§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 10 December, what is the additional(a) capital cost, (b) staffing revenue costs and (c) non-staff revenue costs associated with the establishment of improved information systems and detailed costing of services in the current and next financial year.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettDevelopments to improve information systems generally, including the costing of services, are being undertaken as part of the all-Wales information and information technology strategy for the 509W NHS in Wales. The total available funds provided by the Department in 1990–91 to support the strategy are £12.2 million capital, and an additional £3.36 million revenue. A precise division between staffing and non-staff revenue costs is not readily available. The funding for 1991–92 will be announced in the new year.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his answer of 10 December, what is his best estimate of the present degree of accuracy of the costing of different treatments by the national health service service providers in Wales; and what he expects it to be after the improved information systems are in place.
§ Mr. Nicholas BennettNational health service service providers do not at present have the computerised information systems to cost services at sub-speciality level as a matter of routine. The implementation of improved information systems over the next two to three years, and in particular the case mix management and new financial ledger systems, will give NHS providers increasingly detailed information at patient level which will enable them to utilise their resources with increased efficiency to provide a better quality service to patients.