§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place in the Library copies of those of the 8,000 representations on the White Paper, "Working for Patients" which do not come from individiuals.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 26 July 1989]: By far the majority of the responses are from individuals who have questions or concerns about the White Paper. Many of the major organisations responding to the White Paper or the working papers have already made their responses public. For some the responses form the basis of further discussion, which is still continuing. I see no use in combing through the many responses to see which could be usefully placed in the Library and which are already there.
72. Mr. Robert G. HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on the quality initiative proposed in the White Paper, "Working for Patients".
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 25 July 1989]: The chief executive wrote to all health authorities last month to establish a programme for quality improvements. A copy of his letter has been placed in the Library. His letter asked 916W all authorities to establish a framework for broad, unit-based, quality assurance programmes, including provision this year to cover appointment systems, information to patients, and public areas and reception arrangements. £2 million has also been allocated largely for hospital-related medical audit projects, and we hope to announce a number of national quality demonstration projects soon.