§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the instructions which are given to national health service trusts for calculating hospital charges to private patients; and what surpluses these are expected to achieve.
§ Mr. SackvilleI refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby and Kenilworth (Mr. Pawsey) on 29 June at col587. No targets have been set for the amounts to be raised from treating private patients.
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§ Mr. HunterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if she will make a statement on the extent to which national health service trusts can undertake private work;
(2) what controls and reporting mechanisms there are within national health service trusts to ensure that the treatment of national health service patients is not adversely affected by the use of staff and resources for private patient treatment.
§ Mr. SackvilleNational health service trusts may make accommodation and services available for private patients providing there is no significant interference with the performance of the trust of its obligations under NHS contracts. This statutory requirement prevents NHS patients from being disadvantaged by private practice within the health service. It is for local management to ensure that these statutory obligations are met.