HC Deb 15 June 1994 vol 244 cc605-6W
Mrs. Fyfe

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what trends general practitioners have experienced in the number of night visits over the last 25 years; and what is his assessment of the reasons for those trends.

Mr. Stewart

The information available centrally is for 1976–77 onwards and is as follows:

Financial year Number of night visits
1976–77 81,614
1977–78 80,989
1978–79 83,909
1979–80 84,620
1980–81 83,347
1981–82 90,649
1982–83 96,231
1983–84 103,106
1984–85 107,598
1985–86 119,130
1986–87 138,104
1987–88 122,747
1988–89 132,640
1989–90 143,556
1990–91 206,946
1991–92 244,310
1992–93 232,201
1993–94 245,158

Notes:

1. The figures for financial years 1976–77 to 1989–90 are derived from total accrued payments to general medical practitioners in Scotland for night visits for each of those years.

2. The figures for 1990–91 to 1992–93 are the total numbers of night visit claims for which GMPs received payment in each of those years.

3. The figure for 1993–94 is an estimate based on the total number of night visit claims for which GMPs received payment during the first six months of that year.