§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give for each financial year since 1989–90 the numbers of(a) hospital spells and (b) finished consultant episodes in NHS hospitals in England recorded in the NHS Executive's fast-track monitoring returns for (i) acute specialties, (ii) geriatrics, (iii) mental illness, (iv) mental handicap, (v) maternity, (vi) well babies and (vii) all specialties.
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 16 January 1995]: The numbers of finished consultant episodes for ordinary and day case admissions in national health service hospitals in England are published in "Ordinary and day case admissions for England: Financial Year 1993–94, copies of which are available in the Library. These are the definitive figures which supersede the provisional forecasts from the National Health Service Executive's fast-track monitoring returns. Information on hospital spells is not collected within the fast-track system.