§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has on trends in hospital referrals by general practitioner fundholders. [21072]
§ Mr. MaloneA report by Professor Angela Coulter in theBritish Medical Journal of February 1993, based on the first two years of fundholding, showed no evidence of any changes in general practitioner fundholder referral patterns. Other studies have shown that fundholders have improved services for patients, including the reduction of waiting times.