HC Deb 17 January 1994 vol 235 cc386-7W
Ms Primarolo

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of general practitioner fundholders have spent more than their budgets for 1992–93.

Dr. Mawhinney

This information is not yet available centrally. The Department is awaiting finally audited figures on fundholder expenditure from some regions.

Mr. Milburn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to be able to publish a regional breakdown of the 1992–93 allocations retained by general practitioner fundholders.

Dr. Mawhinney

These figures are not yet available centrally, as the Department is awaiting finally audited figures from some regions. When these are available, the regional information will be published.

Mrs. Ann Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it remains her policy that hospital treatment should be made available equally to the patients of fundholding and non-fundholding general practices and if she will make a statement.

Dr. Mawhinney

All patients are entitled to expect high-quality health care, regardless of whether the treatment is paid for by a fundholding general practitioner, or a district health authority on behalf of the general practitioner.

Mrs. Ann Winterton

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many representations she has received from right hon. and hon. Members identifying instances where is it alleged that different priority in the allocation of treatment is given to the patients of fundholding and non-fundholding general practices; and if she will in each case identify the establishment allegedly operating any such two-tier system.

Dr. Mawhinney

According to our records, six parliamentary questions—excluding my hon. Friend's—and 61 letters from hon. Members have been answered in the current financial year.

At 31 December
England1 Wales1
Ophthalmic opticians Ophthalmic medical practitioners Total Ophthalmic opticians Ophthalmic medical practitioners Total
1988 5,378 832 6,210 419 47 466
1989 5,514 784 6,298 436 43 479
1990 5,652 779 6,431 461 46 507
1991 5,745 757 6,502 471 50 521
1992 5,863 738 6,601 477 53 530
1 Practitioners are generally counted only once even if they have a contract with more than one family health services authority. If however, they have contracts in both England and Wales, they will appear in figures for both countries.

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