HC Deb 13 January 1995 vol 252 c254W
Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average daily cost of treating a patient with a psychiatric illness(a) in an NHS bed and (b) in a private bed.

Mr. Bowis

The provisional average daily cost per patient for psychiatric specialities in the national health service in 1993–94" was £119.95. NHS returns do not separately identify expenditure incurred specifically on the purchase of care outside the NHS.

Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS patients were treated for psychiatric illnesses in(a) NHS and (b) private hospitals in each of the last five years.

Mr. Bowis

The number of finished national health service consultant episodes in the psychiatric specialities during the last five years is published in the Department of Health statistical bulletin "NHS hospital activity statistics: England 1983 to 1993–94", copies of which are available in the Library. Information on numbers of patients in private hospitals is not available centrally.

Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average length of stay of a patient with a psychiatric illness(a) in a NHS bed and (b) in a private bed.

Mr. Bowis

The average length of stay in the national health service in England in the psychiatric specialties was 95 days in 1992–93. Information is not available centrally on cases treated in beds specifically designated as private.

Mrs. Beckett

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many psychiatric beds there were in NHS hospitals in each of the last 10 years.

Mr. Bowis

This information is in the Department of Health statistical bulletins, "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics: England 1983 to 1993–94" and "NHS Hospital Activity Statistics: England 1982 to 1992–93", copies of which are available in the Library.