§ Ms HarmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many private hospitals there were (i) by region (ii) nationally in each of the last five years; [29192]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of private hospital beds (i) by region and (ii) nationally in each of the last five years. [29191]
§ Mr. MaloneInformation relating solely to private hospitals is not available centrally. Information on private hospitals, homes and clinics as a group is available and published annually in "Private hospitals, homes and clinics registered under section 23 of the Registered Homes Act 1984", copies of which are available in the Library. For the last two years, information is presented separately for private hospitals and clinics and for private nursing homes. Additional information on private hospitals can be found in the annual survey of "Acute Hospitals in the Independent Sector with Psychiatric Hospitals Supplement" by the Independent Healthcare Association.