§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the facilities to which amenity bed patients are entitled.
§ Mr. SackvilleAmenity beds are defined in section 63 of the National Health Service Act 1977 as accommodation made available for patients who give an undertaking to pay charges, for accommodation in single rooms or small wards which are not for the time being needed by any patient on medical grounds. The charges represent the notional cost of the additional privacy of a small room or a small ward.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how much income was generated by amenity beds in each year since 1979 in the NHS.
444W
§ Mr. SackvilleThe information is shown in the table.
Year Amenity bed income £ thousands 1979–80 224 1980–81 239 1981–82 241 1982–83 369 1983–84 389 1984–85 345 1985–86 409 1986–87 454 1987–88 621 1988–89 764 1989–90 1,013 1990–91 1,260 1991–92 2,022 1992–93 1,776 Source: Annual accounts and receipts and payments returns for regional health authorities, district health authorities and London postgraduate special health authorities.
Notes:
1. Amenity bed income received by national health service trusts is omitted as it is not possible to separately identify it.
2. The 1991–92 and 1992–93 figures are taken from the receipts and payments returns and are not therefore comparable with those of earlier years.
3. The figures for 1992–93 are provisional.