§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the original proposed date and location of the launch of the Read codes system for coding and classification in the NHS; and what form the launch was planned to take. [27625]
§ Mr. HoramThe scheduled date for the launch was October 1995, to be held in London. The purpose was to announce the successful completion of the terms projects and to report early results from pilots.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has received from the project board running the Centre for Coding and Classification at Loughborough into the development of Read codes on the length of time it would take to produce a service strength product for use within the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [27626]
§ Mr. HoramVersion 2 of Read is already in widespread use. Version 3 will reach service strength at different dates for different application areas. For the majority of specialities in the acute sector, service strength is expected by the end of this year. The centre's supervisory board which meets quarterly receives regular reports on all developments and has approved the timetable.
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§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list for each financial year the expenditure on capital and revenue on the development of Read codes; how many hospitals are participating in the pilot exercise and what their response has been to date; when he proposes to submit the project for independent evaluation; and if he will make a statement. [27829]
§ Mr. HoramThe cost of developing version 3 of the Read codes is as follows:
Revenue Capital 1992–93 £1.1 million Nil 1993–94 £2.1 million Nil 1994–95 £0.5 million Nil Total £3.7 million The nature of the Read terms is that new terms are added regularly through a maintenance process. This aspect of developments costs:
Revenue Capital 1994–95 £0.7 million Nil 1995–96 £0.7 million Nil Total £1.4 million The version 3 Read code partnership programme commenced in mid-1995 and involved 14 sites—a further 30 sites have expressed interest in participating in the programme. We are aware of an additional 15 non-partnership sites which are using or about to use version 3 of the Read codes. These assessments in use comprise evaluation. An evaluation beyond this is not planned.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the representations from other Government Departments in relation to the urgency of the re-evaluation of the Read codes system and the Centre for Coding and Classification in Loughborough. [27828]
§ Mr. HoramContacts with Government Departments in Scotland and Wales on Read codes are long standing and continuing.
On 7 March, the Welsh Office expressed concerns about the project at Withybush hospital. Several meetings have since taken place and these concerns have been addressed. The project is continuing.