HC Deb 11 July 1995 vol 263 c514W
Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the comparative objective accuracy of deaths and discharges and finished consultant episodes as measures of clinical in-patient and day case activity in hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [33544]

Mr. Hague

Finished consultant episodes and discharges and deaths seek to measure different concepts of hospital in-patient activity. Both concepts can be measured accurately but data quality depends on the reliability of local arrangements for the collection and return of data.

In Wales, data on both measures of activity have been collected since 1991 –92 and published. Published statistics of overall in-patient activity are based on discharges and deaths as these are more complete than consultant episode figures and are comparable with earlier years.