HC Deb 17 January 1995 vol 252 cc432-3W
Mr. Ronnie Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many audited accounts she has seen for the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust; and if she will make a statement;

(2) if she will instigate an inquiry into the accounts of the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust.

Mr. Sackville

Accounts for the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust's first year are not due to be audited until the summer of 1995. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will not see the accounts until the audit is complete.

Mr. Ronnie Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions serious conditions were later discovered to have been misdiagnosed in the Wansbeck and Cheviot maternity unit and the Northumberland health authority in each year since 1992.

Mr. Sackville

This is a matter for the Cheviot and Wansbeck national health service trust and Northumberland health authority. The hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman of the trust and the vice-chairman of the authority, Mr. Roger Baker and Mr. David Wright, for details.

Mr. Ronnie Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make it her policy to provide additional funding for the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sackville

National health service trusts receive no direct funding from the Department of Health. They derive their income principally from contracts with purchasers—health authorities and general practitioners fundholders—to provide health care.

Mr. Ronnie Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations she has received relating to financial irregularities at the Cheviot and Wansbeck trust; and if she will make a statement.

Mr. Sackville

None.

Mr. Ronnie Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information she has on the waiting list(a) for out-patient examinations and (b) for in-patient surgery in the Northumberland health authority and the Cheviot and Wansbeck hospital.

Mr. Malone

Information on the waiting time for first out-patient appointments will be published shortly.

Information on waiting times for in-patient and day case treatment by national health service trust and non-trust hospital is given in "Hospital Waiting List Statistics: England", copies of which are available in the Library.